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- float: left; - margin-right: 1em } - -.align-right { clear: right; - float: right; - margin-left: 1em } - -.align-center { margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto } - -div.shrinkwrap { display: table; } - -/* SECTIONS */ - -body { margin: 5% 10% 5% 10% } - -/* compact list items containing just one p */ -li p.pfirst { margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0 } - -.first { margin-top: 0 !important; - text-indent: 0 !important } -.last { margin-bottom: 0 !important } - -span.dropcap { float: left; margin: 0 0.1em 0 0; line-height: 1 } -img.dropcap { float: left; margin: 0 0.5em 0 0; max-width: 25% } -span.dropspan { font-variant: small-caps } - -.no-page-break { page-break-before: avoid !important } - -/* PAGINATION */ - -.pageno { position: absolute; right: 95%; font: medium sans-serif; text-indent: 0 } -.pageno:after { color: gray; content: '[' attr(title) ']' } -.lineno { position: absolute; left: 95%; font: medium sans-serif; text-indent: 0 } -.lineno:after { color: gray; content: '[' attr(title) ']' } -.toc-pageref { float: right } - -@media screen { - .coverpage, .frontispiece, .titlepage, .verso, .dedication, .plainpage - { margin: 10% 0; } - - div.clearpage, div.cleardoublepage - { margin: 10% 0; border: none; border-top: 1px solid gray; } - - .vfill { margin: 5% 10% } -} - -@media print { - div.clearpage { page-break-before: always; padding-top: 10% } - div.cleardoublepage { page-break-before: right; padding-top: 10% } - - .vfill { margin-top: 20% } - h2.title { margin-top: 20% } -} - -/* DIV */ -pre { font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.9em; white-space: pre-wrap } -</style> -<title>IN THE MISTY SEAS</title> -<meta name="DC.Creator" content="Harold Bindloss" /> -<meta name="PG.Title" content="In the Misty Seas" /> -<meta name="DC.Created" content="1905" /> -<meta name="PG.Producer" content="Al Haines" /> -<meta name="DC.Language" content="en" /> -<meta name="PG.Id" content="47992" /> -<meta name="PG.Released" content="2015-01-18" /> -<meta name="DC.Title" content="In the Misty Seas A Story of the Sealers of Behring Strait" /> -<meta name="PG.Rights" content="Public Domain" /> -<link rel="coverpage" href="images/img-cover.jpg" /> - -<link href="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" rel="schema.DCTERMS" /> -<link href="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators/" rel="schema.MARCREL" /> -<meta content="In the Misty Seas A Story of the Sealers of Behring Strait" name="DCTERMS.title" /> -<meta content="/home/ajhaines/misty/misty.rst" name="DCTERMS.source" /> -<meta content="en" name="DCTERMS.language" scheme="DCTERMS.RFC4646" /> -<meta content="2016-07-27T21:07:07.325019+00:00" name="DCTERMS.modified" scheme="DCTERMS.W3CDTF" /> -<meta content="Project Gutenberg" name="DCTERMS.publisher" /> -<meta content="Public Domain in the USA." name="DCTERMS.rights" /> -<link href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/47992" rel="DCTERMS.isFormatOf" /> -<meta content="Harold Bindloss" name="DCTERMS.creator" /> -<meta content="2015-01-18" name="DCTERMS.created" scheme="DCTERMS.W3CDTF" /> -<meta content="width=device-width" name="viewport" /> -<meta content="Ebookmaker 0.4.0a5 by Marcello Perathoner <webmaster@gutenberg.org>" name="generator" /> -</head> -<body> -<div class="document" id="in-the-misty-seas"> -<h1 class="center document-title level-1 pfirst title"><span class="x-large">IN THE MISTY SEAS</span></h1> - -<!-- this is the default PG-RST stylesheet --> -<!-- figure and image styles for non-image formats --> -<!-- default transition --> -<!-- default attribution --> -<!-- -*- encoding: utf-8 -*- --> -<div class="clearpage"> -</div> -<!-- -*- encoding: utf-8 -*- --> -<div class="container language-en pgheader" id="pg-header" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span>This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States -and most other parts of the world 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 </span><a class="reference internal" href="#project-gutenberg-license">Project Gutenberg License</a><span> included with -this ebook or online at </span><a class="reference external" href="http://www.gutenberg.org/license">http://www.gutenberg.org/license</a><span>. If you -are not located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws -of the country where you are located before using this ebook.</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<div class="container" id="pg-machine-header"> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span>Title: In the Misty Seas -<br /> A Story of the Sealers of Behring Strait -<br /> -<br />Author: Harold Bindloss -<br /> -<br />Release Date: January 18, 2015 [EBook #47992] -<br /> -<br />Language: English -<br /> -<br />Character set encoding: UTF-8</span></p> -</div> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst" id="pg-start-line"><span>*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK </span><span>IN THE MISTY SEAS</span><span> ***</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst" id="pg-produced-by"><span>Produced by Al Haines.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span></span></p> -</div> -<div class="container coverpage"> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 58%" id="figure-61"> -<img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="Cover art" src="images/img-cover.jpg" /> -<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> -<span class="italics">Cover art</span></div> -</div> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -</div> -<div class="container frontispiece"> -<p class="center pfirst" id="tell-your-skipper-that-if-ever-i-find-his-schooner-inside-our-limits-again-i-ll-have-much-pleasure-in-sinking-her"><span class="bold medium">[Frontispiece: "'TELL YOUR SKIPPER THAT IF EVER I FIND HIS SCHOONER -<br />INSIDE OUR LIMITS AGAIN I'LL HAVE MUCH PLEASURE -<br />IN SINKING HER" (missing from book)]</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -</div> -<div class="container titlepage"> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold xx-large">In the Misty Seas</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="x-large">A Story of the -<br />Sealers of Behring Strait</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">By</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="large">Harold Bindloss</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><em class="italics small">Author of "True Grit," etc.</em></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">With Six Illustrations</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">London -<br />S. W. Partridge and Co. -<br />8 and 9 Paternoster Row, E.C.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold large">CONTENTS</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">CHAP.</span></p> -<ol class="upperroman simple"> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#jimmy-s-duck">JIMMY'S DUCK</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#out-of-dock">OUT OF DOCK</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#down-channel">DOWN CHANNEL</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#a-lesson-in-seamanship">A LESSON IN SEAMANSHIP</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#under-topsails">UNDER TOPSAILS</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#a-fair-wind">A FAIR WIND</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#adrift">ADRIFT</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-champlain-sealer">THE 'CHAMPLAIN,' SEALER</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#a-trial-of-speed">A TRIAL OF SPEED</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#hove-to">HOVE TO</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#among-the-hollischackie">AMONG THE HOLLISCHACKIE</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#picking-up-the-boats">PICKING UP THE BOATS</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#on-the-beach">ON THE BEACH</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#good-work">GOOD WORK</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#in-peril">IN PERIL</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#stickine-makes-a-deal">STICKINE MAKES A DEAL</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-pledge-redeemed">THE PLEDGE REDEEMED</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#treachery">TREACHERY</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-sealers-reckoning">THE SEALERS' RECKONING</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-next-meeting">THE NEXT MEETING</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#in-vancouver">IN VANCOUVER</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-result-of-the-choice">THE RESULT OF THE CHOICE</a></p> -</li> -</ol> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold large">LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#tell-your-skipper-that-if-ever-i-find-his-schooner-inside-our-limits-again-i-ll-have-much-pleasure-in-sinking-her">"'TELL YOUR SKIPPER THAT IF EVER I FIND HIS -SCHOONER INSIDE OUR LIMITS AGAIN I'LL HAVE -MUCH PLEASURE IN SINKING HER"</a><span> (missing from book) . . . </span><em class="italics">Frontispiece</em></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chriss-are-you-hurt">"'CHRISS, ARE YOU HURT?'"</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#are-you-two-lads-going-off-to-the-barque-out-there">"'ARE YOU TWO LADS GOING OFF TO THE BARQUE OUT THERE?'"</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#glancing-over-his-shoulder-saw-the-indian-still-crouching-motionless-rifle-in-hand">"GLANCING OVER HIS SHOULDER, SAW THE INDIAN -STILL CROUCHING MOTIONLESS, RIFLE IN HAND"</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#as-he-hopped-about-the-deck-appleby-laughed-uproariously">"AS HE HOPPED ABOUT THE DECK, APPLEBY LAUGHED UPROARIOUSLY"</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#i-ve-come-for-the-two-lads-you-picked-up">"'I'VE COME FOR THE TWO LADS YOU PICKED UP.'"</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="jimmy-s-duck"><span class="bold x-large">IN THE MISTY SEAS</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER I</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">JIMMY'S DUCK</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"The sea!" said Bluey, the Nova Scotian, sitting up -on his pillow. "Oh, yes. It's kind of pretty, but the -only use I've got for it is for bathing in."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was laughter and a growl of disapproval from -two beds in a corner of the dormitory, for nobody -could go to sleep at nine o'clock, especially on the last -night of the term, though retiring at that hour was -compulsory at Sandycombe School. Pearson, the -assistant master, had not, however, come round as yet to -turn the lights out, and the gas-jet blinked fitfully in -the big wire cage which apparently protected it from -unlawful experiments. It did not, however, do so in -reality, because Niven had discovered that the cage -could be unscrewed, and it was not difficult to curtail -the hour of preparation in the morning and evening by -blowing strenuously down the pipe in turn. There -were, of course, risks attached to this, but Niven had -pointed out that anybody caught at the operation would -suffer in a good cause, and it provided work for the -Sandycombe plumber, who was voted a good fellow -because he would smuggle in forbidden dainties for a -consideration.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The sea," said Appleby, "is everything that's fine. -What do you know about it, Bluey?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said the Nova Scotian in his slowest drawl, "I -do know quite a little. You see, ours is a kind of hard -country, and most of our folks go in sea now and then -when they can't do better. Sometimes it's fishing way -out on the Grand Banks where you got lost in a fog in -the dory boats and starve before the schooner finds you, -and if you don't it's quite likely a liner steaming twenty -knots runs bang over you. Or it's carrying dried cod -south in little schooners in winter time, with your long -boots stuffed with straw to keep your feet from freezing, -while you run for it under a trysail that's stiff with ice, -with a full-size blizzard screaming behind you. No, sir. -Going to sea isn't any kind of picnic, and that's why -I'm sorry for Niven. The fellows who wrote those books -'bout cutting out pirates and catching slavers are dead, -and it's 'bout time they were."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Bluey's not going to stop to-night. Throw a pillow -at him, somebody," said Niven, and there was a thud as -the Nova Scotian's slipper, which was quicker than the -pillow, alighted within an inch of the speaker's head.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven, however, took it good-naturedly, and he would -have resented a better shot less than the remarks which -had preceded it. He was going to sea, and had been -describing his apprentice's uniform, and the life he -fancied he was to lead on board a sailing ship, to an -appreciative audience. His contentment had only one -alloy, and that was the fact that Appleby, who had read -Marryat and others with him under a gorse bush on sunny -afternoons when he was presumed to be playing cricket, -was not coming with him too. Nobody, however, was -apparently willing to pay Appleby's premium, and -Niven pinned his last hope on the possibility of his -comrade being able to ship on the same vessel as -ordinary seaman. Appleby, whom Niven privately -considered somewhat slow and over-cautious, did not -appear very enthusiastic about the scheme.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"To your kennels!" said somebody, and there was a -footfall on the stairway, while two cots rattled as a -couple of scantily-attired forms alighted upon them -with a flying leap. They had been lying prone upon -the floor giving a realistic representation of Niven -swimming ashore with the captain in his teeth, though -the lad who played the part of skipper protested -vigorously that there was no necessity for his being -grievously bitten.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That was fine," said somebody. "When Pearson's -gone we'll have it again. You could pour some water -on to him first to make it more real."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Then," said the skipper, "you'll get somebody else -in the place of me. It was a good deal nicer the last -time I was nibbled by a ferret, and I'm not going home -with hydrophobia to please any of you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After this there was silence whilst the footsteps grew -nearer, and presently the assistant master came into the -room.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You are all here?" he said as he swept his glance -from bed to bed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then he gave a little sigh of relief, for he had a good -deal to do that night, and they were all there, and -apparently very sleepy, while it was not his fault that he -did not see that two of them wore their outdoor clothes -under their night gear. Appleby and Niven had -business on hand, and they had discovered that with the -aid of contributions levied from their comrades it was -possible to lay out a suit of clothing that sufficed to pass -a hasty inspection on their chairs. Pearson, however, -glanced round again, for he had been taught that there -was need for greater watchfulness when his charges -were unusually quiet, and then turned out the gas.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Good-night, boys. If there is any breach of rules -some of you will not go home to-morrow," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Two minutes later everybody was wide awake again, -and a voice was raised in a corner.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Let's have a court-martial and try Bluey for conduct -unbecoming an officer and a gentleman," it said. -"You'll be president, Appleby, and we'll make Niven -executioner."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Sorry," said Niven, "but we can't. You see, -Appleby and I have got another assize on to-night. -We're going to put an </span><em class="italics">habeas corpus</em><span> on Tileworks -Jimmy's duck."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"More fools you!" said Bluey. "I'm sorry, too, -because I've a few fixings handy that would double the -court-martial up. Anyway, you'll only catch red-hot -trouble instead of Jimmy's duck."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What's that about a duck?" asked a lad who had -come up in the middle of the term, and a comrade -proceeded to enlighten him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It is by this time ancient history, and it may have -been a drake," he said. "Anyway, this is Appleby's -story. He stays here in the holidays, you know, and -he made a catapult thing during the last ones."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It wasn't," said Appleby. "It was a crossbow, and -Pearson thought so much of it that he took it from me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said the other, "Appleby went out shooting, -and shot a wild duck, but it was a tame one, and -Tileworks Jimmy's. Now if he'd been wiser he'd have -buried it, but he took it to Jimmy's house. Jimmy -wasn't in, and Appleby forgot, but a few days later -Jimmy came round to see the Head, and wanted ten -shillings for his duck. Took an affidavit that it would -have won prizes at a dog show anywhere. The Head, -who should have kicked him out, gave him five -shillings, and stopped it out of Appleby's pocket-money, -and Appleby went back to Jimmy's to ask for his duck. -Jimmy told him how nice it was, and that he'd eaten the -thing to save it going bad. That, I think, is -Q.E.D. Appleby."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby laughed softly. "You're not very far out, -but it wasn't the duck but the principle of the thing -that worried me," he said. "The one I shot was a -common one worth one-and-six, and I didn't even get -it, though when Jimmy took the money he sold it me. -Now I don't like to be cheated by anybody."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was a little laughter, for Appleby was known -to be tenacious of his rights.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It was better than a circus when he made the Aunt -Sally man fork out the cocoa-nuts he won," said -somebody.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said Appleby slowly, "it was right, and -sixpence has to go a long way with me. I don't get so -many of them as the rest of you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He slipped out of bed as he spoke, and there was -another rustle when Niven followed him, while a lad in -the cot nearest them sat up.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You haven't told us how you're going to get the -duck," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That," said Niven, "is going to be almost too easy. -I throw big stones on Jimmy's roof, and when he comes -out after me Appleby slips in and gets the duck. With -a little brains a fellow can do anything."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Next moment they were out in the dark corridor, and -Niven held his breath as they slipped past the half-open -door of a lighted room where the Head of the school -was busy making out the bills. The treatment at -Sandycombe was at least as firm as kind, and the -Head was known to have an unpleasantly heavy hand. -Nobody heard them, however, and in another minute -or two they were crawling about the dark passage -where Charley, the boy of all work, had laid out a long -row of boots. Niven, it was characteristic, took the -first pair that seemed to fit him, while Appleby went -up and down the row on his hands and knees, until his -comrade fancied he would never be ready. Then Niven -shoved up a window.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Get through while I hold it. There isn't any -sash-weight," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Then who's going to hold it for you?" said -Appleby. "There'll be no duck catching if it comes -down with a bang."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven growled disgustedly. "Your turn! I never -thought of that," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Then," said Appleby, "it's a good thing I did. Put -this piece of stick under it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was done, and they dropped into a flower bed, -slipped through the garden behind the hollies, across a -quaggy field, and came out into the road just beyond -the village. It was drizzling, and a bitter wind drove a -thin white mist past them. Niven stood still a moment -ankle-deep in mud, and glanced back towards the -lights of the village blinking through the haze.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It doesn't look quite so nice now, but we had better -go on," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby said nothing, but laughed a little as he -plodded on into the rain and mist, and, though the plan -was Niven's, this was typical of him. Appleby was not -very brilliant at either work or play, but he usually did -what he took in hand with a slow thoroughness that -occasionally carried him further than his comrade's -cleverness. He was also slow to begin a friendship or -make a quarrel, but those who drove him into the latter -usually regretted it, and his friends were good. Nobody -but Niven knew anything about his relations, while it was -but once in the term, somebody sent him a few shillings -for pocket money. Niven on the contrary could do -almost anything he wanted well, and came back each -term with several hampers and a big handful of silver -in his pocket.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's beastly cold, and one of these boots is coming -off. I'm not sure it's my own," he said. "It would be -a good joke for the other fellow if I lost it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It wouldn't be for me," said Appleby dryly. "If I -lost mine I would have to go home with you in my -stockings, but we'll have to get on faster than we're -doing."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They could scarcely see the hedgerows, and the mud -got deeper. Now and then a half-seen tree shook big -drops down on them as they went by, and there way a -doleful crying of wild fowl from a marsh not far away. -The drizzle also beat into their eyes, and Niven, who -felt distinctly sorry he had ever heard about the duck, -presently stopped altogether with his feet in a pool.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We could still go back, Tom," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No," said Appleby dryly. "I don't think we could, -though because I could manage it myself there's nothing -to stop you if you wanted to."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was not much mirth in Niven's laugh. "I'm -not very anxious, if you put it like that," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They went on again, getting rapidly wetter, until -Niven fell down as they clambered over a dripping stile. -"We're a pair of splay-footed asses, Tom," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby nodded. "Still, we'd be bigger ones if we -did nothing after all this. I wouldn't sit there in the -mud," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven scrambled to his feet, and presently they -crawled through a hedge into a rutted lane with the -lighted window of a cottage close in front of them, and -the radiance shone upon them as they stopped to glance -up and down. Appleby stood square and resolute with -decision in his face, and he was short and thick, with -long arms and broad shoulders. Niven shivered a little, -and leaned forwards turning his head this way and that -with quick, nervous movements. He was lithe and -light, with a graceful suppleness that was not seen in -his companion.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Tom," he said softly, "there aren't any stones. -Still, I could heave a lump of stiff mud through the -window, and that would fetch him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby shook his head. "There are tiles yonder, -and they would do as well," he said. "You see, we are -entitled to the duck, but Jimmy's window is another -thing. Give me a minute, and then begin."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He slipped away into the gloom of a hedge, and it -was evidently high time, for a dog commenced growling. -Niven felt very lonely as he stood still in the rain, but -the depression only lasted a moment or two, and in -another minute he had flung a big tile upon the -roof. When the second went banging and rattling -down the slates he raised a high-pitched howl.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Jimmy, come out," he said. "Come out, you -shuttle-toed clay stamper, and be a man."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was not kept waiting long. The door swung open -and a man stood out black against the light in the -opening. He was peering into the darkness, and -apparently grasped a good-sized stick, but when another -tile crashed against the low roof above his head he saw -the object deriding him in the mud.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Ellen, loose the dog," he said as he sprang forward.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven promptly darted up the lane, but there were -two things he had not counted on, and one of them was -the dog, for Jimmy had not kept one when they last -passed his cottage. The other was even more embarrassing, -for while Niven could run tolerably well on turf -in cricket shoes the deep sticky mud was different, and -one of the boots which were somebody else's would slip -up and down his foot. Still because Jimmy was not far -behind him, he did all he could, and was disgusted to find -that a tileworks labourer could run almost as well as he -did. Indeed, for the first Five minutes he had a horrible -suspicion that Jimmy was running better, but presently -it became evident that the splashing thud of heavy -boots grew no louder, and he saw that he was at least -maintaining his lead. Still, he could not shake off the -pursuer, and while he held on with clenched hands and -laboured breath an unfortunate thing happened. One -foot sank deep in a rut, Niven staggered, blundered -through another stride, and then rolled over in the grass -under a tall hedge. That was bad, but it was worse to -find that he had now only a stocking upon one foot. -Jimmy was also unpleasantly close, and Niven, seeing -he could not escape by flight, rolled a little further -beneath the hedge.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then he lay very still while the man came floundering -down the road, and held his breath when he stopped as -if to listen close beside him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The young varmint has made for the hedge gap," -gasped the man. "If I cut across to the stile I might -ketch him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He went on, and when his footsteps could no longer -be heard Niven crawled out and felt in the puddles for -the boot. It was not to be found, and rising with a -groan he worked round towards the back of the cottage. -The dog was growling all the time, and he could hear a -woman's voice as well as a rattle of chain, but presently -he saw a dark object gliding along beneath a hedge. -When he came up with it he noticed that Appleby had -something in his hand.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I've got it," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven looked at the object he held up. "It's very -quiet," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Of course!" said Appleby. "You wouldn't make -much noise without your head. Killing anything is -beastly, but there was a billhook handy. We've no -time for talking now. It's a good big dog."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They crossed a field, and Niven's shoeless foot did -not greatly embarrass him until they crawled through -a hedge into recent ploughing, while as they plodded -over it the growling of the dog drew nearer.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Come on!" gasped Appleby. "She has got him -loose at last."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The beast was close at hand when another hedge rose -up blackly against the sky before them, and Niven -swung off a little towards an oak that grew out of it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's a horrible brute, but it can't climb a tree. I'm -going for the oak," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby grasped his shoulder. "Jimmy could," he -said. "Go on, and try if you can pull one of those -stakes in the gap up."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In another minute Niven was tearing out a thick -stake, and felt a little happier when he saw the end of -it was sharpened, while Appleby had clawed up a big -clod of stiff clay from the ploughing.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He's only a cur, any way, and I think there's a stone -in it," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They could now dimly see the dog, and it was evident -that it saw them, for it stopped, and then commenced -to work round sideways in their direction, growling as -though a little disconcerted by their waiting.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's an ugly beast," said Niven, whose heart was in -his mouth. "It would get us if we ran."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We're not going to run," said Appleby quietly, -though his voice was a trifle hoarse. "Howl at him, -Chriss."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven commenced a discordant hissing, and the dog -growled more angrily. They could see it black -against the ploughing, and it looked very big. -Appleby was standing perfectly still with something held up -above his head, and drew back a pace when the brute -came creeping towards him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Here's something for you, Towser," he said, flinging -his arm up.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then a howl followed, and next moment Niven -was tearing up the clay, and hurling it in handfuls -after something that seemed fading in the dimness of -the field. When he could see it no longer he stood up -breathless.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We've beaten him," he gasped. "It's about time -we were going."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They went at once, and did not stop until they -reached the road, where Niven leaned against a gate, -and glanced down ruefully at his foot.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It wasn't so bad on the grass, but I don't know how -I'm going to get home now," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Put up your foot," said Appleby. "We'll tie our -handkerchiefs round it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was quick with his fingers, but when they turned -homewards Niven was not exactly happy. He was wet -and very muddy, while, as he afterwards observed, walking -a long way on one foot is not especially easy. It was -also raining steadily, and a little trickle from his soaked -cap ran down his shoulders, while the bare hedgerows -seemed to crawl back towards them very slowly. The -mud squelched and splashed underfoot, and there was -only the crying of the plover in the darkness.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I never fancied it was such a beastly long way to the -tileworks," he said as he limped on painfully.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At last when the knotted handkerchief hurt his foot -horribly a light or two blinked faintly through the rain, -and presently they plodded into the silent village. -Nobody seemed to see them, the window they had -slipped out of was still open, and crawling in they went up -the stairway and along the corridor on tiptoe with the -water draining from them. Niven had expected to find -his comrades asleep, and was too wet and dispirited to -wish to waken them, but there was a murmur of -sympathy when he crept in.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I wouldn't be you," said somebody. "The Head -came in to ask how many panes in the greenhouse -Nettleton had broken, and he saw you were away."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And he came back, and threatened to keep the -whole of us here to-morrow, if we didn't tell him where -you were," said another lad. "It was very nice of you -to let us all into lumber."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Did you tell him?" asked Appleby.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Of course!" said a third speaker sardonically. "It's -just what we would do. I'll thank you for that -to-morrow, and I'd get up now only the Head would hear -us, and he's breathing slaughter."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Tearing around," said Bluey the Nova Scotian. -"Cutlasses and pistols, and the magazine open! You -know the kind of thing you're fond of reading."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven, who was tired out, groaned. As he told his -comrades afterwards he had enjoyed himself sufficiently -already, and one wanted to brace up before a visit from -the Head.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What are we going to do, Tom?" he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby laughed softly. "I'm going straight to bed," -he said. "The Head's busy, and there mayn't be -anything very dreadful if he sends Pearson."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was undressed in another two minutes, and as -Niven crept into bed somebody said, "Did you get the -duck?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We did," said Niven solemnly. "And be hanged to -it! That's enough for you or anybody, and don't worry -me. I want to be asleep when the Head comes."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You needn't be afraid he'll mind waking you," said -another lad. "I'd rolled up my jacket, so it looked just -like Appleby's big head, and when he saw it wasn't, he -got speechless mad."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Ten minutes passed, and Niven was just feeling a -little warm again when there were footsteps in the -corridor. They drew nearer, and with a little gasp of -dismay he swung himself out of and then under his bed. -A swish and a rustle told him that Appleby had followed -his example, and a voice from under the adjoining cot -said, "He'll go away again if he doesn't find us, and we -may tire him out before the morning."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Next moment the door was opened, and while a light -shone in somebody said, "Asleep, of course, all of you! -Have Niven and Appleby returned yet?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven, glancing out from under his cot, saw a robust -elderly gentleman holding a candle above him, while he -swung what looked like a horse girth suggestively in his -other hand, but a snore answered the master's question, -and he laughed unpleasantly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We have had sufficient nonsense," he said. "You -can either tell me at once where your comrades went, or -improve your memories by writing lines the rest of the -night."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Here and there a sleepy object sat up on a bed, but -there was still no answer, and the head of Sandycombe -School tapped his foot impatiently on the flooring.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm not in a mood for trifling, boys," he said. "You -have another minute to decide in, and nobody in this -room will go home to-morrow if you do not tell me -then."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was for several seconds a silence that could be -felt, and though all of those who heard him knew the -head of the school would keep his word, nobody spoke. -Then there was a rustle under a bed, and Niven caught -a low murmur, "Keep still. If he get's one of us he'll -forget the other."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Next moment Appleby was speaking louder. "I'm -here, sir," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The master lowered his candle as something wriggled -out from under the cot, and then swung up the strap -when Appleby stood very straight before him in his -night gear.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Where is Niven? It was you who took him away?" -he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, sir," said Appleby. "I did, but he came back -all right."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Very good!" said the master. "You seem to be -proud of it. Hold out your hand."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby glanced at him, and did not move for a -second or two while he thought rapidly. He did not -like what he saw in his master's eyes, and now he had -delivered his comrades it was time to shift for himself. -He and Niven were leaving school early on the morrow, -and he fancied he might escape if he could tide through -the next ten minutes, because the head of the school -had a good deal to attend to on the last night. The -door was also open, and not far away, the candle was -flickering in the draughts, and swinging suddenly round -he darted for the opening. He was, however, a second -too late, for the great strap came down swishing, and -coiled about his shoulders, but he was in the corridor -before it rose again, and making for the head of a short -stairway. The master, however, seemed to be gaining -on him, and Appleby fancied he heard the swish of the -strap when a yard away from the first step. One taste -had been sufficient, and bracing every sinew he went -down in a flying leap. As he alighted there was a -thud and a crash, and the candle suddenly went out. -Still, nobody fell down the stairway, and surmising -that the pursuer missing him with the strap had driven -the candle against the wall, Appleby did not wait for -a recall but went on, and into the great, dark -schoolroom underneath. There he listened until heavy -footsteps overhead seemed to indicate that the master -had gone back to his room, when creeping up another -stairway, he regained the opposite end of the corridor -through a class-room. In another few minutes he had -crawled back into his bed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Does it hurt, Tom?" said Niven sympathetically. -"I'm owing you a good deal for this, but I know you -don't like that kind of talk—and did you forget the -duck?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby laughed softly, partly to check the groan, for -there was a horrible tingling round his shoulders.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I've had a lighter tap, but I've got the duck. It's -here under the bed," he said.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="out-of-dock"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER II</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">OUT OF DOCK</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Appleby went home with Niven next morning, as -he had done once or twice before, for he had no home -to go to, or relations who seemed anxious to invite him -anywhere. Mr. Niven was a prosperous Liverpool -merchant who had, however, made his own way in the -world, and he and his wife had taken a liking to the -quiet, friendless lad. Chriss Niven also wrote to his -mother every week, and, though Appleby did not know -this, had mentioned more than one difficulty out of -which his comrade had pulled him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was a week later when Appleby, who had slipped -away from the rest, sat somewhat moodily in a corner of -a little ante-room opening out of a large one that was -brilliantly lighted. The chords of a piano rang through -the swish of dresses, patter of feet, and light-hearted -laughter, for it was Mrs. Niven's birthday, and she had -invited her son's and daughter's friends to assist in -its celebration. Appleby was fond of music, and he -drummed with his fingers on the arm of his chair, and -now and then glanced wistfully towards the doorway.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Under the glances of bright eyes that seemed to -find his clumsiness amusing, and amidst the dainty -dresses, he had grown horribly conscious that his clothes -were old and somewhat shabby. The fact had not -troubled him before, but he had never been brought -into contact with pretty girls of his own age hitherto.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven, however, always looked well, and Appleby -sighed once or twice as he watched him, and found it -hard not to envy him. Chriss could do everything well, -and he was to sail south in a great iron merchant ship -by and by. Appleby had lived beside the warm tropic -sea in his childhood and had loved it ever since, but -now, when the sight of the blue uniform of his friend -stirred up the old longing so that his eyes grew almost -dim, he knew that he was to begin a life of distasteful -drudgery in an office. Presently Mr. Niven, who had a -lean face and keen dark eyes, came in.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"All alone, Tom. Have the girls frightened you?" -he said with a smile.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, sir," said Appleby quietly, "you see, when I -tried to turn over the music for Miss Lester I couldn't -quite guess the right time and it only worried her, -while it didn't seem much use to stand about in -everybody's way. I'm going back when they start a game."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Niven nodded, for the unembarrassed gravity of -the answer pleased him. "That's right. There's very -little use in pretending one can do things when one -can't," he said. "And you are going into business, eh! -I fancy, however, that Chriss told me you wanted to go to -sea."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes," said Appleby with a reluctance that did not -escape the listener. "Still, it seems all the owners ask -a good big premium, and of course there is nobody to -lend me the money. The little my father left was -spent on my education, and my guardian writes me that -he has heard of an office where I could earn enough to -keep me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"How did you know they wanted a premium?" -asked Mr. Niven.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Because I went round all the shipowners' offices I -could find in the directory, sir," said Appleby.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The merchant nodded gravely to hide his astonishment. -"Your father died abroad, and your mother -too?" he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, sir," said Appleby quietly. "At Singapore. I -can only just remember them. I was sent back to -England when I was very young—and never saw either -of them again."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Niven noticed the self-control in the lad's face as -well as the slight tremble in his voice which would not -be hidden. It was also if somewhat impassive a brave -young face, and there was a steadiness that pleased him -in the grave, grey eyes, he wished his own son looked -as capable of facing the world alone.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And you would still like to go to sea? It is a very -hard life," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby smiled. "Isn't everything a little hard, sir, -when you have no friends or money?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said Mr. Niven dryly, "it not infrequently is, -and I found it out at your age, though not many -youngsters do. Who taught it you?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby looked a trifle confused. "I," he said slowly, -"don't quite know—but it seems to make things a little -easier now. Of course I did want to go to sea, but I -know it's out of the question."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The merchant looked at him curiously. "You will -probably be very thankful by and by, but hadn't you -better go back to the others? We'll have a talk again."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby went out to take part in a game, and Mr. Niven -sat looking straight before him thoughtfully until -his wife came in.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"They are getting on excellently, and I am glad the -affair is a success, because it is difficult to please young -people now-a-days, and I want Chriss to have only -pleasant memories to carry away with him," she said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She glanced towards the doorway with a little wistfulness -in her eyes as Chriss passed by holding himself -very erect while a laughing girl glanced up at him, and -Mr. Niven guessed her thoughts.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It will be his own fault if he hasn't," he said with -a smile. "It was, however, the other lad I was thinking of."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Niven sat down and gazed at the fire for almost -a minute reflectively. "You have had an answer from -that relative of his?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The merchant nodded. "To-day," he said. "He is -evidently not disposed to do much for the lad, and has -found him an opening in the office of a very third-rate -firm. Appleby does not like the prospect, and from -what I know of his employers I can sympathize with him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He has no other friends. I asked him," said Mrs. Niven. -"Jack, I can't help thinking we owe a good -deal to that lad, and you know I am fond of him. He -has always taken Chriss's part at Sandycombe, and you -will remember he thrashed one of the bigger boys who -had been systematically ill-using him. Then there was -another little affair the night before they left the -school. Chriss told Millicent, though he didn't mention -it to me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Nor to me," said Mr. Niven. "A new, senseless -trick, presumably?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The lady smiled a little as she told the story of -Jimmy's duck. "The point is that the plan was -Chriss's, but when they were found out Appleby took -the punishment," she said. "Now I scarcely fancy -every lad would have done that, or have been sufficiently -calm just then to remember that the master, who -it seems was very busy, would probably be content -when he had laid his hands on one of them. It was -also a really cruel blow he got."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Did he tell you?" said Mr. Niven dryly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No," said the lady. "That was what pleased me, -because though I tried to draw him out about it he -would tell me nothing, but a night or two ago I -remembered there were some of his things that wanted -mending. The lad has very few clothes, but he is shy -and proud, and I fancied I could take what I wanted -away and replace it without him noticing. Well, he -was fast asleep, and I couldn't resist the temptation of -stooping over him. His pyjama jacket was open, and I -could see the big, purple weal that ran right up to his -neck."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If he knew, he would never forgive you," said Mr. Niven -with a little laugh. "But what did they do -with the duck? Chriss would certainly have forgotten it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Appleby brought it away, and gave it to some poor -body in Chester," said Mrs. Niven.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That was the one sensible part of the whole affair, -but I want to know why you told me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said the lady slowly, "you know he wants to -go to sea, and I feel sure his relative would be only too -glad to get rid of him. Now it wouldn't be very -difficult for you to get him a ship almost without a -premium."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A ship?" said Mr. Niven with a little smile.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes," said the lady. "Chriss's ship. Chriss -is—well, you know he is just a trifle thoughtless."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I fancy you mean spoiled," said her husband. -"Still, as usual, you are right. It is quite probable -that Chriss will want somebody with a little sense -behind him. Going to sea in a merchant ship is a -very different kind of thing from what he believes it is."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Niven sighed. "Of course. Still, about Appleby?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said her husband smiling, "I think I could -tell you more when I have had a talk with the owners -to-morrow."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He nodded as he went away, and it was next afternoon -when he sat talking with an elderly gentleman in -a city office.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We would of course be willing to take a lad you -recommended," said the latter. "Still, I was not -altogether pleased to hear that my partner had promised -to put your son into the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span>."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No?" said Mr. Niven with a twinkle in his eyes. -"Now I fancied you would have been glad of the -opportunity of obliging me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The other man looked thoughtful. "To be frank, I -would sooner have had the son of somebody we carried -less goods for," said he. "With the steamers beating -us everywhere we have to run our ships economically, -and get the most out of our men, and I accordingly -fancy that while it would not have made him as good a -seaman, your son would have been a good deal more -comfortable as one of the new cadet apprentices on -board a steamer."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Niven smiled dryly. "I have no great wish to -make my lad a seaman. The fact is, there's a tolerably -prosperous business waiting for him, but in the -meanwhile he will go to sea, and it seems to me that the -best thing I can do is to let him. He will probably be -quite willing to listen to what I have to tell him after -a trip or two, and find out things I could never teach -him on board your vessel."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said the shipowner with a little laugh, "it -is often an effective cure as well as a rough one."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Niven left the office with a document in his -pocket, and on Christmas morning Appleby found a big, -blue envelope upon his breakfast plate.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I wonder what is inside it," said Mrs. Niven.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby sighed. "It has a business appearance," he -said. "It will be to tell me when I'm to go to the -office."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Hadn't you better open it?" said Mrs. Niven with -a glance at her husband, and there was silence while -Appleby tore open the envelope. Then the colour -crept into his face, and his fingers trembled as he took -out a document.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I can't understand it," he said. "This seems to be -an apprentice's commission—indentures—for me. The -ship is the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span>."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was a howl of delight from Chriss, and a rattle -as he knocked over his coffee, but Appleby sat still, -staring at the paper, while belief slowly replaced the -wonder in his eyes. Then he rose up, and his voice -was not even as he said, "It is real. I am to go in the -</span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span>. I have to thank you, sir, for this?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Niven laughed. "No, my lad," he said. "It -was my wife's doing, and if you are sorry by and by -you will have her to blame."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby turned to the lady, and his eyes were shining. -"It's almost too much," he said. "Chriss and I -are going together. It is everything I could have hoped -for."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Niven smiled, though there was a little flush in -her face. "Sit down and get your breakfast before -Chriss goes wild and destroys all the crockery," she said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Chriss laughed uproariously. "Crockery!" he said. -"If we'd been at Sandycombe we'd have smashed every -pane in the Head's conservatory. Tom, it's—oh, it's -jim-bang, blazing, glorious!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>That was the happiest Christmas Appleby had ever -spent, and he remembered it many a time afterwards -when he kept his lonely watch peering into the bitter -night from plunging forecastle and spray-swept bridge, -or while he clung to the slanted topsail yard clawing at -the canvas that banged above him in the whirling snow.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then, when he knew the reality, he could smile a -little at his boyish dream, but that day he only felt -his blood tingle and every fibre in him thrill in answer -to the calling of the sea. He was English, and the -spirit which had from the beginning of his nation's -history driven out hero and patriot, as well as -cutthroat slaver and privateer, to scorch, and freeze, and -suffer, do brave things, and some that were shameful, -too, and with it all keep the red flag flaunting high in -symbol of sovereignty, was in him also. All that day -shield-ringed galley, caravel, towering three-decker, -steel-sheathed warship, and ugly cargo tramp sailed -through his visions, and they had for a background -palms and coral beaches, mountains rolled in snow -cloud, and the blink of frozen seas. They and their -crews' story were a part of his inheritance, because, -although the times have changed and canvas is giving -place to steam, English lads have not forgotten, and the -sea is still the same.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby, however, had commenced to realize that -going to sea is not all luxury when he stood on the -</span><em class="italics">Aldebaran's</em><span> sloppy deck one bleak morning in February. -It was drizzling, and the light was dimmed by a smoky -haze, while the ship was foul all over with black grime -from the coaling staithes and the dust that had blown -across her from a big elevator hurling up Indian wheat. -It was also very raw, and Niven's face was almost -purple with the cold, while the moisture glistened on -his new uniform. A few bedraggled women and a -cluster of dripping men stood on the dock wall above -them. Other men tumbled dejectedly about the -forecastle, falling over the great wet hawsers, -while one or two who had crawled out of the mate's -sight lay rather more than half-asleep in the shadow -beneath it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A grey-haired man with a sour face paced up and -down the poop, raising one hand now and then when a -dock official shouted, while Appleby sprang aside when -another man he spoke to came down the poop-ladder -and along the deck in long, angry strides. He wore a -woolly cloth cap, knee-boots, and a very old pilot-coat, -and he had a big, coarse face, with heavy jawbone and -cruel eyes. Still, the very way he put his feet down -denoted strength, and Appleby noticed the depth of his -chest and the spread of his shoulders. Niven, who -had not seen him, did not move in time, and the man -flung him backwards.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Out of the way!" he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven's face was flushed when he recovered his -balance, and there was an angry flash in his eyes -as he watched the man plunge into the shadow below -the forecastle. In another moment several figures -came scrambling out of it, and went up the ladder -as for their lives, with the man in the pilot-coat close -behind.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If that's the new mate he looks more like a prize-fighter -than a sailor," said Niven. "How does he strike -you, Tom?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I think he's a brute," said Appleby quietly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They said nothing further, for that was their first -acquaintance with the under-side of life at sea, and -their thoughts were busy, while in another minute the -mate looking in their direction signed to them, and it -did not appear advisable to keep a man of his kind -waiting.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Give these beasts a hand," he said when they stood -among the seamen on the sloppy forecastle. "You -can't be more useless than they are, anyway."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven stooped, and clawed disgustedly at the great -wet hawser behind the swaying men, and one of them, -who was dark-haired and sallow, glanced over his -shoulder when the mate swung away.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah, </span><em class="italics">cochon</em><span>!" he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Another, who had tow-hair, stood up and stretched -his stalwart limbs. "Der peeg! Oh, yes. Dot vas -goot," he said. "I tink der vas some troubles mit dot -man soon."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A little man with high cheek bones and curious -half-closed eyes loosed his grasp upon the rope and laughed -softly. He also said something to himself, but as it -was Finnish neither Appleby nor Niven were much -the wiser.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It, however, occurred to them that the language -they had listened to was not quite what one would -have expected to hear on board an English ship. -There were a few Englishmen on board her, but they -did not talk, and for the most part leaned up against -anything handy, or slouched aimlessly about looking -very unfit for work, which was not altogether astonishing -considering the fashion in which they had spent the -previous night.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Still the hawser was paid out at last, and Appleby -stood up breathless, smeared with slime and coal-dust -when the ropes astern fell with a splash, and there was -a hoot from the bustling little tug. Somebody roared -out orders on the quay above, paddles splashed, and the -lad felt his heart give a curious little throb as the -</span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span> slowly commenced to move. She was a big -iron barque loaded until her scuppers amidships were -apparently only a foot or two from the scum of the dock.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He stood forward behind the maze of wire rope -about the jibboom, which was not yet run out, on the -forecastle, but just below him this broke off, and the -deck ran aft sunk almost a man's height between -the iron bulwarks to the raised poop at the opposite end -of the ship. Half-way between stood a little iron -house, and down the middle of the deck rose the three -great masts, the last and smallest of them, springing -from the poop. Behind it a man in shining oilskins -was spinning the wheel. The deck looked very long -and filthy, for the wheat-dust and the coal-dust were -over everything, and bales, and boxes, and cases strewn -amidst the straggling lengths of rope.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then he heard a fresh shouting, and saw that the -bowsprit was already raking through the open gate of -the dock, and there were faces smiling down on him -from the wall above.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Chriss," he said, "look up."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven did, and Appleby swung his cap off when a -hoarse and somewhat spiritless cheer went up. -Mr. Niven was shouting something he could not catch, -Mrs. Niven was smiling down at them with misty eyes, -and the very pretty girl at her side waving a -handkerchief.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby glanced at his comrade out of the corner of -his eyes and saw that Chriss's face had grown unusually -red. Still, he was shouting lustily, and swinging his -cap, while in the silence that followed the cheer a -hoarse voice rose up—</span></p> -<blockquote> -<div> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span>Blow the men down,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>Blow the men down,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>Oh, give us time</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>To blow the men down.</span></div> -<div class="line"> </div> -</div> -</div> -</blockquote> -<p class="pfirst"><span>There was another scream from the whistle, and a -roar from the mate, and while the last ropes were cast -off the two lads ran aft along the deck. Paddles -splashed, ropes slid through the water, and while the -red ensign thrice swung up and sank above their heads -the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span> slid out into the Mersey. Once more -the voices rang out hoarsely in farewell, and then while -the groups on the quay grew blurred and dim they -were sliding away with the ebb-tide into the haze and -rain. Niven looked astern until the speck of waving -handkerchief was lost to him, and then turned to -Appleby with a little gulp.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's the last of them!" he said. "They're going -back to dinner, and we—now I wonder what we're -going to out there."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He pointed vaguely with a hand that shook a little -across the dismal slate-grey waters beyond the -bows, but Appleby understood him, for it was the -unknown that was filled as yet with great and alluring -possibilities the jibboom pointed to. Yet deep down -within him he felt as Niven did, a regret and a yearning -after the things he had left behind. It was very -cold and wet on the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran's</em><span> deck.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="down-channel"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER III</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">DOWN CHANNEL</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The first day at sea is seldom very pleasant to -anybody, especially on board a sailing ship, and the one -the lads had looked forward with bright hopes to, -dragged by dismally. For an hour or two painted -buoy and rolling red lightship came crawling back -towards them out of the rain, and then when the last -of the Lancashire sandhills had faded over their -starboard hand, there was only smoky cloud before them -and a grey sea, across which little white ripples -splashed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Still, the tug was powerful and hauled them steadily -along with a rhythmical splash and tinkle at the bows -that rose and fell a little, and a muddy wake streaked -with froth astern. Once or twice they caught a blink -of the hills of Wales, but the vapours that unrolled a -trifle closed in again, and the lads were glad they had -not much opportunity for looking about them. There -were huge ropes to be coiled up and stowed away, -bales and cases to be put below, the jibboom to be -rigged out, decks washed and everything cleaned down, -and while the drizzle blew about them they stumbled -amidst the litter and got in everybody's way. Now -and then a seaman laughed at them or another growled. -One or two they offered to assist shoved them aside, -and it commenced to dawn upon Chriss Niven for the -first time that he was of very little use in the busy -world. The knowledge was not pleasant, but it was -probably good for him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then the daylight died out, and while now and then -coloured lights crept up ahead and grew dim again -behind, one after another long streamers of brilliance -whirled up across the sea. They, too, grew brighter, -flashed, and blinked, and flickered, and faded away, and -Appleby grew more chilly when he could find nothing -more to do, until at last he sighed with contentment -when somebody told him to go into the deckhouse if he -wanted any tea.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When he entered it he saw a lamp that smoked a -good deal swinging from a blackened iron beam, and -two lads a little older than himself sitting on their -sea-chests with enamelled plates on their knees, and a -great can of steaming tea before them. They were just -out of port, and having brought their own things they -feasted for once royally on fresh bread and butter, -sardines and marmalade. One of them who had a -pleasant face filled up Niven's pannikin, and pointed to -the bread.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Wire in. You'll not have the chance very long," -he said. "It's your job to go to the galley and bring -the senna in, but we have let you off this time. I'd -take those things you're wearing off, if I was you. We -don't dress like gunboat commanders on board the -</span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span>."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You brought this grub yourselves. They don't -feed you very well," said Appleby, and the others -laughed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No," said one. "None of the </span><em class="italics">Aldebarans</em><span> would -get a prize at a cattle show, and you'd be glad to steal -the dog's dinner in a week or two, only we haven't -got one. You see a dog can't live on nothing as we're -almost expected to do, and the old man's too mean to -waste food on anything that can't handle sail."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What's he like apart from his stinginess?" asked -Niven.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said one of the others, "I have sailed with -worse—a little—but the old man don't count for very -much, anyway, because it's the mate who runs the ship, -and the one we've got now's a terror."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He's a pig-faced Geordie with a tiger's heart. I'd -sooner live with a shark," said a lad who sat in a -corner. "Hadn't been out two hours when he pitched -one of the fellows forward down the hold. Of course it -was tolerably full, and he didn't fall very far."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What did the man do?" asked Appleby.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Crawled away out of sight, and went to sleep—of -course," said the first speaker; "none of them will be -much good until to-morrow, but there'll be a circus or -two on board this packet before we fetch Vancouver."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was not very encouraging, but it was evident that -they must make the best of it, and Appleby solaced -himself with a long draught from his pannikin. The -tea was hot and sweet at least, though there was very -little else to recommend it, and it and the crumbly -bread that tore beneath the knife put a little warmth -and vigour into him. There was very little of the loaf -left when all were contented, and following the example -of the others, he and Niven crawled into their shelf-like -bunks. Appleby flung off his jacket only because -Lawson the eldest lad warned him that he might be -wanted at any moment, but though his clothes were -wet and his straw mattress might have been more cosy, -he was glad to feel the warmth begin to creep back -into his chilled limbs. The lamp creaked dolefully -above him as it swung to and fro, casting a brightness -that flickered and vanished on the brass of the ports. -Moisture stood beaded on the iron beams, and the -wooden floor was wet, while now and then one of the -big sea-chests groaned as it moved a little. Nothing -was quite what Appleby had expected, but he did not -think there was anything to be gained by mentioning -it, and his eyes were growing dim when a shout roused -him. Lawson was out of his berth in a moment and -struggling into a black oilskin.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You should have had yours handy, but you'll have -to turn out without it. They're getting sail on to her," -hee said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It seemed very black and cold when Appleby went -out into the rain again. The wind had evidently -freshened, and sang through the maze of cordage above -him with a doleful wailing, while as he peered into the -darkness a burst of bitter spray beat into his eyes. It -was almost a minute before he could see again, and -then he made out the reeling lights of the tug with a -row of paler ones behind them, and not far away a -great whirling blaze.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's the Skerries," said Lawson, who appeared at -his elbow. "Yonder's Holyhead. Wind's freshening -out of the south-east, and she'll about fetch Tuskar on -a close jam down channel."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby did not understand very much of this, but -he had little time to wonder as to its meaning, for the -mate went by just then, and Lawson vanished into the -darkness when his voice rang out, "Fore and main -topsails. Forward there, loose the jibs."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Dark objects went by at a floundering run, and -Appleby followed some of them to the foremost shrouds -which ran spreading out with the rattlings across them -from the lower mast-head to the rail. He had swung -himself up on to it, and was glancing down at the -leaping foam below, when somebody grabbed him by the -arm, and next moment he was staggering across the deck.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You'll go up there when you're told," the mate's -voice said. "We want a good deal more work out of -you before you're drowned."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He's a pig," said Niven, appearing close by, and -then sank back into the shadow when a big hand -reached out in his direction, while presently the two -found themselves pulling and hauling amidst a group -of swaying figures about the foot of the foremast. It -ran up into the darkness black and shadowy, and dark -figures were crawling out on the long yard above them -that stretched out into the night, while there was a -groaning and rattling that drowned the wailing of the -wind.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Gantlines!" said somebody. "A pull on the lee-sheet. -Overhaul your clew," and black folds of canvas -blew out and banged noisily above them. Then while -the men chanted something as they rose and fell, the -flapping folds slowly straightened out, and Niven -looking up saw the topsail stretch into a great shadowy -oblong. Then the men upon its yard seemed to claw -at the next one, and there was more banging and -thrashing as it rose, while the tug's whistle hooted, and -hoarse shouts fell from the darkness and mingled with -those from the poop.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Forward," roared somebody. "Get the jibs on to her."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Neither Niven nor Appleby knew whether this -referred to them or what they were expected to do, -but there was nobody to tell them, so they followed -two men forward, and stood panting a moment on the -forecastle. It was rising and falling sharply now, for a -long swell was running up channel, and they could -dimly see a man crawling out upon the jibboom. This -time they did not attempt to follow him, and when -somebody drove them down the ladder a figure in -oilskins thrust a rope into their hands.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Hang on while I sweat it up," it said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby did not understand the manoeuvre, but -when the man caught the rope beneath a pin and -they took up the slack he gave them at every backward -swing, a long triangular strip of canvas ceased -banging, and the lads felt they were doing something -useful when presently a second one rose into the -blackness. Then they stood gasping, and watched -the lights of the tug slide by. They could see the -white froth from her paddles and the rise and fall of -the black hull, while the voice of her skipper came -ringing across the water.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Good voyage!" he said. "You'll fetch Tuskar -without breaking tack."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The tug went by, and Niven set his lips when with -a farewell hoot of her whistle she vanished into the -blackness astern. She was going back to Liverpool, -and would be there before the morrow, while when -another day crept out of the rain he would be only -so much farther from home. He was not exactly -sorry he had come, but by no means so sure that -the sea was the only calling for Englishmen as he -had been. Then the bulwarks they leaned upon -lurched beneath them, and he was sensible that -Appleby was speaking.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She's starting now. Look at her. This is good, -after all," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven looked, and saw that black tiers of canvas -had clothed the masts, though their upper portions -still projected above it. They were also slanting, and -the deck commenced to slope beneath him, while the -long iron hull took on life and motion. There was -a roar beneath the bows which rose and fell with a -leisurely regularity, a swing and dip of the sloppy deck, -and the spray began to blow in little stinging clouds -over the forecastle. The wind also grew sharper, and -at last Niven laughed excitedly as he felt the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span> -sweep away faster and faster into the night.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, yes," he said. "Now one can forget the other -things."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She's lying up close," said Lawson, who came by. -"Still, I'm glad the old man doesn't want the topgallants -on her yet. Those are the next higher sails, and she's -a very wet ship when you drive her. Look out. She's -beginning her capers now."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As he spoke the bows dipped sharply, and from the -weather side of the forecastle a cloud of spray whirled -up. It blew in long wisps to leeward, struck with a -patter along the rail, and before Niven, whose face was -streaming, could shake himself, a rush of very cold -water sluiced past him ankle-deep. Then the long -hull heaved beneath him, and lurched forward faster -still.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm wetter than I was when we found Jimmy's -duck, but this is great. She's just tearing through -it," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As he spoke a sing-song cry came out of the spray -that whirled about the dipping forecastle, "Steamer's -masthead light to starboard, sir."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby, glancing over his right hand, saw a blink of -yellow radiance beyond the swelling curves of the jibs. -It was rising higher rapidly, and while he watched it, -a speck of green flickered out beneath. Then a -deep, organ-toned booming broke through the -humming of the wind, and he saw a dark figure which he -fancied was the mate swing up and down the poop, -and another behind it stand rigid at the wheel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"One of the Liverpool mailboats doing twenty knots, -and it isn't any wonder their skippers are nervous when -they meet a sailing-ship coming down channel," said -Lawson at his side.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then somebody gave an order on the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran's</em><span> -poop, and though it was not the usual one, any English -sailor would have understood it. As it happened, -however, the man who held the wheel was not a Briton, -and next moment Appleby felt the ship swing round -a trifle.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Jimminy!" gasped Lawson. "The Dutchman's -going to ram us right across her."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Next moment there was a bewildering roar from the -whistle, and ringed about with lights the great bulk of -the liner sprang out of the night. Towering high with -her long rows of deckhouses punctured with specks of -brilliancy and her two great funnels black against the -sky, she was apparently heading straight for them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby saw all this in a second while he held his -breath, and then there was a scuffle on the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran's</em><span> -poop. Somebody sprang towards the wheel, there was -a thud, and a man reeled away from it, while high up -in the darkness, canvas banged as the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span> once -more swerved a trifle. As she did so a man came -staggering down the poop ladder, and with the white -froth seething about her the liner swept by. Appleby -gasped, and felt that he was shaking, while he saw that -Lawson's face was a trifle white by the yellow glow -that came out of one of the poop windows.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then there was a roaring of orders, rattle of blocks, -and hauling at ropes, and a curious silence by contrast -when the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span> swung forward with a springy -lurch again, and Appleby saw the man who had come -down the ladder, sitting apparently half-dazed upon -the deck. His face was bleeding.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Der port und der starboard I know. Also der -loof, and keep her away, but der pinch her up I know -not, und now I am very seeck," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I shouldn't wonder if he was," said Lawson dryly. -"Still, though that's how accidents happen, it wasn't -the stupid beggar's fault he didn't understand pinch -her up. The old man wanted him to screw her a -little nearer the wind, and luff, or a little higher -would have been the usual thing."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Pinch!" said the seaman. "I not know him, but -oop I hear, und I oop mit him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And he'd have slung us across the liner's bows -if the mate hadn't been too quick for him," said -Lawson. "The fellow's head must be made of iron -or that smack would have killed him. Well, these -things will happen when you're fresh from port."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby and Niven were glad to crawl into their -berths again when the watch was over, and neither -of them said anything, though that was not because -they were not thinking. It was evident that going -to sea was not quite all they had fancied it would -be, and they had an unpleasant recollection of the -Dutchman's bleeding face, and other tokens of the -mate's temper. Still, they were tired and drowsy, -and in another few minutes Appleby was sleeping -too soundly even to dream of slavers and pirates as -he had not infrequently done at Sandycombe. Niven, -however, tossed and groaned, for his head was hot, and -everything seemed to be spinning round, but at last -the blinking light faded, and slumber banished the -distressful nausea that tormented him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was a greyness low down to the eastwards -when, swathed in streaming oilskins now, they stood -where there was a little shelter beneath the weather-rail -next morning. It was raining heavily, but the -sky was no longer covered by the smoky haze, and -here and there a patch of pale indigo showed between -the streaks of driving cloud. The lads could see the -white-flecked sea tops heave against it, and the rows -of straining staysails, and great oblongs of the topsails -across the masts, sharp and black above them as if cut -out of ebony. They were not, however, especially -interested in anything just then, for the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span> was -pitching close-hauled into a short head sea, and -Appleby felt unpleasantly dizzy. Niven also clung -very tightly to the rail, and his face, so far as it -could be seen, was of a curious greyish-green, while he -gasped each time the barque dipped her nose viciously -and sent a cloud of spray blowing all over her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then for some ten minutes there was a deluge which -blotted everything out, and they could only hear the -roar of the rain. It ceased suddenly, and was followed -by a great whirling of cloud, while the streaks of blue -grew larger, and the topsails became grey instead of -black as the light came through. The wind had also -almost gone, but Appleby could see the figure of a -man upon the poop with his head turned aft as though -looking for something. In another minute he stood -at the top of the ladder shouting orders, and the deck -was suddenly dotted with scrambling men. They -gathered in little groups about the feet of the masts -and along the rail, and became busy flinging down -coils of rope. Somebody shoved one into Niven's -hands, and he and Appleby hauled among the rest -as the long yards swung round until they were square -across the vessel, and then pointed a trifle towards -the other side of her. There was a banging and -rattling overhead as the staysails came down, and a -man laughed when the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span> lay rolling in a -momentary calm.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's not easy to pull a Geordie's tail when he's -asleep," he said. "And you'd better go round the other -road if he has a fancy you've got a bone."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven understood the speech was a compliment to -the mate's watchfulness. "What is he making us do -this for?" he asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said the seaman good-humouredly, "you'll -find out these things by and by. Now we were working -down channel close-hauled with the wind south-east -over our port bow, but it has dropped away with the -rain. The mate doesn't wait to see if another one will -catch us with topsails aback, because he smells it -coming, and it will be screaming behind us out of the -north-west presently."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As he spoke one of the topsails swelled out, flapped -and banged, then other great oblongs of canvas ceased -their rustling too, and a flash of brilliant green swept -athwart the sea. A patch of brass blinked in the -sudden brightness, the rigging commenced to hum, and -the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span> moved, while once more the hoarse -voice rose from the poop.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Topgallants," it said, and then after a string of words -Niven could not catch, "Main royal."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Instantly there was a bustle. Men went up the -shrouds, swung high on the yards, letting little coils of -rope run down, and a third big tier of sailcloth swelled -out on either mast. Chain rattled, running wire -screamed, the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span> ceased rolling, and Appleby -could see the sea smitten into white smoke rush past -while he endeavoured to shake the kinks out of very -hard and swollen rope. In the meanwhile the voice -rose from the poop again, and when he had time to -look about him two great pyramids of sail with a -third of different shape behind covered the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span> -from the last feet of her mastheads to her spray-swept -rail.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then Appleby drew in his breath with a little gasp -of wonder and delight. The towering tiers of canvas -that gleamed a silvery grey now were rushing as fast as -the clouds that followed them across blue lakes of sky. -The great iron hull had become an animate thing, for -there was life in every swift upward lurch and easy -swing, and when he saw the foam that roared away in -ample folds about the bows unite again astern and -swirl straight back athwart the flashing green towards -the horizon he realized for a few moments all the -exhilaration of swift motion.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Presently, however, he was sensible of a horrible -qualm under his belt, and looked at his hands with a -little groan—one of them was bleeding from the rasp -of the ropes, and the other swollen and more painful -than if it had been beaten. He stood still for another -second or two endeavouring to convince himself that -there was nothing unusual going on inside him, and -then staggered dizzily to the leeward rail. He found -Niven there already, and for the next few minutes -two very unhappy lads gazed down at the foam that -whirled and roared beneath them as the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span> -swept out from the narrow seas before the brave -north-wester.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="a-lesson-in-seamanship"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER IV</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">A LESSON IN SEAMANSHIP</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>It was a fine Sunday, and the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span> rolling -southwards lazily over a dazzling sea when Niven and -Appleby lay on the warm deck with their shoulders -against the house listening to Lawson who sat in the -doorway reading. Pleasant draughts flickered about -them as the warm wind flowed under the great arch of -the mainsail's foot, and above it the sunlit canvas -climbed, tier on tier, to the little royals swaying slowly -athwart the blue. The barque was sliding forward on -an even keel, but now and then she lifted her weather -side with a gentle roll, and a brighter glare was flung up -by the shining brine. Behind them the blue smoke of -the galley whirled in little puffs, and glancing aft -Appleby was almost dazzled by a flash from the -twinkling brass boss of the wheel. Then when the -poop went down he could see the figure of the -helmsman forced up against the iridescent blueness of -the sea.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby wore a thin singlet and slippers, duck -trousers and a jacket of the same material that had -once been white and was a nice grey now. Niven's -things were cleaner, but one rent trouser leg had been -inartistically sewn up with seaming twine, and neither -of them looked very like the somewhat fastidious -youngsters who had once found fault with their rations -in Sandycombe School. Their faces were bronzed from -their foreheads to their throats, their hands were -ingrained as a navvy's, and almost as hard, and they -could by this time have eaten anything there was -nourishment in.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"There's no use reading that stuff to us. We can't -take it in," said Niven.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lawson grinned at Appleby. "A little thick in the -head?" he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No," said Niven. "My head's as good as those -most people have, anyway. I was top of the list almost -every term when I was at school."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lawson's smile grew broader. "That's a bad sign," -he said. "Now I never knew how much I didn't know -until I came to sea, and you don't seem to have got that -far yet. You see, there's a good deal you want to -forget."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said Niven, "forgetting's generally easy. -What would you teach a fellow who wanted to go to sea?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lawson rubbed his head. "How to get fat on bread -and water would come in useful for one thing," he said. -"Then it would be handy to know just when to say -nothing when you're kicked, and when it would be better -to put your foot down and answer with your fist. You -see, if you do either of them at the wrong time you're -apt to be sorry."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Appleby knows that already," said Niven, whose -eyes twinkled as he glanced at his friend.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby made a grimace, and Lawson laughed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Then it's a good deal more than you do, though I -expect the mate will teach you the first of it," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now, when Cally put soft-soap in your singlet and -sewed your trousers up you should have laughed fit to -split yourself, as Appleby did. Cally tarred his hair for -him, and there's some in yet, but any one would have -fancied that he liked it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven wriggled a little. "Oh, shut up! That's not -what we want to know," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No?" said Lawson. "Then we'll get on to the -healthful art and practice of seamanship. Am I to -commence at the end, or half-way through? The -beginning will not be much use to you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'll climb down," said Niven. "Made an ass of -myself, as usual. Now, do you want me to lick your -boots for you? Begin at the beginning, and make it -simple."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lawson chuckled. "You'll get on while you're in -that frame of mind, my son," he said. "Well, now, there -are, generally speaking, two kinds of sailing ships—first -the fore-and-afters, examples, cutter, ketch, and schooner, -with their canvas on one side only of the mast. They're -to be described as tricky, especially when you jibe them -going free, but when you jam them on the wind they'll -beat anything."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Jam them on the wind?" said Appleby.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lawson nodded. "Close-hauled sailing. That's what -I'm coming to," he said. "In the meanwhile there's -the other kind, the one the Britisher holds to, while the -Yankee who knows how to run cheap ships smiles, the -square-riggers, examples, the ship and brig. Their sails -are bent to yards which cross the masts, and, as you -have found out, you've got to go aloft in all weathers to -handle them, which is not one of their advantages. -Then we come to the modifications or crosses between -them, the barque, two masts square-rigged, fore-and-aft -on mizzen, of which the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span> is a tolerably poor -example, topsail schooner, brigantine, which has yards -on her foremast and fore-and-aft main, and barquentine -with foremast square-rigged and two mainmasts carrying -fore-and-aft canvas, though they call the last of them -the mizzen. The other kind I didn't mention is the one -that makes the money, and sails with a screw. Got -that into you?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, yes," said Niven, yawning. "Can't you get on? -I knew it all years ago."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lawson grinned. "Of course!" he said. "Well, I'll -leave the mate to talk to you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He went into the deckhouse, and returned with a -sheet of paper and a little, beautifully-constructed model -of a full-rigged ship. "I made it last trip to work out -questions for my examination with," he said, but the -deprecation in his bronzed face betrayed his pride, and -Appleby, who saw how tenderly he handled the model, -understood. "Now we come to the one and universal -practice of sailing. I make this ring on the paper, and -you can consider it the compass, or, and it's the same -thing, one-half the globe. Here I draw two lines across -it crossing each other, and we'll mark the ends of them -North, South, East, and West. That divides the circle -into four quarters, and the corners where the lines -intersect are right angles, each containing ninety -degrees, or eight points of the compass which has -thirty-two in all."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He laid the paper on the deck, and when he had -turned it so that the first line run from North to -South, placed the model at the upper end of it, and -twisted the yards and sails, which moved, square across -the hull. "The wind's blowing from Greenland to -the South pole, and she's going before it," he said. -"Anything would sail that way—it's called running—even -a haystack, and you trim the vessel's sails whether -she's fore-and-aft or square-rigged at right angles to -a line drawn down the middle of her hull. Well, we've -reached the south end of the line—we'll say it's the -south pole, and want to get back north again, but the -wind is right against us now."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He picked up the model, and twisted the yards again -so that they slanted sharply across the hull, making a -small angle with its middle line. "Now she's braced -sharp up, or close hauled—every sheet's hauled in—on -the wind, and we'll start her heading north-east on the -port tack. That is, the wind's on the port side of her, -though we could have started on the opposite one -heading north-west, if we had liked. Run that line -along, and you'll find it makes an angle of four points of -the compass, or forty-five degrees, with the wind, which -makes it evident that by and by you come to the edge -of the first quarter of the circle at east. Then, if we -put the ship round with the wind on her opposite side, -and sail at the same angle as far again, we come back to -north, where the wind is blowing from, and when you -grasp that you've got the principle of the whole thing. -With the wind behind you all sails flowing, when you're -working up against it, everything's flattened in, but you -have to remember that all vessels don't sail equally -close to the wind, and while a racing cutter will lie -very close indeed, a shallow full-bowed hooker must -have it almost on her side to keep her going. That's -why I took four points as a handy example, because -two tacks of forty-five degrees would bring us back -again."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But why doesn't the wind shove her away sideways -when she's close-hauled?" asked Appleby.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lawson nodded approval. "That shows you're following, -it does," he said. "Still it don't amount to -very much if the vessel's deep, because all of her that's -in the water offers resistance to it. They all slide off -a little, and that's the leeway."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said Niven, "when the wind's so to speak -almost against her, what makes her go ahead at all?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lawson grinned. "What makes a kite go up against -the wind? You see the sails of a close-hauled ship -make about the same angle to it as a kite does. They -didn't teach you that at school?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I think they did," said Appleby. "There's something -very like it in the parallelogram of forces."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The biscuit's yours," said Lawson. "Get that into -you, and you know all the whys of sailing."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He yawned and bent over his book, repeating snatches -of curious ditties about green to green and red to red, -and steamers crossing, but Appleby remembered what -he had heard, which was fortunate, because it was the -only instruction that anybody ever gave him on board -the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span>. Then the cook banged on something -in his galley, and Niven, who got up and stretched -himself, went along to bring in the tea. He came -back with a big steaming can and grinned at Appleby.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"They'll be getting very different tucker at home," -he said. "Still, it will be beastly cold and wet up there -just now."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>His merriment was evidently a trifle forced, and -another lad who lay poring over a book in a corner -raised his head.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, shut up!" he said. "We've heard all that -before, and you don't do it very well. If I could get -back into the shop the governor found me I'd like to -catch myself going to sea. Oh, great handspikes! -Just listen to the brute."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A storm of venomous language came forward from -the poop, and through the drowsy flap of canvas -and stillness of the dazzling ocean there rang the -strident voice of the mate. Lawson slowly shook his -head.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She was scarcely steering, and Biddulph has let -her fall off," he said. "They've stood a good deal -forward, but that mate of ours is pushing them too -far."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then there was silence that seemed deepened by -the light flap and rustle of sailcloth and gurgle of -shining brine, but the peace of the day had gone, and -the shadow which crept into the four young faces was -that which has darkened so many lives at sea. They -had all been used to discipline, and did not resent it, -while it had been made evident to two of them of late -that on board a sailing ship toil that is brutal as -well as perilous is often a necessity. They would also -have undertaken it more or less cheerfully, but there -had been added to it a ruthless tyranny, and Appleby's -little sigh seemed to ask the question that downtrodden -men have asked from the beginning—why such things -must be? And, for he was young, he could not find -an answer.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A little breeze sprang up after sunset, and the ship -was sliding faster through a sea that blazed about -her with lights of green and gold when Appleby hung -about the deck, held still and silent by something in -the harmonies of the night. There was no moon, but -there was also no cloud in the sky, and the great stars -the mast-heads swayed across hung set far back one -behind the other in the blue, while the spires of canvas -towered black and sharp under their cold light. Not -a cloth rustled, but there came down from the gossamer -tracery of rigging a little musical humming that -suggested the chanting of an invisible choir.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Forward a black figure was visible on the forecastle. -Here and there another showed along the dusky line -of bulwarks, and now and then Appleby could see -the dark shape of the mate standing high upon the -poop. This, however, was not often, because he -preferred to keep the great shadowy mainsail between -himself and it. Night and sea were still and -peaceful, and that sinister figure alone jarred upon their -serenity.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Suddenly the harsh voice he feared broke the silence, -and Appleby instinctively set his lips when he saw his -comrade cross the deck. It was noticeable that Niven -went at a trot, and if he had been told that one side -of the poop is usually sacred to the officer of the -watch knowing that haste was advisable he forgot. A -moment or two later he stood panting at the head of -the ladder, which rose about six feet from the deck, and -the mate strode towards him with arm drawn back. -Possibly something had ruffled his temper, which was -at the best a bad one, that night.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"There are two ladders to this poop, and this will -teach you which is yours," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then before Niven could speak the arm shot out, -and the breathless lad reeled backwards with head -swimming and a tingling face. The blow had possibly -not been a very cruel one, but the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span> swung her -stern up just then, and the opening in the rails was -close behind him. He went out through it backwards, -caught his foot on the rung of the ladder, and pitching -over came down with a sickening thud on deck. -Appleby, who had seen it all, ran aft and knelt down -beside him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Chriss, are you hurt?" he gasped.</span></p> -<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 61%" id="figure-62"> -<span id="chriss-are-you-hurt"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt=""'CHRISS, ARE YOU HURT?'"" src="images/img-063.jpg" /> -<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> -<span class="italics">"'CHRISS, ARE YOU HURT?'"</span></div> -</div> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was no answer, and hearing a rattle on the -ladder the lad looked up, and saw the mate standing -close by. He had his hands in his pockets, but there -was an unpleasant look in his face.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Shamming. Take him forward," he said, and stooped -as though about to shake the lad who still lay motionless.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He, however, straightened himself as Appleby rose -up, and stood before him, quivering, with hand clenched -and a blaze in his eyes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Get back! You have done enough," he said, and -if Niven could have heard it he would scarcely have -recognized his comrade's voice.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Hello!" the mate said sharply. "Were you talking -to me?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes," said Appleby hoarsely, but very quietly. -"And I have a little more to tell you. You can't do -these things with impunity, and we'll have you kicked -out of the Company for this."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was not, of course, a judicious speech, but Appleby -was scarcely in a state to decide what was most fitting -then. The mate moved a pace nearer him, and his -hands were out of his pockets now, but he stopped -close by Appleby, for the lad stood stiffly upright, his -face grey with passion.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'll make you sorry. Get him out of this," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then Niven raised himself a little, and blinked -dizzily at both of them. "I think I could get up if -you helped me, Tom," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby shivered a little as he saw the red smear on -the back of his head, but before he moved an elderly -man with a sour face and grizzled hair came down the -ladder and stopped in front of them. He glanced at -Niven and then at Appleby, but it is probable that -a scene of the kind was not quite new to him, and his -face was expressionless.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, what's it all about?" he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby had but once or twice spoken to the captain, -who was a grim, silent man, and not seen very often in -fine weather. Whether he was contented with the -mate's conduct was not apparent, but as usual it was -the latter who handled the ship's company.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You had better ask the mate, sir," said Appleby. -"He knocked him down the ladder."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The skipper turned towards the other man, and the -mate laughed a little.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's not quite right, sir," he said. "The lad -can't take telling, and he came up the wrong ladder -when I sang out for him. I guessed it was done out of -impudence, and let him have it so it wouldn't hurt him -much with the flat of my hand. She gave a lurch -just then that threw him off his feet and down he went. -Then this one began a rumpus, and told me he'll have -me run out of the service."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The skipper stooped over Niven. "Head's cut—at -the back," he said in an expressionless voice. "Get up, -and go aft, my lad. I'll fix it for you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven rose shakily, and obeying the skipper's pointing -hand walked towards the poop with uneven steps. -Then the latter looked at Appleby.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What did he mean by that?" he said quietly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby understood the question, and though he -fancied he was doing wisely made a blunder. "I think -I can do all I told him, sir," he said. "You see, this -ship is carrying Mr. Niven's goods, and one could fancy -the Company is glad to get them."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Niven?" said the skipper, more to himself than the -others. "Most of the freight belongs to Clarke and -Hall."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"They're dead," said Appleby, who had been told -this. "There's only Mr. Niven in the business now."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The skipper looked thoughtful. "Now I remember," -he said as he turned towards the mate, and stopped. -"Well, this is my affair, Appleby, and I'm the only man -who can question what the mate does on board this -ship. If you do it again it will be the worse for you. -Remember that."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby touched his cap and moved away, and -presently Niven came forward from the poop with his -head tied up. He was still pale, and moved slowly, -while he had little to tell his comrade.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He put some stuff that smarted on the cut, but -didn't ask any questions, and told me to lie down," he -said. "I'm going to do it because I'm not myself yet. -My head's all humming, and I don't seem to want to -talk."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby helped him into his bunk, and then went -back to his watch, while he told Lawson all that had -passed when he next had an opportunity. The elder -lad listened gravely.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You fancy the old man believed you?" he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes," said Appleby. "It isn't my fault if he didn't. -I did my best to make him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lawson shook his head. "Then I'm afraid you -made a mess of things," he said. "You see, if the old -man believed you the mate would."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Of course!" said Appleby. "That was what I wanted."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said Lawson, "it's unfortunate that you did. -Now the old man's tolerably tough, but he's not a fool, -and, to give him his due, is content with getting two -men's work out of every one of the crew. He knows -the men who fill the ships up can make things nasty -for the captain, and it's quite likely he'll talk straight -to the mate, though he wouldn't to you, and that's not -going to make the mate any fonder of you and Niven."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I was hoping it would keep him quiet," said Appleby.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It wouldn't," said Lawson. "All that Niven's father -could do would be to get him turned out, and if the mate -thought that likely he'd make it warm for you before -he went, you see. If you've any pull on the owners it's -not, as a rule, advisable to mention it at sea. It doesn't -make anybody think the better of you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby groaned. "I've been an ass again," he said. -"Still, I fancied he had killed Niven—and I had to do -something."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lawson smiled dryly. "There's only one thing anybody -can do at sea, and that's to keep his mouth shut -and out of the way of trouble," he said. "When you -can't help things there's no use in kicking."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby made no answer. It was a somewhat grim -lesson, but it was one that sooner or later every lad -must learn, and the result of it is the capacity for -endurance which is not infrequently worth a good deal -more than courage in action.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="under-topsails"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER V</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">UNDER TOPSAILS</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Appleby was not long in discovering that Lawson -was right. Hitherto the mate had only stormed at -him and his comrade as he did at the rest of the -vessel's company, but now he seemed to single them -out for abuse whenever he had an opportunity, and he -managed to find a good many. It was true that he -attempted no further violence, but they could have -borne that better than the relentless petty persecution, -for there was scarcely a difficult or unpleasant task -within their strength that the lads were not set to do. -Unpleasant duties are also by no means uncommon on -board a sailing ship.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Still, Appleby had seen that to protest was useless -and likely to make things worse, while because the -mate was cunning as well as cruel it would have been -difficult to make a definite complaint even if there had -been anybody to listen to him, which, however, was -not the case. So he set his lips and bore it, and so -as he could endeavoured to restrain Niven, who -would now and then break out into fits of impotent -anger or lie silent in his bunk after some fresh indignity. -Had the work been always necessary Appleby would -have endeavoured to do it willingly, though it was -now and then almost disgusting, but the mate probably -knew this, and arranged things so that he should feel he -was doing most of it only to please his enemy. Grown -men have been driven to self-destruction or murderous -retaliation by treatment of this kind, and after a few -weeks of it both lads felt they could endure no more.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Meanwhile the weather grew colder and the work -harder. That was not the worst time of the year for -rounding Cape Horn, but they found it bad enough, -for the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span> met wild weather and she was loaded -heavily, while on the afternoon she lay rather more -than a hundred miles to the eastwards of the dreaded -cape her crew were almost too worn out for duty. She -was then heading about south-west upon the starboard -tack, thrashing very slowly to windward under -topsails, and flooding her decks with icy water each -time she poked her nose into the seas, and she did it -tolerably often, for the seas were very big. They came -rolling down to meet her out of the south-west, -blue-black in the hollows, which were streaked with foam -and frothing on their crests, and Appleby would hold -his breath when one larger than its fellows rose high -above the starboard bow. Most often the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span> -would swing up her head in time and climb over the -big wall of water with a swooping lurch, while the -spray that whirled up from her bows rattled like -grapeshot into her foretopsails and blew out in showers -between the masts. Now and then, however, she went -through, and then there was a thud and roar and her -forecastle was lost from sight. It seemed a long while -before she hove it up again streaming, and every man -held on to what was handiest when the long deck was -swept by torrents of icy brine. Then while frothy -wisps blew away from the forecastle and every scupper -on one side spouted she would stagger on again for -perhaps ten minutes more dryly, because the long -ocean seas are by no means all equally steep and high.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby and Niven were holding on, shivering with -cold and wet through in spite of their oilskins, by a pin -on the weather rail, for the deck slanted sharply and -the water was washing everywhere. Glancing forward -they could see nothing but spray, and every now and -then the frothing top of a larger sea hove up against -a vivid glare of green. When they looked up, which -it was not often advisable to do, they could see the -mastheads raking across a patch of hard deep blue, -athwart which clouds with torn edges whirled. There -was little canvas on the slanted spars, two jibs that ran -water above the bowsprit, two topsails on either mast, -a staysail or two between them, and half the spanker -on the mizzen. The sails did not look as if they were -made of flexible canvas but cast in rigid metal.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Presently a wet man came clawing his way along, -and stopped when Niven called to him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Did you hear what we had made?" he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The man nodded, and growled at the spray which -beat into his face. "The stooard he heard the old -man and the mate a-fixing it," he said. "She's worked -off about another twenty miles since noon yestidday."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven groaned. "Only twenty miles!" he said. -"That's another week before we can square away."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said the man with a little grim laugh, "I'd -give her another fortnight when I was at it. She'll -take all that to fetch round with this wind, any way."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The two lads looked at each other, and neither -of them said anything when in a lull between two -plunges the man lurched away, but that was because -they fancied he was right and both were unwilling to -admit all that they were feeling.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They knew a good deal about close-hauled sailing -now, for during four long weeks the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span> had -been thrashing her way to windward in the face of -stinging gales. Sometimes when the sea was a trifle -smoother she would gain a little on every tack, and -then a fresh storm would come roaring down, and when -they had furled the higher sails with half-frozen hands -she would do little more than hold the wind upon her -side and of course make nothing at all in the required -direction. Also they had often to heave her to under -little rags of sail with the sea upon her bow while she -blew away to leeward and lost in a few hours all they -had won the preceding day.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Always the decks were flooded, and the men wet to -the skin. The galley fire was frequently washed out, -and they got cold provisions, often so soaked with salt -water that they could scarcely eat them, while when -sleep was possible they lay down as they were, all -dripping, too worn out to strip off their clothes. It -would not have been advisable to take them off in any -case, for they might be turned out at any moment to -furl upper topsails or haul down staysails in a sudden -freshening of the gale. Canvas was furled and hoisted -continually, because a ship will not sail to windward -through a heavy sea unless she is sternly pressed, while -her crew fight for every yard she makes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby even in his oilskins looked very gaunt and -thin. His face was hollow and bronzed by exposure -to bitter wind and stinging brine, while Niven, like -many of the others, was troubled with painful sores -from sleeping in salt-stiffened clothes. Their hands -were stiffened and clawlike, their knuckles bleeding, and -from the ceaseless rasp of ropes the undersides of -their fingers were very like grain-leather. Worn out -utterly and half-fed they were just holding out with the -rest of the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran's</em><span> company until they could thrash -her far enough to the westwards to square away and -run north into better weather on the other side of -Cape Horn.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Hallo!" said Niven presently. "That's a nasty -cloud. I wonder what fresh beastliness it's bringing us."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby, glancing to windward, saw that the glaring -green beyond the seatops had faded out, and the -horizon was smeared with grey. It also seemed to be -closing in upon them rapidly, and overhead a black -cloud with torn edges was swallowing up the strip of -blue.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"More wind, any way. She'll scarcely bear upper -topsails now," he said with a little groan. "Still, the -old man's tolerably stubborn at carrying on."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven, glancing aft, could see the skipper's gaunt -figure swung high upon the poop against a frothing -sea as he too glanced to windward. He was probably as -anxious as any one to get round Cape Horn, but it was -only by carrying sail to the last moment and making -the most of every lull he could hope to do it. Even -as he gazed ragged ice fell pattering along the decks, -and the daylight died out leaving a grey dimness behind -it. Then for a few minutes sea and ship were hidden -by the flying hail. It cut the lads' raw knuckles until -they could have cried out in agony, thrashed their wet -faces and rattled on their oilskins, while the rigging -roared above them, and twice in succession the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span> -put her whole forecastle in. Then a great sea foamed -in almost solid over her weather rail, and through all -the uproar rang a high-pitched cry. The words were -indistinguishable as they would have been a yard away, -but the lads recognized it as the summons to shorten -sail. For a minute or two they were busy about the -deck, and then while the ship swayed over further the -mate lurched by and grabbed the Dutchman, who was -working awkwardly with one hand, by the shoulder.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lay aloft, and give them a hand up there, you -skulking hog," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mine arm," said the seaman, "der right one, she is -nod of good to me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby remembered that the fellow had badly hurt -his arm, and scarcely wondered at his reluctance to go -aloft with only one hand to trust to as he glanced above. -The upper topsail had been partly lowered down, but -the loose canvas was thrashing between the yards, and -these sloped down towards the whitened sea apparently -as steeply as the roof of a house. Still, it was evident -that every man was needed, for there were other sails -to be handled and the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span> was apparently going -bodily over. She hove her nose up for an instant, and -Appleby had a momentary glimpse of a jib that had -burst its sheet thrashing itself to pieces above the -bowsprit. Then sight and hearing was lost in a cloud of -flying brine.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When he could open his eyes again he saw the mate -lift his fist, and the Dutchman glance deprecatingly at -the arm that hung at his side.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lay aloft," said the former, "before you get a -damaged head as well as an arm."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Dutchman shuffled towards the shrouds, and just -then a half-heard shout came down from one of the -black figures on the inclined yard. "We're beat. Send -us another hand."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was already evident to Niven that as the yard was -higher than it should have been something was foul, -and he could see that unless the men had help they -would be hurled off it or the sail blown away. It was -not his especial duty, but it was no time to be particular -when the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span> lay swept from end to end at the -mercy of the squall, and he swung himself up into the -shrouds close behind the Dutchman with Appleby -following. The wind flattened them against the -rattlings as they fought their way up, and then almost -choked and blinded them as with the swinging foot-rope -against their heel and stiffened hands on the slippery -spar they crept outwards from the mast along the yard. -They were not of very much use there, indeed, most -often they were in the way, but they did what they -could while the hail lashed their faces and the drenched -and stiffened canvas banged about them so that to hear -anything else was almost impossible. At times somebody -shouted, but the words were blown to leeward and -quite incomprehensible.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was their business to roll up the great flapping sail, -and lash it to the yard, but parts of it tore away from -them, and blew out with a bang like a rifle-shot every -now and then, while the long wet spar they leaned -across increased the steepness of its slant. Niven -glancing down a moment fancied that the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran's</em><span> -leeward rail was in the sea, and saw the rigid figure on -the weather side of the poop waving a hand to them. -He could, of course, hear no voice at all, but surmised -the gestures meant it was high time their work was -finished. Then the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span> dipped her nose into a -sea, and the cloud of spray she flung up hid everything, -while in another moment a more furious gust shrieked -about them. The yard slanted still further, and he -fancied it was impossible the ship could recover.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>His hands were stiffened and almost useless, his -fingers were bleeding, and his breath was spent, while -as he held on helpless for a moment there was a sound -like thunder, and as a strip of canvas rent itself from the -grasp of those about him he saw the Dutchman clawing -desperately at the yard. The man slipped along it a -foot or two, and Niven, seeing his fingers sliding, -remembered he had an injured arm. He had also -evidently lost his footing, for one leg was dangling, and -the lad instinctively seized his shoulder. That left him -one hand to hold on by, and he gasped with horror as -he felt his fingers slipping from the yard and saw a -great sea burst into a tumultuous frothing beneath him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was too cold and dazed to wonder if any of the -others saw what was happening, and could remember -only that if he loosed his hold the man he clutched -would go whirling down to strike the iron bulwarks or -plunge into the sea. So he set his lips, and while his -arms seemed to be coming away from their sockets held -on for a moment or two.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then the hand he grasped the yard with slipped a -trifle further, and with a sickening horror he felt his -clawlike fingers yield, but dazed, half-blinded, and too -overwrought with the struggle to think, he still clutched -the Dutchman. In another moment the hand came -away altogether, and man and boy went down.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Now a second or two earlier Appleby had noticed their -peril, but could do nothing because there was a man -between them and him. He smote the fellow's shoulder -and shouted, but his words were blown away, and no one -else had eyes for anything but the banging sail. It was -too late before he could shout again, for with a little -gasp he saw the two figures whirl downwards beneath -him, until, because the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span> lurched a trifle just -then, the smaller of them struck a big wire stay with -folds of loose canvas about it where it joined the mast, -and lay for a second or two across it. The other fell on -the top of the deckhouse, and then, while Appleby -shivered, rolled off it and down on to the deck below. -Almost as this happened Niven slipped from the -hauled-down staysail and fell upon the house too, but -apparently upon feet and hands together.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then as Appleby endeavoured to get back to the -mast so that he could descend, the man nearest it grasped -him and he could not pass. The lad could not hear what -he said, but he guessed its purport, and grew sick with -horror as he saw that the man was right. There -were others below to pick up the fallen if there was -any life in them, and with the ship in peril every hand -was needed on the yards. Also, while that fact might -not have stopped him, he could not pass the man, who -barred his way to the mast.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>So he stayed, and did what little he could among the -rest, until at last they had stowed the sail, and then -went down in frantic haste, only to be driven forward -by the second mate. The latter was a kindly man, but -there are times when the injured or dying must take -care of themselves at sea, and there was still strenuous -work to do. Thus at least half-an-hour had passed, and -the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span> was blowing sideways about as fast as -she forged ahead under lower topsails when Appleby -reached the deckhouse breathless and dripping. It was -almost dark inside it, for driving cloud had blotted the -daylight out, but the swinging lamp diffused a sickly -radiance which fell on his comrade as Appleby bent -over his dripping bunk. Everything in the deckhouse -was wet, as was Niven's face, but though it was drawn -and white his eyes were open.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Not quite all smashed up yet," he said with a little -smile.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby felt almost dizzy with relief, and his voice -shook a trifle as he said, "But you are hurt, Chriss?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said Niven feebly, though there was a little -twinkle in his eyes, "it wouldn't be astonishing if I -was, but I think a good lie down will put me right -again. There was a big lump of the staysail under me, -and I fetched the top of the house on my hands and -toes. Couldn't get up just now, however, if I wanted to."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby could think of nothing fitting to say, and -patted his comrade's shoulder while he turned his head -away. His eyes were a trifle hazy, and he felt that -there are a good many things one cannot express in -speech.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The Dutchman?" he said presently.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven seemed to shiver, and shook his head. "I -don't know. Couldn't take much notice of anything -because I felt all in pieces myself just then, but I saw -him come down," he said. "He just seemed to crunch -up—as if he was an egg."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lawson, who was sitting on his chest, made a -gesture of impatience. "Now you shut up and lie -still," he said. "Any one would fancy you had done -enough to take a rest." Then he nodded to Appleby. -"Get out. It's quietness he wants, and it's not going -to make anything any better to remember what -happened to the other fellow. I'll keep an eye on him, -and you needn't worry."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby, who knew Lawson could be trusted to do -this, went out, and it was an hour or two later when he -and the rest sat in the house again over a big can of -tea which the cook had by some means contrived to -supply them with. They still wore streaming oilskins, -and the lamp that swung above them cast flickers of -smoky radiance across their wet faces, while from -outside came a muffled roar of wind and the crash of -falling water as the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span> lurched over the great -smoking seas. Niven was evidently a little better, and -smiled, though his face was awry with pain, when -Appleby lifted his shoulders a little and handed him -a biscuit soaked in tea.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's nice yellow jellies and grapes I'd be eating if -I was laid up at home," said he.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If you don't stop we'll make you," said one of the -other lads. "Who has got any business to talk of -those things at sea? What did the old man do to you?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven grinned in a sickly fashion. "He asked me -where I felt bad, and I told him everywhere," he -said. "Then he and the steward pulled the clothes -off me and prodded me with their fists. They didn't -seem to find anything broken, but I was sore all over, -and I'd sooner be whacked with a horse-girth than go -through that again."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Smacked with a horse-girth!" said Lawson, -reflectively. "Now I've been kicked—with sea -boots—a good many times, but that would be a new -sensation. What does it feel like?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If you want to know you can ask Appleby," said -Niven. "I fancy he could tell you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby laughed, for he saw his comrade was -recovering. "But what about the Dutchman?" he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lawson shook his head. "I only know the old man -went forward to look at him, and he's tolerably bad. He -came down bang on his shoulder, you see. Did the -mate know he had only one arm that was any good to -him, Appleby?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes," said Appleby slowly. "He was there when -the man hurt it, and just before he went up I heard -him tell him. I saw the mate double up his fist -too—and the Dutchman had to go."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was silence for a moment or two, intensified -by the roar of wind, and the lads looked at one another -with a curious grimness which seemed out of place -there in their young faces.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If he doesn't get better it's manslaughter, any -way," said somebody. "Now we've had almost enough -of this. What's to be done, Lawson?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lawson stared at the lamp for almost a minute -before he answered. "If the man comes round we -can't do anything," he said. "Of course we and the -men could make a declaration about ill-usage at -Vancouver, but the old man would back the mate up -and we'd only be quietly sat upon. If the Dutchman -dies it would be a little easier. The old man would -have to put down all about it in the log, but he'd fix it -the nicest way and then get two witnesses—the mate -and the second mate—to sign it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Would the second mate do it?" said Appleby.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I think he would have to," said Lawson dryly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said one of the other lads, "where do we -come in?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You," said Lawson, with a little, mirthless laugh, -"don't come in at all, but there's one chance yet. -When the men are paid off the old man's account of -any death on board is read over, and they're asked if -it's all correct and if the man was ill-used at all. If -they could only stick to one story they'd get a hearing, -and the Government would go into the thing."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That doesn't sound difficult," said Appleby.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lawson shook his head. "I'm afraid it's more than -they could do," he said. "Every man would tell a -different tale and get arguing with the rest until -nobody could make head or tail of it, and the skipper -who says nothing that isn't dragged out of him would -come up on top again. Still, of course, there is just a -chance of them being listened to, and that's going to -make the mate a good deal nastier in the meanwhile."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven, who had lain silent, looked over his bunk. -"He will not be nasty to me very long. I've had -enough of the brute already. One could get ashore at -Vancouver."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lawson glanced at him impatiently. "Better shut -up before you're sorry," he said. "There's only one -thing to do, and that's to leave the old man to run the -mate out quietly. He's a tolerably tough old nigger -himself, but I fancy this kind of thing is a little too -much for him. As I've told you before, there's very -little use kicking about anything when you go to sea."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then there was once more silence as the unpleasant -veracity was borne in upon the rest. Nobody, it -seemed, cared very much what became of them, and -there was no one they could appeal to. They must -take what came, and grin and bear it, however irksome -it might be. The knowledge was especially bitter to -Niven, who had possibly been made too much of at -home, but Appleby had already a vague suspicion that -in any walk of life it would be much the same. Every -man had rights, he knew, but he had discovered that it -is very little use to make speeches about them when -they are unobtainable, and generally wiser to wait in -silence for an opportunity and then stretch out a firm -hand and take them. Some lads find this out early, -though there are men who never discover it at all, and -these are not infrequently a nuisance to everybody.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="a-fair-wind"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER VI</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">A FAIR WIND</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Niven, though severely bruised and shaken, recovered -rapidly, and one morning a fortnight after his injury sat -under the partial shelter of the weather-rail rubbing tar -into a long strip of worn-out canvas with his hands. -He had more than a suspicion that the canvas would -never be used, and sitting still in a bitter wind while -he dabbled his stiffened fingers in the sticky mess was -far from pleasant, but the mate frequently found him -work of that kind to do, and Niven knew that when he -gave an order it was not advisable to argue.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby was sitting close beside him similarly -occupied, and every now and then a cloud of spray -which swept the rail stung their faces and rattled upon -their oilskins. Icy water came on board, too, but -because they sat well aft they escaped the frothing -deluges which poured over the weather bow and sluiced -down the slanted deck to lee. Here and there a -dripping man scrambled out of the way of them or -clung fast to something in the wilder lurches, for the -</span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span> was still hammering to windward under -scanty sail.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was, however, clear, cold sunlight, and the wet -canvas swayed across a patch of blue, while the lads -could see the froth of the rollers shine incandescent -against the flashing green over the weather-rail. The -</span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span> was shouldering her way through them -with heavy plunges that buried her forecastle at times. -Then she would swing it up, streaming, high above the -sea, and there was a general scramble clear of the -water which came splashing everywhere. The sunlight -showed that the men's faces were gaunt and worn. -They had for more than a month held out stubbornly, -living for the most part on uncooked and soaked -provisions, toiling the watch through at shifting sail, -and then flinging themselves down in their drenched -clothing only to be turned out half-dazed by the sleep -for which brain and body craved as the screaming gale -freshened again. Now they had, thanks to what the -steward had gleaned in the cabin and told the cook, -reason to believe that if the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span> could make a -few more leagues to windward the next day would see -them round Cape Horn.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Still, they had been almost as near before only to be -driven back to the east again, and haggard faces were -turned expectantly towards the hard blueness athwart -which the seatops heaved over the weather-rail. -Presently Appleby glanced up sharply as the shadow of -a sail fell upon him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Hallo!" he said, and there was a curious eagerness -in his voice. "The topsail leach has come between us -and the sun."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't see why that should please you," said Niven. -"It only makes it colder, and it's bad enough already, -especially when you've had nothing worth mentioning -to eat for weeks."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No?" said Appleby. "Well, if I'm right it means -warm weather, dry clothes, sound sleep when your -watch is done, and the galley fire lit all day."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven looked up. "Oh," he said with a little gasp. -"The wind is backing round—or is he only screwing her -up a little?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Both of them glanced from the straining canvas to -the figure at the wheel, and the eyes of all on deck -were turned in the same direction, for it was evident -that only two things could have happened. Either the -helmsman was jamming the ship half-a-point closer to -the wind, which was unlikely, because the mate would -have seen he sailed her as close as possible before; or -the wind was going round. As they watched, the canvas -swung further athwart the sun, and their hearts -throbbed faster because they knew it was the latter. -In place of thrashing to windward tack and tack, and -frequently losing on one all they had made upon the -other, they were now sailing almost in the direction -they desired to go.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I wish I could see the compass," said Niven. "Still, -the wind must be backing southerly by the bearing of -the sun. Why doesn't the old man let her go while he can?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It is probable that every man on deck was asking the -same question, for the heads of all were turned towards -the poop, and nothing would have induced one of them -to speak when the skipper appeared out of the -companion. He stood quite still for several minutes, -and then nodded to the officer of the watch as though -contented, but no one moved on deck when he went -below, and the attitude of the men suggested what they -felt. They were, it seemed, not round Cape Horn yet, -and the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span> still held on plunging through the -white-topped rollers close-hauled. Hour after hour -dragged by, and all on board bore them in tense -expectancy, until at last, when the watch was changed -again, the skipper came forward to the edge of the poop -with a little sour smile on his face. He spoke -ostensibly to the mate close by him, but it is possible he -meant his voice to carry further.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Get a pull on the weather-braces, and the topgallants -loosed. We'll make a fair wind of it," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The mate came forward shouting, and for once he was -very willingly obeyed. Both watches were on deck, for -the one relieved had not left it yet, and the men fell -over each other in their eagerness to get at the ropes, -while Appleby felt his pulses throbbing and the blood -surge to his face, as he watched the figure aft pulling -at the wheel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Round went the long, slanting yards, stopped, swung -further, and stopped again, while the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span> hove -herself more upright and shook the salt wash from her -as she brought the wind upon her quarter. Then there -was a scurrying of agile figures, stripped of their oilskins -now, for the high top-gallant yards, and when the loose -canvas blew away from them, wet and weary men -broke into a breathless song as they swung and fell -about the feet of the masts. They had hoarse voices, -and the lips of some were rent and cracked. Their -bodies were raw from the constant lash of brine, but -there was a light in their gaunt faces and the ring of -triumph in their song. Its words were senseless -rubbish, but through them the spirit of those who sang -was clear, and it was the pride that comes of a hardly-won -victory. They had borne almost all that flesh and -blood could bear, and now they had won the gale they -had defied and beaten was their ally. The </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span> -seemed to know it, and swept north-west faster at every -roll, hurling off vast folds of froth from her hove-up -bows, while the foam seethed and flashed past, lapping -in places almost to her rail. Still, for a ship will carry -more canvas going free than she will close-hauled, her -crew were not contented, and while they coiled the -ropes away still watched the motionless figure on the -poop expectantly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Once more he raised a hand, and there was another -scramble, more eager than before, and a rush towards -the weather-shrouds, while presently great folds of -canvas came dropping from the long lower yards. They -spread out in a vast curve from rail to rail, and the -</span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span>, quivering to the drag of them, sped on faster -than ever, with a wake that swirled and seethed far -back across the long seas that now came rolling up -behind her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then a Breton Frenchman solemnly danced upon the -deck, and a little Italian cackled with shrill laughter, -while a half-articulate growl of victory that was not a -cheer went up from the British sailormen. They were -flying faster than any but a very fast steamer, away -from cold and wet and hunger, northwards towards the -sun again.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For two days the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span> drove along, swept by -spray, at a pace which occasionally exceeded twelve -miles an hour, and then, though her decks dried up and -the foam sank lower beneath her rail, the pace did not -diminish appreciably, for as the wind fell lighter there -was a crowding on of sail. The royals were shaken out -in turn, stay-sails in rows swelled between the masts, -and while the long heave that was smoother now and -dazzlingly blue came rolling up on her beam, she swung -along, three towering spires of canvas above a -froth-licked hull, with her jibboom pointing to the midday -sun. It grew warmer every day, oilskins, pilot-coats -and long boots were flung aside, wet berths and -saturated bedding dried, and there was no more dining -on pulpy biscuit because a sea had washed out the -galley as well as the fire.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then there might have been peace and contentment -on board the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span> had not the mate's temper -apparently grown worse as the weather grew finer, until -the half-cowed, sullen crew were glad to crawl away -below out of the reach of his beady eyes when the -watch was done. They were kept hard at work at -something all day long, chipping iron, painting, -scraping spars down, and the man who had only a bitter -jibe for the most willing and scurrilous abuse for -the tired generally contrived when nothing more -unpleasant suggested itself that Niven or Appleby should -carry the tar pot, while the blood would surge to -their faces at the words which followed, if at any -time they let fall one splash of it where it was not -wanted.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The work began as soon as there was light enough to -see by, and was never done. A good deal of it was -brutal and much unnecessary, and it went on without -intermission under the scorching sun of the equator, -and was apparently no nearer finished when reaching -in close-hauled one day they had their first glimpse of -the great, snow-crested mountains that rise above the -forests of Washington. Then the apprentices envied -the men who had only signed on to Vancouver, because -they at least would soon be free of the ceaseless -small-persecution and hateful tyranny.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At last as they worked into the Straits of San Juan -the pines of Vancouver Island lifted themselves above -the horizon, and a day or two later the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span> came -to an anchor off Port Parry, which is where the -warships lie and close to Victoria City. Vancouver, where -she was to unload, stands on the Canadian coast about -a day's sail with a fair wind further east, but the straits -are sprinkled with islands and swept by tides, and -because the wind was easterly and the sky dimmed by -smoke, the skipper had gone ashore that morning to -send off telegrams and if possible engage a tug. He -did not return all day, and when evening was closing -in Appleby and Niven sat outside the deckhouse, while -the mate stood up on the poop apparently to see if there -was any signal from the shore.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The evening was chilly, and a fresh breeze streaked -the waters with a haze of smoke from some great forest -fire which drove in thin wisps across the rising moon -and now and then growing thicker blotted out the dark -pines ashore. The lads had been working hard helping -to send down the lighter canvas all day, and now they -were aching in every limb. They were also moody, for -do what they would the mate's bitter tongue had not -spared them. Somebody was singing forward in the -forecastle, and now and then a burst of hoarse laughter -came aft, for the men there would be leaving the -</span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span> in a day or two. Niven sighed a little as he -listened.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Those fellows are well off. It's no wonder they're -singing," he said. "Things are getting worse every day, -and I'm very sick of it, Tom."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby laughed, but there was not much merriment -in his face. "Of the sea?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said Niven slowly, "the sea is different from -what I expected it would be, but that's not what I -mean."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The mate then?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven nodded. "Of course," he said. "Now, he -stops with the ship, and we don't know where we're -going to from Vancouver. Lawson was telling me the -Company's ships are away sometimes four years -together. Four years of that mate, Tom. Just fancy -it!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby's face grew a trifle grim. It was not an -encouraging prospect, and he could see no way of -avoiding it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It does not sound nice," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No," said Niven savagely. "If there's no improvement—and -I don't expect there will be—I'm not going -to put up with it." Then he glanced at his companion. -"Tom, you'll stand in with me?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby looked grave. "Don't be an ass, Chriss. -Wait and see what can be done when you go home."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven sat silent for almost a minute, and when he -spoke his young face was very determined. "The -point is, when are we going home? If we sail from -here for England I'll try to put up with him, but if -there's to be two or three more years of it I'm going to -make for the bush before she leaves Vancouver. -There's no use talking. I'm quite decided, and the -only question is whether you will come with me!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby, glancing at his comrade, saw that no -arguments could persuade him. Niven could be very -obstinate, and Appleby had reasons for believing that -the other apprentices also intended slipping away.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If you go I'll go too, but I don't want to," he said -quietly. "You see, there are good mates as well as -brutes like this one, while I may never get another -chance if I throw away the one your father has given -me. I don't like the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span>, but I still like the -sea."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The pater would find you a dozen better ones," said -Niven eagerly, but Appleby shook his head.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I couldn't take another favour from him if I made -a bad use of this one."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven rose and moved once or twice wearily across -the deck. "I'd get him to make you. Then you're -not coming?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes," said Appleby gravely. "Whatever you decide -on I shall do, but that will separate us very soon, -because I will not ask your father to find me another -opportunity."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven stopped and stood still with indecision in his -face, while his voice was a trifle hoarse as he said, -"Tom, you're a good fellow, and ever since I knew you -have done your best for me, but now—oh, it's just -because you're so decent you're stopping me putting -an end to this misery."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm not sorry," said Appleby dryly. "If you go, I'm -coming too. Only when your father sends for you I -shall stay out here and do anything I can or go on -board another ship as seaman."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven saw he was beaten, and sat down wearily. -"Very well!" he said with a little groan. "Perhaps -something will happen, and I don't care what it is. -Anything would be better than—this—and I simply -can't bear it very much longer. Now the Dutchman's -coming round the mate will be more brutal than ever."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He said nothing further, and while he sat still with a -hopeless face in black dejection, the mate, who did not -know all that he was doing, took his affairs in hand. -Coming forward along the deck he stopped before them -with a packet in his hand.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Take the gig ashore, and put these letters in the -post," he said. "Wait for half-an-hour, and then if you -see no sign of the skipper, come off again. You can -take Cally with you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The lads were almost desperate, or they would not -have done a foolish thing, for Appleby did not stand up.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's not our watch, sir," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The mate swung round and looked at him with a -little glint in his eyes. "You're talking again," he -said. "If you're not on board the gig inside five -minutes, I'll have my answer ready for you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby rose up and touched his cap sardonically, -but Niven was sullen. "Very well, sir, but the gig's -too big for us, and I don't know that we can pull her -back against the breeze," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The mate moved a little nearer with an unpleasant -smile in his face. "The stream will sweep you off the -land unless you do, and it should help you to pull if -you remember it," he said. "That reminds me, I want -Cally for something else."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby saw that he had made a mistake again. -Since he had spoken to the skipper their persecutor had -avoided violence and harassed them with a vindictive -cunning which left no room for any objection that -would not put them in the wrong. So far speech had -only lost them the help of a third hand who could have -taken his turn at an oar and steered for them, and he -grasped Niven fiercely by the shoulder lest he should -answer as he turned away. The gig lay astern, and in -another minute or two they had climbed down into her, -and casting off stepped the mast and ran up the little -sail. The wind would carry them ashore, but the gig -though light was nearly twenty feet long, and, while -they could row tolerably well, both knew it would cost -them a strenuous effort to pull her off again.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He's a pig and a beast!" said Niven, hoarse with -rage, as he sat aft with the tiller in his hand while the -boat swung over the little splashing sea. "She's not -going to fetch the ship under sail coming back, and it -will be no end of a fag to pull her, while I'm about -done with handling those staysails all day already."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby said nothing, but his face was very sombre -as he slacked the sheet a little when a puff of spray flew -over the weather gunwale, and the brine lapped -perilously near the opposite one. He saw that the breeze -was freshening, as an easterly wind often does at nightfall, -and did not anticipate any pleasure in rowing back again.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="adrift"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER VII</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">ADRIFT</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>When Appleby and Niven came clattering down the -beach it was growing very cold and night was closing -in. They had not found the skipper, and a man had -told them that the little tramway between Port Parry -and Victoria had stopped running. The lads had also -been working hard in the sunshine all day, and because -the mate had given them no time to change the light -clothes they stood in they shivered a little in the chilly -breeze. It came down moaning across the dark pines, -crisping the land-locked harbour where two big -warships lay, and when they stood on the pebbles there -was a clear ringing of bugles.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Half-an-hour, to the minute," said Appleby. "There's -a tolerably stiff breeze."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You timed us?" said Niven. "Of course, you -would. Now, I could never have remembered it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby laughed a trifle grimly. "Yes," he said. -"You see, I didn't want to stay here any longer than -was necessary with the wind freshening. It's going to -be quite hard enough work to get back as it is."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven groaned a little as he helped to thrust off the -boat, for he was very tired, and his limbs had stiffened -with the cold, while as he was about to step on board a -Canadian came sauntering down the beach.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Are you two lads going off to the barque out there?" -he asked.</span></p> -<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 62%" id="figure-63"> -<span id="are-you-two-lads-going-off-to-the-barque-out-there"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt=""'ARE YOU TWO LADS GOING OFF TO THE BARQUE OUT THERE?'"" src="images/img-097.jpg" /> -<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> -<span class="italics">"'ARE YOU TWO LADS GOING OFF TO THE BARQUE OUT THERE?'"</span></div> -</div> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby nodded, and the man glanced towards the -swaying trees and the little streaks of froth that showed -white against the dimness out at sea. "It's a tolerably -big contract," he said reflectively. "You've got to -go?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes," said Appleby. "If you knew what our mate -was like you wouldn't ask that question."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Canadian laughed. "I figure I can guess," he -said. "Well, now, you pull up well to windward along -the shore where you'll get less breeze and smoother -water, and when it strikes you you're far enough to -head her across pull fit to split your boots—but don't -miss her."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby saw it was good advice, and did his best to -follow it, but his back was aching and his arms were -stiff; while when Niven missed a stroke, which he did -not infrequently, the wind drove them a trifle further -off shore before they could pull the gig's head round -again. She had been built for four men to row, and -while they would have no difficulty in propelling her in -smooth water it was different when with the wind -against them every little lurch checked her speed. -Still, they toiled for half-an-hour or so, making no great -progress that Appleby who watched the trees ashore -could see, until Niven groaned.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm almost done," he said. "If you don't head -across soon I'll double up before we fetch the -</span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span>."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby glanced at the shore, and then at the -barque's riding light blinking fitfully half-a-mile -away.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was no great distance, but the breeze that blew -slantwise off the shore would be on their side while -they headed for her, and if the boat made much leeway -they could not reach her. Nor did he fancy they would -have the strength to drive the gig back to windward if -they once drifted astern of her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Shake yourself together, Chriss, and we'll make a -shot at it," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven said nothing, but he bent his back, and for ten -minutes they strained every sinew while the boat -lurched and plunged on the little splashing sea as they -drew out from the land. Cold as it was the perspiration -dripped from them, and the oars slipped in their -greasy palms, while both were gasping when a haze of -smoke that blotted out everything drove down upon them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Head her up a little," said Appleby when the -blinking light faded. "Put all you're good for into it, -and row. There's nothing but the Pacific before us if -we miss the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span>."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For another five minutes Niven rowed desperately, -his heart thumping and his breath coming in half-stifled -gasps, while the boat plunged more viciously with the -sea upon her bow. Then he missed his stroke as the -moon came through, and Appleby could not check a -little groan of dismay. They were close to the -</span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span> and could see her plainly as a cold blast -drove the haze away, but she was well up on their -weather instead of under their lee, and he knew it was -beyond the power of any two worn-out lads to reach -her against the wind.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's no use," said Niven hoarsely. "I can't do any -more. Shout if you can, though we'd be out of sight -before they could get the other boat over."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They made the most noise they could, but it is -difficult to shout when exhausted by a strenuous effort, -and it is more than possible that the splash of the sea -and sighing of the wind drowned their strained voices. -Nor is the low dusky shape of a boat easy to discern -from a ship's deck on a hazy night. In any case, there -was no answer, and for a minute the lads watched the -three tall spars and strip of hull that rose black against -the moon slide away from them—and that was the last -they ever saw of the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span>. Then another gust -brought down the haze again, and while the smoky -greyness drifted past them they were alone.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I can scarcely pull," said Niven. "Do you think -we could fetch ashore?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't," said Appleby with grim directness. -"Still, we can try, and it's the only thing we can do."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They rowed for about twenty minutes, the splashing -strokes growing slower while the plunging grew sharper, -and then stopped again as the haze thinned a little. -The blink of the barque's riding light was no longer -perceptible, nor could they see anything of the shore.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well?" said Niven dejectedly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby laughed, though his voice was not mirthful -and there was a curious tremor in it. "You wanted to -leave the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span>—and I fancy you've got your -wish," he said. "We're blowing out from land, and -there's quite a sea getting up."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes," groaned Niven. "That's plain enough. What -are we going to do?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't know," said Appleby. "It's not blowing -much, and the proper thing would be to keep her lying -head to with the oars until the morning. Then we'd -see the land. If we kept pulling easy she wouldn't -drift very much. The difficulty is that we're not fit to -do it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No," said Niven decisively. "No more rowing for -me. That's not going to work, anyway. What's the -next best thing?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Make a sea anchor with the mast and sail and a -piece of iron hanging from it, and lie to it with a long -cable," said Appleby who had been reading some of -Lawson's books.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Rot again!" said Niven. "We haven't got any -iron, and the few yards of rope forward wouldn't be half -enough."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Then," said Appleby with a little hollow laugh, "we -can only let her drift, unless the sea gets too big for it. -I don't feel like rowing any more myself."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They threw the oars in, and sat down out of the wind -on the floorings, feeling very lonely, for an hour or so. -The gig was long and narrow with only a few inches -of her bottom in the water, and the wind did what it -would with her. Now it drove her sideways, now it -whirled her round, and all the while the dark slopes of -water rose higher and the night grew colder. At last -when a little splash of brine fell on Appleby's face he -rose to his knees and saw a yellow flicker with a green -blink beneath it swinging towards them through the haze.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Get your oar out—quick! There's a steamer coming -up," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven obeyed him, but it was another thing to pull -the oar. Their tired arms had stiffened, and it is -somewhat difficult to row in tumbling water. The wind -would also blow the gig's head round in spite of them, -and little frothy splashes came in over the bow, but the -lights were growing brighter, and when at last they -stopped rowing a big, shadowy bow was forging through -the water close in front of them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Twice they sent up a breathless shout, while the bow -drew out into a length of dusky hull. They could see -the double row of deckhouses showing dimly white, and -the big, black funnel high above them, but only the -thumping of engines answered their cry, and in another -moment the boat reeled and plunged as the steamer's -stern went by. Then a little seething rush of foam -lapped in over the gunwale, and Niven groaned.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The brutes—they could have heard us if they had -wanted to," he said with hoarse unevenness, and Appleby -saw what was going to happen by the way his comrade -flung in his oar.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Hold up!" he said sternly. "Shake it off, and -stiffen your back, Chriss. If you're going to give up we -can't do anything."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It can't make any difference," said Niven with -hopeless apathy. "You know as well as I do that we -can do nothing now."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was not astonishing that his courage should desert -him. He was worn out, and already the gig was taking -more than splashes in over her gunwale, for they had -blown well out from land and the freshening breeze had -raised a little frothing sea in the more open water. It -appeared very possible that the craft would roll over -presently. Appleby, however, though very near it, was -not quite beaten yet.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's where you're wrong," said he. "We can get -a little sail on her and keep her running. There's not -sea enough to hurt her when she's going before it, and -we're tolerably sure to pick up a ship or see the land -to-morrow."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was a relief to have something to do, and Niven -felt a very little easier in mind when they had stepped -the mast, half-hoisted the sail and baled the boat dry. -She ran well as long, flat-floored boats do, and, though -there was usually a sea that looked unpleasantly big -following close behind her, no more water came on board. -Niven lay on the floorings by his comrade's feet where -the stern kept the wind and spray off him, and Appleby -sat at the tiller doing his best to keep the boat before -the sea, and watching the froth swirl past her. It raced -forward faster than they were travelling, rose above the -gunwale on either hand, and then surged on into the -darkness and was lost again. He had only this and the -chill of the wind that swept over his shoulder to guide -him, and by and by, when the gig swerved a little, in -place of seething past, the foam lapped into her. Then -Niven would stir himself and bale to free the boat of -the water before more came on board her. He had, -however, no great difficulty in doing it, because a -buoyant craft of that kind will, so long as one can keep -her straight, run before a tolerably nasty sea without -shipping much water, but both lads knew they were -driving four or five miles further from the land every hour.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They saw no more steamers, and very little of anything -beyond the streaks of froth that went hissing by. -Sometimes for a few minutes the moon shone through, -but the silvery radiance was promptly blotted out by -the haze again, and Appleby grew steadily colder and -stiffer at the tiller. He was also getting drowsy, though -he knew that if he relaxed his vigilance for a moment -and let the gig swerve as she lurched forward with a sea -the next would fill her to the gunwales or roll her over. -At last when his head would droop a little in spite of -his efforts, Niven, who was looking aft just then, rose -half-upright.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Hallo!" he said excitedly. "There's something -coming up astern."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby, with every nerve quivering, glanced over his -shoulder, which was not wise of him, and saw a tall, -dusky shape rush out of the darkness. Then the boat -shot up to windward a little, and her weather gunwale -was lost in a rush of foam.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Bale!" he shouted, as he felt the chilly water splash -about his ankles.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven grasped the baler, for there was evidently no -time to lose, but as he did so a banging and rattling -came out of the darkness, and a hoarse cry reached them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Down sail, and pull her up to us!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby let the sheet fly, and scrambled forward, and -in another moment the flapping sail fell into the boat.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then while the gig lurched perilously and they -struggled to get the oars out a shadowy blur of -thrashing canvas swept past them and stopped close ahead. -After that he only remembered rowing savagely until a -low dark hull that plunged and rolled swayed down -upon the boat and smote her heavily. A man sprang -down apparently with a rope, another leaning over the -bulwarks clutched Niven and dragged him up, and -Appleby, who did not quite know how he got there, -found himself standing on a little schooner's deck. -Somebody was speaking close beside him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She's twenty feet, anyway, and there's nowhere we -could stow her."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Then you can let her go," said another man. -"Box her round with the staysail, Donegal. She'll -fall off now. Let draw, and out with the main-boom -again!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was no sharpness in the man's voice, and he -spoke with a drawl, but Appleby had never seen sail -handled as quickly on board the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span>. Here and -there a dark object hauled on a rope, and then with a -swing to leeward and a swift upward lurch the schooner -was on her way again. He did not fancy the vessel -was a trader, because she seemed too fast and small for -that, and while he wondered what her business might -be the man who had spoken touched him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Come right along, and we'll have a look at you," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby and Niven followed him into the little house -under the mainboom, the floor of which was below -the level of the deck, and stood still with the -water trickling from them while a lamp swung -above them. A little stove burned in one corner, -the place seemed very hot, while a curious odour -pervaded it. Then Appleby's eyes rested on the man who -sat down at one end of the little swing table. He was -tall and lanky, and his face was lean, while his skin was -the colour of new leather, and a ponderous hand rested -on the table in front of him. His hair was slightly -grizzled, and there was something that suggested -resolution in the set of his lips and the shape of his -chin. There was, however, a little smile in his eyes, -which were very keen.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Sit you down," he said. "Kind of cold night for a -picnic, and you were making good time for Yokohama -when we saw you first."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The lads obeyed him, and the man thumped upon -the beam above him when Niven sank huddled into a -corner and closed his eyes. Then there was a cold -draught as a skylight opened and a man looked in. -"Wanting anything?" he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Tell Brulée to worry round and raise a pint or two -of coffee—hot," said the man at the table, who glanced -at Appleby. "Your partner's played out, but we'll fix -him in a minute."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Are you the skipper of this schooner, sir?" asked -Appleby.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The man nodded. "That's just what I am—Ned -Jordan of Vancouver, British Columbia, though I kind -of figure it's me that's conducting this meeting. It was -about the picnic you were going to tell me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby felt reassured, for the man's voice was -good-humoured, though he fancied it would not be advisable -to trifle with him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"There wasn't any picnic, sir," he said. "We -didn't come out for pleasure."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No," said Jordan dryly. "I didn't figure there was. -Those things you've got on don't look quite like a city -lad's outfit. Still, I was wondering if you were going to -put it that way."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby flushed a trifle, for he guessed the man's -thoughts. "What do you fancy we are?" said he.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jordan smiled dryly. "It's me that's asking the -questions, but I'm quite open to tell you. You're two -English lads from the big barque off Port Parry, and I -figure you got tired of her."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We didn't run away from her," said Appleby.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said Jordan with a trace of grimness, -"whether you did or didn't don't count for much with me, -but I've no use for crooked talking on board this packet. -Better tell me what started you off for Japan, and put -it as straight as you can."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby told his story, and Jordan glanced at Niven, -who had opened his eyes again. "You would tell it the -same way, too?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Of course," said Niven angrily. "Still, I'm not -going to do it since you don't believe him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was a little gleam in Jordan's eyes, and, as he -looked at them in turn, they found his gaze somewhat -embarrassing. "Still, you're not worrying because you -can't get back?" he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No," said Appleby. "I'm uncommonly glad I can't."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jordan nodded. "Not much to eat, and plenty -kicks?" he said, as a man came in. "Well, here's the -coffee, and I figure you could worry through a little -grub as well. Whatever they fed you with on board -the barque, they didn't make you fat."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He laid a fresh loaf, butter, and a can of meat upon -the table, and the lads did not wait for a second -invitation, while it was a good many minutes later when -Appleby laid his knife down with a little sigh of -content.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We have got to thank you, sir, but it's time we -asked where the schooner's going to, and when you can -put us ashore?" he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jordan nodded, and pointed to the northern half of -the compass fixed in the skylight above him. "That's -where she's going—up there into the ice and fog where -the fur seals live," he said. "As to the other question, -we could land you in Vancouver when the season's over. -We're away five or six months as the usual thing."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But that would never do for us," said Niven with dismay.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No?" said Jordan dryly. "Well, you see, I wasn't -thinking of you very much. I didn't ask you to come -here, and there are a few other men as well as myself -I've got to suit on board this packet."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby stared at him in silence for a space. "But -you can't take us away north unless we are willing to -go," said he. "You could haul her on a wind, and put -us ashore on the west coast of Vancouver Island -to-morrow. My friend's father would pay you well for -doing it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Again the expression Appleby had noticed crept into -Jordan's eyes. "Well," he said with a little laugh, "I -figure I can, and if I put you ashore on the beach you'd -starve in the bush. Now, I don't quite like the way -you're talking, because while there's no kicking on board -the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span>, we've no use for more than one skipper—and -that's me. When you've got that into your head -we'll go on a little. Says you, 'The other lad's father -will pay you.' Well, I don't know him, and he's living -six thousand miles away, while if he'd sense enough to -raise dollars he could heave away, he'd never have sent -his son to sea. That's quite plain to me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My father is a rich merchant, and a clever one," said -Niven indignantly. "The value of a good many -schooners like this one wouldn't be much to him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Then," said Jordan with a grim smile, "it's quite -clear you don't take after him. Folks of that kind know -when talking's not much use to them, but it's time we -got ahead a little. We were nigh a month behind when -we started from Vancouver, and with five boats way up -before me, I'm not stopping one hour for anybody, and -the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> is going north like a steamer while this -breeze lasts. You've heard all I've got to tell you as to -that. Now it might be two or three months before I -could put you on board anything coming south, and in -the meanwhile I've got to give you clothes and feed -you, while, as I want all the dollars I've got, to do it for -nothing wouldn't be square to me. So since you came -on board the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span>, I'm wanting your word that -you'll stay there until we get back to Vancouver. -You'll get half a man's share in what we make, if we -find you useful and willing, and that seems to me a -square offer."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby looked at Niven. "It can't be helped—and -we couldn't be worse off than we were in the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span>," -he said. "There's no use in telling him any more -about your father."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven sat silent a little, and then nodded. "We'll -come, sir," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Then," said Jordan, "it's a deal. Now those things -of yours aren't quite fit to go sealing in, and you can -take these along. Stickine will show you how to fix -them up to-morrow."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He took out several curiously smelling garments from -a cupboard, and shouted, "Stickine!" and in another -minute the lads went out on deck and down a hatchway -with a big silent man who grinned at them reassuringly.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-champlain-sealer"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER VIII</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE 'CHAMPLAIN,' SEALER</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>A streak of sunlight that crept warm across his -face and then swung away again awakened Appleby -next morning, and for a moment or two he lay still -staring about him in dreamy wonder. The </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran's</em><span> -deckhouse was held together by little iron beams, and -in place of these great square timbers and ponderous -knees ran into the vessel's framing above his head. -There was something curiously unfamiliar about them. -Then he saw that a long shelf, divided into wooden -bunks, extended beyond the one he lay in, and there -were more of them on the opposite side of the vessel. -Between lay a space of shadow save where a shaft of -sunlight came down through an opening, and Appleby -remembered suddenly when as he watched it swing to -and fro he felt a quick rise and fall which was very -different from the long upward lurch of the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span>. -Reaching over he laid his hand on Niven's shoulder.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Turn out! It's eight bells, and they're tacking -ship," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven was out of his bunk in a moment, and a burst -of hoarse laughter greeted him, when he stood swaying, -half-awake, on the deck, in the scantiest of attire, with -dismay in his face.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What's—what's all this?" he said. "Wherever -have I got to?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said the man called Stickine they had seen -in the cabin, "I guess it isn't the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span>. Now, -hadn't you better get some of those things on to you?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven struggled into the garments the man pointed -to, while Appleby sat on the edge of his bunk and -grinned at him, and a group of men sitting in the -shadow with plates upon their knees watched them -both curiously. There were five or six of them, and all -had bronzed faces that had been darkened by frost and -ice blink, as well as sun and wind, and there was, he -fancied, a difference between these men and any he had -seen on board the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span>. He came to know them -later—as a few gentlemen who watched affairs of State -in Vladivostock, Washington, and Ottawa did—as very -daring seamen and fearless free lances, who now and -then came home rich with fur seal pelts from the misty -seas, in spite of the edicts and gunboats of three great -nations. In the meanwhile he saw they were getting -a much better breakfast than that usually sent forward -on board the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span>, and there was an air of -good-humoured comradeship about them. Appleby had by -this time got into his trousers, and one of the group -stood up when he dropped to the deck.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Clear away for firing practice with the turret gun!" -he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven stared at him a moment, and then guessing -what was meant laughed a little. "No," he said -"you've missed it this time."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Be easy while I try him," said another man, and -then slammed his hand down on the table. "Eyes -front. 'Tinshun company!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Wrong again!" said Appleby who, remembering -the warships at Port Parry, surmised that they were -taken for lads who had quitted their nation's service -without permission.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Sure, an' how was I to know, when the woods is -thick with them!" said the seaman glancing round at -his comrades deprecatingly. "Then 'tis watch your -topsail leaches and mainsail haul, again."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes," said Appleby, grinning, "now you've got it. -If you'd had any sense you'd have seen we were too -thin for navy lads, and too young for the marines."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was a chuckle, and the man, who had twinkling -blue eyes, stretched out an inviting arm. "Then -come along, darling, and ate," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They sat down on a chest, and one of the company -gave each of them a can of very good coffee, and pointing -to the great piece of fish in a frying-pan tossed a -loaf in their direction.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Ned Jordan will see you earn it, so you needn't be -afraid," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby helped himself, and Niven laughed when -he saw that the men were watching him admiringly. -"They feed you well out here," he said. "We didn't -get soft bread and halibut for breakfast on board the -</span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span>."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"This," said a grinning man, "is a great country. -Now I'm going to raise you, Donegal. The lad's with me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The man he spoke to turned with a sparkle in his -eyes, and the sun that shone down the hatch glinting -on his coppery hair.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"This," he said, "is not a country—'tis the sea, an' -the place ye come from is made up of the leavings of -the old one. 'Tis the dumping-ground for all them -we've no use for yonder—bankrupts, suicides and -green-and-red-blind sailors. When a gintleman in my -country is too big a nuisance to his neighbours, the -boys sind the hat round and prisint him wid a ticket -for Canadaw."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He brought out the last word with the accentuation -of the French Canadian; but the big, lean sailorman -only grinned at him. "An'," he said, "fwhat was ut -brought you here thin, Donegal?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Donegal laughed softly. "A hare," said he. "She -would come an' sit on the turf-wall winking—impudent -at me, an' with one of the guns that was out in '98 -in the cabin, what would anny man of intilligince do? -She was a good gun if ye gave her time and had -something sthrong to lean her on, but the magistrate—an' -me owing him tin pound rint—did not agree with me. -There was no Ground Game Act thin, an' ye tuck the -chances when ye went shooting in my counthry. Would -ye be finding the lads another loaf—one is no use to -them—Brulée, and now Mainsail Haul, was it the -mate or the skipper who did not agree with ye?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby realized that speech was direct here and he -must hold his own. "I fancy you all know how I came -here, by this time, as well as I do," he said, glancing -towards Stickine. "That man was about the cabin when -I told my story—and they bring you a joint when -you're through with your second course in the old -country."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Hear him!" said Donegal. "Sure now, for a sailorman, -'tis Stickine that romances tremenjous, an' he told -us the other one was an earl's son from the old country. -'Turn the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> round and put me ashore—at -once. What's the value of ten schooners to the father -av me?' says he."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven looked somewhat foolish, but Appleby laughed. -"Well, there was an Emperor's relative who went to -sea in a merchant ship not very long ago," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Donegal shook his head solemnly. "The man was -mad. All thim royal families but our one is," he -said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"In the meanwhile I'd like to know a little more -about where we're going and what we're going to do, -now I'm one of you," said Niven. "You see, I couldn't -ask the skipper too many questions."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis his condescending modesty," said Donegal. -"'One of you,' says he! Sure, 'tis ten years it would -take to make a man of ye, an' it takes ten more to -make a man into a sealer. Stickine, will ye enlighten -the son av the ducal earl?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven fidgeted, for he realized that education is not -everything, and that even in speech he had not shown -himself the seaman's equal; but Stickine tapped on -the table. "It works out like this," he said; "we're -going to hear the bear growl, and the eagle scream, -and if it's a white-flag gunboat, put a pinch of salt -right on the beaver's tail."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Russia," said Niven, "and America, the beaver's -Canada, but what have the gunboats to do with the -seals?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Sure," said Donegal, "'tis plain they did not teach -ye very much at school. Now, the seal, ye will observe, -lives most of his time where no man can get at him in -the lonely sea, but wanst in the year he crawls out on -the rocks of St. Paul and St. George, up in the Behring -Sea, and when it is not convenient for ye to find him -there ye may call at one or two reefs in Russian water -or the Copper Islands."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said Niven, "where do the warships come in?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis patient as well as modest ye are," said the -sealer. "Now, 'tis not discreet of a youngster to hurry -a grown man, an' that they would have taught ye wid -the thick end of a gun whin ye were in the marines!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I was never in the marines," said Niven a trifle -hotly, and Donegal sighed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Sure," he said, "'tis a pity, but I will prolong the -discussion. Now, by the laws of the three nations ye -may kill the seals at sea, though they will not help ye -to find them, that being left—with other things—to the -sealerman's devices, an' the sea, ye will remember, is -not the sea until it's more than three miles from land."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's a little mixed," said Appleby, glancing at the -rest of the company.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No," said Donegal. "'Tis reason. When you are -inside the three miles you are in Russia, America, or -Canada, because that's just how far a big gun could -blow the head off ye."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"There was once an American who figured it was -ten," said Stickine dryly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Fighting Bob!" said somebody, and there was a -hoarse guffaw, during which Donegal said quietly, "An' -the lashings of dollars it cost him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now, 'tis strictly prohibited to any one but the -American company that rints them Pribyloff islands to -kill the seals on land, an' if ye come too close on others -I could tell of the Russians are not kind to ye. There -was wanst a fifty-year-old schooner came home manned -by starving men, an' they'd ate the last tail of the rats -aboard her. 'Twas that or Siberia with them, but -Stickine will tell ye the tale again."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Then where do you catch the seals?" asked Appleby.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was a little quiet laughter, and Donegal shook -his head. "Asleep anywhere eight and ten miles out at -sea, as 'tis entered in the logbook," he said. "Still, ye -may discover that under circumstances unconthrollable -the sealerman kills the holluschackie—where he can."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby, glancing at the men's bronzed faces, fancied -that their merriment was a trifle grim, but a voice -came down through the hatch just then—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If you are quite through with your talking you -might come up and get more sail on her."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They went up in a body, for though Appleby had -noticed already that discipline was not especially -evident on board the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> he was also to discover -that nobody loitered when there was work on hand. -The lads followed, and the first thing that occurred to -them was that the schooner was ridiculously small. -After the great length and height of the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span> she -seemed a toy ship with two dainty little masts. Still, -Appleby saw that they were tall for her length and -made of the beautiful figured redwood which affords the -maximum of strength. Her bowsprit was tilted high to -lift the men who crawled out on it above the icy -seas, and the great boom along her mainsail's foot ran -out at least a fathom beyond her stern. Then he began -to notice her slenderness forward in spite of the breadth -of the beam that gave her stability to carry a press of -sail, and the lift of the deck towards the bows which the -rail carried higher in a bold curve that would keep her -dry when she thrashed to windward. Between the -masts stood a nest of boats packed one inside the other -with their thwarts lifted out, and Niven wondered what -so small a vessel did with so many. It was evident -she did not carry them as a precaution, for he could -see that everything about her suggested strength and -safety.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>About the boats stood a few Siwash Indians, squat, -broad-shouldered men dressed in jean and canvas, and -looking, except for their brown colour, very much like -the rest of the crew. They were, it seemed, by no means -savages, but again Appleby wondered, for they were -doing nothing, and the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> carried almost men -enough to work an English merchant ship. Aft with -half his lean height showing above the deckhouse -skipper Jordan stood swaying at the wheel, and he -swung one hand up when he saw the lads.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Feeling quite pert this morning?" he said when -they came aft. "Well, you can go up and loose the -fore-topsail."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Though this was not the kind of order the lads had -been used to they went forward, and felt that the -skipper's eyes were on them when they stopped abreast -of the foremast. There were no rattlings on the -</span><em class="italics">Champlain's</em><span> shrouds, and Appleby was wondering how -they were to get aloft when Niven pointed to the hoops -the big foresail was bound to which ran like a ladder -up the mast.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I fancy those would do?" he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They went up, and it was an easy matter to loose the -little three-cornered topsail which stretched when set -from the masthead to the end of the gaff. Then they -stood still a moment or two perched high on the cross-trees -looking down on the slender strip of hull and the -white-topped sea. The </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> was swinging over -it, and the foam that roared off from her bows and -swept away down the white wake showed the pace at -which she was travelling. Niven drew in a deep breath -of contentment as he swung in a wide sweep to and -fro, the blue of the sky above him and the blue and -white of the sea below.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm not sorry the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran's</em><span> at Port Parry, and -we're here," he said. "She's a beauty, and they feed -you well, while I never fancied anything twice her size -could tear along like this."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Hallo! Going to sleep up there?" said somebody, -and Appleby glancing down saw a little twinkle in the -eyes of Stickine.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Topsail's all clear for hoisting, sir," he said, and one -or two of those about the big man laughed. "What's -the quickest way of getting down, Chriss?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven stooped and grasped a rope. "Topsail tack, I -think. It should do," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In another second the rope was rasping between his -ankles and through his hands, then it yielded suddenly -and he fell at least a fathom with Appleby's feet just -above his head. It held again, however, and he slid to -the deck, while the rest were setting the big maintopsail -with a yard along the head of it when he went aft. -The skipper glanced at him a moment, and then turned -to the men.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We'll goosewing her, boys. Get your boom foresail -over," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He span the wheel a trifle, the long narrow foresail -lurched across, and when it swung outboard on the -opposite side the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> lifted her head a little -and the foam that lapped higher swept almost to her -quarter-rail.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She's flying," said Niven. "Going like a train."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then he felt that the skipper was watching him, and -wondered whether he had done anything unfitting when -he saw his little, dry smile.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It was a straight tale you told me—most of it. -Stick to that kind of talk," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven flushed a trifle, and was about to answer when -Appleby kicked him, and he said, "Yes, sir," instead.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jordan nodded. "Rich men's sons don't go to sea," -he said. "Well, now, there's a thing you can remember. -Never swing yourself down by anything until you know -just what it is and what it's made fast to. We've no -use for show tricks on board this packet, and I figure the -cook will find something you can do."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They went forward, Appleby grinning, Niven somewhat -flushed, and it was that night before they quite -understood the skipper's meaning. The wind had -fallen and the sky was hazy when they sat talking on -the forehatch. Donegal leaned upon the rail not far -from them, Stickine swung black against the dimness at -the wheel, and the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> was sliding slowly north, -a vague moving shadow across the great emptiness. -It seemed to Appleby that he could feel the sea as he -had never done on board the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span>. It was so close -beneath him, and life and zest of it throbbed through -everything he touched. Niven, however, was looking -at the sealer.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You were aft when the skipper spoke to us, -Donegal," he said. "What did he mean by saying he -knew we'd told him the right tale?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The man turned round and regarded him gravely. -"Mr. Callaghan—an' Donegal to my friends—an' for -the son of a ducal earl there's a lot of things you don't -know," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Then," said Niven, "how am I going to learn them -if I don't ask questions?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now," said Donegal dryly, "ye are showing ye have -some sinse, an' if it's searching for knowledge ye are, I -will enlighten ye. The moral av ut is that while ye -speak the truth, the little things ye do don't stand -up and conthradict ye. Now, when ye knew where the -topsail was that showed ye had been to sea, but they've -rattlings on the shrouds av a square-rigger, an' it was -easy to see that when ye could not find them it -perplexed ye. Then when ye were sleeping Ned -Jordan had Stickine bring some of the things ye tuk -off into the cabin, an' there was names done nice in red -on wan or two of them. 'It's all quite straight but the -last ov it, an' there's lads who can't help talking big. -Many's the time I've tried to teach my own ones -better—wid a fence rail,' says he."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Donegal looked hard at Niven, but Appleby, who -laughed softly, kicked his comrade's leg.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We'll not worry about what he told your skipper -any more—but it's true," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Donegal said nothing further, but his eyes twinkled -curiously, and there was silence for a space until a blink -of light crept out of the dimness astern. The moon had -risen, but was hidden by a cloud-bank in the south-east, -and there was nothing to be seen but the light that grew -steadily higher and brighter. Then a red one became -visible, and while a vague black shape grew into form -there was a blink of green. Stickine struck the -deckhouse with his foot as he pulled over the wheel, and -the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> swung round a little, but still the lights -seemed to follow her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A steamer," said Appleby. "What can they -be after? Our canvas is plain enough against the sky."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Donegal grunted. "A top-heavy coal basket of a -gunboat, sure!" he said. "How is it I know? Well, -ye will have a better acquaintance by and by with the -ships-of-war, an' any one could see the way she's rolling -if he looked at her."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby could see the higher light reeling to and -fro, and a long smear of smoke that streaked the sea -below. While he watched it the dim hull lengthened -out, and he saw the white froth boil beneath the -flung-up bows. They came down amidst a spray cloud, and -the slanted masts swung wildly as the long roll of the -Pacific lapped about the shadowy hull. The steamer -was close upon the </span><em class="italics">Champlain's</em><span> quarter now.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Suddenly there was a faint twinkle of brightness on -board her, and then a great shaft of light smote a -glittering track across the waters and rested on the -schooner's stern. Jordan's lean figure was forced up -against it, and Appleby could see the little dry smile -in his face as he nodded to Stickine at the wheel. He -pulled it over a spoke or two, and the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> -swerved a trifle, while Jordan's smile became a trifle -grimmer, for the light also swinging still blazed upon -her stern. Then it beat into the lad's eyes and dazzled -them, swept forward and lighted all the foresail when it -rested on the boats, flickered up and down the deck, -forcing up every rope by its brilliancy, and vanished so -suddenly that Niven afterwards said he could hear it -snap. Next moment the steamer drew ahead, and the -last he saw of her was her shadowy stern lifted high on -the shoulder of a long smooth sea.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jordan laughed a little as he paced up and down -beside the wheel. "American," he said. "That fellow -will know us if he falls in with us again."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="a-trial-of-speed"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER IX</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">A TRIAL OF SPEED</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>It was early one morning rather more than three -weeks after the lads had fallen in with the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span>, -and a little breeze had just sprung up with the sun -when Appleby, who was scrubbing down decks just -then, turned upon Niven who stood close by with a -dripping bucket in his hand.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I want the water here, and not all over me," he -said, pointing with his bare toes to the sand he had -sprinkled on the planking.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven grinned, and stooping, rolled his trousers to -the knee, after which he commenced a little step-dance -up and down the forehatch, and his laugh rang lightly -when a drowsy growl rose from beneath.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You want good thick clogs to do it well, but I -fancy this will bring him up," he said. "Did yez sleep -all day in the old country, Donegal?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Now few men would have ventured to do what -Niven was doing on board a merchant ship, where the -time for sleep is scanty, but as the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> carried -twice as many men as were apparently needed, they -had ample space for rest. Still, as he swung round -grimacing with his back to the scuttle in the hatch, a -coppery head rose up from it, and a long arm reached -out. Then there was a chuckle from Stickine at the -wheel, and Niven turned again just in time to receive -the contents of the bucket full in his face. After that -there was a scurry across the deck, and he swung -himself up by the mast-hoops, while a rope-end flicked -about the one from which he had just whipped his -naked feet, and Donegal sat down on the hatch with a -placid grin.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Ye can stop up there and cool, me son, until Ned -Jordan comes up," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven sat down on the jaws of the foresail gaff, and -wiped his dripping face. "Sure, 'tis an ungrateful -beast, an' me just rousing him while the morning's -fresh," he said. "Tom, if I had that bucket I could -drop it nicely on his head."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Donegal gazed up at the lad reflectively. "'Tis -what comes of fattening ye too quick," he said. -"There was no thricks of that kind about ye on board -the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span>, and ye had a distressful hungry look -when we got ye."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven could not find a neat rejoinder, and sat still -with his arm round the throat halliards high up on the -gaff, while the sun that rose with a smoky glare out of -the eastern haze shone into his face. It was bronzed -to the colour of copper, and it is possible that his -friends would at first sight have found it difficult to -recognize the lad they had last seen strutting in new -uniform. He now wore jean trousers and a thick -canvas jacket which Jordan had given him, and while -both were considerably too large there were big smears -of tar on them. His hands were as hard as a navvy's, -and though he had not lost the love of frolic he had -found no scope for on board the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span> there was a -difference in his face.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The sea had set its stamp upon Niven, and the set of -his lips had grown more resolute, while though they -could still twinkle his eyes were steadier. Hardship -and the need for quick decision and self-reliance had -stiffened him, for Niven had been taught a good deal -since he left Sandycombe School, and the knowledge -that even a rich merchant's son was entitled to nothing -he could not obtain by his native wit or the strength -of his hand was perhaps the most useful of it all. -Money, he had discovered, was not much use at sea, -where nobody cared in the least who he was, and it -was by the things he did he must stand or fall.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was less change in Appleby, who had been -early cast upon his own resources, but he, who had -never been boisterous, was a trifle quieter, and had -already added an inch or two to the breadth of his -chest. His skin also resembled half-tanned leather, -and he was picturesquely arrayed in garments of -patched canvas somewhat too large for him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the meanwhile Niven glancing aft, and wondering -by what means he could avoid Donegal, who appeared -disposed to sit where he was all morning, saw the -crimson glare of the sunrise beat athwart the sea. It -streaked the long smooth undulations that rolled up -after the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> a coppery red, and the schooner -swung over them lazily with half-filled mainsail -banging. Under the sun there rolled a bank of smoky -vapour, and just as Jordan came up from the little -deckhouse, Niven saw something slide out of it. He -was not altogether sorry, for although there was no -abuse of the men on board the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span>, he fancied -the skipper's toleration had its limits, and when he -looked down Donegal flicked a rope-end suggestively.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Next moment Jordan saw him. "Now, I figured -you were washing decks. Anybody tell you to go up -there?" he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven looked distinctly sheepish, and Donegal -grinned. "Is ut telling that's any use to him, an' me -inviting him to come down the last half-hour," he said. -Just then the object that crept out of the haze grew -clearer, and swinging himself up by the peak halliard, -Niven stretched out an arm. "There's a schooner -coming up astern, sir," he said. "Another just showing -abeam!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Donegal sprang into the shrouds, Jordan whipped up -his glasses, and Niven, who saw they had forgotten him, -slipped down. He had scarcely reached the deck when -the skipper called out, and two or three men came -scrambling out of the scuttle.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Hand those topsails down, and get up the biggest -yard-headers," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was no scurrying, but the men were very -swift, and in a few minutes the little three-cornered -topsails they had carried at night were down, and two -big ones set. The </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> quickened her pace a -trifle, but it was evident the other schooners were -coming up with her. Jordan laid down his glasses.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The </span><em class="italics">Belle</em><span> and the </span><em class="italics">Argo</em><span>. They're bringing the -breeze along with them," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The sea was still only faintly rippled about them, -and the smoke from the galley eddied in the hollow of -the foresail, but the other vessels had grown plainer -and were slanting over, while Niven, who resumed his -deck scrubbing, fancied that Jordan strode up and down -impatiently. Then Brulée, the French-Canadian cook, -put his head out of the galley. "The breakfast is -quite ready, </span><em class="italics">camarades</em><span>," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The lads took their places with the rest, and when -they sat down Niven glanced at the big lean-faced -Stickine.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What are we running away from those fellows -for?" he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Hear him!" said Donegal. "'Tis marvellous, his -observation."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Give the lad a show now and then," said the -Canadian. "Well, now, when you see Ned Jordan run -away you can figure there's dollars somewhere at the -bottom of it, because if he didn't want to it would take -quite a fleet of gunboats to put a move on him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Brulée laughed. "You others are all lak that," he -said. "</span><em class="italics">V'la la belle chose—courant en courant—la chasse -de dollar</em><span>. It is so with you also in my country, the -Quebec."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, now," said a little man who hailed from -Montreal, "there was a time when some of you made -tolerably good running down there under Montcalm -too. I've seen the place where that chase came off, -and it's right behind the ramparts at Quebec."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"They run!" said Niven, who had read of the -famous scene on the heights of Abraham, but Donegal -stretched out a big hand, and he wriggled backwards -with his plate.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What come well from General Wolfe is a thrifle too -big for the size av ye," he said. "They were good men, -both Montcalm and him, and 'tis but the makings of one -I'm after licking out of ye. Stickine, ye may purceed."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said the Canadian, "where the fur seals go -to when they haul off from the Behring Sea nobody -quite knows, but they're coming north, thousands of -them, now, and some men can figure better than others -where they'll first show up again."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Is the skipper fortunate at finding them?" asked -Appleby.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, I wouldn't put it like that, just because it's -tolerably plain figuring that it wants a good big head -to make a lucky man," said Stickine. "It's the one -who can do the most thinking comes out on top, and -the things Jordan knows are the ones that work out -the reckoning."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You've hit it plump," said another man. "Ned -Jordan's chased the seals that long he can tell you just -what they're thinking."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Stickine nodded. "And think they can; they, and -the sea otter, and the salmon they live upon. Well, -now, when Ned Jordan has worried it all out for days, -he has no use for a crowd of men who're too lazy to do -their own thinking, hanging right on to him. No, sir. -When the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> drops right down on top of the -seal herd she'll be there alone."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They went up as soon as breakfast was over, and -Niven saw that one of the schooners had drawn close -up on the </span><em class="italics">Champlain's</em><span> quarter. The breeze had -freshened, and both vessels were hurling the froth -about their bows, and slanting over until the foam was -near the rail. Foot by foot the stranger drew up, and -Niven saw the reason as he noticed the length of her -slanted masts. She sank to her bowsprit at every dip, -and the spray whirled half the height of her tall -foresail, when she swung her streaming bows up again. -A man stood aft with both hands gripping her wheel, -and another with a broad grin on his face leaned on -her rail. His voice reached them faintly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We've been feeling lonely for the sight of you these -two weeks," he said. "Now it 'pears to me that as the -</span><em class="italics">Belle</em><span> has got the speed, we're going to have your company."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jordan smiled grimly as he glanced to weather. -"Well, I don't know. There's more wind coming -along," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby was sensible of a little thrill of pleasurable -excitement, for it was evident that if Jordan desired to -fall in with the seal herds alone he must sail for it, and -glancing aft at the skipper's lean figure and quiet -bronzed face he felt that he was not the man to be -lightly beaten.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At noon there was no great distance between the -vessels, though the </span><em class="italics">Belle</em><span> with her tall masts had crept -forward a little upon the </span><em class="italics">Champlain's</em><span> weather-quarter, -and the third one lay a quarter of a mile astern. The -spray was whirling in sheets, and now and then a -frothing green deluge came in, for all three were listed -well down to their rails. The sea was also flecked and -seamed with white, and it was evident to the lads that -no skipper would have driven his vessel so hard had he -not men enough to swiftly shorten sail. Then just as -Brulée put his head out of the galley, the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> -heeled further by a screaming blast, buried her lee bow, -and when she hove her head clear again all that side of -her ran water.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jordan glanced up at his main topmast, and there -was a little twinkle in his eyes as he said, "I figure -nobody would blame us for not hanging on to our sail. -Boys, we'll have the topsail down."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The big sail swung down below the mainsail gaff, but -when Appleby would have laid his hand upon the tack -to haul it lower still Stickine laughed as he stopped him. -"There's two ways of winning a race," he said. "Let -her lie. 'Pears to me Ned Jordan will want her up -again."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby did not quite understand, but he saw -Jordan's pose stiffen and his face grow intent as the </span><em class="italics">Belle</em><span>, -still carrying everything, forged ahead. Then her topsail -also fluttered, and he swung up his hand.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Sheets in, and stand by your peak halliard to let go -with a run," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then there was a scurry along the deck, blocks -groaned and rattled, and the long booms were dragged -in as the skipper put down his helm. The schooner -came round, and because no vessel will carry the sail on -a wind that she will going free, her lee-rail was in the -sea and the deck sloped like a roof. Foam and green -water seethed over her weather bow, and Appleby -thrilled all through as he hung on by a pin with one -hand on the peak halliard ready to let the mainsail gaff -swing down to ease the pressure. He understood the -manoeuvre now, for the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> was shooting up -across the other schooner's stern for the berth that -would give her a free hand upon her weather. It was -almost too late when the skipper of the </span><em class="italics">Belle</em><span> realized -this, but he put his helm down pluckily, and then the -weight of his tall masts came into play. The </span><em class="italics">Belle</em><span> -seemed buried in a white confusion when she came up, -too, and a huddle of dripping figures appeared to wash -aft together when she dipped her nose in a sea. Then -there was a crash as she swung her jibs out of the foam -again, and her foresail blew over to leeward banging, -while the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> swept up dripping on her weather. -A man sprang up in the shrouds shouting ironically, but -Jordan shook his head and called him down.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We've no use for that kind of thing here," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby was dripping with the spray, but his blood -tingled, and his face was flushed, while Stickine, who -stood close by, nodded to him approvingly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Neat, oh, yes. Quite neat!" he said. "Her -foresail gaff's gone, and we're well up on her weather -where we can do what we like with her. Still, I figure -we're not going to hold on to our own sticks very long."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Square away!" Jordan's voice rang out, and the -long mainboom swung out again, while there was by -contrast a curious ease of motion when the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span>, -rising more upright, turned her stern to the sea. It no -longer thrashed in over her weather bow, but ran -forward white-topped on either side of her, but the -breeze was even stronger, and Appleby wondered, when -the voice rose again.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Run the gaff topsail back to the masthead, boys!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It took several of them to do it, and more were needed -before they hauled the sheet home. Then the </span><em class="italics">Belle</em><span> -dropped away behind, though the other vessel stayed -where she was, half-a-mile under their lee quarter, a -pyramid of swaying sail.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jordan laughed softly as he glanced towards her over -his shoulder. "Old man Carter's most as stubborn as -a mule," he said. "Well, we'll have more wind by and -by, and I'm figuring we'll see things then. I don't -know any reason you shouldn't get your dinner in the -meanwhile, boys."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They trooped below, and there was no great change -when they came up, except that the </span><em class="italics">Belle</em><span> was farther -astern and the sea seemed to be getting steeper. They -swept on before it all afternoon, and the men were a little -more silent when, with a great rolling in of smoky -vapours, nightfall came. It was now blowing tolerably -hard, but while the seas frothed white as they surged -past high above the rail, the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> still drove on -under all her lower sails. She was swept by bitter -spray, and the man who held her straight was panting -at the wheel, but the vapours rolled down thicker and -the </span><em class="italics">Belle</em><span> and the </span><em class="italics">Argo</em><span> were indistinguishable. Niven -was lying in his bunk when Stickine came down, and -his face was a trifle grave, while, as he flung off his -dripping oilskins, there was a great thud and gurgle -forward, and something seethed across the hatch.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Put her nose in that time," he said. "Well, we've -got to shake them off, but we're taking steep chances -already, and we can't press her as we're doing very -long."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Could you make the others out?" asked a man, and -Stickine laughed silently.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No," he said. "Still, we will do if the moon comes -through. I know old man Carter, and he'd run her -under before he'd let us beat him. It wouldn't take -them long to get the spare gaff on the </span><em class="italics">Belle</em><span>."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He flung himself into his bunk as he was, and -Appleby, who had heard him, asked no questions. He -began to realize that these big, good-humoured sealers -could on occasion be very grim, though this was not a -cause of much astonishment to him, for he had seen -already that it is not, as a rule, the domineering and -ostentatious who take the foremost place when the real -stress comes. He slept, but it was lightly, for the roar -of the sea about the bows and groaning of the -hard-pressed hull roused him now and then. At times he -seemed to feel the great beams and knees straining -above him and the tremulous quiver of the vessel's skin, -while when for the fourth time he wakened suddenly a -shower of brine came down with a hoarse voice through -the scuttle. The light of the swinging lamp showed -that Niven was sitting up wide awake, and in a few -more minutes they crawled out on deck with several of -the men.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A shower of stinging spray beat into their eyes, and -when he could see again, Niven had a disconcerting -glimpse of a big frothing comber apparently curling -above the schooner's stern. The decks ran water, but -when he glanced aloft every sail but the topsail was -drawing still, and he clutched the rail when as they -swung upwards a blink of moonlight pierced the flying -vapours. To leeward of them lay a schooner, her hull -just showing faintly black through the white smother -that seethed about her, until she hove a breadth of it -up streaming in a leeward roll. It appeared insignificant -in comparison with the mass of dusky sail that swayed -low again towards the rushing froth as she lurched back -to weather, and then Appleby glanced aft with a little -thrill to the grim set face of the man who stood panting -at the </span><em class="italics">Champlain's</em><span> wheel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The hiss of the seas that followed, the roar at the -bows, the wild humming of the blast and the whirling -spray stirred his blood. They were all of them tokens -of what man could dare, and the strain, that human -nerve could bear, for he knew that already hemp and -wire and timber were being taxed to the uttermost, and -that if the helmsman gave her a spoke too much or too -little the next sea would curl on board or the great -black mainsail jibe over and strew the </span><em class="italics">Champlain's</em><span> -decks with ruin. Niven stood beside him, and Appleby -saw that although his face was almost colourless in the -moonlight, his eyes were shining.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, it's great!" he said. "Worth all we stood on -board the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span> to have a hand in this."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And how many hands were ye born with when I see -two av them holding ye where ye are?" said Donegal, -who apparently heard him. "Is ut dollars or diversion -a man goes to sea after?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven laughed. "Dollars. Oh, get out! You know -you feel it yourself," he said. "You've got everything -just throbbing inside you as I have now."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Donegal grinned broadly. "And what if you're -right?" he said. "'Tis born in the blood av the likes -av me, but if I was the son av a ducal earl it's sorrow -on the day would find me on the sea."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He got no further, but grabbed the lad's shoulder and -held him fast as the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> swerved a little and a -sea came in. It swirled about them icy cold as she -rolled down to lee, and the scuppers were spouting when -with a wild lurch she swung back to weather. Then -Donegal thrust the pair of them aft together.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Get a good hold an' keep it, until we have some -need av ye," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then the blink of moonlight went out and the -</span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> was alone, while the two lads shivered and -dodged the spray as she swept onwards through the -night, until a faint light crept out of the east across the -whitened sea. The wet canvas showed black against it, -there was a doleful wail of wind, and then when man's -strength sinks to its lowest something happened. The -</span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> put her bows in, and Jordan sprang -suddenly up on the deckhouse gazing astern. What he -said was scarcely audible, but the sealers apparently -understood it, for the deck was filled with scrambling -men. Down came the mainsail's peak, forward a -slashing sail slid down, and the outer jib thrashed -furiously above the bowsprit. Niven was clawing his -way towards it when Stickine grasped his shoulder and -flung him back.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I guess this is going to be work for a man," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven, who watched him crawl out along the bowsprit, -held his breath when spar and man dipped into the sea, -and then floundered aft to where the others were rolling -up the foot of the half-lowered mainsail. It slatted and -banged above them, and now and then the long boom -beneath the foot of it that ran a fathom or more beyond -the stern, swung in, for the schooner was coming up to -the wind, but the rush and stress of the race had stirred -his blood, and when it became evident that somebody -was wanted there, he swung himself up on the foot-rope -beneath its outer end as he otherwise might not have -done. In another moment Appleby was up beside him, -and Jordan standing at the wheel glanced dubiously at -them. Then he nodded.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You've got to begin sometime," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was not easy to keep a grip of the foot-rope, and -more difficult still to roll up the sail and tie the reef -points round it because both hands were needed and to -hold on they must lie across the boom. Still, they -accomplished it, and Appleby felt content when Jordan -made a little gesture as they sprang down. He was not -a man who said more than was necessary, but it was -evident that he was pleased with them. Then they -hauled at the halliards with the rest, and in a few more -minutes they were once more on their way under easy -sail.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She's snug for a while, but we'll have the trysail -handy," said Jordan quietly. "Old man Carter was a -little slow. They're catching the heft of it on board the -</span><em class="italics">Argo</em><span>."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby glanced down to leeward and saw the </span><em class="italics">Argo</em><span>. -She was hove down with one side lifted high above the -sea, and loose canvas thrashing all over her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'll figure he'll just save his masts," said Stickine. -"Wouldn't snug her down till we did. Well, I figure -Carter couldn't help being born a mule."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then the </span><em class="italics">Argo</em><span> grew dim behind them, and they -swept on into an empty sea, for the race was over, and -there was no sign of the </span><em class="italics">Belle</em><span>.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="hove-to"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER X</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">HOVE TO</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>At noon next day, Jordan once more brought the -</span><em class="italics">Champlain's</em><span> head to wind, and they put the third reef -in her mainsail, while when she swept on again the sea -grew steeper behind her, until the combers that raced -after her apparently hung frothing above her -helmsman's head. She would fling her stern up to meet -them and while the man panted over his jerking wheel -her bowsprit went down and down. Then she would -leisurely lift her nose and surge forward lapped in -seething foam, only to sink with a smooth, swift -lurch again.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was dryest aft, though there was water splashing -everywhere, and the two lads hung about the mainmast -where the little deckhouse partly sheltered them, -watching the helmsman's grim face as he swung with -his wheel. They knew, by this time, that, while it is -a somewhat difficult affair to keep a hard-pressed -vessel straight before the sea, unpleasant things are -apt to happen to a fore-and-aft one if it is not -done.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Still, the man knew his work, and did it, and at -last, towards nightfall, when the sea was all spray and -foam, Jordan, who came up, stood staring astern. After -a minute or two he shook his head.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We had better round her up while we can," he -said. "Get the main-gaff down, and you'll be handy -with the trysail."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They were very handy, and there was a good many -of them, but Appleby held his breath when the foresail -was lowered, and the mainsail peak swung down. -Jordan was still looking astern, and he nodded after -an especially big sea went smoking past them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We'll try it now," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The man beside him swayed with the wheel, the -</span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> swung round to windward, and there was -a roar when a roller burst into spray upon that side -of her. Then she swung further yet, and as the big -mainboom came down the little three-cornered trysail -went thrashing up the mast. Everybody was doing -something amidst a great banging of canvas, and -in another few moments there was a wonderful -quietness. Appleby gasped, and Stickine who went by -dripping grinned at him, while Jordan nodded to the -men.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She'll lie easy now," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In place of running before it the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> lay -almost head to wind, rising and falling with now and -then a little lurch to leeward and a curious buoyancy. -The strip of sail above her bowsprit and the trysail aft -just sufficed to hold her stationary, and it was with -little more than a spray wisp at her bows she bobbed -in a curious cork-like fashion to the sea. Except for -one or two of them the men crawled away below, and -the lads, who were wet through, were glad to climb -down into the stuffy warmth beneath the hatch.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was dark down there now save for the flickering -radiance of the lamp which shone upon the wet brown -faces and the smears of smoke. The dusky hold reeked -with the smell of steaming clothes, but the lads had -grown used to odours which would have sickened them -before they went to sea. Niven shook off the oilskins -Jordan had given him, and as usual commenced his -questions.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The sea looked nasty before we brought her up," -he said. "How was it we scarcely shipped any of it?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It was," said Stickine dryly. "Still, Ned Jordan -knows his business, sonny."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven did not care for the epithet, or the grin which -usually accompanied it, but he had discovered that one -has to put up with a good deal that one does not like -at sea.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Of course!" he said. "But why couldn't we have -gone on running?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Montreal, the man who sat nearest the stove, laughed -softly as he raised his head. "Listen to it. That's -why!" he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was a moment's silence, and while the -</span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> rolled to leeward, and the floorings slanted -under them until no man could have kept his footing, -all could hear the scream of the rigging ring through -the roar of the wind. It was a significant answer, but -it left a little that was not quite plain yet, and Stickine -nodded when Appleby glanced at him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It works out like this. A time comes when she'll -run no longer—and then it's too late to heave her to," -he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes," said Appleby reflectively. "Of course if the -sea was too bad to run before it would be too big to -bring her up in, because while she was swinging round -she'd catch it on her beam. Still, if you had run too -long what could you do?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Just nothing," said Stickine gravely. "Wait until -she ran under and took you down."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He stopped, and there was a thud that sent a little -shiver through two of the listeners as the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> -plunged into a sea, for they had been taught sufficient -to see the picture the brief words called up. In the -silence that followed Brulée leaned forward with a -curious intentness in his eyes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"</span><em class="italics">Comme ça!</em><span>" he said, swinging down a brown hand -with suggestive suddenness. "I have seen it. We -come down from Labrador in the </span><em class="italics">Acadie</em><span> brig, and it -is blow the grand ouragan."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He drew in his breath, and gazed into the dimness -as though he saw none of those about him, and then -with a little shake of his shoulders stretched out a -finger and pointed to Niven. "I was as young as -him, and it was in the clear of the moon when the -</span><em class="italics">Acadie</em><span> was hove to, one brought me to the rail to see -the </span><em class="italics">Madeleine</em><span>. She was topsail schooner which load -with us, and we had all the friend on board her. -Whether she will not heave to, or the captain he is -dare too much, I do not know, but she comes up from -the spray and pass close, so close. I see the topsails -black in the moon, and the jib she lift high. Then -she is over run the sea, and I shut tight my eye. It -is in a moment I look again—and there is no more -</span><em class="italics">Madeleine</em><span>."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Again there was silence, and Donegal nodded -sympathetically when the French-Canadian turned away his -head. "</span><em class="italics">Ave!</em><span>" he said. "For their good rest."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was a minute or two before Niven, who had shivered -a little at the tale, spoke again. "He told us the -captain dared too much," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Sure!" said Donegal. "Is that perplexing ye, -an' am I to stuff ye with wisdom so ye can spill it -out av ye? Still, that wan's easy. 'Tis the daring -ye want at sea, but ye must dare just so far, an' -when it's necessary, for the man who does not know -when the conthract is too big for him is going to -have it shown him what he is. Ye can follow me?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven was not quite sure that he did, but Stickine -smiled grimly as he nodded. "It's quite plain figuring. -He's a blame fool," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby stared at the speaker with a faint perplexity, -for while there were occasions when Donegal the sealer -and his comrades talked arrant rubbish they now and -then brought truths the lad had scarcely realized home -to him in a fashion that carried conviction as well as -astonishment with it. He wondered whether the sea -had taught them, or there was something that opened -the eyes of the thoughtful in the simple life they led. -It was one which at least demanded qualities that were -an ornament to any man, and more often than not the -primitive virtues which humanity cannot rise beyond -showed through what some would have deemed his -comrades' coarseness. Once or twice as he listened it -was dimly borne in upon the lad that while manhood -was a greater thing than culture or refinement all that -was most worthy in it was founded on a few eternal -verities.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven, however, could not be serious long, and -presently he laughed at Donegal as he turned over -to dry his other side before the little stove. He felt -luxuriously contented to lie there in the stuffy warmth, -and listen to the growling of the seas.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"There was something Stickine was to tell us—about -a fifty-year-old schooner, and a crew of starving men," -he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Donegal nodded. "That ate the rats? Get up on -the hind legs av ye, now, an' talk, Stickine."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was a little murmur from the rest, and the -big, lean-faced Canadian looked uneasy. "Pshaw! -You've heard that tale before," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Some av us," said Donegal. "An thim would hear -it again. The others has not, and they're waiting on ye -anxiously!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The men murmured approval, and Stickine shook -out his pipe with a little deprecatory gesture. "I'll -make you very tired, boys, but if you will have it this -is how it was," he said. "It was 'bout through with -the afternoon watch when the fog shut down on the -four of them in the whaler in Russian water. They -heard the schooner's bell, but it's kind of difficult to fix -a sound in a fog, and when it let up sudden they allowed -they'd lost her."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Sure!" said Donegal. "Mainsail Haul could tell -ye that in a fog ye hear the sounds in front of ye behind -ye. It is digressing ye are, Stickine, but the boys is -wondhering what four sealermen were squandhering -their time luxurious for in a whaler."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby understood the comment, for he had seen a -couple of whale boats on the beach at Port Parry, and -they were costly examples of the boat-builder's skill. -Stickine, however, laughed silently.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Old man Corliss got her for nothing—and she was -built for the Government with flooring gratings fore -and aft, but we needn't worry 'bout how he did it now. -Well, there they were, with a big lump of a sea running, -shut in by the fog, and they had to keep her head-to -with the oars when the wind came down."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Fog—and a breeze!" said Niven, and Donegal -shook his fist at him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis bethraying the ignorance av ye, ye are again," -he said. "Up there 'tis fog for ever except when 'tis a -gale, an' before it's through with that the fog crawls in -again. Ye will not heed the lad, Stickine."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said the sealer, "they held her head to wind, -until just before sun up a gunboat came along, and she -come that sudden they'd no time to heave the seals -they'd with them over before she was going hard astern -close alongside of them. The first look at her kind of -sickened them. She was a Russian."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"There was fog—and they stopped there?" said -Montreal.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"They did. There was quick-firer turned right down -on the boat," said Stickine dryly. "Well, it was all -fixed up inside five minutes. The whaler was hove up, -and a guard with side-arms marched them before a -Russian officer, and he was quite anxious to know -where they'd last seen the schooner. Now, it was -kind of curious there wasn't one of the boys could -remember."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Had they been sealing inside the limits?" asked -Appleby.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No, sir," said Stickine. "Not that time, anyway. -When they last saw the land they were well off shore."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Then the Russians had no right to seize them, and -the Canadian Government could have made them pay -up thousands of dollars," said Niven.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A little, grim smile crept into the faces of the men. -"That," said one of them, "is where you're wrong. -They had all the right they wanted when they had -the men and guns, and who's going to believe a poaching -sealer when an officer in kid-gloves tells quite a -different story?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And have British subjects no redress?" asked -Appleby with a little flush in his face, and Montreal -grinned at him with grim approval.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, yes, when they can get it—and they do now -and then, though they don't usually worry the Government -folks at Ottawa," he said. "They took them to -Peter Paul, Stickine?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"They did," said Stickine. "And they kept them -most of eight months there cooped up in a loghouse -with a little dried fish to eat, and 'bout half enough -sour black bread. They wouldn't tell the officer where -that schooner was, you see, and when they're not put -down on the papers men in prison get kind of forgotten -in that country."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And you believe it has happened—to Canadians?" -asked Niven with a little gasp of anger.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The veins swelled up on Montreal's forehead. "Well, -there are sealer's boats, British and American, that get -lost, and nobody but the partners of the men who pulled -in them and a woman or two away down south worries -very much," he said. "I had a brother in one of them."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was silence for almost a minute before Stickine -went on again. "Two of them got very sick, and they -all got thin, until when the spring came they were -walked out every day with a guard to take care of them. -Perhaps the officer figured it would be kind of awkward -if they died on his hands and then somebody remembered -them. Well, one day nigh sundown the mate and a -sick man were sitting on the beach looking at the sea, -and wondering if their folks in Canada would ever hear -of them again. They were to be sent away from that -place in a day or two.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now, there was an old schooner that must have -been getting shaky when the Russians seized her years -before moored in front of them. The oakum was -spewing from her seams, her bulwarks were worn and -weather-cracked so you could put your fingers in the rents -in them, and it wasn't much use telling a sealerman -what kind of canvas she would have after lying there -since the Russians took her in the rain and wind. Still, -she looked kind of homely, and they sat there watching -her until they heard the boom of gun and there was a -Russian soldier signing to them. Now, some of those -folks were kind enough, but this was a bad man, and -when the sealer who was sick couldn't get along fast -enough he kicked him hard, and where it would hurt him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Montreal drew his breath, and a little grey patch -showed in his cheeks.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But," he said hoarsely, "he didn't do it again!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Stickine laughed a curious little laugh. "No," he -said. "He meant to, but the man who wasn't sick -was too quick for him, and the soldier wasn't handy -getting his side arm out. The sealer took the point -in his arm, and it ripped it to the wrist, but he got -his right fist on that soldier's chin, and when he went -down he made no great show of getting up again. Then -the other two left him, and went back to the prison -where a soldier locked them in, and when the rest heard -what had happened they did some talking. They didn't -take long about it, for the mate had a notion the soldier -looked very sick when he left him, and it was quite -plain that anything they did must be put through -before they were marched away from sea.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"'We've got to light out of this right now,' says one.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"'Well,' says another, 'where are we going to?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"'That,' says the mate, 'is quite easy. There's a -schooner handy and we're going straight to sea.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Nobody said any more for a little, and the boys -looked kind of solemn. It was a long way to British -Columbia, and they knew what that schooner was -like because they'd see her. Then one of them gets up.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"'I'd sooner drown out yonder than work in the -mines,' says he.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"In 'bout five minutes they'd fixed up the thing, -and there was one of them waiting behind the door -when a soldier came in. Before he got started talking -the man had his arms about him. Then there was a -circus that didn't last very long, and the soldier was -lying tied up quite snug with his tunic round his head -when they slipped out one by one. The moon was -getting up, but it was hazy with a little breeze blowing -out to sea when two of them lit out for the place where -the schooner was lying while the rest went for the -beach where it was nearest them. There was a boat -or two handy, but they were big, and you can't get a -vessel that's been lying by for years off in a minute. -When the two stopped abreast of her the water was -very cold, and it isn't quite easy swimming in your -clothes, but they knew if they took them off they -would have to go home naked, and made the best of -it they could, though one of them was played out when -they fetched the vessel. They couldn't get a holt of her, -and the tide swung them along bobbing and clawing -at her side, until the mate got his fingers in a crack -the sun had made. Then he got up, though he was -never quite sure how it was done, and pulled the other -one after him, but they fell down on deck and lay there -a minute, anyway.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"After that one crawls to the foremast, and it was -while he made shift to get the foresail on to her he -found out what prison and hunger had done for him. -It wasn't a big sail, but he sat down faint and choking -when he'd got it up. Then he found where the shackle -was on the chain, and smashed his fingers as he pounded -it, for the pin was rusted in. He couldn't quite see -straight and his hands were bleeding, but he figured -they'd got to light out quick, for there was a dog -howling and he could hear a boat coming. At last, -when he knew another blow would knock out the pin, -he let up and he and the other man tried to get the -mainsail up, and stopped because they'd 'bout the -strength of Mainsail Haul between them. Then while -they stood there gasping a boat comes banging alongside, -and the rest was crawling over the rail when the -mate hears another splash of oars behind.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"'They're coming along with rifles,' says somebody.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, there was nobody wanting to waste any time, -and they got the mainsail up with a split you could -have ridden a horse through in the middle of it, and -'bout half the staysail to swing her with. When they'd -done that much they saw there wasn't much use in -hoisting the rest of it, and they pulled the head right -out of one of her jibs. The boat was coming up -tolerably fast, and somebody hailing them, but they -didn't stop to answer, and getting the staysail aback -knocked out the shackle-pin. The cable ran out all -right, and then they stood still, very quiet and feeling -sick, for most a minute, for they could see the boat now, -and the schooner wouldn't fall off handy. One or two -of them will remember that minute while they live. -There was so much in front of them, and, so far as they -could see, more behind—and the old schooner was just -hanging there with her mainsail peak swung down.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"At last she fell off slowly, but there wasn't one of -them fit to howl when she started off before the wind. -The mate had a kind of fancy somebody was shooting, -but nobody was quite sure then or after, because they -were too busy swaying the mainsail peak up and looking -for a sound place to bend the halliards to the jibs. -They got them up in pieces, but she was off the wind, -and when the boat dropped back into the haze behind -her the mate fell over on the hatch and lay there until -somebody poured water on to him. It was sun up next -morning before he remembered very much more, and -then that schooner scared him. You could have clawed -out pieces from her masts with your nails, and there -were more holes than canvas in her sails. No compass, -no water, not a handful of grub, and the Pacific to cross.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"They ran down the coast that day, and came to -with the kedge-anchor off a village the next one. The -folks came off, and brought them dried fish and water -for all the odds and ends of rope and ironwork they -could spare off the schooner. Then they cleared for sea -again, and hung out for two weeks starving on a -handful of grub each morning for every man, with -only the sun, that wasn't always there, and the stars to -guide them."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Stickine stopped a moment, and his face grew very -grim while there was silence in the </span><em class="italics">Champlain's</em><span> hold, -and Appleby shivered as he pictured the crazy schooner -crawling as it were at random across the face of the -Pacific with her crew of starving men.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It must have been horrible," he said. "Did they -lose any of them?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Stickine shook his head. "Not a man," he said. -"Still, two of them were on their backs and the others -just ready to lie down when a steamer came along, and -they ran slap for the bows of her when they saw the -flag she was flying. She stopped, and they felt kind -of shaky when she lay there rolling with white men -hailing them and a boat swinging out, while when a man -came on board they couldn't quite talk to him sensible, -and he stared at them and the masts a minute without -a word. Then he sized up what they were wanting, -and there was grub and coal and water in the schooner -besides a compass when the steamer went on. After -that it was easier. Somehow they nursed her through -two gales, and drove her south-east when they could, -and then one morning there was the snow shining high, -up in the sky and they knew they were through with -their troubles. That's 'bout all there is to it, and I've -done quite enough talking!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Did the Government get them any compensation, -and what became of the schooner?" asked Appleby.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Stickine laughed dryly. "No, sir," he said. "They -didn't. Nobody asked them to, and that schooner isn't -sailing now."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But you knew the mate?" said Appleby. "Of -course it was he who brought them through."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Stickine did not answer, and Donegal reached out -suddenly and grabbed his arm. Taken unawares he -could not extricate it, and next moment his sleeve was -drawn back and the lads saw a long white scar that ran -down to the wrist. Then Stickine's face flushed a -trifle, and Donegal grinned. "Ye have heard where -he got it—and he swum off to her that night," he -said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The flush faded from Stickine's face, which grew -grim again. "I'm owing the folks who did it more -than that and the hunger," he said. "We were set down, -all of us, as lost at sea, and while I was lying in that -prison things had gone wrong. When I got back to -Canada I knew they could never be straightened out -again."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby noticed how Stickine's big hands trembled, -and surmised that some great sorrow he would not -speak about had darkened the home-coming of the man -who had risen as it were from the dead. He, however, -sat still with the rest until Montreal slowly clenched a -big brown fist.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And," he said with a curious quietness, "it's a -brother they're owing me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then there was a silence that was intensified by the -roar of the sea.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="among-the-hollischackie"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XI</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">AMONG THE HOLLISCHACKIE</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The bitter gale they had run before for two days had -fallen suddenly, and it was a hazy afternoon when the -lads saw St. George of the Pribyloffs lying a faint blur -on the rim of the Behring Sea. In between swung long -slopes of grey water, that flickered here and there into -green, where a pale ray of sunlight shone down. They -did not, however, see it long, because the sun went in, -and a smear of vapour crawled up from the horizon, for -where the warmer waters of the Pacific meet the icy -currents from the Pole, the clammy fog follows close -upon the gale.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They had still short sail upon the schooner, and she -rolled distressfully with a great rattle of blocks and -banging of booms, but Jordan stood poised on the house -with glasses levelled, and white men and Indians -clustered aft and beneath him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No smoke anywhere, but we'll have the wind back -before night," he said. "How far do you make us off -the land?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Six miles, anyway," said Stickine, and Jordan nodded.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'd have put another half-mile on to that," he said. -"Well, you can get the boats over and look for the -holluschackie."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Stickine raised his hand, and the men fell to work. -He scarcely gave an order, and there was no shouting -or confusion, for every one knew what to do and did it -with a silent swiftness which the lads had never seen on -board the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span>. The hurrying figures seemed -everywhere at once, and before Appleby could decide -whom to help, the first boat was swinging from a tackle -between the masts. Then there was a splash, and -when he gained the bulwarks, a copper-faced Indian -was crouching in the bows and the oars were out. It -was quick work. Boat after boat was hove up, -thwarts fitted, rifles put on board, and while the -</span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> rolled so that no landsman could have kept -his footing, swung into the sea.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Finally when the deck was almost empty Stickine -glanced at Jordan. The skipper said nothing for a -minute, but once more swept his glasses round the -horizon, and his face was a trifle dubious when at last -he laid them down.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You can take Donovitch and Donegal and try what -the lads can do," he said. "That leaves two of us to -work the schooner, but I don't figure we'll have any -wind to speak of for an hour or two."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Stickine nodded as he moved forward, and thrust a -rope into Appleby's hands. "Lay hold and heave," he -said. "You're not going to be quite so keen on sealing -by the time you pull her back again."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The lads gasped and panted as they hauled upon the -tackle, but the boat was swung high before they had -lifted her stern a foot, and they began to understand that -even in such an apparently simple thing it would take -them years to attain the dexterity of the men who had -preceded them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Still, they did what they could, while their faces -grew red and the veins on their foreheads swelled, -and at last the boat fell almost level, when at a sign -from Stickine they let her go with a run. Then they -dropped from the rail, and, though Niven fell over -Appleby, got the oars out and the boat away before the -</span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> rolled down on that side heavily. Appleby -had lost his cap and his face was flushed, but he kept -stroke with Donegal, who pulled on the thwart in front -of him, and saw a little twinkle in the eyes of the -skipper who looked down from the rail.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'd remember the kind of crew you've got, Stickine, -though I've seen raw hands make a worse show," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They were well clear of the schooner when Donegal -spoke. "'Twas a compliment Ned Jordan paid ye, an' -it he had the thraining av ye for ten years I'd have -some hopes av ye."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Ten years!" said Niven with a little laugh that hid -the pride he felt. "Well, I fancy I'd have been made -into a merchant in less than that time if I'd stayed at -home."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"An' who would be afther throwing the likes av -you away on a merchant's business?" said Donegal dryly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven said nothing further, and they had pulled for -another half-hour when Appleby asked, "Why was the -skipper looking for smoke?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Donegal laughed. "'Tis a diction'ry wid pictures in -it to tell ye the meaning av all things ye want to know. -Sure now, but what would be afther making a smoke?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A gunboat," said Appleby. "But we're a good deal -more than three miles off the land."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"An' what av it?" said Donegal. "'Tis not easy to -fix your distance at sea without a four point bearing, -an' when 'tis a matter of opinion 'tis not the pelagic -sealerman that folks will listen to, or where would -be the use av the men in uniform who're a credit -to their nation an' the prothectors of the American -company?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, now, I've known quite a few sealers who -couldn't tell the difference between one mile and three," -said Stickine dryly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As he spoke the Indian grunted in the bows, and -Stickine, who bade them stop pulling, stood up for a few -minutes while the lads gathered breath and looked -about them. When the boat swung upwards they could -see the schooner roll with slanted spars down the side of -the sea about two miles away. Then they saw nothing -but a dark slope of water, until they rose again, and a -few little dots that swung into sight and sank became -visible scattered here and there along the horizon. A -puff of whiteness curled about one of them, and that -was all which served to show they were boats sealing. -St. George had faded into a bank of vapour, and when -the boat was hove aloft again Appleby noticed that the -horizon was closer in upon them. Then as a filmy streak -of whiteness slid across the sea a few hundred yards -away, she seemed to become suddenly very small, and -the cold grey water very near them. Stickine did not -apparently notice it, and Appleby, glancing over his -shoulder, saw the Indian still crouching motionless, rifle -in hand, in the bow.</span></p> -<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 62%" id="figure-64"> -<span id="glancing-over-his-shoulder-saw-the-indian-still-crouching-motionless-rifle-in-hand"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt=""GLANCING OVER HIS SHOULDER, SAW THE INDIAN STILL CROUCHING MOTIONLESS, RIFLE IN HAND."" src="images/img-159.jpg" /> -<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> -<span class="italics">"GLANCING OVER HIS SHOULDER, SAW THE INDIAN STILL CROUCHING MOTIONLESS, RIFLE IN HAND."</span></div> -</div> -<p class="pnext"><span>Suddenly he spoke, and Stickine moved his oar. -"Pull," he said quietly. "Steady and easy."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby had seen nothing move on the long slope of -sea, but he felt his heart beat, and his blood pulse faster -as he dipped his oar; for the crouching figure in the -bows had risen a trifle and the rifle was pitched forward -now.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then he looked aft again watching Stickine, who -stood up, swaying with the boat, but otherwise very -still, with his eyes fixed forward and a little glint in -them. Presently he moved his head, Donegal stopped -rowing, and while the lads rested on their oars there -was a bang, and a wisp of acrid smoke curled about them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"All you're worth!" said Stickine sharply, swaying -with his oar, and the lads bent their backs with a will. -The boat seemed to lift with every stroke, Donegal -made a little hissing with his breath, and Niven gasped -from strenuous effort and excitement as he heard the -swish of water that swirled past them, and strove to -keep stroke. He felt that another minute or two -would see him beaten, when Stickine flung up one hand, -and there was a curious quietness, until something -brushed softly against the sliding boat.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Get hold!" said Donegal, leaning over, and a clumsy, -almost shapeless, object came in with a roll.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was not what they expected, but both Niven and -Appleby long remembered the killing of their first seal, -and while they sat flushed and breathless, with the -salt brine trickling from their oars, the surroundings -were of a kind likely to impress themselves on any -lad's memory.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In front of them a long slope of grey water rolled up -against the hazy sky, and another big undulation that -shut out the schooner hove itself high behind. A little, -thin, blue smoke still curled from the muzzle of the -Indian's rifle as he stood up in the bows with his -impassive bronze face cut sharp against the sea, and -Stickine was stooping over the hump-shouldered object -that lay quivering on the floorings astern, in a fashion -that suggested a shaken jelly. It was a dingy grey -colour, and covered with long, coarse hair which did not -bear the slightest resemblance to the beautiful glossy -fur they had been accustomed to in England, and the -lads' hands were sticky with the grease of it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And that's a seal!" said Niven, glancing disgustedly -at his fingers. "I'd sooner claw a dog that hadn't been -washed for years. They make ladies' jackets out of that -beastly stuff?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Stickine nodded, and touched the object, which -quivered again, with his foot. "Oh, yes," he said, -with a little laugh. "That's just a holluschack. The -under-hair's quite fine enough, and—you see him -shaking—he's got two or three inches of blubber under -that."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What's a holluschack?" asked Appleby.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Riches," said Donegal. "If ye can catch wan often -enough, and, by the token, the Americans who leased -those islands yonder made more out av them than -their Government paid the Russians for them and the -whole of Alaska. How many years was they doing it, -Stickine?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"'Bout two years," said the Canadian. "There was -more seals crawling round there then, but they got kind -of tired of being clubbed and shot at."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We don't know what a holluschack is yet," said -Appleby.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said Stickine, "it's just a bachelor seal, so -young that the bulls don't have no use for it hanging -around, and that's why you find the holluschackie by -themselves, which is fortunate, anyway, because it's only -them one wants to catch. The cows go free—that is, -mostly—and the bulls are that chewed up they're not -worth killing."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What with?" asked Appleby.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Fighting," said Stickine. "The bull he comes up -first and crawls out on St. George there, to look for a -nice place for his cows to lie down in. Just as soon as -he finds it another bull comes along and wants to take -it from him. If he's got grit enough he hangs on to it, -and when the cows crawl out of the sea the circus -begins. Every bull has to fight for those that belong -to him, and for six weeks anyway you can hear them -roaring."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I can't fancy that thing roaring," said Niven, -pointing to the holluschack.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Stickine laughed softly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," he said, "when the bull stiffens up he can -do most anything but sing, and you can hear him -quite as far as a steamer's whistle. Time we were -getting a move on, Donovitch."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Indian said something the lads did not -understand in the Chinook idiom, and they clipped the -oars again. For an hour they pulled shorewards, and -now and then the sound of a rifle reached them faintly, -but the boats were seldom visible, for a filmy greyness -was crawling across the sea. Once Appleby had a -momentary glimpse of the schooner, a blur of slanted -canvas against a patch of hazy sky, but she faded next -moment and was not seen again.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then the Indian spoke softly, and when they stopped -pulling at a sign from Stickine, Appleby, twisting -himself round, saw something that was a little darker -than the water swing with a grey slope of sea. The -Indian was now lying huddled in the bows, and the -rifle-barrel poked forward over them, while the copper cheek -was down on the stock of it. It, however, seemed almost -impossible that, as the boat swung up and down, any -man could hit the dim moving thing which showed -above the water with a single bullet, but while Appleby -waited breathless the muzzle jerked upwards, and there -was a thin flash. Then stinging smoke curled about -him, and the jar of the report was flung back by the -heaving slopes of sea. The Indian grunted as the -cartridge rattled at his feet, and Stickine grabbed his oar.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm not sure he got him, and a wounded seal -generally goes right down," he said. "Still, he might -give us another show, and we'll pull ahead somewhat, -my lads."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They rowed for what seemed to the lads, who could -see nothing but water, a considerable time, twisting now -and then to left and right, until the rifle flashed again, -and Stickine roared at them. Then for three or four -minutes they pulled breathlessly, until there was another -shout, and they flung the oars in and grabbed at -something that slid past them. It took the whole of -them to roll it in, and then there was a little laugh from -Donegal, while Stickine stood looking down on the -victim disgustedly. It was nearly twice the size of the -other, but its fur was loose and thin, and there were big -patches where it had been apparently torn away and had -not grown again.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It would take any man all his time to find a dollar's -worth of sound hide on him," said Donegal, with a -chuckle. "'Tis spectacles ye and Donovitch are wanting, -Stickine."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said Stickine dryly, "a dollar's a kind of -handy thing, but we needn't have pulled so far to -leeward after a blame old bull."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>None of them had apparently had much thought of the -weather during the past half-hour, but now when they -sat breathless resting on the dripping oars a cold wind -chilled their flushed faces, and they saw that there was -sliding vapour everywhere.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She was lying 'bout south and dodging with staysail -to windward when we had the last sight av her," said -Donegal. "Is it any way likely Ned Jordan would get -way on her?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Stickine shook his head. "If it was clear he might -have done, but once the haze shut down he'd stop right -where he was so the boys would know where to look for -him. We'll try south, anyway."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They bent their backs, for Stickine took his place -again, but as they swung up with a sea Appleby -wondered how any one could tell where the south -might be.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was no sign of either boat or schooner, only -a heaving stretch of water across which the fleecy -vapours rolled more thickly. They had pulled for -about twenty minutes when it seemed to the lads that -the splashes at the bows grew louder and the work -harder, while there was no doubt at all that the wind -was colder. Then little puffs of spray commenced to fly -over their shoulders, and at times there was a white -splash on the top of a sea. Appleby could hear Niven -panting, and began to envy Donegal, who swung back -and forwards with tireless regularity. His own oar was -getting unpleasantly heavy.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Stiffen up," said Stickine. "We've got to get there -quick. Wind's coming along right now."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He had scarcely spoken when the splash from Niven's -oar blew over Appleby's shoulder and wetted his face, -while the slope of the next sea was lined with ripples -curiously. Then one frothed angrily on its top, and -when the boat plunged over the next one a cloud of -spray whirled up. She seemed to stop a trifle, while as -the oars went down again Appleby gasped, for Donegal -and Stickine were swinging a trifle faster, and he found -it almost impossible to keep stroke. He had also a -shrewd suspicion that they could, if it was necessary, -row as they were doing all through the night, while it -was evident that another half-hour would exhaust the -last of his strength. Still, he set his lips and tugged -at his oar, while as the lurches grew sharper it -became more difficult to keep the blade out of the -water.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At last when the bows were flung high he missed his -stroke and fell backwards upon Niven, while as he -scrambled to his feet again Stickine stopped rowing, -and twisting round, looked at them over his shoulder. -It is more than possible he saw distress in the young -faces, for that was a bigger and heavier boat than those -generally used for sealing, and Appleby noticed that he -shook his head as he glanced at Donegal.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The schooner's 'bout a mile to windward still," he -said. "You've got to wake right up and pull."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>His voice was sterner than usual, and the lads, who -recognized the difference, shook themselves together and -fell to again. They were very tired, but they had -discovered on board the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span> that there are times -when the overtaxed body must be kept to its task by -sheer force of mind, and that worn out, ill or well, men -must work at sea. Still, Stickine's stroke was a trifle -slower when they went on again, and gasping and -panting, while their arms grew powerless and their -temples throbbed, they kept time to it. The spray was -flying freely, and there was nothing to be seen but dim -slopes of water tipped with froth, for the right was -smothered in the fog and the dusk which replaces night -at that season closing in. Niven was groaning audibly -now and then, and Appleby pulled in torment with a -horrible pain in his side, when at last the crash of a gun -came out of the dimness.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Over our starboard bow!" said Donegal; and as -he swung into faster stroke, the task became grimmer yet.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Now, Niven had been one of the best hares the -Sandycombe Harriers had ever known, and Appleby -had brought the school boat home first in the local -regatta, but they had never taxed their uttermost -endurance of mind and body as they did in the wild ten -minutes that followed. It was one thing to race for -honour or a silver cup, and a very different one to row -for their lives, as they felt unpleasantly certain they -were doing now. All round them seatops came frothing -whitely out of the darkness, but the sound they -made was lost in the scream of wind.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At last, however, and with relief unspeakable, Appleby -saw the schooner's canvas grow out of the mist. They -were close upon her before they could see her hull, and -then it was only the dripping bows swung high with a -jib hauled to windward above them. She crawled out -of the vapour, rolling to leeward, with the streaky -backwash streaming down her sides, and while Niven -wondered whether it would by any means be possible to -get on board her, the boat slid in under her bulwarks -as they came swinging down, and Stickine clutched the -rope that was flung him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven did not know whether he crawled up or -Stickine pulled him, but in another moment he was on -board the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> with Appleby beside him and a -row of men floundering aft along the deck. Then the -boat swung in between the masts, and when she -dropped upon the hatch he saw that Jordan was talking -to Stickine a yard or two away.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"One good one," said the latter. "And a bull. -We'll do if we get two dollars for him. Two of the -boats away yet?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Charley's," said Jordan with a little laugh. "No -need to worry over him. He'd fetch her through a gale -of wind when he got hungry, but I'm kind of anxious -about Montreal and the other one. You and the lads -had to row?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"They're played out, but they pulled quite handy," -said Stickine.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jordan swung round and glanced at Appleby, who -leaned against the mast with flushed face and heaving -chest, while Niven sat close by on the hatch still -gasping heavily.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't know that we've any use for you just now," -he said. "You can get your tea from Brulée and -crawl down below."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The lads did not want telling twice, and when they -sat down with a steaming can of tea before them in the -stuffy, curiously-smelling hold Appleby's face relaxed -and Niven laughed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'd never have believed I could be glad to get back -to a place like this once, but I am," he said. "In fact, -I scarcely fancy I was ever so glad to see anything in -my life as I was when we got the first glimpse of the -</span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span>."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby nodded with his mouth full. "I wasn't -sorry myself," he said. "Now, it seems to me it isn't -the ship but the men you sail with that makes all the -difference when you go to sea."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He turned and saw Donegal grinning at him. "An' -that's thrue," said he. "Ye will not as a rule make -men glad to work for ye by kicking them."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="picking-up-the-boats"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XII</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">PICKING UP THE BOATS</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Warm and snug as it was in the </span><em class="italics">Champlain's</em><span> hold -neither of the lads cared to stay below. They could -tell it was blowing hard by the humming of the rigging -and the way the deck sloped under them, and their -thoughts were with the two boats still out in the fog. -The cold struck through them when they crawled out -on deck, and little showers of brine blew in from the -rail shining in the light that blinked forward through -the filmy whiteness. Somebody beneath it was ringing -a bell, and its dismal jangle seemed to intensify the -doleful wail of wind. Now and then they caught a -pale glimmer as a white-topped sea went by, and then -for a space there was only a blank wall of sliding fog, -until finding the desolation of it all creep in upon them -they went aft along the sloppy deck.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A silent man stood almost motionless at the wheel, -for the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> was lying to under her trysail and -jib, making no way through the water, but bobbing -with her bow to the sea. Jordan paced up and down -behind the house, stopping now and then to gaze into -the fog, and the rest were clustered under the lee of -it. A lantern flickered above them, and they had -evidently been busy over something, for two of them -were wiping their knives and there was a horrible -sickly smell. Then a man went by carrying a bundle -of furs which reeked with the same odour, and Stickine, -who saw them, called to the lads.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Get the bucket and swab up," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was not easy to fill the bucket, and when at last -Niven stood swaying with most of the contents splashing -about him he sniffed disgustedly as he glanced at -the deck, which was slippery with grease and blood.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Essence of roses is nothing to this. What is it?" -he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Holluschackie blubber," said a grinning man. -"You'd have smelt stronger than a scent store if we'd -waited until you came up to heave the corpuses over. -Hadn't you better start in before you sit down in it?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven swilled on water, Appleby plied the swab, but -though they got the deck clean the smell would not -wash out, and when they crawled under the shelter of -the deckhouse among the rest, Appleby gasped as he -flung away his swab. "Does it always smell like -that?" he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jordan looked down from the house. "It generally -does, but dollars don't lie around in the Vancouver -streets," he said. "Dry that swab right out now and -hang it up."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, sir," said Appleby, but his face was a trifle pale -in the light from the lantern when he came back. "It -about turned me sick—and it's going to take some time -to get used to this," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said a man, glancing at Niven, "it's the more -smell the bigger profits when you go sealing. It's -different from the things you were taught to do in -the old country?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven laughed a little, for the man's tone was -ironical, and he had discovered that the less he talked -about what he had been used to in England the -better it was for him. "We don't have any seals to -catch over there," he said. "Still, however do they -clean up those things and make them into ladies' -jackets? They have to get the smell off them."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's done back there in your country, in London," -said another man. "Most beasts have two coats on -them, anyway, and somebody once told me they pulled -the outside half off with little pincers. Then I guess -they shave them down and dye them. They're smart -people there in London, and they don't let up when -the holluschackie can't be had. No, sir. They'll make -you a seal-skin jacket out of most anything. It's all in -the dressing."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But do the Americans send their seals to London?" -asked Niven.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes," said Stickine. "That's just what they do. -Bring them back again dressed, paying a heavy duty, -too, and one way or other those seals fetch the States a -tolerable big revenue. That's why it galls them to see -any other folk catching them."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Just then Jordan sprang up on the house with a -flare in his hand, and the lurid wind-blown blaze that -streamed above them showed the same look in the faces -of the men. It suggested confidence in their skipper -and their comrades out at sea, and yet grimly-suppressed -expectancy. Then the darkness was intensified as the -light went out.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's 'bout time you fired the gun again," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A man floundered forward, and presently a long red -flash blazed out over the rail, but the thud of the -report was probably plainer a mile to leeward than it -was on the deck of the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span>. Then for five -minutes nobody spoke and the bell tinkled dolefully, -but no answer came out of the sliding fog.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Thicker than ever!" said Jordan. "Try her again."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Three times at five minutes' intervals the red flash -blazed out, and then while they listened a man sprang -into the shrouds. "Here's one of them!" he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There followed a few moments of tense expectancy -until a roar of voices went up as a faint cry came out -of the fog. Then there was another silence, even worse -to bear, until the man in the shrouds swung up an arm.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Stand by," he shouted. "Here they come!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby running forward saw a dim black shape -hove up on a sea that swept past the bows, and for a -moment the light from the forestay shone down upon -the boat. She was lapped about in foam, and while -the men, with wet, grim faces, bent their backs as the -oars swung through it, a dark ridge with froth about its -top rolled up out of the night behind her. Then all -was dark again, for she swept in beneath the bulwarks -and the schooner rolled viciously. Out of the darkness -came a thud and a shouting, black figures fell in over -the rail, and while blocks rattled the boat swung -dripping high above the bulwarks, until they dropped her -neatly inside the other ones. Appleby surmised that -the operation would have been almost impossible on -board the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span>, and he had heard that it not -infrequently takes an hour to get a boat out on board a -steamer. Then the men came aft with the water -running from them, and Jordan, who once more paced -up and down, stopped a moment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Where's Montreal?" he asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The foremost sealer turned and pointed to the sliding -whiteness over the rail. "I don't know," he said. -"One couldn't make out much of anything in that."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jordan nodded. "What have you got?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Three holluschackie," said the sealer. "I guess -we'll get the boat cleaned up and the hides off them."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jordan said nothing but paced up and down again, -and while a few dark objects moved about the boat the -men floundered back into the partial shelter of the -house. They did not express their fears in speech, but -all of them knew the chances were against Montreal -and his crew finding the schooner. If he failed the -prospect of his boat living through the gale that was -evidently rising appeared very small. To leeward lay -St. Paul and St. George, but the sea foams and seethes -about them, and any sealer who might make a landing -in the dark, which very few men could do, would in -all probability find himself a prisoner. Still the men -of the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> faced such risks almost daily in the -misty seas, and when the boat was stripped they and -the Indians quietly set about flaying the seals. The -fog whirled past them, their knives twinkled in the -flickering lantern light, and now and then a brighter -beam fell on their impassive brown faces and -blubber-smeared hands. Then it would swing away as the -schooner rolled, and the lads who stood about with -swab and bucket could only see them dimly until it -blinked into brilliancy again. The rigging screamed, -the bell jangled on, and now and then through the -confused sounds rose the thud of the gun.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>How long they worked Appleby did not know, but -he forgot the smell of the blubber and the horrible -sliminess of the swab as he pictured the worn-out -men grimly swinging the oars in the fog. Each time -the schooner swung her bows aloft the black shape of -a man crouching forward in the spray became visible, -and now and then Jordan tramped along the deck to -speak to him. The lads could guess what his question -was, but there was no answer to either bell or gun, -until at last the skipper stood still suddenly, and -every man who saw him turned and stared across the -rail. For a minute nobody moved or spoke, and there -was nothing to hear but the wail of the wind in the -rigging.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then Jordan swung himself into the shrouds, and the -men went forward with a rush. Clinging to the rail -Appleby looked down, and as the flicker of the light fell -upon the sea something went by, and he had a glimpse -of part of a dripping boat with two men whose faces -showed white and set straining at the oars. One of the -others had apparently fallen forward, and a fourth was -standing erect astern. The attitude of all of them -expressed exhaustion. Then as the boat swung round a -trifle a sea that rolled up caught her on the bow and -the men at the oars made a last effort as she swept -astern. Next moment she had passed out of the light, -and there was only foam beneath him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We've lost them. They'll never pull her up," he gasped.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jordan sprang down from the shrouds, and his voice -rang out, "Down trysail. Sheet your staysail to weather -and run it up."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He said nothing to Stickine, who now held the wheel, -but Appleby saw him bending over it, and there was a -banging and thrashing of canvas as the staysail went up -and the trysail came down. Then the schooner slowly -swung round, until a shout rose again, "Let draw, and -sing out forward if we're running over them!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> had her stern to the wind now, and -was running before it after the boat which had blown -away to lee, while the men stood silent here and there -along her rail, until one of them forward shouted, and as -Stickine swung with the wheel something half-seen -went by. It was lost in a moment as the schooner drove -ahead, and Appleby recognized the horror he felt in -Niven's voice.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He can't be going to leave them!" he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Donegal, who was standing close by, dropped a heavy -hand on his shoulder and held it in a painful grip. "Is -it a head or a shroud deadeye ye have that ye do not -know Ned Jordan yet?" he said. "Away with ye to -the trysail halliards. They'll be wanted presently."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For about a minute the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> lurched on -before the seas, and then from where Jordan stood in -the shrouds a great blue blaze flared out and Stickine -pulled round the wheel. Men whose faces showed -intent in the streaming radiance floundered towards the -mast, and as the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> came round the trysail -went up. In another moment or two Appleby and -Niven were hauling at its sheet among the rest, and -presently the schooner lay rolling almost head to the -sea. Then there was a brief space of breathless waiting -while every man stared over the rail, and Appleby -knew that the schooner would lie there scarcely moving -through the water until the boat came up with her. He -could feel his heart beating as he strained his ears and -eyes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Here they come!" shouted somebody, and while -the blue radiance streamed out across the waters the -boat swung into sight.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was evident that the worn-out men knew they -could take no chance of driving down to lee this time, -and the lads held their breath as they saw the boat -whirl towards them on the top of a sea. One could -almost have fancied she would be flung on board over -the rail.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Down helm!" said Jordan. "Luff, if you can. -Handy with the tackles there. Make sure of them."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The schooner swung round a trifle, the boat slewed, -there was a crash, and she was lost in the shadow below -the rail, while black darkness followed as the light went -out. Hoarse shouts came out of it, men scurried here -and there, and fell from the rail, then there was a rattle -of blocks, and Appleby found himself floundering along -the deck with panting men behind him and a rope in -his hand. The boat they hove up was dropped into -her nest, a seal or two flung out, and Jordan, who came -forward with a lantern, shook his head as he glanced -at her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Coming alongside that way is kind of expensive, -but I guess you hadn't much choice just then," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No," said a man who stood, gasping still, with -half-closed eyes in the lantern light. "We just had to fetch -you the best way we could, and we'd have missed you -sure while we tried to round her up to lee. She was -'bout half-swamped and all of us used up considerable."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In another few minutes the lads and most of the -others went back into the hold and sat watching the -last comers, who wasted no time in talking as they -attacked the meal Brulée set before them. One of -them, however, sat somewhat limply, and his face, which -was tinged with grey, seemed drawn together. He ate -nothing and only drank a little tea. Then as the others -stretched out their long limbs towards the stove Donegal -looked at Montreal.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And what was it kept ye so long?" he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Montreal laughed softly, though the stamp of -exhaustion was on his face. "Just the wind!" he said. -"We was well away to leeward, and when we'd pulled -'bout a mile Tom there got a kind of kink inside him -and had to let up. Then Siwash Bob sprung his oar, -and we lost all we'd made the last hour while Tom got -his wind again and I was fixing it. After that the boat -began to take it in heavy and we had to stop to bale. -There wasn't much left in us, and Tom was groaning -awful when we heard the gun."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven stared at the speaker with a little wonder, and -Appleby smiled, for the story was a singularly -unimpressive narration of what they knew had been a grim -struggle for life. Then Niven saw that Donegal was -watching him, and became sensible of a faint embarrassment, -for the sealer had an unpleasant habit of guessing -what he was thinking.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You and me could have told it better, Mainsail -Haul," said he.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven flushed a trifle. He knew he could have -made the story a good deal more effective, for there had -been times when he had held the dormitory silent and -expectant as he narrated some small feat of his at -Sandycombe, but he had an unpleasant suspicion that -this gift was apt to win its possessor derision rather -than respect at sea, where the men who did things that -would have formed a theme for an epic poem seemed -reluctant to talk about them. Montreal, the sealer who -under Providence owed his life to his splendid strength -and valour, said nothing about the effort and almost -superhuman strain, but only mentioned that they had -sprung an oar and his comrade suffered from what he -termed a kink inside him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said Niven awkwardly, "it's a good while now -since I told you anything at all."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Sure," said Donegal, grinning. "'Tis since I've had -the teaching av ye. But ye do not seem quite easy, -Tom. Sit up while me and Mainsail Haul pull the -clothes off ye."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The man grumbled and protested that there was -nothing wrong with him, but Donegal worked on -unheeding and shoved him by main force into his bunk.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now, you lie right there till I get something from -Jordan that will fix you," said Stickine. "If he tries -to get up, boys, one of you will sit on him!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He came back presently with something in a can, -and the man, who gulped down the contents, grinned.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I guess it would take a kink with considerable grit -in it to face another dose of that," he said, and turned -his face, which was beaded with the damp of pain, from -the light.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The others, however, seemed to know what he was -suffering from and went on with their talk, while -presently Appleby asked a question.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What would have happened if we'd been blown -ashore?" he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Stickine laughed a little. "Well," he said, "I -don't quite know, but it's kind of likely the Indians -would have taken their clubs to us. Anyway, it -would have been a long while before we did any more -sealing."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It took Appleby several more questions before he -elicited much information, and what he got was not -very plain to him. It, however, appeared that the seals -which bred on the lonely beaches of the misty seas had -been growing scarcer, and that one or two of the -commanders of the gunboats sent to watch them had -now and then exceeded their rights. Three miles to -sea is the limit placed to a nation's authority, but it -seemed from stories told in the </span><em class="italics">Champlain's</em><span> hold, boats -had been chased when farther than that from land. -The men were not very explicit, but Appleby surmised -that reprisals were made now and then when a -schooner's crew landed on forbidden beaches.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Still," he said, "if you lose a day or two's -sealing when a gunboat's about it means a good many -dollars."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A little twinkle crept into Montreal's eyes. "It -don't always," said he. "Here you are with the boats -all out raking in the holluschackie, and a gunboat -comes along. 'Clear out of this or I'll make you,' says -her skipper. 'All right,' says you. It's so many -seals he's doing me out of now, when he has no right -to, and I'm going in to get them where it's easiest when -he steams away."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven seemed a trifle astonished. "That's here," -he said. "Do they do things the same way everywhere?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was a little grim laughter, and Montreal -pointed towards the west. "No, sir," he said. "When -you go where the Russian seals live there's no use for -talking of any kind, because you can't understand each -other, and you use the clubs. There's men I know -have seen other things come in quite handy too. Now -old man Harper of the Golden Horn——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Donegal stopped him. "'Tis talking too much ye -are, and, as everybody knows, Ned Jordan is a quiet -man," he said. "'Tis curious tales Mainsail Haul will -be telling the earl about us when he goes home."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Let up!" said Niven. "I'm a sealer now, and I -only want to know if any one tried to arrest the skipper -wrongfully, what would he do?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Donegal's eyes twinkled. "He would run away like -a sensible man, or hide in the fog," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But if he couldn't, or there wasn't any fog?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Donegal shook his head. "'Tis persistent ye are," he -said. "Peace is a thing Ned Jordan's fond of, but if -folks will not let him have it his fist is as big as most."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Nobody said anything further, but there was a curious -little smile in the men's bronzed faces, and while -Appleby endeavoured to kick his comrade in warning -that it would not be desirable to ask any more questions -there was a crash above.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"There," said Donegal, grabbing Brulée's shoulder. -"'Tis your galley tore up by the roots."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No," said Stickine. "I figure it's the water tank -got adrift. We want a lashing on her before she goes -right out through the bulwarks, boys."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They were out of the scuttle in another minute, and -when he got on deck Appleby saw a big, black object -drive against the mast. Before any one could seize it -it had rolled aside again, and in another few moments -struck the bulwarks with a heavy thud, for the -</span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> was still lying hove to and lurching wildly. -How they at last secured it the lads could not quite -make out, for the big tank would have crushed the man -who got between it and anything, but it was done, and -as they were relashing it Jordan came up with a lantern.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Heave her over, boys. She has started the rivets, -and that's going to make trouble for us," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They hove the tank the other side up, and Appleby -saw that the skipper's face was grave as he lifted the -cover off, but there was apparently no more to be done, -and he went below with the other men.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What did Jordan mean?" he said to one of them. -"Of course it would be awkward to run short of water -if we were far from land, but there is plenty within a -few miles of us."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, yes," said the man dryly. "But it wouldn't -be much use telling the folks ashore you'd only come -for water and didn't want no seals. They'd be quite -glad to get their hands on us, whatever brought us -there!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But we can't do without it," said Niven.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No," said the sealer. "Still, I wouldn't worry. -When Ned Jordan's short of water it's quite likely he'll -get it if there's any handy."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="on-the-beach"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XIII</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">ON THE BEACH</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>It blew hard that night, and seeing there was no -hope of sealing next day Jordan beat the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> -slowly out to sea. He said nothing to any one until -when noon came he called the men together.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We want water, and there's plenty yonder," he said, -pointing vaguely across the sea-tops that swung up -under the rain. "Still, I don't know that we mightn't -have some trouble getting it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"When you tell us you're ready for it we'll bring that -water off," said somebody.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jordan nodded. "There'll be a big surf on the -beaches, but you might do it unless somebody stopped -you," he said. "They have a crowd of Aleuts on -St. George, and I figure there's a gunboat hanging round -somewhere handy. Well, now, if we went east to the -Aleutians we could get all the water we wanted with -less worry, but it would take us a while getting there, -and every day means dollars."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We'll take our chances at St. George," said Montreal.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"So long as you're willing!" said the skipper. -"You've all got a stake in this deal, and I don't know -that I'd like to help Mrs. Jordan keep house on nothing -if I bring the schooner home without the skins. Still, -if the Aleuts got you it's very few dollars you'd make -sealing the next year or two."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He spoke slowly, and there was nothing to show that -he was asking the men to do a perilous thing. Nor -was there anything unusual in their answer returned by -Montreal. "We're not sailing around here for pleasure. -As soon as it's dusk you can run her in."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The rest of the day passed slowly with Appleby and -Niven, but it came to an end at last, and when dusk was -closing in the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span>, under trysail and jib only, -crept in towards the land. The sea ran behind her -heaving, white-topped out of the gloom, for though there -is no actual darkness up there at that season the haze -that slid by before a nipping wind was thickened by the -rain.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was nothing now to be seen but the filmy -vapours that whirled about them or heard but the -splash of the sea, and Appleby wondered at the -skipper's daring in running in for the land. At last, -however, when the obscurity had grown almost -impenetrable the lads heard a deep rumbling sound that came -off to them faintly in long reverberations. They -surmised it was the roar of surf on a rocky shore, but it -was to windward instead of under their lee.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We were to weather of the island, Stickine," said -Appleby.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, yes," said the Canadian. "But there wouldn't -be much left of the man who tried to land on that -side of it, and Jordan's running under the lee of it -now."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But it's beastly thick, and we've scarcely seen the -land since morning," said Niven.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Stickine laughed. "It's about six hours since I had -a glimpse of it myself, but that don't count for much," -he said. "Ned Jordan got a bearing, and he'd tell you -right off what the schooner had made every tack. Tie -him up with a sack round his head, and she'd be just -where he wanted her when he brought her up. I -guess we've 'bout got there now."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Almost as he spoke Jordan's voice rose up. "Jib to -windward, and get the boats over soon as she loses way. -Don't hang around a minute after you're through with -the water."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Will we take the rifles?" asked Stickine.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"One," said Jordan dryly. "If you fire quick twice -I'll send off another boat to you, but you've got to -remember I don't want to. We've nothing against the -Americans just now, and I'm not going round looking -for trouble with anybody."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They swung two boats over, and Appleby managed -to slip on board one before he was noticed by anybody -except Niven, who sprang into the last one as the men -got the oars out.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The skipper's dark figure showed up for a moment -as he looked down from the bulwarks of the rolling -schooner.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You're going for water, boys, and if you bring one -holluschack along you'll take it right back ashore," he -said. "That's quite plain?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was a murmur which did not suggest -altogether willing obedience, but no one could mistake -the little ring in Jordan's voice, and Stickine signed to -the men.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You heard him, boys? Now, stretch your backs," -he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They had pulled a few strokes, and the schooner -was melting into the haze astern when one of the men -looked round.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Who've we got there in the bows?" he asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby, who had hoped to escape their notice for a -while, told him. "I fancied my place was in this boat," -he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said Stickine dryly, "if I'd seen you before -you'd have gone right back with a run. Hello! have -you got the other lad, Montreal?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Sure!" came back the answer, and Donegal laughed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"There was no keeping them out," he said. "It would -not take a minute to pitch them over."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We'll try it next time," said Stickine. "Pull in -along our wake, Montreal. It's not a nice beach to -land on."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After that nobody said anything for a while, and -only the splash of oars marked the passage of the -boats. Appleby crouched aft on the floorings where he -could see the men sway through the dimness above -him, while another sound grew louder than the hoarse -growl of the seas that seethed about the reefs. It was -scarcely like anything he had heard before, though once -it faintly resembled the whistling of scores of engines -and then swelled into a roar. He surmised it was -made by the seals.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The rookery's just thick with the bulls," said -somebody.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Hold on," said Stickine. "I guess you're here to -row, and any talking that's wanted will be done by me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They lurched on, seeing nothing, into the haze, but -Stickine appeared to know where he was heading for, -and by the easier rise and fall Appleby guessed they -were pulling closer in under the sheltered side of the -island.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Still, it was evident by the dull booming sound -which grew louder that the swell lapped round to -leeward too, and there would be a difficulty in making -a landing.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Suddenly, however, the men stopped rowing, and the -splash and thud ceased astern, while Stickine sharply -turned his head as another sound that none of them -had expected to hear came out of the haze. It was a -dull grind and a rattle that jarred through the roar -of the surf, and then stopped again. Appleby -recognized it, and surmised that it meant peril to all -of them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A gunboat," said Stickine half-aloud. "They're -giving her more chain."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They lay on their oars a minute, staring about them -and breathing hard, but could only see the sliding haze, -and no sound that suggested man's presence in those -misty waters reached them now.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She's to windward. They wouldn't have heard us, -boys," said Stickine quietly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They went on, the oars splashing softly, while they -strained their eyes, knowing that it was quite possible -the gunboat's officers had gone ashore, and they might -blunder upon her cutter. Still, there was no sound -but that the seals made and the swelling roar of surf, -until a wavy strip of whiteness heaved against the mist -in front of them. Then Stickine laughed curiously as -he turned his head and stared at the haze.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't know if we'll find a cutter on the beach, -but we have got to get the water, and we are going in," -he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He gave no instructions, and they were apparently -not needed, for the men knew their work, and while -they bent to their oars a sea that frothed a little -swung them high and carried them inshore. When -they sank down on the back of it the one behind grew -steeper and the boat seemed driven forward by an -unseen force as she swept up on its crest. This -happened several times, and then a great rattling of -pebbles came out of the spray ahead and the last rush -was almost bewildering. Then there was a crash, and -the foam that seethed about her lapped into the boat, -but the men sprang over knee-deep in water, and -whipped her out, while almost before they realized that -they had got there the lads found themselves standing -on dry land. The men who had pulled the boats -up were, however, already shouldering little wooden -kegs.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You'll stop right here with the lads," said Stickine, -turning to two of them. "Get the boats down as far -as you can if you hear us coming back in a hurry. -Now, boys, we'll get a move on."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In another minute the men had started, and the lads -watched them flounder over the shingle and up a misty -slope, until they faded into the dim background and the -patter of their footsteps was lost in the growling of the -seas. Then they sat down beside Donegal in the -shelter of the boat, though the other man stood upright -at her bows. There was a chilly wind, and now and -then the uproar the seals made, rolled about them. It -was also very lonely, and Niven shivered as he crawled -closer beneath the boat and wished he was back in the -snug hold of the schooner.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"How will they know where to find the water?" he -asked at last.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Charley, the man who stood up, laughed. "That," -he said, "is quite easy. You see, Stickine has been -here before."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But you don't always damage your water tank, -and Jordan wouldn't let them kill the seals," said -Appleby.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Donegal nodded. "'Tis as inquisitive as Mainsail -Haul ye are," he said. "Now, Ned Jordan never took -a dollar that didn't belong to him from any one, and -he's carrying no score against the Americans just now."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Still, you or Montreal told me they'd tried to stop -him sealing," said Niven.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, yes," said Charley. "That's just what they did, -but you've heard Donegal. Ned Jordan don't let his -debts run on, and he don't like anybody else to owe him -anything."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But from his way of looking at it the Americans -owed him a good deal," persisted Appleby.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Donegal laughed. "They don't now, and when Ned -Jordan has got what was owing him he don't want any -more," he said. "'Tis the man that's never contented -who gets into throuble."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This was not very clear, but Appleby fancied he -understood, because there was only one way in which -Jordan could have paid himself. Appleby was, -however, by no means sure that what Jordan had done was -altogether warranted, but that was for him to decide, -and the lad had already surmised that a man must -relinquish his rights or enforce them by the means that -came handiest in the misty seas. In the meanwhile, -the skipper had been kind to him, and the excitement -of the life they led appealed to him. Turning to Niven -he laughed a little.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I wonder what your father would think if he heard -we were taken to Alaska in handcuffs for seal poaching, -Chriss," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said Niven dryly, "I hope we're not going to -be, and I don't quite think he'd find it so amusing as -you seem to fancy. There's not much use in talking -that kind of rot!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They said no more for a little, and Appleby felt -inclined to regret his speech. It called up unpleasant -reflections, for he had more than a suspicion that -the thing he had mentioned might very readily come -about.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There were, he had been told, well-armed Aleut Indians -on the island, and not far away a gunboat lay hidden in -the haze. If Jordan grew impatient and fired his gun -the prospect of escape seemed very small for any of -them. By and by he turned to Donegal as the din the -seals made vibrated about them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Do they make that uproar always, and what do -they do it for?" he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"They'll go on another month, and this is the way av -it," said Donegal. "The seals are lying as thick as -herrings in the rookery, and 'tis more room every bull is -wanting to bring up his family in, while the place that -seems nicest to him is just the one his neighbour is -lying in. Sure, they're just like men, and when ye hear -one roaring he's looking savage at the big fellow that's -crowding too near and wondering if he's able to tear the -hide off him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven laughed a little. "I never heard of a man -wondering if he could do that," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Then," said Donegal dryly, "'tis a curiosity that is -not unknown in Ireland. Is it lambs ye are at the -English schools, my son?—Ye do not see them, Charley?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No," said the other man, and while they waited -the roar of the sea seemed to grow louder and the -wind colder, and unpleasant misgivings began to creep -upon the lads as they wondered what was happening -behind them in the mist. It seemed quite possible -that Stickine had blundered into the Aleuts' clutches -or that a body of the gunboat's bluejackets had been -sent ashore. Charley, however, laughed when Appleby -mentioned it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It kind of strikes me we'd have heard them," he -said. "There would be a circus before they corralled -Stickine."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At last the sound of footsteps became faintly audible, -and a line of men came out of the haze. They were -panting as they floundered down hill under their -burdens, and a few moments later Stickine gasped as -he laid the breaker he carried into the boat.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's 'bout time we were out of this, boys. Heave -her off," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They went down the beach at a floundering run -as a sea seethed in, splashed knee-deep with the -pebbles ringing and rattling under them, and sprang -on board just in time to get the oars out before -another white-topped slope of water came hissing -out of the mist.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Shove her through!" roared Stickine. "Pull the -buttons off you, boys!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The oars bent as the men swung backwards, there -was a plunge and a thud, and seething froth swept -about the boat. It splashed into her to their ankles, -and then, while Appleby plied the baler, swept away -behind, and the boat flung her bows high to meet -another comber. They went over this one more dryly, -and drawing out from the surf pulled as noiselessly as -possible, straining eyes and ears for any sign of the -gunboat. There was none, however, and at last, tired -with the long pull over the steep heave of sea, they -came up with the schooner. It appeared astonishing -to Appleby that they had found her, and while he -watched the dark hull reel on the long slopes of water -he wondered how they would ever get the breakers on -board her. The sealers, however, were used to doing -even more difficult things, and it was accomplished -while the boats swung in towards the schooner, and -then off into the fog again. As soon as they were on -board Stickine drew the skipper aside.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"There was a gunboat lying 'bout abreast of the head -when we were pulling in," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Then do you figure she isn't there now?" said -Jordan.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't know," said Stickine. "Any way, we -couldn't see her, and it wasn't quite thick all the time."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jordan nodded as he said, "We'll have the mainsail -on her and the boom foresail, boys."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In five minutes the trysail was below, and though it -was blowing tolerably fresh the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> was -thrashing out to windward under all her lower sail. Two -men stood forward in the whirling spray, and Jordan -staring to windward through his glasses on the house, -but for at least half-an-hour there was nothing visible -but the whirling fog and long tumbling seas. Then a -man swung up his arm, and Appleby gasped as something -blacker than the vapours slid out of the fog. It -was not far away to windward and coming on swiftly, -for as he watched it the white froth about the shadowy -hull grew into visibility, and he held his breath a -minute as he made out a funnel and two slanted spars. -Black and dark, with no light about her and ominous -in her silence, the gunboat lay across their course.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was, however, no sign of either confusion or -consternation, and Jordan's voice was quieter than -usual.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Up helm. Off with the mainboom, boys," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Stickine pulled over the wheel, the long mainboom -swung out amidst a rattle of blocks, and the -</span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> came round, until instead of sailing close -hauled to it she was running before the wind.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Topsails," said Jordan. "Yard-headers. He hasn't -got us yet."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was no controverting that, but while Appleby -knew the pace the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> could make when hard -pressed it seemed almost impossible that she could -out-sail a steamer. Still, the skipper's quiet voice was -curiously reassuring, and he remembered that Stickine -had told him there were two ways of winning a race. In -the meanwhile the gaff topsails went up banging, and -the foam was flying white when they were sheeted -home. Then the men stood still about the rail, each -busy with the unasked question—Had the commander -of the gunboat seen them? The </span><em class="italics">Champlain's</em><span> stern was -towards him now, and her mainsail alone would be -visible with her masts in line.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They had not, however, long to wait for an answer, -for suddenly a blaze of light drove through the haze -and smote the straining canvas. Then it sank a little, -forcing up the men's set faces and lighting all the -deck.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For a moment or two the lads could see every one of -them sharp and clear in the dazzling brilliancy, and -then there was a bewildering darkness again, for the -light went out. The gunboat had also gone with it, -and they were once more alone in the fog.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Seen us sure!" said Stickine.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jordan laughed softly. "Running!" he said. -"She'll not come round with him as we did. Let her -come up. Boys, we'll have all sheets in."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In came the mainboom, the foresail and jibs were -hauled in too, and the schooner's lee rail was swept by -the frothing brine when she came up once more -close-hauled to the wind. Still, Appleby wondered, for the -gunboat was to windward of them, and Niven, who -stood close by him, turned to one of the men to ask a -question.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We're going back straight towards the American?" -he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The sailor seemed to chuckle. "We're going where -she was, but she'll be somewhere else just now," he -said. "When they've brought her round they'll steam -after us the way they saw us going before the wind, -and we're pinched right up within 'bout three and a -half points of it. It would take a very smart man to -get in ahead of Ned Jordan."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven laughed excitedly, for, remembering Lawson's -lesson on board the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span> and what he had been -taught since, the manoeuvre was now plain to him. If -the gunboat steamed away before the wind it was -evident that as they were heading at a very small angle -to it the vessels would be sailing in almost opposite -directions, and there only remained the unpleasant -uncertainty whether the pursuer would find them with -her light again. Still, the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> was driving to -windward very fast and the haze was thick.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What did he switch his light off for?" asked -Appleby.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said the sealer, "I don't figure he did. -Seems more likely that something went wrong with it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Others were doubtless wondering over the same -point, for the men were still looking astern, and at last -a faint silvery beam moved athwart the fog and then -swept back again. Appleby fancied Jordan laughed -as he came down from the house and stood by the -wheel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That fellow's easily fooled. He's going right away -to leeward as fast as they can shove her along, and the -only thing that's worrying me is the mainmast head," -he said. "'Pears to me we wrung it a little in the race -with the </span><em class="italics">Belle</em><span>."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Almost as he spoke the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> put her bows in, -and the deck was flooded ankle-deep with icy brine, -while the lads could understand the skipper's misgivings -as they glanced up at the big topsail and long -gaff that stretched out the great mainsail's head. It -was not difficult to see that the strain they put upon -the mast must be considerable.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Stickine nodded from the wheel. "We've got to -carry on and take our chances now," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, yes," said Jordan. "Anyway, for another hour -or so."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The time, however, had not passed when as the -</span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> swung her bows out of a sea there was a -sharp crack overhead, and almost simultaneously -Jordan's voice followed it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Drop your gaff topsail and get the mainsail off her -quick," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Nobody lost any time, and there were many willing -hands. In a few minutes the long boom was lying on -the quarter and the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> jogging slowly to -windward with the trysail only on her mainmast. Jordan -did not appear by any means disturbed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't figure that fellow will find us again to-night, -and we'll see what's wrong up there when daylight -comes," he said. "You'll find me below, Stickine, if -you're wanting me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then, except those who were needed for the watch, the -men crawled below, and the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> rolled on into a -thicker wisp of fog.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="good-work"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XIV</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">GOOD WORK</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Next morning Montreal, who had been a carpenter, -went aloft, and remained a while sitting on a little -board the others hoisted up the mast. When he came -down he followed Jordan and Stickine into the cabin, -and all hands were curious when one of the Indians -was sent for, too. Still, nothing transpired beyond -that Brulée, who made an excuse for visiting the cabin, -informed the rest that they were doing a deal of talking, -until when breakfast was brought in Stickine and -Montreal joined their comrades. Donegal quietly -placed the can of coffee between his feet and signed to -Niven to remove the eatables.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Ye will have something to tell us, and breakfast -will come on just as soon as ye have done it," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Stickine laughed. "I don't talk when I'm hungry, -and I want that can," he said. "When I've got a holt -of it Montreal will start in."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said the carpenter, "my lot's just this. She's -wrung her masthead, and I could splice a new one in -with the lump of redwood forward and the irons Jordan -found me, but it's a contract one could only put through -in smooth water."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What does he mean by wrung?" asked Niven.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis a complete 'cyclopedia with pictorial illusthrations -ye will be when ye go home," said Donegal. "Just -wrung, same as ye would twist a towel, by the strain on -the halliard bolts! Ye will feed him on mustard, -Brulée, if he talks again. Well now, Stickine?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We're making for a snug berth under one of the -Aleutians," said Stickine. "Montreal figures he'll want -three days there, but the Indian has a kind of notion -we might find a sea otter."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We wouldn't be very much better off if we did," -said Niven. "Will anybody give me twenty-five cents -for my share in one sea otter?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Charley fumbled in his pockets, and apparently finding -nothing there gravely laid a beautifully-made knife -upon his knees. "If you'll take that for it we'll make -the deal," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven looked at the speaker in astonishment, and -was about to take the knife when Donegal laid his hand -upon it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"'Twould serve ye right if I let ye. Is it shaming -me with the ignorance av ye will be doing always?" he -said. "What's a sea otter? Sure, 'tis the same thing as -pearls and rubies, and what Mandarins and Emperors -wear. Sorrow on the beast that would get himself -exthinct."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven chuckled. "That's his usual rot, and I'll take -the knife," he said. "What's the use of hunting any -beast when it's extinct?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Give it him," said Donegal. "Thim as can't take -telling ye must teach wid a stick."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Charley's eyes twinkled as he held out the knife, but -Appleby broke in, "I fancy you had better wait a little," -he said. "There are sea otters, Stickine?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Stickine laughed a little. "They're getting scarce, -and it takes a rich man to buy one now. If I had a -few of them and silver foxes I would not go to sea. No, -sir, I'd sit still ashore telling yarns in luxury. You're -still open to make the deal?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven saw that the eyes of all of them were upon -him. "Of course!" he said. "I've made the offer, and -I've been an ass again. Give me the knife, Charley."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then somewhat to his astonishment the sealer slipped -the knife back into its sheath, and Donegal thumped -him on the back. "'Tis the makings av a man ye have in -ye," he said. "A little sense is all ye need, but 'tis very -hard to teach it ye."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven was not sorry that one of the others asked a -question about the mast, and he was allowed to finish -his breakfast in silence. Before it was over he heard a -rattle of blocks, and when he went up on deck the -</span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> was heading towards the east. Some time -had passed, however, before she reached an anchorage -under a rocky island hemmed in by smoking reefs. It -was not an inspiriting place, and when they crept -slowly in under shortened sail with the long swell -heaving after them and the Indian standing impassive -as a bronze statue at the wheel, the lads felt its -desolation. There was no sign of life on the low shore -that showed up dimly through the mist and rain. The -grey rocks ran water, and the whiteness of the surf that -seethed upon the beaches of rattling pebbles was the -only brightness in all the sombre colouring. Here and -there to seaward a stony barrier hove its black fangs -out of the spouting foam and the growl of the sea rose -from every side.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Still, they had little time to contemplate the dreary -picture, for the cable had scarcely rattled out when the -work commenced. The swell worked into the anchorage, -and the schooner rolled with it lazily, but one of -the big masts that swayed above her must be lifted out, -and that was an operation usually accomplished in -smooth water by the help of two great poles raised on -end and lashed so that with the mast they formed a -tripod. Jordan, however, had only his mainboom, and -a few other very small spars to make them with, and -while the others helped him Montreal spent the rest of -the day lashing them together and wedging the -fastenings before he fancied he could trust them to lift -the heavy mast. It rained all the time.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Even then he appeared to have misgivings, and the -light was growing dim before they had jammed one end -of them fast and hove the other up with the end of the -mainboom lashed to it. Then he and Jordan talked for -some time together, and the men went below to rest -and wait for morning. They were all of them tired, for -the rolling of the vessel had rendered the task of getting -the big spars on end and fastening them a very arduous -one, and the two lads, who had done what they could -among the rest, were aching in every limb. When they -had stripped off their wet clothes they were glad to -crawl into their bunks and lie there almost too tired -and drowsy to ask any questions of the men who sat -smoking below. Still, it took a good deal to overcome -Niven's curiosity, and presently he reached out and -tapped Montreal on the shoulder.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Once or twice I fancied the whole affair was coming -down on us," he said. "Can you lift the mast with it -to-morrow?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Montreal grinned. "Well," he said dryly, "I don't -quite know, but I guess I can. Isn't that the kind of -thing you could leave to me and Jordan?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, yes, but I am a little curious. You see, I -might be under it," said Niven. "What's going to -happen if you make a mess of it?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A funeral if you don't get out from under handy," -said the sealer. "What's more important to the rest -of us, it might tear out half the decks. When she gets -loose and swinging you can't fool with that size of -mast."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Then why can't you let it stay where it is?" asked -Niven. "It would set the trysail, and that's about all -the sail we seem to carry on the mainmast."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And how fast will she go under trysail?" asked Charley.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That depends upon how much wind there is," said -Niven.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Donegal looked at him a moment and solemnly shook -his head. "'Tis no credit ye are to me, and I've tried -to do my duty by ye," he said. "The question is how -fast ye would want to go when there were two cutters -stuffed wid men and cutlasses pulling after ye. Then -'twould be sailing nice and quiet under trysail would -content ye?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We haven't seen any of those cutters yet," said Niven.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Donegal laughed softly, and a little grim smile crept -into the faces of the rest. "There's a good many -things ye have not seen, but ye may have the -opportunity of observing one or two av them yet, and I -don't know that it would please ye then," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven was about to answer when Stickine, who -crawled into his bunk, flung a wet fur cap at him. -"It's about time you were sleeping, sonny, and you'll -want all the breath you've got to-morrow," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When morning came Niven found this was correct -enough, for as soon as it was light the work commenced, -and when Brulée called them for breakfast the mainmast -was ready for lifting, while the men were unusually -quiet as they went back on deck. The mast looked very -big and heavy, and the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> was rolling more than -she had done as yet. It was also raining hard, and a -cold wind blew the drizzle into their eyes, while the -tackles were stiff and swollen, but when Jordan raised -his hand they bent their backs, and for five minutes -the mast rose inch by inch. Then it stuck, and -Appleby fancied he could feel the deck quiver beneath -him under the strain as one of the beams it was -fastened to took part of the weight.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The men, finding they could not move it, stood still a -moment, their faces showing set and drawn with the -fierceness of their effort, some with hands clenched -above their heads upon the rigid ropes and one or two -with bent backs, while their eyes were fixed on Jordan -who stood impassive and motionless on the house.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Hold on to it," he said quietly. "Montreal, see -what's jamming her."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Montreal was, however, below already, and presently -his voice rose muffled from the hatch. "Heave," he -said, and then more hoarsely, "Heave!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby was gasping, while the veins swelled on his -forehead as he clutched a rope, and he wondered -whether the men who had borne that intense strain -could make another effort, for already the faces of some -were purple.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now. Up she comes!" said somebody.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then the sinewy bodies rose and sank again, the -blocks rattled, and the mast rose slowly, stopped a -moment, and rose again.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You've got to do it this time, boys," said Jordan -very quietly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Their foreheads were drawn together, their breath -was spent in an intensity of effort, but they succeeded, -and there was a half-articulate yell when the foot of -the mast rose out of the hole. Then a man sprang -wildly across the deck, and in another moment mast -and shears were tottering as the former swung towards -the rail when the schooner rolled.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Check her. Give him a hand, Charley," said -Jordan, and Appleby wondered that his voice was even. -Then there was a bang as something yielded under -the strain, and the mast swayed out-board while the -frayed ends of a rope whistled past the lad who for -several seconds held the little breath that was left in -him. The great spar swung up and down above the -vessel, and the shears it hung from were rocking with -it, while it was not difficult to see that unless something -were done at once they would come down together, -smashing the men beneath. Still, it also appeared that -Jordan had provided for similar accidents and not -trusted to any single rope.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Catch her with the preventer, Charley, when she -comes in," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Charley nodded, for he was bent double hauling at a -rope, and for a horrible moment or two, while everything -that held it groaned, the mast swayed above their heads. -Appleby could feel his heart thumping and a curious -coldness under his belt as he watched it. Then the -strain slackened a moment when the </span><em class="italics">Champlain's</em><span> -foremast swung upright, and Jordan's voice broke harshly -through the silence—"Down with her!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Blocks rattled, men panted, the end of the mast hung -lower over them, there was a great clatter and a thud, and -Appleby stood up gasping and drenched with perspiration. -The mast was down on the deck, the men -apparently blinking at it, and there was a horrible -tingling in one of his hands. Still, it was a little while -before he glanced at it and saw that the rope had chafed -the skin away and left his fingers raw and bleeding. -That, however, scarcely troubled him just then, for he -felt the keen and wholesome joy which comes to those -who by the strenuous toil of their bodies have done an -arduous and perilous thing.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Rude as it might have seemed to those who knew no -better it was a man's work he had done, and the pride -of accomplishment stirred him. It was a significant -victory they had won, not by brute strength alone, for -that would have been useless unless guided by the nerve -and intelligence which gives man dominion over all -the beasts as well as inanimate matter. The sealers -also seemed to feel it, for there was something in their -eyes which had not been there a few minutes earlier, -and Jordan laughed softly as he turned to them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You fixed it quite handy, boys, though she was very -near getting away from you," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They laid the mast where Montreal wanted it, and -that finished their task, but in the afternoon two boats -went out to look for a sea otter. It was, however, -blowing fresh, and when they met the long seas outside -the reefs they were driven back again, and the water -was ankle-deep in them when they returned to the -</span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span>. Jordan laughed when he looked down -at the dripping men from the rail of the rolling -schooner.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I figured you'd find it too much for you," he said. -"We'll try again to-morrow, and you can lazy round -any way that pleases you till then."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Nobody seemed to want to go ashore, and even the -lads did not find the appearance of the foam-fringed -beaches and desolate grey rocks that showed through -the haze and rain inviting. So while the chunk, chunk -of Montreal's axe rose muffled through the doleful wail -of wind they sat snug about the stove listening to stories -of the sea and bush. Some of them were astonishing, -for the sealer sees more than the merchant seaman does, -and at one time or other most of the crew of the -</span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> had marched with survey expeditions -through, or wandered alone prospecting far up in, the -great shadowy forests of British Columbia. Now and -then the lads' eyes grew wide with wonder, but the -faces of the men showed gravely intent through the -drifting tobacco smoke, and it was evident they -believed the tales they listened to. They were simple -men, but they had seen many things beyond the knowledge -of those who dwell in the cities, and even Niven -sat silent, lost in the glamour of the real romance as he -wandered with them in fancy over misty seas and amidst -the awful desolation of ice-ribbed ranges.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At last when one of them lighted the lamp Montreal -came down, and flinging off his dripping jacket stretched -himself wearily.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Can't see any more, but I'll have the contract -through before I let up next time," he said. "If you -want that sea otter, boys, you've got to get him -to-morrow."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It may have been because of what he had helped to -do that morning, but Appleby, glancing at the wet face -of the tired man, realized there was a greatness in all -craftsmanship which had never occurred to him before. -There was, of course, very much that Montreal did not -know, but if one gave him the top of a redwood tree it -would under his sinewy hands become a spar that -would transmit the stress and strain of the </span><em class="italics">Champlain's</em><span> -canvas into useful effort that would drive her safely -through screaming gale and over icy seas. He could -also build a boat or bridge, and Appleby had realized -already that among all the things man has ever made -nothing more nearly approaches the simplicity of -perfection than the former, a frail shell evolved very -slowly before the knowledge of them came in wonderful -compliance with the great laws that uphold the universe. -It was, of course, but dimly the lad grasped this, but -he understood in part that now, as it was when the -world was young, it was after all the toil of the -craftsmen that human progress was built upon. The world, -it seemed, could dispense with the artist and orator and -a good many more, but it could not well get on without -the smith and carpenter.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Still, reflections of this kind did not usually occupy -Appleby very long, and he might have brushed them -aside but that he presently heard something which gave -him an insight into the responsibility that is attached -to all skilled labour.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis you that's the fine carpenter, Montreal," said -Donegal. "But I've been wondering what was after -bringing a man who could earn his three dollars every -day ashore to sea."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Montreal sat down steaming by the stove, and -laughed as he took out his pipe. Then he seemed to -remember something and his face grew grave again.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's quite simple," he said. "I was working on a -big railroad trestle back there in the ranges when one -morning the contractor's foreman comes along. The -bridge wasn't quite ready for the metals, and I was -sitting on the girder with the river a hundred feet under -me, anyway. They'd lost a man or two on that trestle -already, and I was getting my five dollars a day.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"'You can drop those stringer ends into the notches -without the tenon, and you'll do 'bout twice as many in -the time,' says he.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"'I'm not doing them that way. It's not a good joint -under a big load,' says I.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"'And what has that got to do with you?' says he.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It wasn't quite easy explaining, but I knew just a -little about what bridge ties can do, and the river was a -hundred feet under the trestle.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"'Well, so long as I'm notching these things in I'll do -them so they'll stand,' says I.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The foreman he didn't say any more, but I knew -what he would do, and when we were through with the -trestle he comes to me. 'Here's your pay ticket and -you can light out of this right now,' says he.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I went, and trade was bad everywhere in the -province that year. Nobody was taking on carpenters, -and when I'd 'bout half-a-dollar left I went up on a -steamboat that wanted patching up to Alaska. It was -there I fell in with the sealers."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Montreal slowly lighted his pipe and looked at the -stove, while Donegal smiled. "Ye do not tell a story -well, and 'tis after leaving the point av it out ye are," -he said. "There would be no big freight locomotive -going through that trestle into the river, which is a -disthressful accident that is not quite uncommon in the -country ye and Stickine come from. But bad thrade -mends again, and ye have not told us what is keeping -ye at sea."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Montreal sighed a little and did not turn his head. -"My brother was raised a sealer, and he's up here or in -Siberia still," he said. "I don't know that he's living, -but I seem to feel it in me that if I can wait long -enough I shall find him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Donegal slowly closed one big hand, and Appleby saw -the glint which showed in his eyes creep into those of -the other men.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Dead or living he's not alone," he said with a -hoarseness that expressed more than sympathy. "May -them that watch above send him back to ye!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then he turned to the others and his laugh had a -little ominous ring as he pointed towards the west. -"He's finding the time long, but wan day you and me -or better men than us will call on them folks down -there with clubs and rifles, and ask them what they've -done with the men who sailed with us."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Nobody spoke, but Niven, glancing round at the stern -brown faces, felt that whether they were right or wrong -he would not care to be the man of whom the sealers -asked that grim question.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="in-peril"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XV</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">IN PERIL</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Early next morning the lads took their places in -Stickine's boat, and the chunk of Montreal's axe followed -them as they pulled towards the opening in the reef. -He had not spoken to any one since he finished his -story the previous night, and when they last saw him -he was chipping grimly at the mast. The lads, however, -forgot him as they watched the long, grey seas crumble -on the reef, and once they reeled out and met the swell -the rowing occupied all their attention, for it was -needful to watch every stroke and check the boat -now and then when the top of the heave frothed a little.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was no wind, but the sea still rolled rumbling -on the reefs, and the grey shadow which apparently -never lifted there lay heavily upon the waters. Appleby -did not remember how long they had rowed, but the -schooner had faded into the haze, when the Indian -pointed to a blurred line of rocks that showed here and -there amidst a white upheaval. The lads fancied there -was land behind them, but the smoky vapours were -rolled in thicker belts in that direction, and they could -see nothing but dim seas and foam as they pulled -slowly under the lee of the reef. Now and then they -crept close in with a rock, where long streamers of -weed swayed about them as the sea that poured in -frothy cataracts down the stone rolled in and out. It -did not, however, only float off from the rock, but swung -up with the heave from what appeared to be deep -water, and Appleby had never seen any seaweed that -would compare with this. The stems of it were -apparently as thick as a man's arm, and the leaves a -good deal longer than the boat. It gave him a curious, -unpleasant sensation while he watched it writhe and -twist as if alive, as far as he could see down into the -icy brine.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Is it growing loose on the top?" he asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No," said Stickine. "It comes right up from the -bottom forty or fifty feet, and if there's a sea otter -anywhere around you're likely to find him crawling in -and out among it. Seen anything yet, Charley?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A man in a boat astern of them shook his head. "I -guess the Aleuts have them all corralled now, though -there's no sign of any Indians here," he said. "Anyway, -if there is one left this is the kind of place we should -find him in."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Besting now and then upon their oars while the boat -swung up and clown on the heave that lapped frothing -about the reef, they pulled on, until at last the Indian -in the bows raised his hand, and for five long minutes -after that crouched motionless. No man moved or -asked a question, and there was nothing visible but -swaying weed and foam, or to be heard but the growling -of the sea. Then the Indian signed again, and with -oars dipping softly they crept nearer in, the man with -the brown face crouching still and impassive with his -hands clenched on the rifle barrel, though Appleby, -glancing over his shoulder, could see nothing on the -face of the froth-swept stone. He, however, knew that -no one born in the cities could hope to equal the -Indian's powers of vision, for it is the artificial life of -an incomplete civilization that dulls the white man's -physical faculties, and there were few things in which -Donovitch, who lived in close touch with nature, was -not a match for the beasts.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Suddenly the rifle went up, moved as the boat -swung, and grew still again, while the crouching object -in the bows stiffened rigidly. Nobody was rowing -now, and the lads, glancing over their shoulders, could -see the side of the Indian's face pressed down on the -butt, and it and the brown fingers on the barrel -were still and lifeless as copper. Then there was a -flash, the muzzle jerked upwards, and the smoke was in -their eyes, but so intent were they that the report -scarcely reached them, and what they heard most -plainly was a soft splash in the sea. As Appleby -looked down something that left a train of bubbles -behind it seemed to flash beneath the boat, and passed -beyond his vision into the waving weed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Did you get him?" a voice rose from the other boat.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No. Pull in between him and the second rock," said -Stickine, and there was a splash of oars as Charley's -boat slid away.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then the Indian stood upright in the bows staring -at the sea, and for a time the boats swung with the -lift of swell, while the water trickled from the oars. -Every eye was fixed on the long heave, but no more -bubbles rose up, and there was nothing to be seen -save when a great streamer of weed whirled and -swayed beneath them as though it were an animate -thing. How long this lasted the lads did not know, but -the intent bronzed faces, smears of froth, grey sea, and -drifting haze had all grown hazy before their straining -eyes, when a rifle flashed in Charley's boat, and -there was a shout, "Heading your way, played out!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Pull," said Stickine. "In towards the rock a stroke -or two."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The boat slid forward and stopped. Once more the -Indian's rifle flashed, and a hazy shape showed for a -moment beneath them in the water. Then there was -a shout from Charley, "Stop right where you are. One -of us will get out on the rock."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>His boat slid in towards the froth-swept stone, and -when she swung up with the swell two men sprang out -of her and floundered along a perilous ledge over the -slimy weed. Then the boats pulled out, and for what -seemed a very long time moved one way and another, -while every now and then a rifle flashed. The lads, -however, could see nothing but the weed streaming in -the water, and surmised by Stickine's face that he saw -little more, for it was the Indians who took command now.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At last a grey patch showed for a moment amidst -the froth that swirled about the rock, and sank from -sight as suddenly when a man floundered towards it -swinging up a club. Then as they dipped the oars the -Indian stood up and with a hoarse shout launched -himself from the boat. Appleby saw his tense figure -for a second, and then held his breath as he plunged -down, a dim shadow, into the waving weed. He felt a -little shivery, for it seemed scarcely possible that the -swimmer could evade the horrible embrace of those -whirling sterns. Then a head rose from the surface, -there was a muffled shout, and when the man went -down again Stickine stood up on a thwart.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A white man's as good as an Indian, anyway," he -said. "We'll head him in to you on the rock, boys."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The boat rocked as he plunged down with hollowed -back and stiffened arms, and Appleby shivered again. -He could swim, but he felt that only the direst necessity -would have sent him down amidst that clinging weed. -Now they pulled in to the rock, and now back again, -while between times the men beat the water with their -oars and for a moment or two an arm or face rose up. -Twice the boats drove together, and there was a -shouting while a man thrust down a long-shafted -weapon which resembled both a hook and a spear. -Still, the lads could see no sign of the otter, until at -last, when they were quivering with excitement, there -was a shout from the rock, and a man clinging to it -swung up his club, and then dropped it into the water. -Next moment both boats had driven against the stone, -and Appleby grabbed Stickine, who clung panting to -the stern, while when somebody had helped him to -drag him in, the Indian flung a limp object into the -boat. Its head was flattened in apparently by a club, -and the lads found it somewhat difficult to believe that -it would reward them for their exertions in capturing -it. There was, however, no mistaking the content in -the faces of the men, and presently Stickine, who spoke -to the Indian, pulled off his jacket.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I guess we'll head for the schooner, boys. It's quite -likely it would take us a week to find another otter, if -we did it then, and that water's kind of cold," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They turned back towards the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> while -Charley's boat went on, and when Stickine had shaken -off the chill by pulling and they had rested a few moments -on their oars, Appleby said to him, "I fancied these -Indians could shoot well, but it took them a long while -to hit the otter."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Stickine laughed. "They didn't want to unless they -could get him in the head. Nobody wants to drill big -holes in a skin that's worth a bagful of dollars," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven nodded, and turning round grinned at his -comrade. "Of course, if you hadn't been so thick you'd -have seen that, Tom," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said Appleby dryly. "No doubt this is -different, but I once went shooting with a friend at -Sandycombe who gave a farmer's lad half-a-crown to -meet him with a gun, and he would creep up so close -to the first thing he fired at that all he could find -afterwards was a few pieces."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Stickine's eyes twinkled. "Now, I knew a man down -in British Columbia who found a fur seal on a reef, and -got out his axe to catch him with," he said. "He'd -never been sealing, and he wanted to make quite sure -of him. I guess he did it, for when we went into that -place for water the skipper laughed when he asked him -to buy the skin.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"'One dollar for a seal?' says the man.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"'Yes,' says the skipper, solemn. 'You've chopped -the rest of them right out of him. Nobody has much -use for a pelt that's made of holes instead of skin.'"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was noon when they reached the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span>, and -they spent the rest of the day helping Montreal to drive -the iron bands Brulée whipped out of the galley fire on -to the patched mast, so that they would shrink and bind -the joint together, and refitting the rigging, while it -was dusk when Charley came back without having seen -another otter. Jordan, however, did not appear -surprised at this.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I've heard of the Indians prowling round for three -months and getting nothing," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The next day was spent in arduous and anxious toil -replacing the mast, but worn out as everybody was, -Jordan slipped out to sea when they hove the last shroud -taut in the dusk, and they were busy afterwards -reeving halliards and bending on the mainsail half the -night.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Every hour means dollars, boys," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was, however, fortunate they finished the work, for -on the next evening the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> had need of all her -speed. They had crept along slowly through the drizzle -all day, but towards sundown the breeze suddenly -freshened, and a dull red glare flickered for a few -minutes on the horizon. It smote a coppery track -across the heaving waters as they sailed westwards into -it, but the smoky vapours came rolling up astern, and a -low island along which the surf beat white showed up -blurred and grey to the south of them. The sea rolled -out of the north foam-flecked here and there, and the -</span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> swung with the heave of it, hurling the -spray from her bows as she drove along with a fresh -beam wind.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The ominous red glare was, however, fading rapidly, -and the lads, who sought shelter from the cold wind -under the lee of the galley, knew that in half-an-hour -or so the dimness that was creeping up from the east -and south would close about them. There is no night -in the north at that season, but for a few hours the light -almost dies away, and times, when the skies are veiled -by haze and rain, there is very little day.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was very cold and clammy, and the lads' faces -smarted from the stinging of the spray, while as the -coppery streaks grew dimmer, the seas turned grey, and -the wet rocks to the south of them became dim and -shadowy. The surf was to leeward so they could not -hear it, and the splashing at the bows and shrill moan -of wind seemed to intensify the silence that descended -on the sea. Then just before the last paling rays -flickered out in the north, something showed up black -and sharp against it. In another moment the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> -had slid down a sea and the thing had gone, but Niven -stared at Appleby because the form of it had been -curiously familiar.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby nodded. "Yes," he said. "I believe it was -the gunboat, but wait until she lifts again."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In another minute the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> was hove up with -the brine frothing about her, and there was no mistaking -the object that moved out into the dying light from the -contracting horizon. A smear of smoke hung about it, -and for a second or two the dim slanted shape was -outlined against a flicker of saffron. Then it and the -radiance faded out together, and the lads stared at the -empty waters wondering if they had been a prey to -a disordered fancy. Others had seen it, however, for -already a man hung out from the hoops half-way up -the mainmast.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The American, sure!" he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jordan, who signed to him to go higher, sat down -on the house, and his face was anxious as he glanced at -the men who gathered about him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't know quite whether he's on his way to St. Michael's -or looking for us, but I figure he can't have -seen us yet," he said. "She was steaming fast?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"'Bout as hard as they could shove her along, by the -drift of her smoke," said the man, who now stood on the -jaws of the gaff.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said Jordan, "we'll see what he's after when -she heaves in sight again. Let her fall off a point or -two. Slack up your sheets."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> swung off a little towards the land, -and Appleby fancied he understood the manoeuvre -because it is one thing to see a vessel against the horizon, -and quite another to make her out when grey rocks, -round which vapours crawl, lie close behind her. Still, -that reef-girt shore swept by the filmy whiteness of the -surf did not look inviting.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For ten minutes or thereabouts they waited in silence, -Stickine looking straight before him with his hands upon -the wheel, Jordan sitting apparently quite unconcerned -upon the house, while the men hung about the rail. -Then the low, black shape of the gunboat crept out of -the haze again, and the smoke cloud at her funnel -showed she was steaming her fastest. Jordan turned -his head and watched her in silence for several minutes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She's coming up with us fast, and we're going along," -he said. "I guess we'll have the topsails on her as soon -as you can get them. Tell Donovitch I want him. -Stickine, you can give Charley the wheel."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In a minute or two the topsails were aloft and the -</span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> sailing very fast, swinging her lee-rail down -into the swirling froth when she rolled. The steamer, -however, was closing with her rapidly, while there was -only a desolation of reefs and foam under their lee. It -seemed there was no escape for them, but Jordan was -still sitting quietly on the house tracing something upon -it with his finger, while the Indian nodded as he -watched him, and now and then a grim smile crept into -the face of Stickine. Appleby, however, found the -silence was growing almost insupportable and walked -up to Montreal.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She's evidently coming after us, but they couldn't -stop us when we're doing nothing wrong," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Montreal laughed a little. "I don't quite know -'bout the sea otter, but we were right in abreast of the -seal beaches when he last saw us," he said. "That -with the pelts on board, would be quite enough for him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But we didn't get the skins there," said Appleby.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said Montreal dryly, "you'd find it hard to -make any one believe it. When you catch a dog with a -mutton chop in a butchery store nobody's going to ask -him where he found it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Still, with the land to leeward, the skipper can't get -away unless he runs her on the reefs," said Appleby.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He'd do that before he let those fellows have her, -but that land's an island. They've most of them more -than one shore," said Montreal.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby asked no more questions. He was by this -time quivering with suppressed excitement, and fancied -the others were quite as anxious too, though there was -little in their appearance to show it. They were quietly -watching the gunboat rise higher out of the dimness, -though they knew that a good many unpleasant things -would follow their capture. One or two of them, however, -glanced towards the land, which was very blurred and -hazy now, and then turned to watch the skipper, who -was still talking half-aloud with Stickine. At last he -moved a little.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We've got to take our chances, but I wish I knew -just what water he draws in cruising trim," he said. -"We're 'bout level with the passage. Donovitch will -take her in."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Stickine said something, the mainboom swung further -outboard, and as the schooner fell off towards the land, -the lads, looking forward anxiously, could only see the -dim face of a crag, and the whiteness of tumbling foam. -Then they saw the man on the main-gaff nod as the -skipper glanced up at him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Coming right in after us," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jordan laughed softly. "Well," he said, "I guess -he'll feel kind of sorry he did before very long."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As he spoke there was a flash astern of them, and -while yellow vapour whirled about the steamer the lads -heard the roar of a gun.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="stickine-makes-a-deal"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XVI</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">STICKINE MAKES A DEAL</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Nobody on board the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> showed that they -had heard the gunboat's warning shot, and the sound -was lost in the roar of the surf which was now spouting -white close in front of her. The shadowy crags were, -however, falling away, and Jordan still sat on the house -unconcernedly, though there were apparently only -foam-swept reefs before him, and the war-vessel was coming -up rapidly behind.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I've been worrying about her draught when I've -got it all the time," he said. "Bring me the handy -book up, Stickine."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Stickine disappeared, and when he returned with a -battered volume in which Appleby had once or twice -seen the skipper writing, the two men's faces showed up -sharp against the dimness as they bent over it in the -faint radiance that came up through the skylights of -the house. Jordan's was quietly contemplative as he -turned over the pages.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Here she is," he said at last. "Four-expansion -engines; still that's not what we want. Now we're -coming to it. Small displacement vessel for coast-wise -service. Depth moulded. Here it is. Draught in -seagoing trim!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Stickine followed the skipper's pointing finger, and -then laughed softly as he looked up. "Two feet more -than the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span>, and he's coming in," he said. -"Well, he's not going to find it so easy to take her out -again. We'll have the haze down thick as a blanket -before we're through."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby who heard them understood but little of this, -though its meaning became apparent later, and his -attention was too occupied for him to wonder much about -it just then. The reefs were unpleasantly close to them, -and the gunboat coming on, though the vapours that -drove past the schooner left very little of her visible. -The men were silent, and Donovitch held the wheel, -while another Indian stood forward calling out to him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Ahead the sea frothed horribly, and several times the -schooner swung round a trifle as a cloud of spray rushed -up from a big, white upheaval. Then a grey rock buried -almost in the wash of a sea slid past, and the combers' -tops subsided. Only a confused swell heaved behind -them, but the stream seemed to be running with them, -and the lads surmised that one of the reefs they had -passed behind partly sheltered them from the sea. -They were sailing through a tortuous strait apparently. -The vapours were, however, closing in, and presently -they could make out nothing ahead, though they could -still occasionally see the masts of the gunboat or her -smoke rolling blackly through the fog, while the wind -seemed to be freshening, for the deck slanted further as -the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> tore along. Twice again a rock that -rose suddenly out of the grey heave went by, and once a -beam of brightness flickered past the schooner and faded -in the fog. Jordan laughed as he glanced astern.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He's not going to see much of anything in about -two minutes," he said. "Down topsails, and get the -mainsail off her, boys."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was done, though the lads who helped wondered, -for the gunboat was coming on, until it occurred to them -that with the little sail she still carried it would be very -difficult to distinguish the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> in the haze. -Once again the blaze that whirled up dimly behind -them went past, and then grey and clammy the fog -rolled down.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jordan nodded with evident content. "We've shown -that fellow the way in, and that's about all we'll do for -nothing, boys," he said. "You'll be handy with your -sheets because it's going to take a little contriving to -wriggle out of this."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The men stood about with the ropes in their hands, -and swung the boom foresail over when Donovitch -spoke to them. They did it more than once, hauled the -sheets in and let them run again while the schooner -apparently twisted like an eel, and here and there a -dim line of foam crept by. Once or twice the lads held -their breath as they watched it, and they could see that -their strained anxiety was shared by the men, for the -roar of the surf rose from every side, and it was -evident that all the helmsman's nerve was needed -to thread that labyrinth of reefs. Indeed, Appleby -fancied that nobody but a sealer would ever have -attempted that perilous passage. There was no sign of -the gunboat now, and he could picture the consternation -of her Commander who had, he surmised, no Indian to -take him through.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>That, however, was the Commander's affair, and did -not lessen the lads' anxiety, while now the thrill of the -chase had gone they stood expectant and silent among -the rest, listening to the clamour of the surf and -staring at the sliding fog. At last there was a -slackening of the strain, and Niven laughed excitedly while -Appleby drew his breath in when Jordan's voice rose up.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We've clear water before us now, and we'll have -the trysail on her," he said. "Then we'll let her come -up with staysail to weather. The Commander will be -wanting us by and by."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They went about the decks at a floundering run, and -the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> soon lay almost stationary with her -head to the wind. Then they stood still to listen. -No unusual sound the lads could catch came out of the -vapours, but one of the men fancied he heard the -American's cable. The roar of running chain carries a -long distance, and Jordan seemed inclined to agree -with him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That fellow's had 'bout enough, and he'll be feeling -kind of sick when he sees his anchor coming home," he -said. "We'll give him an hour to find out the fix he's -in, and then some of you will go off and talk to him. -Boys, there's dollars in the thing."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Most of the men went below, and the lads with -them. There was nothing to be done on deck, and it -was considerably warmer in the hold, while it was -plain that the gunboat had given up the chase. When -they sat down under the swinging lamp there was a -little bewilderment in some of the faces, and Stickine -watched them with a quiet chuckle.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Ye will be permitted to reshume the intherrogation, -Mainsail Haul. There's things one or two av us would -like to know," said Donegal.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven was not unwilling to avail himself of the -opportunity. "Then," he said, "what sort of a place -was it we were running through, and what is keeping -the American?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Stickine laughed softly. "The fog and his nerves; -but I wouldn't blame the man," he said, placing a can -or two upon the floor, and pointing to them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now, you'll see the island's there, and this can is -one reef and that one another. More of them yonder. -Says you, 'It's a nasty place to crawl through even in -clear weather,' but the Indian knows it just as he -knows the back of his hand. He was round here for -most a year once, before they killed off the sea otter. -Still, there's no charts that show these places quite -complete, and the American came in because he'd have -a man aloft to watch us and another taking bearings -each time we swung round. He done it very well. -Says he, 'Where that schooner goes there's water -enough for me.'"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was a murmur of somewhat impatient -comprehension, for the men at least understood most of -this already, and Stickine proceeded, "When we got -the mainsail off her he lost us, and I'm figuring he felt -kind of sorry for himself. Still, like a sensible man -he brings up with his anchor."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What will he do now?" asked Appleby.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Stickine looked at the rest, and grinned. "First -thing, he'll find that anchor's not going to hold him. -There's a big stream going through, and it's not the -kind of bottom you can get a grip in. Then he'll get -his boats out to look for the passage, and when they -come back to tell him they've only been finding reefs -he'll feel sicker than ever."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Still, he could stop where he is with his engines -just turning to take the weight off the chain until the -fog lifted," said Niven.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was a general chuckle, and Montreal said, "It -mightn't lift for a week, and I've known it last a month, -while the breeze that shifts it will bring the sea right in."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Then," said Appleby, "what are we going to do?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Stickine laughed again. "Wait till the Commander's -shaking in his boots, and then get a boat over and go -in and assist him. I'm figuring it will pay us better -than sealing."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was grim humour in the faces of the men, and -Charley grinned. "It's a head Ned Jordan has," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The lads joined in the laughter, for they could realize -that the skipper had with no small ability turned what -had looked very like disaster into victory. He had also -done no wrong, and was, so far as they could see, -justified in exacting some compensation from the men who -would in all probability at least have seized all the -skins and prevented him sealing any more that season. -They had not, however, long to consider the question, -for presently Jordan sent for Stickine, and a few -minutes later Appleby, to his great delight, was told -to help to swing out a boat. He did not ask for any -further instructions, and but once she was over the rail -sprang down into her, and in a few more minutes the -fog was blowing into his face as they drove her lurching -over the long swell. It was not, however, very thick, -which was possibly fortunate, because they could see the -foam upon the reefs before they came too close to them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Still, the lad found the shadowy dimness that was -not night curiously impressive, as he did the reverberations -of the seas that swung in smooth, black slopes -out of the haze and crumbled into smoke upon the -unseen barriers. Now and then the blurred outline of -a crag upon the island loomed up and was lost again, -while the wind moaned dolefully, though at times it -sank awhile and the vapours rolled down upon the sea -like a great, grey curtain. At last, however, they made -out a light, and the men pulled a trifle faster. More -lights blinked at them presently through the haze, -and when a hoarse shout came down they stopped -pulling close under the side of the gunboat. She -swung up and down above them looking very big and -black, while now and then when her bows went up -there was a horrible grind of cable.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Boat ahoy!" said somebody. "What are you wanting?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A talk with your Commander," said Stickine. -"We're sealers from the schooner."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Pull her in," said the unseen man. "We'll give -you a rope."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's not going to do for me," said Stickine, with -his soft, almost silent laugh. "I want the ladder."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby chuckled, for he could understand how this -demand from one of the men he had almost made -prisoners of would exasperate the Commander, while -he also knew that it takes some time to get a steamer's -accommodation ladder over. So far as he could make -out by the voices above him, some of the officers were -conferring together, and he managed to catch the words, -"Concerned insolence!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We don't feel like waiting here all night," said -Stickine; "unless you get a move on we'll pull away."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You wouldn't pull far," said somebody. "We've -got a quick-firer trained on to you. Now then, up with -you!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No, sir," said Stickine, grinning. "I'm expecting -some show of civility as an officer of the sealer, and if -you turned that gun loose on us there'd be nobody to -take you out of here."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was a growl on the deck above them, and -somebody said, "Oh, give it him! We want to get -through with the thing."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was probably ten minutes before the ladder was -hung over, and leaving one man in the boat the others -went up, while Appleby stared about him with interest -when he reached the deck. The gunboat looked very -big after the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span>, and even in the haze he could -see that she was very trim. Lights blinked about him, -there was a simmering of steam, and the long wet deck, -tall spars, swaying funnel, spotless paint, and the -neatness of everything gave him a sense of security and -comfort which he had not been used to on board the -schooner. He had, however, little time to look round, -for as the sealers stepped in through the gangway a -cluster of bluejackets closed in about them, and one of -them laid his hand on Stickine's shoulder. The sealer -shook his grasp off, and swung round, doubling up a -great fist.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Hello! Are you wanting anything?" he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>An officer stepped out into the light. "You're -under arrest! The Commander is waiting aft," he -said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby was almost surprised into a little gasp of -consternation, but he saw that Stickine was smiling -dryly and checked it. Then they tramped aft along -the deck, and finally stopped outside a cabin in the -poop.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'll bring the leader in first, sir?" said their -conductor.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's what I am wanting," said Stickine. "Still, -as somebody has got to hear what he has to tell me, this -lad's coming along."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He grasped Appleby's arm and shoved him into the -cabin, and for a moment or two the lad stood blinking -about him. At first, being still a trifle dazzled by the -light, he only noticed that the little cabin with its -snowy paint, varnished panelling, and curtains on the -brass-ringed ports, seemed very luxurious after the hold -of the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span>. Then he saw that a young officer sat -at a table, while another stood behind him. His face -was not unpleasant, though just then he looked angry, -and in his trim uniform he formed a striking contrast -to Stickine, who stood, bronzed and lean, in curiously -fashioned garments of fur and canvas, smiling at him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's a kind of thick night," said the latter with a -little nod. "Now, as I'm going to talk to you neighbourly, -I've no use for the boys outside there. Because -it wouldn't have been quite square to you as Commander -I didn't object to them before."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was something very like a grin in the face of -the officer who still stood in the doorway, and the -Commander's cheeks flushed a trifle. Stickine, however, -met his gaze with complete unconcern, and finally he -raised his hand and a patter of feet on deck showed -that the guard was retiring.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You don't seem to understand that unless you give -me a very good reason for not doing it I'm going to take -you prisoners to Alaska," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Stickine laughed a little. "Well," he said dryly, "I -don't figure you will. In the first place, you can't take -us anywhere until you get out of here, and unless you -and me agree it's when you try to the trouble will begin. -She's not holding with you now, and we'll have it -thicker still until the wind piles the sea in to-morrow. -When you've got a holt on that we'll go on."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The other officer leaned over the Commander's -shoulder, and said something Appleby did not hear. -Then the Commander sat silent a while as he watched -Stickine. "Well?" he said at last.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Stickine's eyes twinkled a little. "First time you've -been up here after the sealers? You don't know us -yet. Now, I was wondering when you were going to -offer us something to eat and drink."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Commander stared at him, while the other man, -who appeared divided between anger and laughter, -turned away his head. Then, as if it were in spite of -him, a little smile crept into the former's face.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Sit down. You deserve anything we can give you -for your assurance," he said. "Well, have you any -especial fancy?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Stickine appeared to reflect, "Champagne would be -good enough for me," he said. "The last time I had -any a Russian officer I did something for gave it me. -The lad will have coffee. That is, if the cook has any -fire in his galley."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Commander touched a bell, and the other officer -flung himself, laughing, into the chair. "I guess you'll -get on with him better that way, sir," he said. "I've -had a good deal to do with these fellows, and generally -found them difficult to bluff."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In a few minutes a man brought in a big cup of very -good coffee, and set some glasses and a box of biscuits -upon the table, but while Appleby fell to when the -Commander nodded to him, Stickine did not touch his -glass.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now I'm going to talk," he said. "In the first -place, I've shown you where you are. Next, the -schooner's waiting outside the reefs, and unless the -boat's back inside an hour with a note from me to the -skipper he'll get sail on her, and you can take us and -your ship to Alaska, if you can get her out of here. To -put it quite plain, we've got the best end of the stick, -and we know enough to keep a holt on it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Somewhat, to Appleby's surprise, the Commander -laughed. "I almost believe you have," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Stickine nodded, and once more Appleby wondered. -A few months earlier it would have appeared incomprehensible -to him that a rough schooner sailor should so -quietly enforce his right to be treated as an equal by a -naval officer, and prove a match for him. The -Commander now appeared quite willing to recognize it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said Stickine, "we'll take you out to-morrow -for——" and he asked a sum that astonished Appleby.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No, sir," said the Commander. "I'll have the boats -over at sun up and find my own way out."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I guess not," said the sealer. "You've been looking -round and coming right upon a fresh reef at every turn -already, while there's a sunk ledge in one of the -openings, and before you're through you'd have the gale -in on you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The two officers conferred together half-aloud, and -finally the Commander said, "I couldn't pay more than -half what you're asking."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said Stickine dryly, "it strikes me it would -be a long way cheaper than losing your ship. The -dollars would come in quite handy to us but they -wouldn't count for very much with the U.S. Treasury."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Commander drummed on the table with his -fingers. "The trouble is I don't know I could send a -bill of that kind to the Treasury," he said. "I'm not a -rich man, and the dollars would take a good deal of -raising if I had to find them myself."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Stickine nodded sympathetically. "Then I'll come -down a hundred, but we can't take less. I've got to do -the square thing by the boys."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Commander sat still again, and Appleby could -not quite understand the expression of his face. Then -he said, "I should be taking a risk. You're not fond of -us, anyway, and even you mightn't know all the reefs."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Stickine stood up very straight and grim. "You've -just got to trust me, as we'll trust you for the pay. We -wouldn't have made that deal with you unless we knew -we could put it through."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Sit down," said the Commander with a little smile. -"We'll make it a deal. Take us out, and you'll get -your dollars. Put us ashore and we'll shoot you. It's -quite plain you're taking a few risks too. And now if -you will join me in a glass of wine."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Stickine nodded, and laughed silently as he held up -his glass. "I'm taking those dollars from you, as you'd -have taken the pelts or the schooner from us, if you -had the chance, and that makes us square," he said. -"Every man to his own business, but that's no reason -he should hate the folks who are now and then too -much for him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Ten minutes later and Appleby and the rest were in -the boat pulling for the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> with a note asking -Jordan to send the Indian across to the steamer.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-pledge-redeemed"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XVII</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE PLEDGE REDEEMED</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The light was slowly creeping through the mist when -Appleby, who had returned with two of the Indians, sat -with Stickine in the gunboat's cabin. It was very -early in the morning, and though there is no actual -darkness in those seas at that season, the haze -provided a very good substitute, and now it was sliding -past as thickly as ever. Appleby also felt clammy all -through, for they had had a hard pull from the -schooner against a freshening wind, and nobody is -very vigorous at four o'clock on a very cold morning. -He shivered a little as he sat with a steaming cup of -coffee before him watching his companions. Their -faces showed curiously pallid in the dim light, and -Stickine's was grave, while the two Americans appeared -more than a little anxious. Outside the wind was -wailing through the rigging, and every now and then -there was a jarring grind of cable as the gunboat swung -up her bows.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You believe we had better make a start right now, -and you can pick up the passage?" asked the -Commander.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Stickine nodded. "The haze is not going to lift -to-day, and you'd find it hard work to hold her here when -the sea rolls in. There's a nasty reef close astern of -you too. Now, before we start we'll go over the deal -again and see if you've got it straight. Our skipper -has your cheque, and I'm to take you out. You're to -take our word we've killed no seals in American waters, -and leave us to go just where we're wanting once -you're free of the reefs."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes," said the Commander. "I pledge myself to -that, but you've overlooked one thing, and that's the -one that's going to happen to you if you make a -blunder."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was a moment's silence, and during it the -naval officer pulled his belt round a trifle and rubbed a -speck of dust off his pistol-holster. The hint was plain -enough, but the sealer only smiled.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's all right, but I want the lad up on -your bridge with me," he said. "If there was any -trouble he could tell folks I did the square thing by -you!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Commander signified agreement. "Who is the -lad, anyway?" he said. "He hasn't the hard look of -the rest of you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Stickine glanced at Appleby. "I don't quite know. -We picked him up, and his partner told a kind of curious -story. Allowed his father was a big man back there in -the old country."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A little smile crept into the Commander's eyes. -"Well, I shouldn't wonder if it was the right one, but -that don't concern us now. Would you like more -coffee before you begin?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No," said Stickine. "You can tell them to start -the windlass when you're ready."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The windlass was rattling and the chain grinding in -when they crossed the sloppy deck and climbed to the -bridge. A jet of steam roared away into the haze from -beside the funnel, and the tinkle of iron came up from -the gratings, while Appleby noticed that every boat -was swung out ready for lowering at a moment's notice. -Except for one or two men forward the bluejackets -were drawn up in little groups about the deck and -stood motionless, apparently watching the sealers' boat -that heaved in the haze ahead. Then the windlass -stopped rattling and there was for a moment or two a -curious silence while the steamer rolling lazily slid -sideways with the stream.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Keep your anchor at the bows," said Stickine. -"Back her until she comes round under a starboard helm."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Commander touched a handle, there was a tinkle -below, the bridge commenced to tremble, and with a -thud-thud of engines the steamer crawled astern. -Then when her bows had swung round Stickine raised -his hand.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Ahead slow!" he said. "Just keep her going."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The engines thudded once more, and then commenced -a monotonous rumbling as they crept on into the haze, -while with every man pulling hard the sealers' boat -slid towards them. Donovitch the Indian was standing -in the bows, and Appleby, glancing round a moment, -saw that the faces of the two officers on the bridge -were grim and set. Neither of them or the men below, -however, moved an inch, and the stillness and the -silence through which he seemed to hear his heart -thumping affected Appleby curiously. He felt cold -beneath the old fur waistcoat Jordan had given him, for -he had more than a suspicion that Stickine would only -have the one chance of blundering now, and that if he -did it a good many of the gunboat's company would -never get ashore. A long swell heaved through the -passage, roaring ominously as it seethed upon the reefs.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then the Indian in the bows swung up an arm, and -while Stickine signed to the helmsman who stood -rigidly still gripping his wheel the sea was rent ahead -and there rushed upwards a great cloud of spray and -foam. It whirled high and a deep rumbling followed it, -while another hoarse roar rang through the haze in -front of them, and Appleby saw the officers glance at -one another. He knew, as they did, what would -happen if lifted by the swell they struck that -froth-swept stone, and he felt that swift death was very near -them all just then.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Still, Stickine only nodded to the helmsman, and -the bows swung slowly round, while when the long -swell foamed again the reef lay a score of yards away -from them, and the growl of another grew louder. -Appleby could faintly see the filmy cloud that whirled -about it, and held his breath as he realized that the -stream was carrying them towards it, and wondered if -the helmsman could swing the ship clear in time. Then -he gathered a little comfort from a glance at Stickine, -whose face was unconcerned.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Give her steam," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For a moment the Commander stood quite still with -his fingers motionless on the handle that would quicken -the engines, and Appleby could guess his thoughts. If -they drove the steamer faster now, and she would not -swing, in less than another minute her bows would be -crumpled in.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You're taking your chances with us," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, yes," said Stickine. "Unless you're quick with -that telegraph I'm not going to have any. Give her steam."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Commander thrust down the handle, there was -a tinkle below, and while the engines beat faster -Stickine turned his hand round as he glanced at the -helmsman. Then Appleby saw nothing but the spray -ahead, and heard a hollow rumbling sound that sent a -shiver through him as once more a white cloud whirled -up. His eyes grew dazed as he watched it blow away -until the foam about the reef beneath it was blotted -out by the steamer's bows. Next he became dimly -conscious that the helmsman was spinning his wheel, -and noticed nothing further until the horrible white -confusion was sliding away behind them. There was -only the haze before them now, and it seemed to be -growing thinner.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Slow!" said Stickine signing with his hand, and -while the rumble of engines slackened a faint cry -came out of the dimness.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then the sealer turned to the officer, and his bronzed -face was as unconcerned as ever, though his hands -seemed to tremble a little. The Commander was -standing very rigid, but there were beads of moisture -on his forehead.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We've left your boat astern," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said Stickine gravely, "we're not going to -want her. I guess I've put this contract through, and -you can whistle for the schooner."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then the tension suddenly slackened, and there was -a half-audible murmur from the men below when the -scream of the whistle was flung into the fog. It screamed -twice before the thin tinkle of a bell rose up in answer.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That will be your schooner. She's not far away," -said the Commander.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Five minutes later the steamer stopped her engines, -and while the boat crept up again the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span>, -rolling under her jibs and trysail, grew out of the haze. -Stickine touched Appleby's shoulder, and turning -towards the Commander held out his hand.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's about time we were going now. A deal's a -deal, and I've kept my part of it," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was a little grim smile in the Commander's -eyes, but he shook hands gravely with the sealer. -"And I'll do mine," he said to Stickine as he went -down the ladder. "Still, you can tell your skipper that -if I ever find his schooner inside our limits again, I'll -have much pleasure in sinking her."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Stickine made no answer, but he grinned.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In another minute they were pulling towards the -</span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span>, and when with the froth streaming away -across the sea behind her the steamer forged ahead, a -red flag with a beaver and maple-leaf in a corner -fluttered aloft to the </span><em class="italics">Champlain's</em><span> masthead. Appleby -smiled as he watched it stream out and sink again, for -there was, it seemed to him, something almost ludicrous -in this assertion of equality between the little rolling -schooner and the big war-vessel, and he waited to see if -the Commander would return the salutation or steam -past in contemptuous silence. As he watched, a figure -on the gunboat's bridge raised a hand, and the scream -of her whistle vibrated across the waters. Again -it hurled out its greeting while the schooner's flag -rose and fell, and then with a last great volume of -sound ringing above the clamour of the surf the -gunboat steaming at full speed swept into the haze.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Next minute the boat was under the </span><em class="italics">Champlain's</em><span> -rail, and Jordan looking down on them with a little, -dry smile.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I've no use for riling folks when it can be helped, -and that fellow took his licking well," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They climbed on board and hove the boat in, and -Stickine followed Jordan into the cabin while Appleby -sat down to tell the story to every unoccupied man of the -</span><em class="italics">Champlain's</em><span> company. There was a broad grin on the -listener's faces when he had finished, and one of them -said, "There's not many men who could come out to -windward of Ned Jordan."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Montreal nodded solemnly. "No," he said. "I guess -you'd get tired considerably before you found one of -them."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>By and by Stickine came out of the cabin. "We'll -have the reefed mainsail on her, boys," he said. "Now -we're here and the wind's hauling westerly so we can't -get back, we're going to run a little further east to a -place where we might pick up a few pelts cheap from -the Indians."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It blew hard presently, but the haze still followed -them, and towards the close of the afternoon they hove -the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> to, and lay with the stinging drift whirling -about her plunging to a sea that frothed white as snow. -Most of the men were sleeping or sitting snug in the -hold when Stickine came below, and shook his head at -Niven and Appleby. "The skipper's wanting you," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Both lads felt a trifle uneasy as they went out on -deck. They could not recollect any offences they had -committed, but there was an unfortunate resemblance -between Stickine's intimation and others they had -received at Sandycombe when unpleasant things had -followed the headmaster's request to see them in his -study.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I wonder if he means to put us ashore when we get -to the place we're going to," said Niven.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Wouldn't that please you?" asked Appleby with a -little smile.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven appeared thoughtful. "No," he said, "it -wouldn't, or you either. That is, if it meant we had -to go back to the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span>. Still, by this time she -should be half-way to China, or somewhere else as far."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They had, however, reached the house now, and -when they went in Jordan was sitting by the little -stove, with a big lead-bottomed ink-pot standing on -some papers on the table beside him. The lads stood -still a moment, and waited somewhat anxiously for him -to speak.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You've folks in the old country who would worry -about what had become of you?" he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, sir," said Niven. "It has troubled me a good -deal now and then."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jordan nodded. "You can write and tell them where -you are," he said. "Sit down right here and do it now. -If we've better weather we'll run for the harbour I'm -making for to-morrow, and now and then a boat from -St. Michael's looks in there. She would take any letters -I left to Vancouver."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven sat down at the table, and Appleby felt very -lonely as he watched the smile creep into his face, and -the rusty pen scratch across the paper. He knew that -other eyes would brighten when they read that letter, -but there was nobody to grieve or rejoice over him, -and once he coughed for no reason that was apparent -to Jordan, who was watching him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And you. Haven't you got anybody? There's -another pen," said the latter.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby was never quite sure what prompted him, -but the skipper's tone was kindly, and fumbling in an -inner pocket he pulled out a little leather case and -took from it a picture of a sandy mound with palm -fronds drooping over the wooden cross at one end -of it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That is all I have, sir," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jordan took the photograph, and his eyes grew softer -as he returned it with a little nod of sympathy. "It's -rough when you're young, but a lonely man's not always -the worst off, my lad," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven, however, looked round with a flush on his -face. "That's not straight talk, Tom," he said. "You -know my mother would do almost anything for you, -and there's the rest of them. Even Nettie, and she has -the faddiest notions, took to you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Hadn't you better get on with your writing, sonny?" -said Jordan dryly. "She's your mother, and not his, -anyway."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven made another dab at the inkpot, and though -it was difficult to keep his feet at the table as the -schooner rose and fell he finished his letter. He was -about to fold it up when Jordan glanced at him. -"You've put something 'bout me and the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> -in?" he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, sir," said Niven.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said Jordan, "I'd like to hear that part -of it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven flushed a trifle, and sat still a moment twisting -round his pen before he said, "It isn't worth listening to."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Still," said Jordan grimly, "I'm waiting to hear it. -Start in."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven looked round at Appleby, but Appleby only -grinned, and then with the colour showing plainer in -his face read a line or two. "The skipper has, taking -it all round, been very good to us. He's——" The -lad stopped for a moment. "This piece isn't of any -moment. I'll leave it out, sir."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I can tell better when you've read it," said Jordan.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven made a little half-conscious gesture of dismay, -but he had reasons for remembering that when Jordan -asked for anything it was wise to give it him, and he -continued hastily, "He's quite a clever man in his own -way, though nobody would fancy it from his appearance."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby could not quite restrain a chuckle, and saw -a twinkle in Jordan's eyes. He nodded as he said, "I -can't find fault with that, anyway. Go on with the rest -of it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If you saw him in his usual rig you would take him -for something between a stuffed sealskin and a navvy -on the tramp," said Niven.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now, I don't know what a navvy is," said Jordan.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven looked at his comrade again, and Appleby tried -not to laugh. "He's a man who digs drains and makes -railways in our country, sir," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said Jordan dryly. "It can't be tougher work -than sealing. Go on."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Still," said Niven, turning again to the letter, "he -has been quite decent, and treated us a good deal better -than they did on board the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span>, and I fancy it -would be a nice thing if——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He stopped again. "I can't read any more of it, sir," -he said, growing very flushed in the face.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Then," said Jordan, "I figure your partner can, and -one of you is going to."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven set his lips a moment, and then went on with -a little groan, "It would be a nice thing if you wrote -one of your Canadian friends to give him a cheque. -There can't be much profit in sealing and——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I guess that will do," said Jordan, whose face grew -suddenly grim. "Get hold of your pen, and knock the -last piece out of it. You've done it? Then you can -put this in. 'Don't worry 'bout me. Skipper Jordan -will see I earn every dollar's worth of anything I get -from him, and before I get home he and Donegal have -hopes of licking a little sense into me.' Got that -down—all of it?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, sir," said Niven, who was apparently almost -suffocated, hoarsely.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said Jordan with a little, dry smile, "that -will set your folks' minds at rest, and I guess your -father will be grateful to me. Now you can tell the -rest of them to get any letters they want sent home -ready."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They went out together, and Niven kicked at the -first thing that lay in his way savagely. As it -happened, it was one of the iron pump fastenings, and it -hurt his toe, while as he hopped about the deck Appleby -laughed uproariously. Then almost before he knew it -Niven was laughing, too, and when they climbed down -into the hold there was water in both their eyes.</span></p> -<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 62%" id="figure-65"> -<span id="as-he-hopped-about-the-deck-appleby-laughed-uproariously"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt=""AS HE HOPPED ABOUT THE DECK APPLEBY LAUGHED UPROARIOUSLY."" src="images/img-249.jpg" /> -<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> -<span class="italics">"AS HE HOPPED ABOUT THE DECK APPLEBY LAUGHED UPROARIOUSLY."</span></div> -</div> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Have ye been after hearing anything funny in the -cabin?" asked Donegal.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said Niven with a little chuckle, "I can't help -fancying the skipper did, since you want to know. -Sure, now, Donegal, 'tis a testhimonial he's been after -giving you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Tell me," said Donegal, seizing him by the neck and -nipping it while the lad struggled fruitlessly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's no use. I wouldn't tell any one a word of it if -you strangled me," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They made sail again early nest morning, but in the -forenoon the wind fell away, and it was late on the -following day when they crept into sight of a grey -blurr that lifted itself out of the misty horizon. They -could just make out that it was land, but Jordan, who -went up the mast hoops with his glasses, saw something -more.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No chance of a deal now we've got here, boys," he -said. "There's a steamer coming in. She'll be heading -south at this season, and it's not going to take them -long to heave a few bundles of furs on board her, so if -you've any letters to go along with mine you'd better -be handy getting the boat over."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They had her out in about two minutes, and as it -was Stickine's boat the lads who sprang down refused -to come out of her. She was also the biggest boat they -had, and had in all probability seldom travelled faster -than she did for the first mile or so. There was -scarcely a breath of wind now, and the long swell ran -with them, while Niven remembered what the letter -he had written would mean to those who had long -waited for news of him at home as he put all his -strength into the oar. Appleby also recollected the -tenderness he had now and then seen in Mrs. Niven's -eyes as she looked at her son, and her kindness to him, -and strained every muscle, for now at least it seemed -he could do a little to repay her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>So they sent the boat foaming over the long swell, -but each time she rose the land seemed very little -nearer, and when at last a smear of smoke rose out of -the greyness that hung about it, Stickine spoke.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The steamer's firing up! You've got to stretch out, -boys."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Panting and gasping they swayed up and down, the -oars thudding, and the grey sea frothing under them -when the boat surged forward quivering at every stroke. -Still, when the veins on Appleby's forehead felt swollen -to the bursting and Appleby's eyes were dim the land -was at least a mile from them, and a jarring rattle came -off across the water.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Windlass going! She'll be off soon as they heave -her anchor. Stiffen up," said Stickine.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The lads did what they could, for they knew it was -a good deal they were rowing for. The letter they -carried would bring relief from torturing anxiety to -those who loved them, and tranquillity to a mother's -mind, while Niven, half-choked as he was, nerved his -aching arms as he remembered how in all his follies his -father had borne with him. Appleby was aiding him -loyally, his lips set, his face almost purple, and still, -though Stickine and Donegal made the oars creak and -groan, the land was only crawling towards them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You've got to do it, boys! There's folks back -south worrying 'bout most of us," said Stickine when -the scream of a whistle came off to them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Neither of the lads had more than a hazy recollection -of the last ten minutes. They had no breath left, -every joint was aching, but their arms still moved -almost without their will, and they were dimly sensible -of the thud of oars, gurgle of water, and lurch of the -quivering boat beneath them. They felt they could -not be beaten now. At last while the whistle screamed -again something big and black bore down on them, and -they heard the thudding of engines and the flap-flap -of a slowly-turning propeller.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Stop pulling. Hang on to her," gasped Stickine, -and then while the oars rested in their palms the lads -could see that the bows of a steamer hung almost over -them. Next moment there was a crash, and they were -being hauled along with the froth splashing about them -and Donegal holding on to something desperately. -A man was shouting above them, and while the foam -that was piled about her bows sluiced into the boat -Stickine roared out hoarsely, "Letters!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Give us a grip of them. Let go before she goes -over with you," shouted somebody, and a man swinging -himself over the rail clutched at the packet held -out to him. Then Donegal loosed his grasp, and they -were rocking on the white wake as the steamer went on.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Just 'bout did it," said Stickine. "I guess it was -worth a pull."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Neither of the lads said anything, for they were -dazed and dripping, and had no breath to waste, but -they forgot their pains in a supreme content. It had -been a good race, perhaps the best they would ever -make, for they knew as they watched her roll away into -the mist that the letters the steamer was bearing -south would lift a dark cloud from an English home.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="treachery"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XVIII</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">TREACHERY</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Here and there a streak of ripples crept across the -water as they returned to the schooner, and when they -stopped rowing, Jordan called to them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You can pull her head round before you come on board."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They pulled hard before they swung the schooner -round, and when they had hoisted the boat in Stickine -glanced at the skipper.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We're going back west?" he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jordan nodded. "Right now," he said. "We've lost -two weeks already and the season's getting through."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They close hauled the schooner, and the lads went -below when she slowly crawled away. They had -questions to ask, and it was Donegal who answered them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And what would be the use av going on when -Jordan knew the steamer had got all the skins there -was?" he said. "'Tis a week this journey will be -costing him, and ye will observe 'tis not sitting still and -complaining that 'tis hard on him the skipper would be -doing. ''Tis the best av it, we've got to make and get -back at wance, or sooner,' sez he, and there's folks as -don't know better call him a—fortunit—man."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven made a little grimace, and swung himself out -of reach of the sealer's hand. "Sure 'tis a priest or a -schoolmaster ye should have been," said he.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was some time before they worked their way back -to the sealing ground, and then, although the boats -were out all day, they got very few skins. The -holluschackie had, it seemed, all crawled out on the beaches, -and the men grew gloomy as they saw the prospect of -returning home with dollars to draw growing rapidly -smaller, until at last one morning Stickine came forward -after a talk with Jordan.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"There's just 'bout nothing to be done here, boys, -and we're going west to see what we can find," he -said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was a murmur of approval, and Appleby -fancied he understood the curious expression in the -men's bronzed faces, for it was Russian waters they -were making for. It was, however, some time before -they reached them, and then they found few seals, -while the men were growing anxious again, when at -last one wild evening they beat in to an anchorage -under an island. Like the others the lads had seen in -those misty seas it was a desolation of wet rocks and -foam-licked beaches; but worn out by a week's bitter -gale, they were glad when the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> ceased her -wild plunging at last and swung to her anchor on the -long, smooth heave.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Nobody wasted much time in stowing the canvas, -and when they sat listening to the swish of the rain -and the growling of the surf in the stuffy hold, Appleby -turned to Stickine.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What have we come in here for?" he asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You can't always catch seals, but you can buy them -now and then when you know where to go," said -Stickine. "The further it is from the market the more -likely you are to get a bargain."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Then there is somebody living here?" asked Niven.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Sure!" said Donegal. "There's no place that -forlorn a man can't somehow raise a living out av it, -but the one Ned Jordan's after visiting is not what ye -would considher a favourable specimen."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Charley looked up and laughed. "Meaner than a -shark. There's nothing too low down for that man to -do."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Donegal evidently saw the curiosity in Niven's eyes -and nodded gravely. "'Tis Charley that's speaking -thrue. Now, some men are bad on occasion, and ye -will now and then find sailors and sealers doing things -that are no credit to them by way av diversion, but -they work, and that and the lashing of the bitther seas -is the saving av them. Still, there's things no man -may do continual."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Stickine smiled dryly. "That's quite right," he said. -"The sea, and just the sea—that sets Donegal talking -like one of those patent medicine books—and if we had -a thousand dollars which of us wouldn't be glad to leave -it? Still, I've no use for a man who goes back on his -own country, and if it's solid meanness and wickedness -you're wanting, you'll find them and Motter quite close -together."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He must work if he catches seals," said Niven.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Charley grinned ironically. "I guess you've found -that out, but when Motter has any pelts to sell it's -tolerably plain figuring he stole them. Tricked the -Indians out of them—though they're not Indians on -this side either—and they didn't belong to them, anyway."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Then why don't the Russians run him out?" asked -Appleby.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Stickine laughed softly. "I guess the ones who -would do don't know," he said. "This is a kind of -curious country."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Just then Jordan flung back the scuttle. "Get your -boat over, Stickine. I'm going ashore," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Stickine rose, and Montreal, who had been sitting -gloomily silent, looked up. "If you've any use for me -I'd like to come along," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jordan shook his head. "It 'pears to me you're -better where you are," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Montreal sighed, but said nothing, and in a few -minutes Niven and Appleby were pulling the skipper -ashore. It was raining when they stepped out on the -beach, and saw for the first time a ramshackle wooden -house that seemed falling to pieces beneath a dripping -crag. Two great dogs growled at them as they picked -their way towards it amidst a litter of fish-bones and -offal that had been apparently flung out of the windows. -Then somebody beat off the dogs, and when they went -in a man who lay in a skin chair by the stove nodded -to them. A smoky lamp hung above him, and the lads -felt a curious disgust as they glanced at him. His -eyes were red and bleary, though there was a blink of -evil cunning in them, and his puffy cheeks overhung -his chin. He seemed horribly flabby, and wore greasy -canvas garments which looked as though nobody had -ever washed them. Appleby realized as he watched -him that loneliness is not good for a white man unless -he has work to do.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"How are you, Motter?" said Jordan. "This place -hasn't made you tired yet? It's kind of forlorn for a -Britisher."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby fancied there was a little half-scornful inflection -in the skipper's voice, which was not altogether -astonishing, for the building had a horrible smell, and -here and there the rain dripped in, but Motter laughed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," he said, "I was an American too, and I -guess I'm a Russian now. Up here it pays one -better—but it's business you came after?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jordan nodded, and the contrast between his lean, -bronzed face and steady eyes and that of the other -man did not escape the lads' attention. "Got anything -to sell?" he asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I might have," said Motter. "Still, I'm in no way -anxious, because by and by there's a steamer coming -along, and I've no great use for dry talking."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He thrust a bottle towards the skipper, but Jordan -shook his head. "That's a stuff I'm not used to, and I -don't like the smell," he said. "Well, now, let me hear -what you've got and I'll make you a bid. This place -is a little too open to leave the schooner long."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby fancied Motter was not pleased at this, but -he helped himself freely to the liquor, and for -half-an-hour he and the skipper were busy bargaining. Neither -of the lads quite understood all they said, and they sat -vacantly listening to the rumble of the surf, until at -last Motter raised his hand.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," he said with a curious little laugh that -jarred upon the lads unpleasantly, "you're too keen for -me, and it will save worry if I let you have the skins. -I want one hundred dollars down for the bundle I've -got here, and you can take them with you or leave them -until you come back again. The rest are lying at -Peter's Bay, but I'll be there to hand them over or -send one of my people along the beach, and across by -the skin boat. It's going to take you some time to get -there with the wind ahead."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's a deal," said Jordan, counting out the dollar -bills. "We should fetch the beach by to-morrow -evening. You haven't seen any gunboat round here -lately?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No, sir," said Motter. "There's none nearer than -Peter Paul, and I'm going to be a richer man if they'll -keep away. By the way, I heard they had a Canadian -at the sealing post."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Are you sure of that?" asked Jordan. "What -would he be doing there?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Motter fumbled at his glass. "Well, I don't quite -know," he said. "Still, I scarcely figure he was there -because he liked it. Anyway, the folks could tell you -more about him at Peter's Bay."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Somebody was waving a lantern on the schooner and -the roar of the surf had grown louder when they -returned to the beach, while it was with difficulty the -lads got the boat afloat. Jordan did not seem pleased -at something, and bade them pull their hardest, for the -wind had gone round and the sea was working in.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's kind of unfortunate Motter didn't remember -he'd lost his store key before he got my dollars," he said -reflectively. "Still, it's no great risk, because he knows -we could pull the place down for him when we come back."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The schooner was plunging viciously when they -reached her, and while they swung the boat in Jordan -said, "Get the trysail and foresail on her, and we'll let -her lie to when we're round the head." Then he -signed to Appleby. "You'll not tell them anything -about that Canadian."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They beat out of the bay they had only a few hours -earlier beaten into, and, for the sun was going back to -the south now, it was quite dark when on the next -night they crept into an inlet hemmed in by smoking -reefs. The wind was fresh and astern of them, -but when they brought the schooner to off the first of -the reefs Jordan stopped Stickine who was about to -lower her forward sails.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's not going to take us long to bring off a boatload -of skins, and you'll keep the canvas on her," he said. -"I've no use for taking chances with a man like Motter."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby, of course, understood that as there was -evidently a seal rookery not far away it would be -perilous for Jordan to be discovered within Russian -limits, but he could not see how he would run any risk -since there was no gun-boat in the vicinity. He had -seen that Jordan could be daring, but he fancied he was -almost needlessly cautious when, although only one was -wanted for the skins, he had two boats swung out. He -also sent back Montreal, who would have gone in one of -them, and bade the men bring their sealing-clubs with -them, which seemed curious, since if they fell in -with any Russians, it would be a proof that they were -prepared to kill seals ashore.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was dark save for the light of a half-moon when -they started, and when they landed with difficulty -through the smoking surf the beach was wrapped in -shadow. Here and there a boat of some kind was -drawn up, but nobody could see them clearly, and the -only light was the blink from the windows of a tottering -wooden house.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You lads will come with me," said Jordan. -"Donegal and Charley too. The rest of you will stand -by the boats and keep your eyes open."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then they turned towards the house, and when -Appleby afterwards recalled that night he could -remember the pungent smell of the weed, and the curious -shrinking he felt when he set his foot on a fish head or -some of the slimy offal that lay everywhere around. -He could just see the schooner, flitting a dim shape -across the long heave that rolled into the bay and -frothed upon the roaring beaches. It was some minutes -before they reached the house, which seemed horribly -damp and foul, and found Motter sitting at a table. -His eyes had, Appleby fancied, a little cunning gleam, -and his hand seemed to tremble slightly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Excuse me coming down to meet you. This place -is rough on one's legs," he said. "Well, you have come -to put the deal through and brought the dollars?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes," said Jordan. "As I'm anxious to be off I -want it done right now."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That will suit me," said Motter. "If you don't want -to be sociable you can come along and count the skins."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He limped before them into an adjoining room, which -was littered with bundled furs, and Appleby noticed -that while these were no doubt of value, and there was -a shutter to the window, it was not closed. Motter -also turned the lamp up a little, though it was -apparently burning well, when he set it on a table. Then -Jordan opened several bundles of the furs, and when the -two other men took up a load Motter laughed a little -as he said, "Haven't you forgot the dollars?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jordan looked at him steadily. "You'll get them all -right when we're through. This lot 'bout squares up -the others I didn't get from you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Motter smiled again. "Well," he said dryly, "a -man would have to get up tolerably early if he wanted -to come in ahead of you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then Donegal and Charley went back to the boat -with their bundles, and Motter sat down watching -Jordan sort out and count the furs.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Quite sure you've got them all?" he said ironically -when the skipper stopped at last. "Then we'll go back -to the stove. It's kind of shivery here."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Shall I bring the lamp along?" asked Jordan.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Leave it there. We've another in the room," said -Motter, and fumbled about some time striking a good -many matches before he lighted it, while Appleby -became sensible of a curious uneasiness as he watched -him. There was no apparent reason for this, but he -fancied the man could have been quicker had he wanted. -At last the lamp was lighted, and Motter sat down at -the table with his face towards the door.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You've seen the furs are there?" he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jordan took out his wallet, and laid a roll of dollar -bills on the table. He had another in his hand when -Donegal stood in the doorway signing to him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You're wanted out here," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jordan asked no questions but rose at once, and -Appleby, fancying there had been a change of wind, -followed him. When they stood outside Donegal laid -his hand on the skipper's arm, and Appleby saw that he -and Charley both carried their clubs.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis a trap the beast has laid for us. Will I tell -them to shove off?" he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Go on," said Jordan quietly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis like this," said Donegal. "When he went in -with the light he opened the shutter, and what was he -after doing that for? Then he would leave it so any -wan could see there was two lights where there was wan -before."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jordan nodded. "The rest—out with it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said Charley dryly, "there was somebody -running a boat down way back along the beach. They -did it kind of quietly, but we could hear them. 'Pears -to me it's 'bout time we were getting out of this."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Somebody coming down the gully," shouted a man -below, and there was a faint patter of running feet in a -dusky hollow that wound amidst the rocks behind the -house.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jordan swung round. "Motter has sold us to the -Russians, boys," he said. "Still, if there's time yet -we'll take him along."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They were back in the room the next moment, but -Motter had gone, and when another shout came from -outside Jordan swung round again with his face showing -very grim.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He'd have had all my dollars in another minute," -he said. "Well, we'll be going."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Charley, however, stopped a moment, and taking -down the big lamp swung it round his head, while a -great blaze sprang up when he hurled it on the floor.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I guess it will take them all they know to put that -out," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then they blundered down the stairway, and in -another moment were floundering across the beach. It -was rough and strewn with boulders, while the boats -lay some little distance away, and as they tripped and -stumbled a hoarse shout rose out of the darkness. -Nobody stopped to answer, and a rifle flashed, while a -patter of feet became audible behind them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"They're tolerably close," said Jordan. "We've got -to run, boys."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was for some reason no more firing, but the -men behind were evidently used to the boulders and -gaining on them. Once Appleby fell heavily, but he -lost no time in picking himself up again, and went on -with a horrible pain in his side, gasping as he watched -the white wash of the surf that seemed to grow nearer -so slowly. Just before they reached it Niven went -down, and groaned when Appleby seized his shoulder -and jerked him to his feet.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't give in, Chriss. You must hold out," he -said, and floundered on again, dragging his comrade -after him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm hurt. Only one foot to run with," gasped Niven.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Stumbling and blundering they reached the boats, -but the men behind were almost upon them when -Appleby, taking his hand from Niven's arm, grasped -the nearest. Then there was a breathless shout, and -they were floundering down the beach waist-deep in -froth as a sea rolled in, while dusky objects came -clattering over the shingle a few paces behind them. -Two men sprang in over the gunwale, and Jordan's -voice rose up.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't fool it by too much hurry, boys. Wade right -in until she's clear afloat."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The next sea took them up to the shoulders, and -Appleby, gasping with the icy cold, and half-blinded by -the spray, saw that Niven was no longer with them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Chriss. Hallo! Where are you?" he shouted -breathlessly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He fancied a half-stifled cry answered him, and -loosed his grasp on the boat. He did not remember -whether he shouted again, or not, for he was only -sensible that his comrade had been left behind, but -next moment another shout rang out, and he felt his -heart throb, as struggling shorewards he recognized the -voice.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Boys, will ye be leaving Mainsail Haul?" it said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was a growl in answer, and the boat came -surging in almost on top of Appleby. Then men were -apparently splashing through the water all about him, -and one ran several yards in front of them howling -gleefully and swinging a great club. After that -Appleby was not quite sure what happened, but there -were shouts and blows and a pistol shot, and they were -floundering back again, Donegal dragging Niven through -the water after him, and most of the men swinging -their clubs. The boat lay half-swamped on her side -when they reached her, and Appleby wondered afterwards -how they got her through the surf, but he knew -Niven lay on the floorings, and straining every muscle -and sinew he tugged at his oar. Donegal was apparently -yelling gleefully still. Then, as they drew out -from the shore there was another red flash, and Jordan's -voice rose up from the next boat.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If he can't be quiet, boys, you'd better heave him -over. I've no use for letting them know just where to -shoot."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's sense," said Charley. "Reach out and -put some weight on, Appleby. Your partner's all -right."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby did as he was bidden, though the spray -that whirled about them rendered the boat almost -invisible as she lurched over the swell, while his -contentment increased when Niven assured him that it -was only his foot, that was hurting him. Presently the -</span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> ran past the boat with canvas banging, -and while they hove her in Stickine drew the skipper -towards the rail.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"There's a boat on our bow. Came off 'bout a mile -back down the beach," he said. "They pull like -white men, so far as I make out."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Heading straight to windward, too!" said Jordan, -quietly. "Well, we'll have the main topsail on her."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The topsail was aloft in another minute, and the -</span><em class="italics">Champlain's</em><span> rail almost awash as she thrashed out to -sea, but it was only in short tacks she could work out -of the bay, and their pursuers seemed to know it, for -they had rowed to windward and could accordingly -chose their time for approaching her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"'Pears to me they mean to come on board," said -Jordan dryly. "Well, you'll pass up the clubs and lay -them handy on the house, but there'll be trouble for -any one who takes one up before he's told to. Is it you, -Montreal, at the wheel?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was a growl in answer, and Jordan seemed to smile.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Then," he said, "you'll keep her going and not too -high, until I tell you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They swept on hurling the spray aloft, for though -the bay was slightly sheltered the swell worked in, and -it was blowing tolerably hard, while, so far as Appleby -could see, the boat meant to intercept them when they -went about close off a smoking reef. He could just -make her out every now and then as she rose with a sea.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That," said Jordan, "'pears to me uncommonly like -a gun-boat's cutter, and by the way they're pulling -they've a good many men in her."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They drove on, the boat growing nearer and larger, -until she came reeling towards them with oars thrashing -up the froth, and Jordan sprang up on the rail. -Appleby could see that if they went round now, the -boat pulling straight to windward would still close -with them when they came about to clear another reef -not far away, but Jordan, it seemed, had no intention -of coming round.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's not my fault I can't run away," he said quietly. -"Keep her going, Montreal."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The reef was close to leeward now, the boat nearer -still to weather, and already somebody was shouting -on board her. She was pulling straight towards the -schooner's bows, and would be alongside in another few -moments. Appleby felt his heart throbbing painfully. -Then the skipper raised his hand.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Down helm—a spoke or two," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was another shout from the boat, for it seemed -that the schooner had yielded, but if that was its -meaning it was premature, for while her headsails -rattled she still drove ahead, and Montreal's harsh -laugh jarred through the crash and sound of smashing -oars below.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Up again. Fill on her!" roared Jordan, and -Appleby, running aft with the rest, saw the boat drive -away helpless astern. Nobody was apparently pulling, -and he surmised that the rending oars had hurled the -men who held them one upon the other.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> came round, and a rifle flashed -harmlessly as she once more swept past the disabled -craft. Ten minutes later there was no sign of the -boat, and they were thrashing out to sea alone.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't quite know what they were, or that I want -to, but if they'd been sealers they'd have had us sure," -said Jordan, with a little laugh. "Well, we'll fix up -how we're going to square this thing off with Motter -to-morrow."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-sealers-reckoning"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XIX</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE SEALERS' RECKONING</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The wind fell light next morning, and the haze -closed in, but it became evident there were reefs not far -away when the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> fell in with a herd of -holluschackie. The men were in an unpleasant temper, -and worked in eager haste when Jordan bade them get -the boats over, for to have gone back and swept every -seal off the island would have been a relief to them -then. Jordan, however, seldom let his feelings -overcome his prudence, and he smiled dryly as he watched -the men.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't quite know where the beach is, but there -are the seals," he said. "If we run the flag up you'll -pull back just as quick as you can."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The boats had started in another minute, and with -rifles flashing every now and then they swung over the -long swell, until the men's arms and backs were aching.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Darkness was creeping in when they came back one -by one, and then by the flicker of blinking lanterns the -work went on. The deck grew foul with grease and -blood, the knives slipped in the tired hands that held -them, and the lads would stop gasping a moment or two -each time a stripped carcase went over the side, and -wonder whether anything would ever free them from -the horrible smell. At last it was over, and while the -</span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> crept on her way again they sat greasy and -slimy in the hold. They were very tired, but there was -content in the sealers' bronzed faces, save for that of -Montreal, who sat gloomily silent away from the rest.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You've not been talking much to-day. Feeling -sick?" said somebody.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Montreal's brown fingers slowly clenched themselves. -"Not in the way you mean. You know what I came -up here for, boys, and I've had 'bout enough of this," he -said. "How'm I going to find out anything when -Jordan yanks me out of every boat that goes ashore?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Donegal, whose forehead was wrapped in a crusted -bandage, shook his head.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And Ned Jordan knows as well. Can ye not be -trusting him?" he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Montreal appeared to find some difficulty in checking -a groan. "I've waited a long while, boys, and I'm kind -of tired," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was silence for a minute, for the men knew it -was a brother their comrade had come to find, and -Niven, who lay upon the floorings with one foot tied -up, remembering what he had heard in Motter's house, -was about to speak when Appleby kicked him on the leg.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Still," said somebody, "there's nothing you can do."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Montreal glanced round the shadowy hold as though -to make sure that Stickine was not there. "Well," he -said slowly, "I guess the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> will be short of a -boat and a man short one morning—and there'll be -trouble for some folks yonder if it's dead that man's -brother is. It's the not knowing—the knowing nothing, -that's killing me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"One man couldn't do much alone," said Charley dryly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Montreal laughed mirthlessly, and there was a curious -glint in his eyes. "I guess he could," he said. "That -is, if he had a rifle, and didn't worry 'bout anything so -long as he used up the magazine before they got him down."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Donegal's face lit up under the crusted bandage, and -his voice had a little gleeful ring. "And two av them -would do just twice as much—and it's two, or more, -there'll be, but we'll give Ned Jordan a fair show first," -said he.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A little growl of grim approval rose from the men, -but none of them said anything further, and they did -not seem quite at ease when Jordan and Stickine -came down the ladder. The skipper sat down, and -looked at them gravely, but if he noticed anything -unusual he did not mention it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We've got to have a little talk, boys," he said. "You -know the kind of trick Motter would have worked off -on me. He'd have taken my dollars and then before I -got the furs turned the Russians loose on us. He and -one of their officers fixed up the thing, and before I got -out of their grip I'd have left skins and schooner behind -me. Now, I don't like being kicked that way by anybody."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The skipper may have been mistaken, but the men -believed him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We'll go back and pull his place down," said somebody.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jordan smiled and shook his head. "And find a -squad of bluejackets waiting for you? That's just what -Motter would figure on, and there's a gunboat crawling -round," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Are we going to sit down and do nothing?" asked -Montreal.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No," said Jordan with a little twinkle in his eyes. -"Now, it's kind of difficult for a gunboat to be in two -places at once, and while she's hanging round Motter's -watching for us there's nothing to stop us walking right -into the sealing post."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He stopped a moment, and looked straight at Montreal. -"Well, now, that isn't in the deal you made to -go sealing with me, but I heard they had a white man -there."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was a murmur of astonishment, and Montreal -stood up quivering a little. "And," he said hoarsely, -"you're going for him?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jordan nodded. "Oh, yes," he said. "If the boys are -willing."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The answer was not effusive, but Jordan, who saw the -little darker flush that crept into the bronzed faces and -the slow clenching of a brown hand here and there, -appeared contented. He knew that he had but to lead -and the men would follow.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," he said grimly, "if we've any kind of -fortune we'll be there to-morrow."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He nodded to them, and when he went up the ladder -Donegal gleefully thumped Montreal on the shoulder.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's you and me that's spoiling—just spoiling for -to-morrow," he said, and made a run at Appleby who was -grinning at him. "And you knew it and never told. -Sure I saw ye kicking Mainsail Haul. It's me that -would be caressing ye wid a rope end, me darling."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby swung himself up the ladder. "Sure, 'tis no -sensible man would go looking for a row when he could -run away," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Donegal shook his fist at him. "Ye will stop up -there where it's nice and fresh," he said. "No man -can be sensible always. 'Twould not be good for him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Next day they raised a gray blur above the horizon, -and Jordan, when he saw it, headed out to sea again. -Then he laid the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> to, and it was not until -dusk was creeping across the waters that they edged in -towards the land again. The time passed very slowly, -and the men were for the most part unusually silent, -though there was a curious anticipation in their faces, -and Montreal sat very grim and quiet rubbing out a -rifle. It occurred to the lads who watched him now and -then that it would not be nice to be the Russians who -had ill-used his brother if he came across them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was no moon, and the sky was dimmed by -driving haze when they pulled ashore, three boatloads -of them with rifles, clubs and knives, and no man spoke -when they sprang out waist-deep in the long white -wash that went seething up the beach. Two stayed -behind to watch the boats, and with the stones rattling -beneath them the rest went on. Appleby and Niven, -who limped painfully, followed too, because Jordan had -apparently been too much occupied to notice them. It -seemed to the lads that anybody who might be listening -must hear the noise they made a mile away, but the sea -frothed and roared upon the beaches close behind, and -when they wound beneath the face of a crag another -sound grew louder. It was the voice of the big bull -seals, and while they blundered over the slippery ledges -the lads could dimly see that every shelf of rock was -packed with curious shadowy objects. Some of them -were shambling forward, some lying still with heads -held up, but all were roaring, piping, bleating at once, -and the din they made was indescribable.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Suddenly two of them flopped over a ledge and came -shambling towards the men, one of whom stepped aside, -while Appleby, starting a little at the sight of the -half-seen shapeless thing heading for him, swung up his club. -It looked very big as it came on through the -semi-darkness. Somebody, however, laughed and grabbed -his arm.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He's not going to hurt you, sonny, if you get out of -his way," a voice said. "Just a bull seal they've -shoved out of the rookery. He'll go back and pull one -of the rest of them out presently."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The seal flopped away into the shadow or into the -sea, and the men finding better footing went on more -rapidly, until when Jordan signed to them they stopped -breathless on the crest of a rise. Beneath them in the -dimness the sea frothed whitely, and a swarm of -shadowy objects were apparently shuffling down the -slope between.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Holluschackie!" said Jordan dryly. "It's quite -likely we'll take a few of them along. Get the lie of -the place into you, boys. You might want to find the -boats handy when you come back again."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The lads looked round with the others, but there -was very little to see. A low black rise ran up into -the haze in front of them, and here and there they -caught the glimmer of a patch of snow. All round the -darkness seemed closing in, and out of it came the -boom of the sea on the beaches and a doleful wail of -wind, for the seals were almost quiet again. Appleby -could feel his heart beating and his temples throbbing -as he wondered what that dimness hid.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It reminds me of the night we stole Jimmy's duck," -said Niven, but his voice was not quite the same as -usual. "It will be something to look back upon."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, yes," said Appleby dryly. "So long as we do it -on board the schooner. It wouldn't be quite so nice to -remember it in Siberia."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If I couldn't talk of anything more cheerful I'd -shut my mouth tight!" said Niven, who felt the chilly -darkness growing curiously unpleasant.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He fancied he could have made a dash at an armed -loghouse as well as the rest, but this slow crawling in -on an unknown enemy was a very different and much -more disconcerting affair.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Just then Jordan raised his hand, and they went on -again, blundering over a boulder here and there, and -now and then splashing through a little slushy snow, -but still there was only sliding haze about them and in -front grey obscurity, until the lads commenced to -wonder whether they would go tramping on the whole -night through. At last, however, they stopped again -on the summit of another rise, and Appleby grasped -Niven's arm when he made out the dim blink of a -light in the fog. The men murmured together, and -Jordan seemed to be speaking, but Appleby did not -hear what he said. He could only watch the light, -while Niven afterwards admitted that he could recollect -very little but a feverish desire to get what they had to -do over.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Once more the men wont on, a little quicker now, -while the soft patter of their feet and the rattle of a -rifle as one of them stumbled seemed horribly distinct -in the stillness. Nobody, however, appeared to hear -them, and at last when the dim outline of a house rose -blackly against the night the pace grew faster, until it -became a run, and the lads saw the line of shadowy -figures split up left and right. Then they heard -Jordan's voice.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"In with you. You know what you have to do!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby's fears seemed to fall from him, and it was -with a wild desire to shout that he followed the rest at -a breathless run, while Niven floundered along a few -paces behind him. The house rose higher and blacker, -and still nobody seemed to hear them until a dog -commenced growling as they swept round to the rear of -it, and stood apart on either side when Montreal with -his rifle-butt beat upon the door.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was a cry of surprise inside, a sound of voices, -and footsteps that stopped again, while a deep growl -made answer when Montreal once more beat upon the -door. Then he stepped back and swung up his rifle.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No time for fooling, boys," he said. "In she goes."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby saw the weapon whirl high, and another -shadowy man standing with the muzzle of his rifle -pointed at the door. Then it came down crashing, -there was a rush of feet, and he went in with the rest -over the shattered door.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A glare of light shone into his eyes, there was a savage -growl and a flash as something sprang straight at the -foremost of them. A smear of acrid smoke filled the -passage, but Appleby fancied he saw a big sealing-club -whirl up, and the dog went down, for next moment he -stumbled over something that felt soft beneath him. -Then with somebody running before them they burst -into a room, and the lads long remembered the picture -that met them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Two men who had apparently fled along the passage -stood sullenly at the further end of it, and two more -who had evidently dragged a table into a corner behind -it. They were less than half-dressed, but one who was -tall with blue eyes and straw-coloured hair had on a -partly buttoned naval uniform. A pistol glinted in his -hand, and an inch or two of blue-grey steel shone at his -belt. The other man's face was sallow, but he was -unarmed, and there was a curious glint in his little -dark eyes as he watched the sealers.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For a moment they stood looking at each other, and -then another door on the opposite side of the room was -driven open and Jordan, rifle in hand, came in. Behind -him came Stickine and Donegal. More sealers in -shaggy furs and greasy canvas trooped in, but still the -blue-eyed officer stood apparently unconcerned. Then -Jordan dropped his rifle-butt and held up his hand.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"When I want a man to do anything I'll tell him," -he said, and turned gravely to the officer. "You can -put that thing down. Nobody's going to hurt you. -Can you talk any English?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The officer who, Appleby surmised, was from the -Baltic coast, made a sign of comprehension. "A -little—but more easy the French," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Then," said Jordan dryly, "we'll get ahead. Fetch -Brulée in, Stickine."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>While Stickine went out the officer laid down his -pistol, and with a little deprecatory gesture straightened -his uniform and drew tight his belt. Then, to Appleby's -astonishment, he took out a little silver box and shook -a few cigarettes out from it on to the table. He did -not seem in any way disturbed, though the faces of the -big bronzed sealers who carried clubs and rifles were -very grim as they watched him. This was almost a -shock to Appleby, who had hitherto half-instinctively -believed that quiet fearlessness and resolute composure -in times of stress and peril were only to be expected -from Englishmen. Yet here was a Russian helpless in -the hands of men whom he knew had a bitter grievance -against him and his comrades, and if he felt the slightest -fear of them it was at least imperceptible. Appleby -was, however, to discover later on that while some lands -are considerably more pleasant to live in than others the -fact that he was born in England or Russia, or -elsewhere, after all makes no great difference in the -qualities that become any man.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then he saw that Stickine had returned, and the -officer was speaking. "What you make here, Captain?" -he said, getting out the words with evident difficulty.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He's too slow," said Jordan. "Ask him if he has -more men anywhere around, Brulée."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Two of them at the huts, and 'bout a dozen natives," -was the answer.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jordan nodded, and Montreal stepped forward, his face -grey and set, and his fingers trembling on his rifle. -"I guess it's 'bout time I did some talking too," he said -"Ask if he has seen my brother."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Get right back until you're wanted. It's me that's -running this show," said Jordan. "Ask him if they've -got an Englishman there, Brulée."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The officer made a little gesture of assent. "They -have one who works," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Send for him right now," said Jordan sternly. -"Four of my men will go along in case there's any -blundering."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The dark-skinned man slipped out from behind the -table, and when he went out with four of the sealers -behind him the blue-eyed officer held out the little box.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You will do me the pleasure, Captain," he said in -French.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jordan smiled dryly. "No, thanks," he said. "I've -no great use for these things, and I don't know that -I'm open to take anything of that kind from you just now."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Russian, who seemed to understand him, laughed -a little. "With permission," he said, and lighted -a cigarette. "Now you can tell me what you come for, -Captain."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You can tell him 'bout Motter, Brulée. Two of -you will keep a look-out outside there," said Jordan, and -crossing over sat down on the table.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then there followed a very anxious interval, and -Appleby fancied by the way the men glanced towards -the door that they were as expectant as he was himself. -Now and then one of them moved restlessly, and the -lads could hear the crackle of the stove and the moan -of the wind about the building. They caught very -little of Brulée's narrative, but long afterwards the scene -returned to them, and they could see Jordan sitting -very still, with an impassive bronzed face beneath his -fur cap, on the table, and the blue-eyed officer languidly -watching him while the smoke of the cigarette drifted -between them. It also seemed to both the lads that -if either of the men let his fear or anger master him -a much more deadly vapour would whirl in thicker -wreaths about the lonely building. Brulée seemed -disposed to make the most of his opportunity, but he -stopped at last, and the officer nodded to Jordan -comprehendingly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"</span><em class="italics">Lache</em><span>. </span><em class="italics">Infame</em><span>! It was not my affair," he said in -French.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After that there was silence, until a tramp of feet -grew nearer, and a murmur rose from the anxious men -when a voice came out of the darkness hoarse and -exultant, "We've got him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then, with Montreal and another man in front of -them, the sealers came in, and there was once more -a murmur when the first two stopped close by Jordan, -who held out his hand.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And you're Tom Allardyce?" he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The man's hand seemed to shake as he grasped the -skipper's, and his eyes grew a trifle hazy when the rest -grinned at him encouragingly and Montreal patted his -shoulder.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes," he said. "I was cast away up here 'most two -years ago."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Sit down," said Jordan quietly, with a glance at the -Russian officer. "Tell us all about it. Don't worry, -and go slow. I've a reason for wanting to know."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The man sat down, and there was another little -murmur when the sealers saw his lined and haggard -face, for there was on it the stamp of hunger and -suffering. His hands were clawlike, and there was -a great scar upon his forehead.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's good to see you, boys," he said, and his voice -died away hoarsely. Then he turned to Jordan. -"You're going to take me back with you?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jordan laughed a little. "Oh, yes," he said. "Look -at the boys. I guess they're not going to let me leave -you, if I wanted to."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The lurking fear died out of Allardyce's eyes. "Well," -he said, "I was cast away—me and an Indian and -Stetson, sealing from the old St. Michael. 'Twas back -there on the eastern reefs we came ashore, and when -I got him out Stetson's head was crushed in. That -left me and the Indian, and the Russians sent us west -when the gun-boat came. I don't know how long they -kept us yonder, but one night when they sent us down -the coast on a schooner me and the Indian got away -from her. The boat was a good one, and, for it was -blowing fresh, we ran back north before the wind -I don't know where, and lived with the natives ashore -until the Indian got drowned in an ice crack while we -starved through that winter. There's lots of things -I don't seem to remember, but I got blown off in a skin -boat at last, and when I'd lived most of a week on -nothing a schooner fetched me here."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was a very disjointed story, but the sealers could -fill in the cold and hunger of those terrible wanderings -which Allardyce, whose face spoke more plainly for him, -left out. Brulée rendered it into French, and Jordan -turned to the officer.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Your people take away a white man's liberty and -leave him to rot without a hearing?" he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Russian made a little deprecatory gesture. "The -Department is slow—or perhaps it is occupied, and he -ran away too soon. One waits the instructions, and if -the papers do not come—what would you? Sometimes -a man is forgotten."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Did you ever see this man before, Allardyce?" -asked Jordan.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No," said the sealer. "Not until he came here -with the gun-boat a week ago."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jordan nodded, and pointed to the dark-skinned man. -"Have the folks here ill-treated you?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No," said Allardyce. "I had to work for them, and -I was glad I had, but they never did no harm to me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jordan turned once more to the Russians. "I guess," -he said grimly, "that was quite fortunate for all of you. -Now, how long have you been working for them, Allardyce?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Since soon after the ice broke up. When that was -I don't quite know."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said Jordan dryly, "we'll fix up the thing. -I've had to come here with my schooner for this man, -and I'll charge my time to you at forty dollars the day -besides what Motter stole from me. We'll figure he -has been working here two months, anyway, and he'd -have got 'bout two dollars and a half for every day of it -in our country. Then there's the months you kept him -on the other coast without giving him a show to make -out his innocence, and his damaged feelings. That -will run to five hundred dollars, anyway, and it's very -moderate. You can't do things of that kind to a -Canadian without it costing something. Still, the -trading folks aren't going to lose anything, because -the Government's bound to pay them. Now, have you -got any roubles with you?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Very few," said the dark-skinned man in French. -"We pay the natives in provisions."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jordan nodded. "Then I'll work it out in seals," he -said. "Now I'm wanting that pistol and your sword -from you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The blue-eyed officer laid his hand upon the blade. -"You can have my word—a six hour's truce—but this -only in one way."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said Jordan with a little laugh, "I guess -I can trust you, because we've got your men's rifles, and -I'll leave enough of the boys to take care of you. -Montreal, you'll stop with four of them, and the rest -will come along with me. It's going to take a good -many holluschackie to square this deal."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Russian nodded, and lighted another cigarette, -and the lads went out with the rest into the misty -night.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-next-meeting"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XX</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE NEXT MEETING</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The men stopped at last at the head of the slope to -the sea, and the lads discovered that the task before -them was a good deal less simple than they had fancied. -There were the seals—they could see them dimly lying -in groups on the shingle or shambling about—but it -became evident that their destruction could not be -undertaken in a haphazard fashion, for Jordan sent -two of the men to work round between them and -the sea.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We'll give them 'bout ten minutes, boys, and then -start in. I'm entitled to so many skins, but I've no -use for spoiling the whole herd," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Here and there a man beat his hands while they -waited, for the night was cold, others lighted their -pipes, and Niven, who was glad to rest his wrenched -foot, sat down.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Why don't we go straight in and club them?" he -asked Stickine.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It wouldn't be the square thing," said the Canadian. -"A seal knows a good deal, and if we killed 'bout -half of them among the rest, those that got away would -tell the others, and it would be a long while before they -came back to this beach again."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But seals only do things instinctively," said Niven.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Donegal, who was standing close by, laughed as he -asked, "And what is instinct, anyway?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven appeared to have some difficulty in finding -an answer, and Appleby grinned at him. "Better tell -him you don't know," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Donegal nodded. "Nor any one else, but the holluschackie -have brains in their heads, as ye will see before -this conthract's through. And what were they -given brains for if 'twas not to make use av them? -'Tis the vanity of ignorance would have ye believe -there's no sense in the wondherful things in the sea. -Sure, Donovitch and his Indians could tell ye better."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This was a new point of view to Appleby, but being -aware that his sealer comrades had seen more of the -denizens of the waters than all the city men who -lectured and wrote about them put together he made -no answer.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Then when are we going to club them?" asked Niven.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"When we've drawn out those we want and driven -them nice and slow to a handy place," said Stickine.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Before they had time for further questions Jordan -spoke to Stickine, and spreading out they floundered -down the slope and then closed in on the seals. The -latter made no very great effort to avoid them, and -when they had driven them together Jordan separated -those he wanted from the rest.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We'll take these along," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then while most of the herd went flopping down the -slope in a hurry to the sea the men urged the rest -slowly towards the higher ground, pushing one here -and there with their feet, or prodding them with their -rifles. It was dark, but the lads could see the seals -more or less plainly, though it would have puzzled -either of them to describe their progression. They -did not walk, they did not crawl, but every move set -their blubber-coated bodies quivering, and nothing more -appropriate than flopping occurred to Niven. They also -went faster than he fancied they could have done, -though the men seemed desirous not to hurry them, -and when he asked, Stickine told him the reason.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If you make them hot before you club them, they'll -spoil their pelts," he said. "You could strip the fur -right off a seal that had been run too hard with your -fingers."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They went on, and when now and then one of the -seals made a futile endeavour to get away, or stopped, -and, raising itself in a curious fashion, gazed at its -persecutors, the lads commenced to be sorry for them. -They also felt a squeamishness that was almost too -much for them when at last, after they and the seals -had rested a little, the men set about the slaughter. -After the first few minutes both lads slipped away, for the -sight of the limp, quivering bodies and whirling clubs -almost sickened them, but they dare not go too far, -and the thud of the crushing blows followed them. -Niven had seen Donovitch stand over his victims and -beat their heads in, and the recollection of it remained -with him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Of course you can't have seal-skins without killing -seals, but they seemed so harmless—and I wish I -hadn't come," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>His regret was even stronger when Jordan called -him, and very much against his wishes he helped to -roll round the horribly smelling, greasy bodies while -the others flayed them. At every clutch his fingers -sank in the warm, shaking blubber, and when at last -the work was over his face was white and he shivered -from revulsion. It was daylight now, and the men -stood about him dabbled here and there with blood, -and foul with grease all over, while he fancied that -one could have smelt them from the schooner.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's beastly," he said to Appleby. "I feel as if -I'd eaten no end of things that didn't agree with me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then Jordan sent two men back for the Russian -officer, and nodded to him when he came.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I want you to see what we've got. We're 'bout -square now," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The officer glanced down at the slaughtered -holluschackie with a little gesture of disgust. Then he -laughed as he said in French, "It is not my affair. -I see you again one day, Captain, and it is perhaps -different then."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Brulée made this plain, and Jordan smiled. "If -you do it's quite likely I can show as good a fist as -you. Anyway, we're going off now, and I'll bid you -good-morning. You'll find your men's rifles down there -on the beach when you want them."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In another half-hour they were pulling off to the -schooner, and when they sat at breakfast in the hold -Stickine grinned at the lads.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Feeling any better now?" he said. "You don't -like clubbing holluschackie?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No," said Appleby with a little shiver of disgust. -"I've been wondering whether it's not going to make -trouble for Jordan, too, because somebody will, in all -probability, send on the demand to Canada if those -folks ask their Government to pay the damage."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Stickine smiled dryly. "It's not quite likely that -they will," he said. "The fellows who're responsible -do some kind of curious things, and neither they nor -the sealers have much use for talking. 'Pears to me -that more than one Government is getting tired of us, -and the Russian department bosses want a man who -knows how to keep out of trouble. If he gets worrying -them they're quite likely to find another use for him. -Of course, there'll be some writing, but Ned Jordan -only took what he was entitled to when he might have -swept the island, and it isn't going to suit anybody to -drag Tom Allardyce in."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby could not decide then or afterwards whether -Stickine was right, but it seemed to him that there -was a good deal of reason in his opinion. In any case -he had little leisure to consider the affair just then, for -Jordan called them up on deck to hoist the topsails, -and they spent most of that day watching for a wind. -It was as usual dim and hazy, and the lads fancied that -Jordan was a trifle anxious, for he swept the sea with -his glasses as they rolled slowly east. Appleby was also -within hearing when he drew Stickine away from the rest.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We're in a kind of fix," he said. "There's nothing -the Russians wouldn't do to square up the deal with us, -and that fellow we left behind will be pulling all he's -worth for Motter's to turn the gun-boat loose. If I'd -figured we were going to have this weather I'd have set -his boat adrift. Send an Indian to the cross-trees to -keep a look-out for her."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The wind came, almost too much of it, in the afternoon, -and at dusk the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> was lying as close as -she could to it with her lighter canvas stowed, and a -nest of reefs to leeward. The lads could see the white -foam flying and the whirling clouds of spray, and were -wondering whether the schooner could weather them -on that tack when the Indian aloft stretched out his -hand, and somebody shouted—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Boat close in with the surf."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby went up the masthoops, and could just -make out something that swung into sight now and -then against the whiteness of the surf behind it. It -was, he surmised, a boat, and he saw that Jordan was -watching her under the main-boom.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The Russian!" he said. "It don't seem sense to -let her get that close in with the rocks to lee."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Somebody waving!" said Stickine, who had taken -up the glasses. "They're used up, and can't pull her -out against the sea."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was silence for at least another minute, while -the men stared at the whirling spray and the dusky -object that was hove up every now and then, and -Niven shivered a little, for he could guess what would -happen to worn-out men, hurled upon those fangs of -rock by the frothing sea. The reefs would mangle -them out of human semblance, in all probability. Then -Jordan glanced to weather at the big froth-tipped -slopes of water that rolled up towards them, and shook -his head solemnly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We can't let them drown," he said. "Get your -maintopsail up, but let it lie below the gaff, and shake -loose the outer jib. We'll want them when we come to -beat her out again."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Square away?" asked Montreal at the helm.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jordan nodded. "Out main-boom, boys. Slack up -everything."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The long boom swung outboard, the schooner swung -round, and as she swept in for the reefs with the wind -on her quarter now the lads realized as well as the -others did, the risks the skipper was quietly taking. -It was easy to run for the boat, but to beat out again -would be a very different affair, and Appleby fancied -that only a very handy vessel would do it once she felt -the grip of the sea that grew higher as it swept forward -through shallowing water to crumble on the reefs. It -was also unpleasantly evident as he watched the white -spouting that swimming would not be much use to him -if she did not succeed. Still, he had confidence in the -lean, grim-faced man who stood quietly by the house. -The men in the boat would have taken the schooner -from him and ruined him if they could, but Appleby -knew that so long as the </span><em class="italics">Champlain's</em><span> spars and canvas -would hold out, Jordan would not let them drown.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In another few minutes it was also apparent that the -Russians were in sorest need of help, for each time she -swung up the boat seemed closer to the surf. The men -were pulling desperately while the spray that blew in -from the streaming bows whirled about them, but -every one could see they were making no headway, and -the reefs were close astern. At last Jordan signed to -Stickine.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You've got to be handy, boys," he said quietly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby was at the rail, and saw for a moment the -straining bodies swing with the thrashing oars and the -white upturned faces, as the schooner rushed by the -boat. A great wreath of foam frothed about her as she -swung over the top of a sea, but in another second she -had passed astern, and every man on board the -</span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> became busy when Jordan raised his hand. -Down went the helm, in came the long boom, there -was a great rattle of blocks and banging of canvas, and -as the schooner swept round a voice rang through the din.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Get a holt of them. Up gaff topsail and jib while -she's shaking!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby, as it happened, was at the topsail halliard, -and could see very little as they ran the sail up. He, -however, knew the schooner had run to leeward of the -boat, and now when she lay to, he had a momentary -glimpse of the Russians. They were flying towards her -with the boat hove up on the back of a sea, but the -</span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> rolled heavily and he lost sight of her. In -another moment or two there was a thud and a shouting -beneath him to lee, and struggling with the topsail -tack, he could dimly see black figures leaning down -through the shrouds and apparently clutching at -something in the sea. Then bedraggled objects came -scrambling over the rail, and Montreal was whirling -the wheel round while something drove away astern.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"They're here. Haul staysail," said Jordan.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It had taken less than a minute, and now the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span>, -heaving her bows out of a seatop, was going on -again nobody seemed to consider that they had done -anything unusual, though it was evident that it might -still cost them very dearly. The reefs were waiting -close astern, there was also an ominous spouting in -front of them, and black seas that had grown steeper -came seething out of the dimness to weather. The -schooner was hove down by her canvas until the lads -could scarcely stand upon her deck, but she must carry -the last inch of it if she was to beat off shore.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On she went, deluging her jibs at every plunge and -drenching her foresail half-way up, until the reef was -close ahead, and Jordan signed with his hand. Then -with canvas banging she swept round head to wind, -and, while the men, who needed no telling, grasped the -jib-sheets, hung there a few breathless moments, for -everybody on board her knew that if she would not -stay, or come round on the other tack, she would be on -the reef in another minute. Appleby cast one brief -glance at the tumultuous spouting and chaos of -crumbling seas, and then turned his eyes away, for he had -seen rather more than was good for him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Let draw staysail. Lee-sheets," said somebody, and -she was coming round with them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Dripping men grabbed at the ropes, there was a -banging of canvas, and she was thrashing out on the -other tack when Jordan, turning to the blue-eyed officer, -held out his hand.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's kind of fortunate we came along just then. I'll -fix you up by and by," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was still just enough light to see by, and -Appleby afterwards remembered the cloud of spray that -blew into the foresail, the white seething of the reefs, -and the two figures beneath the drenched canvas on -the </span><em class="italics">Champlain's</em><span> deck. The Russian stood erect in his -wet uniform, Jordan swaying a little, uncouth and -ungainly in his spray-wet canvas and greasy furs, but -the two shook hands as men and equals, and Appleby -dimly realized that a great deal was implied by that -grasp. One was, up there, an outlaw, the other an -officer of the Tsar, but the likeness between them was -greater than the difference of race, and Appleby -commenced to understand things he had heard and read -that had once been incomprehensible to him. Men, it -seemed, were much the same wherever they came from, -and neither varying speech nor colour could make them -less than men, while the pride that set the nations at -each others' throats was an evil thing. Then there -flashed into his memory lines he had once been made -to learn, and had straightway forgotten, "When the -battle flags are furled."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the meanwhile he was wanted to get another pull -on the staysail-sheet, and when that was done all his -attention was occupied by the reefs and the schooner. -Hove down by her canvas she put her bows in every -now and then, and her deck ran water, while the masts -were groaning under the pressure, and the surf seemed -very little farther away. Once or twice when a white -sea smote her it seemed to both the lads who clung -tight to what was handiest that she was going over, -and Appleby saw that Montreal glanced at Jordan as -though asking a question from the wheel. The skipper, -however, shook his head.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We've no time for luffing. She has got to take -what comes," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For several minutes it seemed scarcely possible that -the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> could resist the overwhelming heeling -stress of her canvas, and her deck was swept fore and -aft during them. Then there was a lull in the wind, -and as she lifted her rail a little, Stickine glanced at -the boat astern of them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She's most swamped, and a big drag on us," he said. -"Shall I cut the painter?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Again Jordan shook his head. "Not unless we have -to. We'll want her to-morrow."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For an hour they thrashed to windward before they -could clear the reefs, and when at last the horrible -white seething swept away behind them, and they -swung the topsail and mainsail peak down it was with -a great contentment that the lads, who were drenched -through, crawled away below. Niven laughed excitedly -as he stripped off his dripping clothes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm glad we got them," he said. "Still, I wouldn't -like to do this kind of thing often."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the meanwhile the Russian officer had gone with -Jordan into the cabin, but the bluejackets were put -into the hold, and though nobody could understand -them they smiled and nodded to the sealers and took -all the tobacco that was offered them. Next morning -the wind had once more fallen, and a little grey smear, -which was apparently an island, showed on the hazy -horizon. The lads knew that Brulée had taken an -unusually good breakfast into the cabin, and Jordan and -the Russians came on deck together. Montreal, at a -sign from the former, span round the wheel, and the -</span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> came up head to wind. She lay there for ten -minutes while the Russians emptied and dried up their -boat, then water and a bag of provisions were lowered -into her, and Jordan smiled at the blue-eyed officer.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"There's not going to be much wind for three or four -hours, and you'll be ashore by then," he said. "It's a -good pull, but you'll be that much longer sending the -gun-boat after me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Russian, who seemed to understand him, laughed -and clapped the skipper's shoulder. Then he glanced -down at his uniform with a deprecatory gesture.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It is my affair," he said in French. "But, my -captain, what you do for us we others do not forget."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then he went over the side, and the boat slid away -when he spoke to his men. Jordan signed to Montreal -and the schooner went on again, but looking aft they -saw the blue-eyed officer for a moment standing -upright bareheaded, as the boat lurched over a swell. -They saw no more of him, but when they sat at dinner -Stickine came grinning into the hold.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That fellow left a little silver box with some pencil -writing in it on the cabin table," he said. "Brulée's -been down worrying out what it means, and it's quite a -long while since I saw Ned Jordan so proud of anything."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="in-vancouver"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXI</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">IN VANCOUVER</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>It was, as Donegal observed, in American waters, but -far enough outside them, that the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> fell in -with the last holluschackie herd, and that day bright -sunlight shone down on the gently heaving sea. There -was not a boat that returned without its load, and -tired as they were the men seemed unusually cheerful -as they pulled back to the schooner when dusk was -creeping in.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The seals were a long way out to-day," said -Appleby when they stopped pulling for a minute or two. -"Except when we first came up we haven't found them -so far from the beach before."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Donegal nodded as he shifted his brown hands along -his oar. "'Tis getting into training they are. They'll -be off south to where they come from by and by, the -same as us," he said. "When is it we're taking the -road, Stickine?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Stickine laughed softly as he glanced towards the -north across the long heave, and a little cold breeze -fanned the lads' faces as they followed his gaze.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't know. Jordan hasn't told me yet, but I -guess we'll be shoving her along for Vancouver the first -time the wind frees us," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's fair now," said Niven with a curious eagerness.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Is anybody telling you different?" Stickine said -dryly. "It's time we were getting our supper, boys."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They went on again, and though they had rowed -since morning the stroke was faster than it had been -before, while all seemed expectant when they lay -waiting for the other boats to give them room close by -the rolling schooner. At last they hove her in, and -there was a curious silence when Jordan moved a pace -or two forward and glanced at the trysail with a little -smile in his face. The schooner was just creeping -through the water under it and her jibs.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We'll have it down and the mainsail up. It would -be a kind of pity to waste a slant like this," he said, and -stopped a moment while the men watched him expectantly -with the twinkle showing plainer in his eyes. -"I don't know any reason you shouldn't give her the -topsails too. She'd be that much nearer Vancouver -to-morrow, boys."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In a moment the deck seemed covered with scrambling -men. Blocks rattled, brawny backs were bent, -great folds of rustling canvas swayed aloft, and as it -swelled and banged Stickine's voice rose up, "Blow, -boys, blow!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The peak of the big mainsail tilted faster, with a fresh -rattle the foresail stretched out too, and the lads' cheeks -were flushed and a light was in their eyes when with -voices hoarse from excitement they swelled the roaring -chorus—</span></p> -<blockquote> -<div> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span>"Blow, boys, blow for Californio,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>For there's shining gold in heaps, I'm told,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>On the sunny Sacramento."</span></div> -<div class="line"> </div> -</div> -</div> -</blockquote> -<p class="pfirst"><span>It grew louder and faster, and they pulled with -feverish eagerness as they sang, while when at last one -or two gasped and stopped, their voices were replaced by -the wheezing of Brulée's accordion as playing with all -his might he capered on the hatch.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Way oh, Sacramento!" the voices rose again, and -stopped when Montreal turned on Niven, who was -dragging a sail after him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We've no use for that thing. Get the biggest yard -header. We're starting home," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then they sent the topsail up, and the schooner was -sliding south with a merry splashing at the bows when -the last refrain floated out to leeward, and was lost in -the silence that crept up across the sea, from the frozen -North they had turned their backs upon.</span></p> -<blockquote> -<div> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span>"Shining gold in heaps, I'm told,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>Down there in Sacramento."</span></div> -<div class="line"> </div> -</div> -</div> -</blockquote> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"Now I guess we'll fix these pelts up," said Jordan -quietly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Without a thought of weariness they worked most of -the night, and the lads did not even notice the horrible -smell, while when at last the deck was swilled down -Niven went forward and leaned a moment over the rail -in the bows. The jibs swung blackly through the night -ia front of him, the sea frothed white below, and the -breeze was fresh and cold now, but the lad's face was -flushed, for with every lurch that flung off the creaming -foam the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> was bearing him so much nearer -home. Then he turned and, because a half-moon hung -low in the sky, noticed that there was another dark -figure close beside him. It was Tom Allardyce, and -when the man moved his head his face still showed -worn and drawn, but his eyes seemed to shine, and it -was with a curious little sigh that bespoke a great -content he stretched out his hand and pointed to the -south.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She's footing it bravely—and taking us home," he -said. "Many a time I've wondered what it would feel -like—up there—when there wasn't much use worrying -over things of that kind."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It must have been beastly," said Niven, feeling that -this very inadequately expressed his sympathy, and the -man's voice was a trifle strained as he answered him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's behind me now, and the folks I left down there -in Vancouver are alive and waiting for me. It's—kind -of wonderful, but Ned Jordan fixed it all. Well, I'm -not the only one who'll bless the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> and him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven felt curiously moved as he went down into the -hold, and long afterwards the memory of the lonely man -staring south across the dusky sea from the bows of the -</span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> returned to him. Just then, however, his -blood was tingling with exultation. He, too, was going -home, and there were folks in England waiting to -welcome him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Next day it was blowing tolerably fresh, but though -the spray whirled about them and the seas frothed -white behind, not an inch of canvas was taken in, and it -was with a little smile in his haggard face that Tom -Allardyce held the wheel. As it happened the favouring -wind swept south with them, and one morning a cry -brought every man on deck.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"There, that's </span><em class="italics">British Columbia</em><span>," said Stickine when -the lads stared over the rail. "She'd most have licked -the C.P.R. steamer."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Looking east the lads could see a great white rampart -lifted high against the sky. Drifting mists cut it off -from the world below, and here and there the fires of -sunrise burned up from behind it through the hollows -between the peaks. No light, however, touched the -western snow as yet, and it shone ethereally majestic -in its blue-white purity. Then a single golden ray -streamed heavenward like a flash of a celestial beacon, -and the lads watched it in wondering silence held still -almost in awe, and forgot the limitless sweep of prairie, -rock and forest that lay between those mountains' -eastern slope and Montreal, until Stickine'e voice -reminded them that they had still work to do.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She'd go home faster, boys, with another foot of -main-sheet in," he said, cheerily.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was a week later when one night they crept past -Port Parry before a faint wind. Ahead the lights of -Victoria blinked at them, and every now and then a -smoky haze drove athwart the moon, while Appleby, -watching the dusky shore slide by, could almost have -fancied it was once more the night he and Niven had -been blown away from the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span>. She was not -there, however, and though the scene was the same he -and his comrade had changed. They had seen things -few men have looked upon up in the misty seas, and the -spirit of the silent North had set its stamp on them, -giving them gravity in place of boyish exuberance, and -for the quality Niven had esteemed as dash the sterner, -colder courage of steadfastness.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Presently a sailing-boat came flitting towards them, -and a man in her waved his liaud.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Hello, Jordan! Going straight across?" he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, yes," said Jordan, who seemed to recognize the -voice. "I'm getting along as fast as I can, though -there's not much wind. Have you anything for us?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No," said the man. "I just wanted to make sure -of you. Holway of Vancouver asked me to wire him if -I saw you pass."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said Jordan, "what has it to do with him?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't know," said the other man, as the boat -dropped astern. "Still, he seemed quite anxious to -hear when you were coming."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jordan turned to Stickine. "There's something I -don't understand. I don't owe a dollar to Holway or -anybody."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven heard a little chuckle, and drew Appleby -away as he saw that Donegal was grinning at them. -"I fancy Ned Jordan will get a surprise to-morrow. -It's you and I Holway is anxious about," said he.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>An hour later Jordan called them into the little -cabin. "We'll be in to-morrow, and have got to have -a talk," he said. "Now, I've a use onboard the -</span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> for lads like you, and would be open to take you -again next season, but"—and he looked at Niven—"you'll -be hearing from your folks in the old country?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, sir," said Niven, checking a smile with difficulty, -as he glanced at Appleby. "I fancy they will -want me home again."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It would cost a good many dollars to take you -there, and this is a great country for a young man who -wants to make his living," said Jordan. "You figure -they will send you them?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, sir," said Niven gravely. "I believe they will."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said Jordan, "in the meanwhile you can -come home with me. That leaves your partner out, -and he turned to Appleby. "Now, if you're open to -sail north again it's quite likely I might get you something -to do this winter on the wharf or in a mill, and I -guess Mrs. Jordan could find room in the house -for you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby felt the kindliness which had prompted this -offer to one whom the skipper evidently believed to be -a destitute lad, and his face flushed a little.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It is very good of you, sir, but I fancy my contract -with the shipowners is binding still," he said. -"Anyway, I would like to write and ask Mr. Niven."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jordan nodded. "One has to do the square thing. -Take your time, my lad, and I'll put you in the way of -earning your keep in the meanwhile."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then Niven stood up. "I fancy he will go ashore -with me to-morrow, sir," he said. "That is why, as I -may not have another opportunity, I want to thank -you for the kindness you have shown us both. I -believe that others, as well as Appleby and I, will -always be grateful to you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jordan looked at him curiously, and then made a -little gesture of impatience. "Now, that's a kind of -talking I've no use for, and you've earned everything -you got out of me. You'll let me know what you're -going to do to-morrow, Appleby."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They went back to their duties, Niven chuckling -over something with evident delight, and it was next -day when they crept past the pines on Beaver Point, -into view of the clustering roofs of Vancouver. As -they slid into the blue inlet a boat came pulling -towards them, and while the mainsail peak swung -down a gentleman climbed on board. Jordan, who -recognized him as one of the wealthiest merchants of -that city, nodded in salute, and then stared at him in -astonishment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You'll know me, Captain Jordan, though I've not -had the pleasure of talking to you before," he said. -"I've come for the two lads you picked up, and with -your permission I'd like to take them now. Niven's -father has asked me to look after them, and you'll find -them at my house any time you want them the next -few days."</span></p> -<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 61%" id="figure-66"> -<span id="i-ve-come-for-the-two-lads-you-picked-up"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt=""'I'VE COME FOR THE TWO LADS YOU PICKED UP.'"" src="images/img-307.jpg" /> -<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> -<span class="italics">"'I'VE COME FOR THE TWO LADS YOU PICKED UP.'"</span></div> -</div> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jordan seemed to gasp, Stickine nodded, and Donegal -smiled curiously as he glanced at the skipper.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I could let them off their work to-day, though they're -not through yet," said Jordan. "Still, I was figuring on -their going along with me. They might worry -Mrs. Holway, and my wife is used to lads from the -schooners."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The merchant, who laid his hand on Niven's shoulder, -laughed a little. "I scarcely fancy they'll go to sea as -sealers again," he said. "Boys, we'll go right along, -and you needn't worry about your things. We'll get -you an outfit at a store in the city."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The lads shook hands with Jordan, who had apparently -not yet recovered from his astonishment, and -only looked at them gravely when Niven said, "Thank -you for letting us off, sir, and I'll just bid you -good-morning now, because we're coming down to see you -and the boys again."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then they sprang into the boat, and Jordan shook -his head bewilderedly as they pulled away. "Well, -I'm jim-banged—and that lad was talking straight all -the while," he said. "Going along to stay with one of -the biggest men in Vancouver City!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Sure," said Donegal, "an' who would take better -care av the son av a ducal earl?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the meanwhile Niven and Appleby went home -with Mr. Holway to a very pretty wooden house on the -hill above the city, where they revelled in the luxury -of a bath with hot water and clean towels, and new -clothes, though it took them an hour or two to get -used to the tight collars that galled their necks. The -merchant and his wife were also very kind to them, -and when they concluded the recountal of their -adventures late that night, Niven said, "Now, there's one -thing I would like, and that would be to do something -for all of them. I feel quite sure my father would be -pleased with it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Holway nodded. "I believe he would. In fact, -he wrote me to make the skipper any recompense that -appeared advisable. The trouble, however, is that -things are different here from what they are in the old -country, and these men earn dollars enough themselves -to resent any attempt to pay them for a kindness."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Still, it could be managed somehow," said Niven.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes," said Mr. Holway, "I believe it could. We -can find out if the skipper wants, for example, a good -sextant, and I've a notion that the men would be -pleased if you gave them a farewell dinner. It would -show that you still looked upon yourself as one of -them."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes," said Niven, "that would be the best thing."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When they next saw Jordan he was squaring -accounts with the men, and apparently too busy to do -more than nod to them. They accordingly waited -among the rest, who were dressed much as they were in -neat, new clothes, and had only the bronze in their, -faces and the steadiness of their eyes, to show they -were from the sea, until at last he drew his pen -through two lines on the roll on the table in front -of him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Christopher Niven and Thomas Appleby," he said, -holding out two little piles of silver coins with a few -bills beneath them on a document. "Look through -that, and tell me if it's all quite straight before you -sign it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven flushed a trifle as he said, "I don't fancy we -should take the dollars, sir."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jordan looked at him somewhat grimly. "I've a -good deal to put through, and no use for talking," he -said. "You made the deal the night I found you, and -they're yours, my lad."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The lads took the dollars, and found Mr. Holway -waiting for them when they went out. He glanced at -the handfuls of coin, and laughed a little as he asked, -"Whose are all those dollars?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"They're mine," said Niven, with a trace of pride in -his smile. "I've earned them, and I fancy it would -astonish the folks at home. My father used to tell me -now and then that I'd never have a shilling that wasn't -given me. Now take me to one of your biggest shops, -because I'm going to buy my mother a brooch or a -bracelet with the first money I ever earned in my life."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The merchant nodded gravely. "I fancy that would -only be the square thing," he said. "Now, I was -keeping myself and my sister when I was younger than you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The bracelet was bought, and during the day Niven -sent a note down to the schooner, while on the next -evening they and the sealers sat down to a very -elaborate dinner in a big room of the Canadian Pacific -Hotel. They were all of them present, and nobody -appeared in any way uncomfortable or ill at ease in his -unusual clothes, for the life they led had made them -men, which is very much the same and occasionally a -greater thing than gentlemen. In fact, Niven felt -curiously abashed when before they went into the -dining room he spread out before them the things he -had brought. There was a silver-mounted sextant for -Jordan, a knife that most sealers coveted with an inlaid -handle for Stickine, a watch for Donegal, and boxes of -tobacco for every one of the rest.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'd like you to take these little things just to -remember us by," he said diffidently. "I wouldn't have -asked you if they had been of any value, but it would -be good of you to keep them, because you have, though -of course it isn't for that, done a good deal for Appleby -and me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Donegal's eyes twinkled. "Tis twice, anyway, I've -run ye round the deck wid a rope's end, and I would -have licked ye often if 'twould have been of any use," he -said. "Sure, we'll take them and remember ye. 'Tis not -every day the son av a ducal earl goes sealing with me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then they went in to dinner, and when Niven had -insisted on Jordan taking the head of the table most of -them made a somewhat astonishing meal, that is, to -those who did not know how the sealers ate and worked. -Afterwards there were a few speeches, but these were to -the point and short.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mr. Niven and boys," said Jordan. "I've had a -good company with me this run, and the next time I go -to sea I don't want a better one. I'm counting the lads -in, and we'll feel kind of lonely without them when they -go back to the old country. That's 'bout all. I'm not -much use at talking."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then Donegal stood up and rubbed his coppery hair. -"Sure," he said, "'tis rough on me. They're taking my -bhoys away—just when me and Stickine was licking -them into men. Still, I'll be bearing it better if 'tis -credit they're doing us in the old country. Boys, ye -will not go back on Donegal, and if sealing has taught -ye anything 'tis this that's at the bottom of the scheme: -'Thrue hearts is worth more than silver spoons,' an if -that's not quite what the pote said it's what he was -meaning."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was getting late, and there was a pause in the -laughter, when Niven rose up. "I wish I could talk as -I want to—but now when I've so much to tell you I -can't," he said, standing with flushed face and eyes -shining at the foot of the table. "Still, before we go I -want you to join in a last good wish with me. Boys, -here's long life to Ned Jordan."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was a roar, and the voices rang through it one -by one. "The man who beat the Russians and the -Americans too. The skipper who never went back on -his crew. Ned Jordan of the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> who brought -me home again!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven long remembered them standing about the -long table with the sea-bronze in their faces and the -pride in their eyes that were turned on Jordan. At last -he once more stood up awkwardly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Boys," he said simply, "I couldn't have done nothing -without the rest of you, and with the same men behind -me it wouldn't be very much to do it all again."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then they went out, shaking hands with Niven and -Appleby, who stood in the great hall of the hotel, to bid -farewell to them. Last of all came Jordan, and he -stopped a moment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I've been wrong a good many times in my life, -Mr. Niven, and that makes it the easier to tell you I was -more club-headed than usual 'bout you," he said. "Still, -I figure there's nothing but good feeling between us -now, and you'll not forget Ned Jordan if you come back -again."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then he went down the pathway, and the two lads -stood still, until from out of the darkness down by the -water-front a voice they knew raised a song and the last -of it came faintly up to them—</span></p> -<blockquote> -<div> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span>"Shining gold in heaps, I'm told,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>On the bunks of Sacramento."</span></div> -<div class="line"> </div> -</div> -</div> -</blockquote> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Niven glanced at Appleby, and his voice was not -quite steady as he said, "Starting home to-morrow—and -we'll not see any of them again. Well, I'm sorry."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes," said Appleby quietly. "I feel that way too."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-result-of-the-choice"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXII</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE RESULT OF THE CHOICE</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The Montreal express was waiting to commence its -six days' eastward journey when Appleby and Niven -stood in the C.P.R. station next afternoon. The lads, -however, scarcely noticed the great locomotive and long -cars, or the roofs of the city that rose row and row up -the face of the hill with the ragged spires of the sombre -pines towering high above them. They were looking -out on the blue inlet which, streaked in places by the -smoke of the mills, lay shining in the sun, with dusky -forests and a lofty line of snow beyond. Broad in the -foreground rode the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span>, looking very small and -dainty with her bare masts standing high above the -sweep of bulwarks, and they could recognize the men -stripping the canvas off her. Behind her with the beaver -ensign streaming at her peak another schooner was -beating in, and Niven smiled curiously as he followed -her with his eyes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's the </span><em class="italics">Argo</em><span>," he said. "We'll be off in a minute -or two—and of course I'm glad we're going home. -Still, it hurts a little to leave it all behind."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby nodded, for he fancied he knew what Niven -was feeling, and it was with a faint sigh he turned -towards the cars.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It will be a long time before I forget the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span>," -he said. "Still, you see we couldn't be sealers."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then a big bell commenced ringing, and Mr. Holway -came up. "Here are your ticket coupons right through -to Liverpool, and the Allan boat will sail an hour or two -after you get to Montreal," he said. "Better take your -places."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They shook hands with him while the big engine -panted, and swung themselves on to the platform of the -nearest car. It lurched forward, Mr. Holway waving -his hand to them, slid away behind, wharf and mill went -by, but they still stood out on the platform looking back -at the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span>, until with a sudden roar of wheels -the train swept into the shadow of the pines that shut -out blue inlet and schooner from their sight. Then -Niven sighed a little and Appleby looked at him with -a curious little smile.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's the last of her, Chriss," he said. "We've got -to look forward now."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They were, however, soon too occupied for any vague -regrets, and that journey from ocean to ocean over -British soil excited their wonder and now and then -brought them a little thrill of pride. Hour by hour the -cars went lurching through the shadow of great -pine-forests, and up an awful chasm with a river foaming far -away below, swung over dizzy trestles, and past flashing -glaciers through a tremendous desolation of rock and ice -and snow that no man's foot had ever trodden. Still, -the valleys were sprinkled with little wooden towns -from which there rose the scream of saws and the smoke -of mines, while when two great engines hauled them -slowly in snake-like curves up to the Selkirk passes the -lads stood gazing in silent awe at the white peaks above -them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The men who built this road would stick at nothing," -said Niven with a little gasp of wonder as he glanced -back at the shining metals which lay apparently -straight beneath him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Later, with a roar of wheels flung back from the dark -rocks that had for centuries barred off from the prairie -the wild mountain land, they climbed the Kicking -Horse defile beside a frothing river, and went roaring -down into the rolling hills on the Rockies' eastern side. -These, too, swept back and faded, and they were racing -eastwards straight as the crow flies across the prairie.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Little wooden stations, herds of sheep and cattle, -lonely mounted men seen miles away, were left behind, -and still hour by hour the great white levels stretched -away. From the dawn that flushed red before them -until the sunset flamed behind, the gaunt telegraph -poles and shining metals that led straight on came -flying back to them, and there was no change in the -white waste the moonlight shone upon. Then they ran -through yellow stubble where the splendid wheat had -been, past lonely homesteads, lines of toiling teams, and -clouds of dust and blue smoke where the thrashers were -working in the field, until they rolled across a great -river into Winnipeg City.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There they stopped an hour or two, and afterwards -ran past vast blue lakes into the forests again, swept -across wooden bridges over frothing rivers, until the lads -clinging to the platform looked down on an inland sea -when the dusty cars went lurching along the Superior -shore over a road riven out of the adamantine granite -that had been paid for with brave men's lives. By and -by they came out of the wilderness again, and swept -through green Ontario past wooden farms and orchards -into Montreal, where they had decided to join the -steamer, though they could have done so nearer the -sea. They were, however, stiff and aching, and glad to -stretch their limbs, while Niven stared about him in -wonder as they walked through Montreal and stopped -a moment outside the great cathedral.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's a city of palaces and churches, and there's no -dust and smoke at all," he said. "I never fancied they'd -places of this kind in Canada. Well, we'll go on to the -steamer as soon as we've worked out the kinks we got -in the cars."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The steamer went down the river soon after they -reached her, and it was an hour or two before the lads -felt at home on board her. She seemed so big and -high above the water after the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span>, and they -felt almost abashed and out of place amidst the luxury -of the great saloons. That did not, however, last long, -and there was much to occupy them, the huge rafts of -timber with houses on them, barges piled with hay -until they resembled a drifting farmyard, the countless -islands they steamed among, and the tin-roofed villages -along the wooded shores. Then they stopped where -the river narrows under the battlements of Quebec, and -saw the crowded roofs of the city climb the slopes of -the plateau where Wolfe won that great Dominion for -England.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After that the river grew broader, until at last they -rolled out past the rocks of Labrador into the Atlantic, -and it was scarcely a fortnight since they left Vancouver -when one night the liner steamed into the Mersey. -Rows of lights blinked at them through the smoke and -drizzle, whistles screamed, steamers crowded with -passengers went by, and at last the tender swung -alongside. Then amidst the bustle and confusion a gentleman -forcing his way through the groups of travellers grasped -Appleby's hand, and he saw his comrade, who did not -seem abashed as he once would have done, being hugged -publicly by Mrs. Niven.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In another minute she had turned to Appleby, and -Mr. Niven led both of them under a big electric light. -He stared hard at them, and then smiled at his wife.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," he said slowly, "these are not the lads we -sent away. The sea has done a good deal for them, and -if I hadn't been looking for him I would scarcely have -known my son."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was a very happy party the tender took ashore, -and for several days Mrs. Niven, who regaled the lads -with dainties and fussed over them, would scarcely let -Chriss out of her sight. On the third night, however, -Mr. Niven called them into his own room.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And now it's about time we had a little talk," he said -with a trace of dryness in his smile, as, lighting a cigar, -he laid the box on the table. "You can take one if you -like. No doubt you know the flavour by this time, -and it would take a good deal to hurt you now."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Chriss grinned at Appleby. "As a matter of fact we -found that out at Sandycombe, sir, though the results -were very far from encouraging," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No?" said Mr. Niven.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby laughed. "I lost a good chance of winning -the quarter-mile, and Chriss spent two Saturdays writing -lines."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I understand," said Mr. Niven dryly, "that you -didn't get many luxuries on board the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span>."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We didn't," said Chriss. "Still, after a month or -so, there wasn't much we couldn't eat except the stuff -in one barrel the pickle had run out of. Appleby tried -it once when we hadn't had anything worth mentioning -for a week. Tom, how long did you revel in that pork?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"About two minutes," said Appleby. "Eating it -wasn't quite as nice as skinning holluschackie."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Niven nodded, but there was a twinkle in his -eyes, and once more he noticed the steadiness with which -they returned his gaze, and that though they smiled -there was a new gravity in their sea-tanned faces.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I fancy you have found out how much one can do -without, and that is a good deal gained," he said. -"Still, all that is beside the question, for I want to -know right off how you like the sea, and I've no use -for anything but the straightest kind of talking."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Chriss seemed a trifle astonished. "That was just -how Ned Jordan spoke," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Niven laughed. "You may remember that I -have been over a good deal of Canada on business and -in Vancouver. In fact, you may do so too. It depends -on your answer to my question."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Chriss sat silent for almost a minute in place of -speaking at once, which is more than he would have -done before he went to sea. Then he answered very -slowly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, I like the sea, and would be willing to go -back again, but not—if it could be helped—in the -</span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span>. Still, after what I have seen of it, I fancy -I could be quite content to live ashore if there were -other things for me to do."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Even if people laughed at you for swallowing the -anchor, which I believe is how they put it?" asked -Mr. Niven.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Chriss laughed without any sign of confusion or -embarrassment, and his father noticed it. "One doesn't -mind a little banter after being kicked with seaboots, -and growled at all day for weeks. You don't fancy it -would matter greatly if they did?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Not in the least," said Mr. Niven with dry approval, -"In fact, the man who does not mind being made fun -of has often the best cause for laughing. So you would -go back to sea if I told you to?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, sir," said Chriss. "Still, if you fancied it -would be better I would stay ashore."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Then," said Mr. Niven, "we'll decide on the latter. -You might after years of hard work, and if you were -very fortunate, make five hundred pounds a year at -sea, but while there are thousands of lads in the -country who would be very content with the prospect of -getting it, there are considerably fewer who have your -opportunities, and by and by I shall want somebody -to take up my business after me. If you are to do it -you must begin at once at the bottom, do what you are -told, and make your way upwards slowly as you would -at sea. Now, then, would it suit you to go down to my -office at nine o'clock the day after to-morrow?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, sir," said Chriss. "It would."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Then," said Mr. Niven, "that will do in the -meanwhile, though we will have a good deal to talk about -later. Now, Appleby, you have heard what I proposed to -Chriss, and we can find room for you. I will see you -get a fair start in life—and what it may lead to -afterwards will depend largely upon yourself."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby's answer was quiet but resolute. "I have to -thank you, sir, but I am afraid I should never be quite -contented away from the sea."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't be hasty," said Mr. Niven. "It's a hard life, but -you know that better than I do. I also fancy that if -you serve me well you will be a richer man by and by -than you ever would be at sea."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby looked at him steadily. "I've been considering -ever since I left the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span>, sir. It's hard -enough—but I can't help fancying it is the life that is -best for me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Niven nodded gravely. "Then you are right in -going back, but we'll try to find you a more comfortable -ship. Well, we have decided quite enough for one -night, and I fancy Mrs. Niven is waiting for you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The lads went out, and though both of them afterwards -found there was now and then need of all their -courage and endurance in the lives they led neither -regretted the decision they had made. Niven went -into his father's office, and Appleby back to sea, while a -good many things happened to both of them before the -former, who was now a partner, returned on business to -Vancouver. The day after he got there he stood on the -wharf with Mr. Holway. It was crowded with travellers -making for a steamer on the point of sailing, for the -Montreal express had just come in, but Niven was -watching the trail of swiftly-moving smoke that -smeared the blue sky behind the great pines on Beaver -Point.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That will be her by the pace she's making," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Holway nodded. "Yes. They're wonderful -boats," he said. "It's a long way to Japan, but they -keep their time like a clock, and they'll not check the -engines until she's close up to the wharf."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Twin screws," said Niven. "Still, with the barque -yonder there's very little room to swing a big vessel in, -though, of course, he could scrape past the schooner and -back one propeller."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Holway laughed. "You might have been to sea -yourself!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said Niven dryly, "I have, and they taught -me a good deal in the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span>."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I had forgotten," said Mr. Holway. "You'll have -been glad you left it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven smiled. "There have been times of business -anxiety when I've been almost sorry, too. After all, -one had nothing to worry over on board the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span> -when his work was done. But she's coming in."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>With the blue water frothing at her bows a great -white-painted steamer swung out of the shadow of the -pines, and while her whistle sent a sonorous scream -ringing across the inlet swept towards the wharf. She -gleamed like ivory from the purple shimmering in her -shadow that was streaked by froth about her water-line -to the yacht-like lift of her bows and long sweep of rail, -and above it her tiers of houses and rows of boats shone -dazzlingly in the sunlight. In every line and flowing -curve there was a suggestion of speed and beauty, and -Niven was silent as he watched her come on, -remembering how the command of such a vessel had once -been his most cherished dream. Then as the other -steamer splashed away and the liner swung in towards -the wharf he saw that one of the officers high up on -the bridge was staring at him. Niven knew the brown -face under the white cap, and waved his hat, but the -officer only raised his hand for a second and then looked -straight ahead again. Niven laughed softly as he -turned to his companion.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"There's very little difference in Tom Appleby," he -said. "It's four years since I've seen him, but if it -had been forty I wouldn't have expected him to spare -more than a moment from his duties to nod to me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That," said Mr. Holway, "is probably the reason -he has got on so rapidly, and I know the Company's -people here have a high opinion of him. Now sit -down. He's not going to thank you for worrying him -while he's busy."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was half-an-hour later when they went on board -the great steamer and asked for the second officer. The -two young men looked at each other as they shook -hands, and each saw a difference in his comrade, for -bronzed mate and keen-eyed merchant had both grown -used to the yoke of responsibility. They were quieter -than they had been, and their faces were graver, while -though it was long since they had met, they were not -effusive when they spoke.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Glad to see you, Tom," said Niven.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby nodded. "Of course I needn't tell you the -same thing. How did you get here?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Allan boat and Canadian Pacific sleeper," said -Niven. "I told you I'd been made a partner, and fancied -I'd run over to look up some of our customers in -Vancouver when I was in Canada. At least, that's one -reason. You can guess the other. Now, what's wrong -with this Company that you're not commander?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby laughed. "I've got on so fast already that -I can't help fancying friends of mine who put business -in the Company's way have as much to do with it -as my merits. Now, I'm not quite sure that's good for me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Tom," said Niven with apparent severity, though his -eyes twinkled, "are you so foolish as to fancy that the -men who run a line like this would take a hint from -anybody? You climbed up yourself, but if ever I do -have any influence I'll know how to use it. Still, we're -not going to argue already. Come out. I've got a -buggy waiting, and we're going to drive and talk in the -woods all afternoon, and then have another dinner at -the Hotel. To make it all complete Jordan's coming."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm half afraid I couldn't stay that long," said Appleby, -and Niven turned to Holway, who had joined them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You're coming right along. Holway has seen the -skipper, and he knows better than refuse—him—anything."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They drove through the dusky shadows of the pines all -the afternoon, and when evening came they and Jordan -sat down to a very choice dinner in the room where -they last met. Jordan, however, seemed leaner and -grimmer than he had done that night, and his hair was -grey, but there was no mistaking the pleasure in his -face when he greeted them. Niven made him sit down -at the head of a little table by an open window.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's your place, sir," he said. "I don't quite -know what they're bringing us to eat, but it's not going -to be as good as the canned beef you gave us the night -you came across us in the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span>."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He smiled curiously as, glancing round at the glittering -glass and silver and the sumptuous decorations of -the great dining-room, he remembered the little, stuffy -cabin of the schooner that swung with the seas. All -this was very pleasant, but he felt he had lost -something that could never be regained since then. Appleby -seemed to understand, for he nodded.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"There's a difference, Chriss," he said. "We shall -never be quite the same again."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A man can't have quite everything—and you've -got the dollars now," said Jordan with a little twinkle -in his eyes. "Well, I've made my blunders, like most -other folks, but the one I made that night was my -biggest one. Still, it was a kind of curious story you -told me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven laughed. "I've no doubt I did it badly—but -there are times when I wish I was only a lad sailing -north again sealing, and I fancy I shouldn't be a -partner in a good business now if it hadn't been for a -few things that voyage taught me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>While he spoke the dinner was brought in, and for a -while they postponed their questions. Then as they -sat by the open window looking out across the blue -inlet towards the climbing pines and the distant snow -Jordan glanced at his cigar.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I've only had a dinner of this kind once before in my -life, and you know who it was gave it me then," he said. -"Now, I've a notion Donegal believed you all along."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I wonder where he is now," said Niven. "I should -like to have seen him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jordan's face grew grave, and he stretched out one -hand pointing towards the north. "He's sleeping sound -up there," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby bent his head. "I have not often met his -equal—and we both owe him a good deal. How did -it happen?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Stowing jibs," said Jordan quietly. "Wind turned -loose on us sudden one night we were carrying everything, -and she lay down with her lee rail in. Outer -jib wouldn't run down, downhaul jammed, and Charley -was clawing out on the bowsprit when the sail whipped -over him. None of us saw what came next but -Donegal, and when I had a glimpse of him he was -hanging out from the foot-rope grabbing at Charley. -Then she put her nose into a sea, and when she swung -out of it there was nobody under the bowsprit. We'd -gone straight over them."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jordan stopped a moment, and his voice was a trifle -hoarse when he went on again. "It was quite ten -minutes before we could get the mainsail off her to -wear her round, and a boat over, and an hour anyway -before we hove her in again. They'd found nothing, and -Charley couldn't swim, but Donegal wouldn't never have -let go of his partner. He was that kind of a man."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby nodded gravely, but nobody said anything -further for several minutes, and then Niven asked, -"Where's Stickine?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Coast trading. He was kind of saving. Put the -dollars he'd scraped up into a little schooner, and it -would astonish me if he wasn't making more of them. -Montreal and his brother doing quite well too. Gone -back to the carpentering and taking contracts for -putting up mining flumes."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Then there's only yourself, and the </span><em class="italics">Champlain</em><span>," -said Niven.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jordan sighed a little. "We had to part with her. -Sealing's not what it used to be—too many gun-boats -and too much government fussing—and the holluschackie -are getting scarcer too. They'll have to try round the -South Pole for them presently. Still, a man has got to -live, and I'm figuring on a halibut-catching scheme. -There's going to be dollars in it if we can raise enough -of them to start us off with the proper outfit."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Tell me all about it. I'm a business man," said Niven.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jordan did so, but his face was a trifle anxious as he -concluded. "I'm not quite sure if I can put it through. -We've got to have a schooner, and it's where to get -the last two or three thousand dollars that's worrying -me. The banks don't seem to care about backing me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven sat silent a moment or two. Then he said -quietly, "Now, I've about that many dollars I'm -getting very little for in the old country, and I would -be glad to put them in your venture as a partner."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And I've five or six hundred," said Appleby.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jordan's face brightened, but he did not answer for -a minute. "Well, I've no use for pretending I wouldn't -be glad to have the dollars—but one has to do the -square thing," he said. "The risks are going to be -heavy, because until we get it all quite straight we -may lose the catch quite often before we can put it on -the market, and there's always chances of losing the -schooner, while you'd have to take too much on trust. -You don't know the ins and outs of this contract, and I -couldn't figure them all out to you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Niven laughed a little, and laid his hand on Jordan's -shoulder. "I know the man who's going to put it -through, and I could trust him with a good deal more -than the dollars. We'll go round to Holway's, and fix -it all up to-morrow."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was late before Jordan left them, and Niven and -Appleby, who walked with him a little way, stopped a -moment as they went back to the hotel. On the one -hand, sprinkled with big electric lights, the city -climbed the rise, and they could see its maze of roofs -and towering telegraph poles. On the other the inlet -shone like silver under the moon, with the ivory shape -of the liner in the foreground and three great ships -riding to their anchors farther out. Niven smiled a -little as he turned to his companion.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"One is your home, the other mine," he said. "Tom, -you haven't told me whether you are still quite -contented with the life you have chosen."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Appleby's face was grave, but his eyes shone a little. -"It is a grim life—especially in the sailing ships—Chriss, -though they are not all like the </span><em class="italics">Aldebaran</em><span>, but -I still fancy it is the one that is best for me. After -all, are there any things your money can buy you -better than those which are given for nothing to every -man at sea?"</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>THE END</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><em class="italics small">Richard Clay & Sons, Limited, London and Bungay.</em></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 6em"> -</div> -<!-- -*- encoding: utf-8 -*- --> -<div class="backmatter"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst" id="pg-end-line"><span>*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK </span><span>IN THE MISTY SEAS</span><span> ***</span></p> -<div class="cleardoublepage"> -</div> -<div class="language-en level-2 pgfooter section" id="a-word-from-project-gutenberg" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> -<span id="pg-footer"></span><h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><span>A Word from Project Gutenberg</span></h2> -<p class="pfirst"><span>We will update this book if we find any errors.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This book can be found under: </span><a class="reference external" href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/47992"><span>http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/47992</span></a></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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. -Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this -license, apply to copying and distributing Project Gutenberg™ -electronic works to protect the Project Gutenberg™ concept and -trademark. 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