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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1a720fd --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #64999 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/64999) diff --git a/old/64999-0.txt b/old/64999-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index c5201ff..0000000 --- a/old/64999-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4625 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Golden Harpoon, by Roger Starbuck - -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 Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: The Golden Harpoon - Lost Among the Floes - -Author: Roger Starbuck - -Release Date: April 05, 2021 [eBook #64999] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: David Edwards, Susan Carr and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (Northern Illinois - University Digital Library at http://digital.lib.niu.edu/) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GOLDEN HARPOON *** - - - - - THE - - GOLDEN HARPOON; - - OR, - - LOST AMONG THE FLOES - - A STORY OF THE WHALING GROUNDS. - - BY ROGER STARBUCK. - - - NEW YORK: - BEADLE AND ADAMS, PUBLISHERS, - 98 WILLIAM STREET. - - - - - Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1865, by - BEADLE AND COMPANY, -In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States for the - Southern District of New York. - - - - - CONTENTS - - PAGE - I. THE GOLDEN HARPOON. 9 - II. THE RESULT. 19 - III. A “STOVE” BOAT. 24 - IV. IN CONFINEMENT. 33 - V. THE BARRICADE. 39 - VI. A SLIGHT CHANGE. 46 - VII. ADRIFT. 52 - VIII. THE CHASE. 60 - IX. THE DISAPPEARANCE. 71 - X. AN UNEXPECTED ENCOUNTER--CONCLUSION. 86 - - - - - THE GOLDEN HARPOON. - - - - - CHAPTER I. - - THE GOLDEN HARPOON. - - -On the morning of the 25th day of April, 18--, the whale-ship -Montpelier, of New London, anchored in one of the many bays that open -along the coast of Kamschatka, where it is washed by the waters of -the Sea of Ochotsk. - -As soon as every thing was made snug alow and aloft, the skipper -rubbed his hands with complacency, and a satisfied expression was -seen to cross even the face of Mr. Briggs, the first mate, who was -the ship’s grumbler. - -“Good quarters,” remarked the captain. - -“Ay, ay, sir,” responded Briggs, “the tide is easy here and I don’t -think a gale would hurt us much--we are so shut in by the cliffs. -But,” he suddenly added, turning his glance toward a large field of -ice, about a league from the shore, “I don’t like the looks of yonder -floe. It may come upon us and give us a jam.” - -“It will drift past us,” replied the captain; “the current tends to -the north’ard.” - -“I’m not so sure of _that_,” said the mate, as he snatched a glass -from the mizzen fife-rail, and directed it toward the ice. “Them -undercurrents up this way sometimes plays the very smash. But if I -ain’t much mistaken, I see a bear moving along the floe.” - -As he spoke, he passed the glass to his companion, who immediately -lifted it to his eye. - -“Do you see the animal, captain?” - -“Ay, ay, there it is, sure enough; a _brown_ bear, I believe.” - -“Uncle!” exclaimed a gentle voice at this instant, and a light hand -fell upon the captain’s shoulder. “How wild! how picturesque! What -place _is_ this?” - -The speaker was a girl of seventeen, with large brown eyes, a -_petite_ but well-rounded figure, and a countenance truly lovely -in its purity and expression. From her neck, by a strip of blue -ribbon, was suspended a golden harpoon of delicate workmanship, and -about four inches in length. It was the gift of the captain--her -only living relative--who had presented it to her on the day that he -complied with her request to accompany him on his present voyage. - -And why did she wish to go to sea? - -Firstly, because the bold and handsome Harry Marline had shipped in -the Montpelier as boat-steerer and harpooner’s aid. Secondly, because -she was much attached to her relative, who, having no children of his -own, always had treated his niece with the indulgent fondness of a -father. - -You might have known this, had you seen the smile that crossed his -face as he turned and gazed with admiration upon the crimsoned cheek, -and the expressive eyes of the young girl. - -“Good-morning, Alice,” he said. “I am glad to see you stirring so -early. How did you pass the night?” - -“Very well, thank you,” she replied, raising herself upon the tips of -her toes, and presenting her lips for a kiss, which was immediately -granted. “Very well, indeed; but you have not answered my question. -What place is this?” - -“It has no particular name that I ever heard of,” replied the -captain. “But, you have been long enough at sea, now, Alice, to -perceive that I’ve chosen a good place for an anchorage--” - -“If it wasn’t for the ice,” interrupted Briggs. - -“An excellent place,” continued the captain, paying no attention to -the words of his companion, “a position well sheltered, where the -craft can lie while we fill her with oil--secure from every danger--” - -“Except that of ice,” doggedly persisted the mate. - -“Secure from _every_ danger,” repeated the captain, turning sharply -toward his first officer. - -“Oh! I am so glad!” cried Alice, clapping her white hands with an -enthusiasm natural to a girl of seventeen. “It is such a wild, -beautiful place. And, on pleasant days, I can bring my sewing on -deck. It will be very nice sitting here and looking up now and then -at those great towering cliffs that rise so far above the tops of our -mast-heads.” - -“Until the ice comes,” said Briggs. - -“Why, Mr. Briggs, what do you mean?” said Alice, turning toward the -first officer with an expression of alarm upon her face; “this is the -third time I’ve heard you speak about the ice. Is there really danger -to be apprehended from it?” - -“Ay, ay, Miss Alice, plenty of it,” bluntly responded the mate, “and -unless--” - -“You must not mind him, niece,” interrupted the captain. “He fancies -there is danger from that floe that you see off the quarter; but, you -may believe me, when I tell you, that it will have drifted past us -before night.” - -“There are undercurrents that’ll bring it upon us before the -morning,” persisted Briggs. “This isn’t the first time I’ve sailed in -these waters.” - -“Oh, uncle!” said the young girl, placing both hands upon the -captain’s shoulder; “the mate is an old sailer of this sea, while -this is the first time that _you_ have ventured in this quarter. I -think you had better take his advice.” - -“Fiddlestick!” exclaimed the captain; “what does a girl know about -seafaring matters?” - -“Ay, ay, sir, she’s a girl, but she’s got an uncommon wise head for -all that. Mark ye, Captain Howard,” he added, feeling so highly -gratified by the favorable remark of the skipper’s niece, that he was -disposed to be complimentary--“mark ye, I’ve seen women enough in my -day, but I’ve never seen one as had a longer head than Miss Alice!” - -The maid blushed, and bit her lips to conceal a smile, while Briggs, -believing that his words had pleased her, but fearing that she might -think he had merely been trying to flatter, pursued the subject in a -manner so earnest, that his sincerity could not be doubted. - -“Ay, ay, sir--a long head has this young girl, and I don’t mean to -flatter her when I say it. She’s about the first woman I ever saw -with such a head. To look at her, it’s true, you mightn’t think that -she was blessed in that way. But, my eyes! neither would you think -that a horse’s head was so long as a flour barrel!” - -“You had better stick to currents and icebergs, Mr. Briggs, and leave -the complimenting of girls to those who understand the art better -than you do,” said the captain, a little resentfully. “Young ladies, -as a general rule, do not care to be told that they have long heads?” - -“Indeed, uncle,” cried Alice, in a voice that faltered with the -efforts she made to restrain her laughter, “indeed, uncle, I feel -much obliged to the mate for the compliment he has paid me.” - -“Oh, well,” said her uncle, dryly, “there is no accounting for -tastes--especially for those of women. If Briggs’ remark pleased you, -I have no more to say.” - -“He was sincere, dear uncle, and you know that sincerity _always_ -pleases me.” - -“Even when you are told that you have a long head?” - -“That was a figurative expression on the part of Mr. Briggs.” - -“Ay, ay, that’s it,” broke forth the mate, “figgerin’ is the word. -I’m poor at figgers myself, but my eyes do me instead, for they have -good sight and are good at measuring. And that’s why I can calculate -almost to the minute when that ice-floe, which is now about a league -from us, will be upon us, jamming our timbers.” - -“It will never reach us,” replied the captain, in a decided voice; -“you can even perceive that it is moving north’ard now, and--” - -He paused suddenly and turned his gaze toward the ice, upon which the -eyes of the mate had suddenly seemed fixed with steady intensity. - -“Ay, there it is again,” shouted the first officer, as a column -of vapor shot upward from the center of the floe. “There -blows!--there--there blows! The ice is alive with whales, captain -Howard!” - -“Clear away the boats, there!” shouted the latter. - -These words were addressed to the sailors lounging about the -windlass, some of them smoking, and others engaged in patching -threadbare coats and jackets. - -“Lively--lively, men!” yelled the captain, as the “tailors” paused to -thrust the garments upon which they had been working, into the many -little “cubby-holes” about the windlass, and the smokers proceeded -to knock the ashes from their pipes. “Call all hands!” - -This command was promptly obeyed, and a dozen men who had been lying -asleep upon chests in the forecastle came bounding through the open -scuttle. - -By this time the decks of the Montpelier presented a scene of bustle -and excitement, such as always takes place on board a vessel of her -class when whales have been sighted, and preparations are being made -to lower away. The men rushed to the falls; the harpooners sprung -into their respective boats to prepare the line-tubs and their craft; -while the captain and his officers hurried the movements of their -crews with frantic gesticulations and excited voices. - -In the midst of the uproar stood Alice Howard, watching with dilating -eyes and blushing cheeks the movements of Harry Marline, who belonged -to the mate’s boat, and who, more than once, while arranging his -irons, contrived to direct a quick but smiling glance toward the -spot where she stood. She had been so long an inmate of her uncle’s -vessel, that--but for the presence of her lover--the scene passing -before her eyes would have excited but little interest in her bosom. - -The hoarse shouts of the captain and the many expletives that -even her presence did not prevent the mate from uttering, jarred -unpleasantly upon her spirit, and more than once she pressed her -little hands against her ears to shut out the hard words that saluted -them. - -At last, however, the necessary preparations were completed, and the -captain then gave the order to lower away. As the four boats dropped -simultaneously into the water, he advanced to the side of his niece, -and grasped her hand. - -“Good-by, Alice. When we return, I hope we will bring whales -alongside. Take good care of yourself while I am absent. There are -plenty of books in the cabin to amuse you, I trust.” - -“Oh yes, I shall get along very well. But _do_ be careful, dear -uncle, and don’t have any of your boats stoven, or any of your men -hurt.” - -“Ay, ay, good-by!” and with a parting kiss the captain sprung into -his boat and issued the command to “give way!” - -The light vessels darted with arrowy swiftness from the ship’s side, -and, a moment afterward, the bow of each was heading for the floe. - -Alice then ran to the bulwarks, and stood watching the boats with a -vague feeling of uneasiness that she had never before experienced. - -The voices of the officers as they shouted encouragement to their -crews, and the dull sound of the oars as they were worked in the -row-locks, fell unpleasantly on her ears. She strove to recall the -feelings of pleasurable excitement that she had been wont to indulge -upon similar occasions; but, the effort was made in vain, and tears -of vexation rose to her eyes, because she was unable to subdue her -melancholy. - -In the mean time the four boats continued to recede rapidly from the -ship, and presently the young girl perceived that they were upon the -outer edge of the ice-field. A few minutes later their crews had -worked them so far among the bergs that they were out of sight. - -Alice was then on the point of moving in the direction of the -companion-way, when she felt a hand upon her arm. Turning, she beheld -a face and figure, the singular appearance of which we shall at once -describe. - -The face, which was that of a man about forty years of age, was -very large and square, with enormous ears, round, twinkling blue -eyes, a flat nose, and a pair of lips that kept moving from side to -side, producing a ludicrous effect upon the whole countenance. An -old-fashioned pigtail, carefully tied near its extremity, and well -greased with whale oil, hung from the back of the head, keeping time -with the movements of the wearer, and giving to the huge glazed -sou’wester that crowned his skull, the appearance of a very unnatural -animal, with a black shell and a long tail. Passing on, we come to -the figure, which was not unlike that of a cask, while the arms were -of enormous length. The legs, on the contrary, were very short. The -dress of this person, besides the sou’wester alluded to, consisted of -a Guernsey frock--so profusely ornamented with patches of different -sizes and hues, as to remind the spectator of “Joseph’s coat of many -colors”--and pants of canvas-duck, very coarse, but scrupulously -clean, with the bottoms flowing loosely around a pair of neat, -well-fitting pumps. - -“Good-morning, John Stump,” said Alice, as the sailor lifted his -sou’wester and bowed, scraping his right foot as he did so. - -“_Jack_ Stump, if it please your pretty lips, miss--for I always feel -as though I was turned wrong side out when anybody calls me John. -Jack’s the name that I’ve always gone by, ever since I was as big as -a turtle.” - -“Oh, very well--Jack Stump it shall be, then. You have something -particular to say to me, Jack,” she added, as the seaman suddenly -placed his forefinger upon the side of his flat nose, while his great -blue eyes began to roll in his head. - -“Ay, ay,” he said, at last, in a low voice, “I’ve been a-trying to -get out, what I wanted to say to you, sweet lass but your beauty -choked the words in my throat, as a stick of candy put in the mouth -of a baby stops its squalling. Such beauty as yours, miss--” - -“That will do, Jack,” interrupted Alice, with a gratified smile, for -she was too truthful to pretend that the compliment did not please -her; “that will do, and I am much obliged to you. But you have -aroused my curiosity, and I would thank you to come to the point at -once.” - -“Here it goes, then,” said Stump, speaking in a voice of mysterious -confidence, “here it goes, sure enough, which is, that I’m a friend -to you and the captain, and I wish that everybody in the ship was the -same.” - -“Why! how is this, Jack? My father’s crew are all friendly to us, are -they not?” - -“Good grub!” said Stump, in a deep voice, “is the first consideration -in a whaler. Good officers the second, and good luck the third. Them -are the three things that wins men’s hearts--them are the things that -have won mine. But there are some beings that has the shape of men, -and yet they ain’t men for all that;--amphibious animals like, that -has more of the shark than human natur’ in their corporosities, and -believe me, Miss Alice, there are such creatur’s in this bark. Just -turn your pretty eyes forward, young lady--sly like, as you women -know so well how to do--and look at them five blue-skinned devils -standin’ there by the windlass a-whispering and talking together. -D’ye see ’em?” - -“I do,” replied Alice. “Four New Zealanders and the Portuguese -steward; but what of that?” - -Stump seized the end of his pigtail with his left fingers, and -bringing it over his shoulder, placed his right hand upon it. - -“It’s an honest pigtail--Miss Howard, and I always swear by it on -occasions of this kind, when a Bible isn’t handy. And now,” he added, -in a solemn voice, “here goes my oath, which is that them fellows -forward are a-plotting and hatching to do harm--though what harm -exactly I can’t tell, but I think it’s as well to be prepared!” - -“Why Jack! how you talk. What ground can you have for these strange -suspicions? My father, with all his officers and the greater part of -the crew, away, too,” added the young girl, with a shudder. - -“Ay, ay,” responded the shipkeeper, allowing his pigtail to drop -to its original position, “and that’s why we must be on our guard. -Them devils forward were all laid up with the rheumatiz a while -ago, so that they couldn’t go in the boats, and now look at ’em, -a-standin’ up as well and hearty as you and I. That’s suspicious to -begin with. Then again I overheard one of ’em talking about freeing -that quarrelsome mutineer, Tom Lark, who, you know, the skipper -put in irons a week ago--because he refused duty--and shut up in -the run. They said something about his understanding navigation; -and I couldn’t hear any more because they saw that I was near them -a-listening and they closed their mouths all of a sudden.” - -“What shall we do? What _can_ we do?” cried Alice, in considerable -alarm. - -“That’s a hard question to answer, seeing as I’m all alone without -any man to help me. But you may be sartain that Jack Stump will stick -to you and do what he can. You had better go below now, and lock -the door of your room while I dodge around and find out something -about the plans of the rascals. Of one thing, hows’ever, you may be -assured, and it is that the plotters can’t do anything just now, -seeing as the wind has gone down and there isn’t a breath of air -stirring, and--ay, ay, Miss Alice, a beautiful morning!” he suddenly -added, in a louder tone. “I’ve sailed the sea in every kind of a -craft for thirty years, and never knew a finer mornin’ than this! -What do you think of that?” - -Alice opened her blue eyes upon the speaker, surprised by this abrupt -change in the thread of his discourse. But in a few moments she -understood the cause, for a light footstep suddenly saluted her ear, -and she divined that a third person had passed behind them and taken -his position near the rail, not far from the spot they occupied. -With woman’s ready tact, she refrained from turning her head even to -get a glimpse of the intruder, and proceeded at once to reply to her -companion’s remark. - -“I am surprised to hear you say so. The weather is not as a general -thing very clear in the Ochotsk sea, I believe.” - -“Not a bit of it, Miss Alice. There ain’t many heavy gales here at -this season of the year, it’s true, but there’s plenty of fogs. If I -hadn’t such a good paunch in me,” added Jack, placing his hand upon -that protuberant portion of his body, “I should have died with the -rheumatiz long ago. But this has presarved my soul as a good purse -presarves the money in it. Just give a sly look at that blue devil, -will you--a-listening with all his ears,” continued the speaker, -partially turning his head under the pretense of shaking his pigtail. - -Alice moved closer to the rail, and directing her glances toward the -water, contrived to obtain a good view from beneath the corners of -her eyes of the individual who stood upon the other side of her. - -He was a tall New Zealander, with a sinewy face, high cheek-bones, -and that peculiarly fierce eagle gleam of the eye, natural to the -people of his race. There was a ring in each ear, another hanging -pendent from his nostrils, and his countenance was disfigured in many -places by “tattoo” marks of yellow and blue. On the present occasion -his thin lips wore a peculiarly sinister expression, that excited -much uneasiness in the bosom of Alice, notwithstanding that she had -been accustomed during the voyage to see the wild natives of the -Pacific shores. The islander, however, seemed perfectly unconscious -of the presence of those who were so stealthily watching him, but -with his face thrust forward over the rail, and his chin supported -by his hands, he remained as motionless as a statue, gazing steadily -toward the floe that glittered in the distance. - -“Do you see any thing of the boats, Driko?” inquired Stump, quitting -his original position and placing himself between Alice and the -native. - -“De boat me no see. Dey too far in ’e ice. No comee back to bark -nebber more.” - -“And why not, I’d like to know. You must not make such a foolish -speech as that again, ‘Blueskin.’ You frighten Miss Howard!” and -seizing his pigtail, he gave the savage a light blow across the nose -with it, as he spoke. - -“Takee care!” gritted the native, starting upright with glittering -eyes and placing a hand upon his sheath-knife, “takee care, you -Stump. No strikee me too much with ‘piggle-tail,’ or me makee you -Stump no more.” - -“And boil me afterwards in the try-pot, I suppose, seein’ as that’s -one of your ‘pow-wow’ customs!” - -“Hi! hi! hi!” gritted the New Zealander, while a malicious smile -flashed across his dark face. “Me like plenty Stump to eat. Good for -boil more better dan whale--dis Stump so fat make very much good!” - -“Ay, ay, too good for such a lean, ravenous, blue-skinned rascal -as you are, to digest. But how about those boats. Why do you think -they’ll never come back?” - -“Nebber come back to bark--no nebber more!” exclaimed the savage, -with a sinister laugh; and turning upon his heel, with the air of one -not caring to be questioned further, he made his way to the forward -part of the vessel and joined his four shipmates. - -“You had better go below, Alice,” said Stump, “and that will look -as though you don’t suspect that anything is wrong. Trust to me to -ferret out the rascals’ plans.” - -“But they may murder you!” shudderingly murmured the young girl. - -“Put your hand there!” exclaimed Stump, straightening himself, and -indicating his left breast. - -“Oh! I know your heart is all right. But--” - -“Put your hand there,” persisted Stump again, pointing toward his -heart. - -This time Alice obeyed, and she felt the stock of a revolver that was -concealed beneath the Guernsey frock. - -“You are armed!” - -“Ay, ay!” exclaimed Stump, “two hearts, like two heads, are better -than one. An iron heart for the blueskins---- ’em, and Stump’s own -heart for Alice Howard, at your sarvice!” - -And making his best bow, the speaker turned and rolled off like a -cask of oil, in the direction of the windlass. - -Alice then moved to the companion-way and descended into the cabin. - - - - - CHAPTER II. - - THE RESULT. - - -As Stump rolled on, he turned his glances seaward, and perceived -that a light breeze from the north-west was beginning to wrinkle -the surface of the water. He could feel it fanning his temples and -stirring the pigtail upon his back. He glanced uneasily toward his -dusky shipmates and saw a momentary gleam of exultation flash across -their dark features as they were turned in the direction of the -ripples gradually spreading over the bosom of the ocean. - -Driko stood a little apart from the rest of his shipmates and Stump -did not fail to notice that the eyes of this savage were now directed -significantly aloft as though he felt impatient to loosen the -topsails. - -The watchful seaman felt that he could no longer entertain a doubt -in regard to the intentions of the conspirators, and gliding behind -the try-works, he seated himself upon the cooper’s bench, in the -hope that a few moments’ reflection might suggest to him some plan -that would enable him to defeat their schemes. But scarcely had he -begun to reflect, when, chancing to turn his eyes in the direction -of the main-top, his glances alighted upon a roll of red bunting -that had been carefully placed in that quarter. It was the recall -signal, which was used as a summons to the boats to return when they -were absent from the vessel, and it was deemed expedient that they -should come back. On every such occasion, the bunting was hoisted to -the main truck by means of the signal halliards which were always -kept rove for that purpose. Stump sprung from the bench, mentally -pronouncing himself a fool because the idea suggested by the sight of -the red cloth had not occurred to him before. The boats he thought -could not by this time be so far from the vessel that their occupants -would not perceive the signal when he should have hoisted it to its -proper position; but feeling conscious that there was no time to -lose, he began at once to waddle toward the main rigging as fast as -the bulky proportions of his body would permit. - -Not until he had gained the seventh ratlin in the shrouds, did he -venture to direct a glance toward the spot where he had last seen his -five shipmates, and he then gave his lips a satisfactory twist toward -his right ear, for the men were engaged in earnest conversation and -the face of each of them was turned from him. He continued his way as -speedily as he could, and presently succeeded in passing the futtock -shrouds and in drawing himself into the top. Seizing the bunting, he -at once proceeded to unroll it, and a few moments afterward it might -have been seen dancing merrily aloft, as he pulled upon the slender -halliards. The breeze, which by this time had freshened considerably, -rustled among the folds of the cloth as it ascended, and when it -had reached its proper position, its broad red surface streamed out -from the mast in a manner that elicited a sigh of the most intense -satisfaction from the lips of Stump. - -“Ay, ay,” he muttered, as he continued to gaze aloft, “there’ll be -a rumpus among the boats off there in the ice, when they see that. -Those rascally ‘pow-wows’ are in for it now.” - -At this moment a yell of surprise and rage broke upon the ears of the -speaker, and turning his head, he saw Driko directing the attention -of his companions to the signal at the truck. No sooner was the red -bunting perceived by the other four seamen, than the whole number, -with curses and ejaculations, rushed into the waist and ordered the -shipkeeper to pull down the signal at once and to come down himself, -if he valued his life. - -“Not a bit of it,” replied the sturdy seaman, thrusting his hands -in his pockets and calmly gazing upon the upturned faces of the -conspirators, “not a bit of it. That rag at the truck doesn’t come -down while I have an arm to keep it where it is. You may make up your -minds upon that point.” - -The men exchanged glances and then held a moment’s whispered -consultation, after which they rushed simultaneously toward the main -shrouds upon the larboard side. - -Stump waited very quietly until Driko, the foremost of the party, -had swung himself into the rigging, and then drawing his revolver, -which, although it was quite rusty, looked very formidable with its -six loaded barrels, he pointed it at the head of the astonished New -Zealander and ordered him back. - -“Ay, ay, blast you!” he added, giving his lips an ominous twist as he -spoke. “You see I’m prepared. I know all about your infarnal plans to -take the ship, and if you make another step in this direction, you -are a dead pow-wow, that’s sartain!” - -The Kanaka paused, and after he had ducked his head three or four -times, in a vain effort to get it out of the range of the threatening -weapon, he looked up with an expression of surprise, which, if not -real, was certainly well feigned. - -“Me no understand. You speakee me take ship. Don’t know what you -mean. No want to take ship--me likee capen too much. De signal me no -like to see, because capen he no like to come aboard when he after -whale. He make plenty angry when he see de signal!” - -“Bosh! you deceitful blueskin; it’s all bosh. Just as though I didn’t -hear you and your chums there a-whispering and plotting to free the -mutineer, Tom Lark!” - -The dark blood rushed to the faces of those who listened, and they -exchanged rapid glances. Driko, however, presently looked up again -and replied: - -“Hi! hi! You hear we speak about Tom Lark! Why we so speak? Because -de ice ’e come to jam de ship and ’sposing we bring Tom Lark from de -run, Tom Lark good sailor--good navigatem--and he save de ship. Dat’s -why we speak so much Tom Lark!” - -“Bosh again, blast you! For you know that, although I know nothin’ of -navigation, I’d be as handy in working the ship clear of the ice, as -Tom Lark!” - -“Me no believe so,” replied Driko, shaking his head. “Navigatem more -good as plenty go to sea. But no use me speak to you. You no think me -tell truth. Me leaves you. You keep signal at de truck and when capen -come, he scold you much.” - -The islander sprung to the deck, and rejoined his shipmates, who -had been listening to the foregoing conversation with sullen faces, -and with their uneasy glances directed, at intervals of every few -moments, toward the red bunting fluttering at the mast-head. The -whole party now withdrew to the forward part of the vessel, but -presently they changed their position, sitting down close to the -try-works, where they were screened from the watchful eyes of the -shipkeeper. - -“Blast ’em!” muttered the latter, “they are planning some deviltry -or other, and I must keep on my guard, until the rest of the crew -returns, which won’t be long, unless they are so wedged in the ice -that it’s difficult for ’em to get out.” - -He turned his eyes toward the floe, as he spoke, and gazed long and -earnestly in that direction. But he was unable to see the boats, and -a sigh of disappointment rose to his lips. - -He gave his pigtail an impatient jerk, and again directed his glances -toward the try-works, just in time to witness a spectacle which was -certainly a startling proof that the utmost vigilance on his part -could not be thrown away in his present position. - -Towering above the try-works, with his tall, lithe figure drawn back, -and his keen, glistening eyes blazing with a deadly purpose, stood -the savage, Driko, holding in his uplifted hands a well-sharpened -harpoon, which he was in the act of darting, point foremost, into the -corpulent body of Stump. - -The latter had so much respect for the wonderful skill of the -islander in the use of the barbed weapon with which he was now armed, -that he drew back, screening himself behind the mast, with a celerity -which was remarkable in a man of his caliber. The movement, however, -was well-timed, for the next moment the deadly iron flew whistling -upon its way, and, passing close to the mast, struck the revolver -held in his hand with a force that sent the weapon flying from the -grasp of its owner into the sea! - -A yell of exultation followed, and then the mutineers rushed to the -main rigging, and, leaping into the shrouds, proceeded to mount in -the direction of the top, with cat-like agility. - -Stump, however, did not lose his self-possession, but, seizing both -parts of the signal halliards, he gave them a sudden jerk, that -served to unfasten them, and, still contriving to keep them taut, -commenced to ascend the topmast rigging, intending to make his way to -the top-gallant cross-trees, and, when there, keep his adversaries at -bay, as long as possible, by means of his legs and his fists. - -Unfortunately, as the reader is already aware, the corpulent body of -this seaman rendered him incapable of very active exertion, and, as a -natural consequence, his enemies gained upon him rapidly. - -He was still in the topmast rigging, when he felt two strong hands -pulling the bottom of his pants, in an unceremonious manner, and -with a force that made it difficult for him to keep his position. He -vainly strove to disengage himself from the vice-like grasp, and, -while he was still struggling to free himself, he saw Driko, who had -crossed from the topmast rigging on the other side, descending toward -him, with his long knife between his teeth. - -“Go down, quick, you, Stump!” gritted the savage, as he seized his -knife with his right hand. “Go down, me say, or knife quick cut de -windpipe. No care kill you now, unless you like. Plenty time, by and -by!” - -“Ay, ay, blast you; you’ve got me in your toils, at last. But it’s a -deep sea that hasn’t any bottom, and you may boil me in one of your -pow-wow pots if I don’t come out even with you yet!” - -Before replying, Driko severed the signal halliards with his knife, -and, pulling down the red bunting, rolled it up, and allowed it to -drop to the deck. - -“Hi! hi! you poor Stump!” he then said; “you think you play me more -trick. But me put you, by and by, where you no more make tricks. You -see, more soon you like!” - -He motioned, as he spoke, to the man who still maintained his hold -of Stump’s pants, and, finding himself released for the present, and -resistance useless, the shipkeeper proceeded to descend the rigging, -Driko following, closely, with his long knife held in readiness for -use, in case of opposition. - -They had no sooner gained the deck, than Stump was surrounded by the -five savages, and thrown down. - -They fastened his arms behind his back with strong cords; secured his -ankles in like manner, and then dropped him into the main hold, like -a pig, closing and fastening the hatch above him. - - - - - CHAPTER III. - - A “STOVE” BOAT. - - -The Montpelier’s boats, at the moment when Stump succeeded in -hoisting the recall signal, were lying motionless in an open space -of water, situated near the center of the floe to which we have -already alluded. This little lake, of which the surrounding bergs and -compact squares of ice formed the shores, was of sufficient size to -contain all the boats, and the captain and his mates had expressed -much satisfaction because the position afforded them every facility -to maneuver their light vessels in case of the appearance of whales -in their vicinity. Upright, in the stern-sheets, with his steering -oar under his arm, stood each officer, throwing keen glances around -him, in every direction, and now and then addressing an angry word -to some awkward booby among his crew, who, by moving an arm or a -leg, caused his paddle to strike against his thwart. Nor were the -mates the only watchers, for the young harpooners, conspicuous among -whom towered the tall, neatly-dressed figure of Harry Marline, were -equally on the alert, piercing the many long, glittering galleries, -winding passages, fantastic arches, and caverns among the ice, with -their penetrating and practiced glances; while, seated close to the -gunwales of their boats--each man with his paddle ready for use--the -swarthy crews directed their indolent glances toward the reflection -of their own faces in the still surface of the water, or watched the -countless numbers of seals that stared upon them with timid eyes from -the polished floors of their floating halls. - -One of the sailors threw a glance toward the bay where the ship was -anchored, and which was so far off that only the three masts of the -vessel could be distinguished, and these but faintly, on account -of the gray background beyond. But the red signal, flying at the -main-truck, did not escape the keen eyes of the spectator, and he at -once called the attention of the officer of his boat--Mr. Briggs--to -this circumstance. - -“Ay, ay, blast you!” replied the irritable Briggs; “you are always -fancying that you see the recall signal. If it was a whale, now, I’ll -wager my pipe that you wouldn’t see it, even though the creature -spouted right under your nose! You’ve a strong imagination, Bates, -for signals, even when there ain’t any to be seen!” - -“You can see it, sir, by turning your head. I am sure I wasn’t -deceived!” - -“I wouldn’t believe you, though you took your oath upon a stack of -Bibles as high as the fore-truck. So, just keep your eyes the other -way, and don’t let me catch you lookin’ after signals again!” - -As the man resumed his former position, however, the mate, after -having leisurely filled his pipe, and placed it in his mouth, turned -and looked toward the bay. - -Unfortunately, this happened a second after Driko had pulled down the -red bunting, and dropped it to the deck. As a natural consequence, -Mr. Briggs, after having carefully surveyed the three naked royal -masts, came to the conclusion that Bates’ imagination had deceived -him. - -“You thick-skinned lubber!” he muttered, in a low voice, seizing a -paddle, and lifting it, with the intention of breaking it across his -informer’s skull; “you empty-pated greenhorn, this isn’t the first -time that--” - -“There blows! blows!--there blows! A whale right ahead, sir, and two -more to windward!” interrupted Harry Marline, addressing the mate, in -a shrill, penetrating whisper. - -Quickly, but noiselessly, replacing the paddle in the bottom of the -boat, the first officer, with his teeth set, and his eyes glaring, -seized his steering-oar firmly, and hissed out his orders to the crew. - -“Paddle ahead--every mother’s son of you! Spring! spring! my -lads--softly, but heartily--spring! It’s a bull!” - -The men obeyed, and, shooting into a narrow passage, about a hundred -yards from the mouth of which the first whale, a huge bowhead, was -leisurely rolling and spouting, unconscious of the near vicinity of -enemies, the mate’s boat darted swiftly, and almost noiselessly, -upon its course, followed by the other three boats. The officers of -the latter, how ever, soon became aware that it would be necessary -for them to turn their attention to the whales to windward, for the -channel was too narrow to enable them to pass the mate’s boat, which, -on that account, would certainly be the first to reach the monster -ahead of it. - -But, as the harsh grating of the cedar planks against the compact -masses of ice, among which the rear boats must be directed when their -course should be changed, would certainly “gally” (frighten) the -leviathan in the passage, the captain made a sign to the second and -third officers to stop the exertions of their men for the present. - -This silent mandate was obeyed, and the three boats soon became -nearly motionless, their officers and crews watching the progress of -the mate with breathless interest. - -He was nearing the whale with great rapidity, and the huge animal, -as it rolled leisurely along, with its great barnacled hump rising -and dripping in the cool element, still seemed unconscious of the -vicinity of foes. - -“Stand up, Harry!” whispered Briggs, when the boat was within seven -fathoms of the intended prey; and quickly, but noiselessly, springing -to his feet, the young harpooner seized his iron, and stood prepared. - -The mate now pointed the bow of the boat directly toward the hump of -the monster, and then, in a scarcely audible whisper, ordered his men -to stop pulling, and take their places upon their thwarts. - -This command was readily obeyed, but the light boat still continued -to glide on under the impetus which it had received, and, in a few -moments, it was within four fathoms of the leviathan. - -“Now then--give it to him!” thundered Briggs. - -The barbed weapon flew whistling from the hands of the stout-armed -harpooner, with a force that buried it to the socket in the whale’s -hump. The second iron immediately followed. - -“Starn! starn all!” roared the mate, as the startled giant of the -deep, writhing with pain, threw his tremendous body toward the boat. -“Starn, you beef-eating rascals--_starn_!” - -But the oar-blades, striking against the ice, greatly impeded the -motions of the men, and the boat was not yet quite out of the -monster’s reach, when, lifting his tremendous flukes, he brought -them down sideways with a force which would have shivered the forward -part of the little craft to atoms had not the watchful Briggs, by a -dexterous movement of his steering-oar, caused the bow to swing off -to the right. - -The little craft, however, did not wholly escape injury, for it -received a light tap from the edge of the creature’s flukes, which -caused the cedar planks to crack in more than one place, and -dislodged the bow oarsman from his thwart. - -The man was not injured, and he resumed his place, just as the whale -disappeared in the green depths of the sea. - -Away went the boat with the speed of a whirlwind, the line smoking as -it ran around the loggerhead, and the tub oarsman pouring water upon -it to prevent it from burning. - -The harpooner and the mate now changed places, the latter individual -taking his station in the bow, after Marline had relieved him in the -stern-sheets. Each of the two men found it difficult to maintain -his position, for the whale had, this time, “milled” (turned under -water), and was now dragging the light boat through heavy fragments -of ice, that caused it to sway from side to side with that quick, -jerking motion which only a well-balanced body can resist. - -The constant jamming of the boat against the rough edges of the -floating bergs, through which it was forced onward like a wedge, -seamed it with many cracks; but, as the bottom had not yet been -injured, the water did not enter with sufficient rapidity to -overpower the efforts of the man who was “bailing out.” - -“Look out there! look to your oars!” shouted Briggs, as the flying -vessel approached the entrance to one of those floating tunnels -that form one of the many icy curiosities of the northern seas. It -was about twenty feet in length, and the passage was so narrow--the -roof so low--that the mate, as they continued to approach it, placed -his hand upon the knife in the bow, feeling half conscious that it -was his duty to sever the line and loose the whale, rather than to -risk the lives of himself and his crew by attempting the dangerous -channel; for when he should have entered it, the slightest deviation -of the boat from its direct course, would result in its destruction. - -He threw a glance behind him, to see whether, in case such an -event should take place, his fellow-officers would be near enough -to witness it and to come to the rescue in time; but his surprise -may well be imagined, when he discovered that the three vessels he -had left astern were no longer visible, on account of one of those -sudden fogs so common in that region, and which now covered the whole -surface of the ice behind him, and also the open stretch of blue -water beyond. - -“Well!” he exclaimed, turning to Marline, “here’s a dirty fog coming -upon us, without a moment’s warning!” - -“There were signs of it before we struck the whale--in fact, when we -first lowered!” replied the harpooner. “I saw it gathering in the -nor’west, and a breeze has sprung up since then and hurried it along.” - -“Ay, ay, I don’t doubt it,” answered Briggs. “But there’s no time -to lose in chattering about it. What d’ye say, men,” he added, -addressing the crew; “shall we cut, or hold on and try the tunnel? I -am willing to try it for one.” - -“So am I!” cried Bates, and the rest of the men expressing themselves -in a similar manner, the mate breathed a sigh of relief, for he now -felt as though a load had been lifted from his conscience. - -By this time the boat was within a few feet of the tunnel, and the -men placed their oars lengthwise across the thwarts, so that they -might not come in contact with the sides of the narrow passage, and -bowed their heads to prevent them from striking against the low, -jagged roof of ice. - -With unabated speed the light vessel flew on, and presently it -darted, with the swiftness of a discharged arrow, into the mouth of -the archway. - -The crew fairly held their breath with anxiety, and kept their eyes -upon the pointed bow of the little craft, which was now in a straight -line with the opening at the further ends, but which, at any moment, -was liable to swerve either to the right or the left. In fact, before -the boat had reached the center of the passage, there was a loud, -swashing noise, as the larboard gunwale heeled over, until it was -almost level with the water, while the bows dipped and swayed with -that uncertain motion which almost invariably serves as a warning to -the crew of a fast boat, that the whole is about to change its course. - -“Trim boat! trim boat, every man!” hissed the mate, through his -closely compressed teeth, “and stand by, Marline, to do what you can -to keep the bows from swinging.” - -“Ay, ay, sir, but that won’t be much,” responded the harpooner, “for -there’s little room in this narrow channel to work a steering-oar.” - -Scarcely had the speaker concluded, when Briggs, whose watchful -eye had noted every motion of the little craft, perceived that the -boat’s head was about to swing to the right and strike against the -side of the passage; and seizing a knife, he quickly severed the -running line, thus freeing the vessel from the whale but not in time -to prevent the bow, under the impetus it had already received, from -being dashed with considerable force against the icy wall. - -The result of the concussion was the cracking of the light cedar -planks near the bottom of the boat; and the water now entered the -craft with such rapidity, that the exertions of three men were -required to prevent the vessel from filling. - -The rest of the crew were ordered to “take their paddles,” and as -they worked vigorously, the boat was soon clear of the dangerous -channel. - -By this time, however, the fog had become so dense that the after -oarsman could scarcely distinguish the person of the harpooner, who -had just exchanged places with the mate, so that he now occupied his -proper position in the bow. - -The loss of the whale had increased the ill-humor of Briggs, and he -proceeded to bemoan his “bad luck,” as he called it, in true sailor -terms. Stamping upon his cap, several times, he wound up by stating -that he wished all ice-tunnels were sent to the pit to be melted in -brimstone. - -This rude witticism was received with a shout of laughter by Tom -Plaush, the little Portuguese, who pulled the tub oar, and who -was always ready to show his appreciation of all jokes--however -stale--that fell from the lips of any of the officers. The laugh had -a good effect upon Briggs, who, believing that he had said something -brilliant, assumed a waggish air, and glided at once into a pleasant -humor. - -The good-humor of the mate, however, was not destined to continue -for a long time; for like a rusty wheel which has been set in -motion by the application of oil to certain parts of it, but which -stops and gets in bad condition again the moment it meets with an -obstruction--so when at length the boat became jammed between heavy -fragments of ice that rendered it impossible for the crew to use -their oars with success, the irritability of Briggs again made itself -manifest. Rough contact with the floating bergs, through which the -light craft had been forced, after it passed out of the tunnel, had -so widened the cracks in the thin planks, that the water entered with -a rapidity that, taxed to the utmost the energies of those engaged in -bailing. The mate sprung upon one of the blocks of ice by which they -were surrounded, and ordered every man with the exception of Marline -to imitate his example. - -“I want a man I can depend upon to take charge of the boat,” he said, -addressing the young harpooner, “while I go with the crew to search -for our shipmates and inform ’em of our condition!” - -“Wouldn’t it be better, sir,” suggested Marline, “for all of us to -stay here, and wait for the other boats? If we blow the boat-horn I -have no doubt that they will soon reach us.” - -“Ay, ay,” growled the mate, impatiently, “and do you suppose that -I would be contented to stay here in this plight, waiting for the -boats? Not a bit of it, young man. I am now in a hurry to get aboard -ship, for that cutting from the whale has spoilt all _my_ fun.” - -“If you will take my advice, you’ll not go far, in search of the -other boats,” said Marline, “for I think it hardly possible that you -will find them, in this fog.” - -“And I think exactly the other way,” retorted the mate, impatiently. -“All a man has to do to find ’em is to follow his own nose to the -north’ard, as I take it; for we’ve been going south, and the other -boats must be somewhere astern of us--not far off either.” - -At this moment the sound of a horn was heard, apparently -proceeding from the direction in which the mate had stated that -his fellow-officers might be found; and he now turned his eyes -triumphantly toward the harpooner. - -“Ay, ay--d’ye see, young man--it’s just as I said. Them boats are -astarn of us, though further off than I thought they were. But -by moving quickly over the ice, we’ll soon reach ’em. Come on, -men--there’s no time to lose,” he added, turning to the crew. - -Leaping from berg to berg, the five men followed closely upon the -footsteps of their leader, and in a few seconds they were all -shrouded from the view of the harpooner by the dense fog. - -“It’s a wild-goose chase,” muttered Marline, as he proceeded to -bail out the boat, “and nobody except a man of Briggs’ restless and -impatient nature would have thought of undertaking it until he had -first sounded the horn, and that had failed to bring our shipmates to -us.” - -As minute after minute passed away, and neither the party nor the -boats made their appearance, the young man became more confirmed -than ever in his opinion, that Briggs’ expedition was a useless -undertaking. He even began to fear that the mate and his men had lost -themselves among the floating galleries and caverns of ice, and were, -therefore, neither able to advance in the right direction nor to -return. - -Once or twice, since the departure of his shipmates, he had heard the -sound of a horn, but the notes of the instrument were so faint that -he believed the boats were receding from, instead of approaching, the -spot he occupied. - -While his mind was still busy with conjectures and fears, he suddenly -started to his feet, listening with eager attention, for he fancied -he heard a rushing noise ahead of him like that of some heavy object -forging slowly through the ice. The noise became louder every -moment, and presently the ears of the young man were saluted with -the creaking of ropes, the dull flapping of canvas, and the murmur -of voices. An instant afterward the broad black bows and the square -foresail of a ship loomed up indistinctly through the fog, a few -fathoms ahead of the boat, which lay directly in the track of the -vessel. - -“Ship ahoy!” thundered Marline. “Up helm, and keep off, or you will -run me down!” - -He was evidently heard by those on board, for a dark face was -suddenly thrust over the bulwarks forward, but its owner, instead of -directing the man at the wheel to “keep off,” ordered him to “luff.” - -The head of the advancing ship, as she came booming on, was therefore -within a few feet of the boat before it could obey the helm, the -consequence of which was that the bows of the little craft received -a thump from the vessel as she swung to windward, that caused a few -of the thin planks to give way like the shell of an egg beneath the -blow of a man’s fist. - -The boat filled rapidly, and as it sunk the young harpooner leaped -upon one of the blocks of ice by which he was surrounded, in time to -seize a rope, which was thrown to him by Tom Lark, as the ship came -up into the wind with her main topsails aback. - -“The Montpelier!” shouted Marline--“the Montpelier, by all that’s -good!” - -“Ay, ay,” gruffly responded Lark, “and the less said about it the -better!” - -The speaker was a tall man, of herculean frame, and with one of those -swarthy, hang-dog faces, that never fail to inspire the beholder with -feelings of distrust. He wore gray pants, a fez cap of blue cloth, -and a black woolen shirt, the latter of which, being open at the -throat, disclosed the sinewy muscles of an enormous neck. - -“What is the ship doing here?” pursued Harry. “We left her anchored -in the bay. And how came you at liberty? Where is Stump? and Alice -How--” - -“One question at a time, youngster,” interrupted Lark, with a broad -grin. “You’ll know every thing presently, and--” - -“There’s villainy at work here, Tom Lark--ay, downright villainy!” -cried the harpooner, as a suspicion of the truth flashed upon his -mind. - -Grasping the lower part of the main chains, and drawing himself to -the rail, he sprung upon the deck, to be confronted by the mutineer, -who drew from one of the pockets of his Guernsey a heavy pistol, -which he pointed at the head of the youth. - -“You’ve got yourself into a hornet’s nest, youngster. It might have -been better for you if you had stuck to the ice!” - -“Ay, ay,” said Marline, with perfect coolness, as he fixed his clear, -unwavering eye upon the face of the giant. “You have the advantage of -me, at present, and can murder me if you wish, but you will swing for -it in the end.” - -“Thank you, for your good advice,” gruffly responded the other, “but, -I have no intention of murdering you--leastways, not just now--unless -you try to kick against what you can’t help. I’m just using this -iron to keep you quiet, while the steward goes after the handcuffs!” - -“And by what authority,” angrily demanded the young man, “do you -thus--” - -“Tut! tut!” growled the mutineer, “none of your polly-wow with me, -lad. You know how things are as well as I do. I generally do what I -please in my own ship.” - -“And dare you pretend that this vessel--” - -“Is mine? Certainly,” interrupted Lark. “She’s mine by the law of -equal rights. Captain Howard had her for awhile. Now, it’s my turn. -I’ve been confined in the run a long time, and need a little fresh -air, besides the satisfaction of putting some of the captain’s -friends in my place. As you are the first of these that I’ve met -with, you shall have the honor of filling that position. I rebelled -against Captain Howard’s authority--you rebel against mine. Captain -Howard puts _me_ in the run--Captain Lark puts _you_ in the run. -That’s what I call equal rights!” - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - - IN CONFINEMENT. - - -The steward--a tall man with a long face, dark gray eyes, and thin -lips, advanced, and proceeded to secure the handcuffs to the wrists -of the young man. - -The latter eyed him sternly, for a few moments, before he ventured to -address him. - -“What has the captain ever done to you, Joseph,” he then said, “that -you should thus turn traitor?” - -“He! he! he!” laughed the Portuguese, “Captain Lark more better as -Captain Howard. He take de ship to some port and sell him--cargo and -all. Den me get big share of de profit.” - -Marline had benefited this man in many ways--had often, by kindly -interposition, shielded him from the blows of the first mate; had -even, on one occasion, saved him from falling overboard while he -was aloft assisting the watch to reef the main topsail in a gale -of wind; and yet the ungrateful villain seemed now to exult in the -misfortunes of his benefactor. - -“Where is Alice?” inquired the latter, as the steward locked the -handcuffs. - -The Portuguese chuckled, but did not reply. - -“Speak!” cried the harpooner, fiercely. “Where is she?” - -“Why, of course, in de cabin--in her own room--me fasten her in so -she can’t get out!” - -“You are a sneaking wretch, Joseph!” - -“What you say? No call me dat--I tell you,” cried the steward, as he -pushed the young man against the rail. - -The chief mutineer interposed. With the stock of his pistol he dealt -the Portuguese a blow upon the head that felled him to the deck. - -“Equal rights!” he said, quietly, as he pointed to the prostrate -man, and placed the pistol in his pocket; “that’s the law aboard o’ -this craft, in future. This way, Driko, Amolo, and Black Squall,” he -added, motioning to three of the New Zealanders; “take Marline to -the run, and fasten the hatch the same as it was fastened when I was -there!” - -The men obeyed with alacrity, and Marline was in the run. No sooner -had the hatch been secured, than he heard the rushing of the water, -and the grinding of the icebergs against the ship’s bottom, as she -boomed upon her way. - -His reflections were certainly very gloomy. The thought that Alice -was only separated from him by a few planks, and yet that he could -neither hold converse with her, nor go to her in case that Tom Lark, -or any of his party, should insult her, worked upon his mind until it -was wrought up to the highest pitch of excitement. - -“What are the plans of these mutineers in regard to the young -girl?” he asked himself again and again, and although it seemed to -him that they _must_ respect the purity, the loveliness, and the -goodness of one who had benefited them by a thousand of those kindly -little attentions to their welfare and comfort which a woman in a -ship--especially if she have influence with the captain--has it in -her power to bestow, yet there was a presentiment within him that -whispered of trouble and suffering. - -And with his head bowed upon his bosom--with his manacled hands -against his brow, and his heart beating loud and fast with -anxiety--he offered up a silent but fervent prayer to God, to spare -his beautiful Alice--to shield her from all harm--and restore her to -the arms of those who loved her. - -That prayer was scarcely finished when he felt a hand upon his arm, -and on lifting his head, he was enabled to make out in the gloom with -which he had by this time become familiar, the outlines of a human -countenance. - -“Hist!” whispered a low voice, “don’t speak too loud; it’s -me--Stump--and this if I ain’t mistaken is Harry Marline!” - -“Ay, ay, you are right!” cried the harpooner, much surprised, “but -where in the name of heaven, Stump, did you come from? You were -not confined here were you? I thought you were in league with the -mutineers.” - -“That’s the way of the world,” muttered the shipkeeper, mournfully. -“Yes--yes, that’s the way with ’em all! Sarcumstances always goes -against a man, hows’ever honest he may be! But I didn’t think it, -Marline--no, blast me if I did--that _you_, my chum, would ever mix -up my deeds with those of them infarnal scoundrels!” - -“Forgive me!” exclaimed the young man, joyfully grasping the hand of -his friend as tightly as his irons would admit. “I was altogether too -hasty, and I’m sorry for it. But, tell me how you came here.” - -“Ay, ay,” said Stump. “I’ll explain matters willingly enough, -especially as it will give me a chance to curse those rascally -blueskins again, and to show you as I always was for maintaining, -that them creatur’s ain’t to be trusted.” - -He proceeded to tell his story, commencing with those incidents with -which the reader is already acquainted. - -“Yes,” continued the exasperated seaman, as soon as he had described -the manner in which he had been thrust into the hole, “they fastened -the hatches above me, and then I heard ’em go aft, and presently -the voice of Tom Lark ordering ’em to cut the cable, and loosen the -topsails, broke upon my ears, so that I knowed they had set that big -hang-dog rascal at liberty. Scarcely was the ship under way, when I -also heard that wild fiend Driko, proposing to Lark to knock me in -the head, and thus get rid of me. But Tom, you know, although he is -a parfect savage when he holds a grudge against anybody, doesn’t -care to shed blood when he can get along without it, and that was -the reason, as I take it, that he refused to comply with the polite -request of that infarnal pow-wow.” - -“Did you overhear any thing that gave you an idea of what Lark -intended to do with the ship?” - -“Not a bit of it, but I haven’t a doubt that he intends to take the -craft into some out o’ the way port, and sell her--cargo and all.” - -“That’s very probable,” replied his friend. “It’s a pity,” he added, -“it’s a pity that the captain and his boat’s crew didn’t stay aboard -as they are in the habit of doing. Then this misfortune might have -been prevented.” - -“Ay, ay, but we’ll be even with ’em yet,” replied the narrator, “and -now I’ll tell you how I came here, which was done by a little of that -‘injunyewity’ for which the Stump natur’ has always been famous. As -soon as I perceived that the craft was under way, says I to myself, -‘Why,’ says I, ‘I’m only fastened with ropes, and p’raps if I can -find the old saw which is somewhere in the hold, I can make short -work of ’em. And so I crept about as well as I was able, looking -for the instrument, which I soon came afoul of. It was a long time -hows’ever before I could get it in the right position, for I could -only use my teeth to do that, and they ain’t quite as parfect as the -teeth of a shark, seeing as three of ’em were once knocked out by -an old woman, because I took her part against her husband who was -beating her--blast him--and the rest are almost ruined by the long -use of baccy and the habit of biting off the ends of spun yarn. Well, -I tugged and pulled with my teeth for a long time and at last got the -saw ship-shape. Then I turned my back to it, and by running the ropes -that was about my wrists, up and down the edge, I soon had ’em apart. -The rest was easy, and I was glad enough, lad--mightily glad to find -myself freed from the cords.” - -“And afterward you heard the mutineers as they led me to the run,” -said Marline, “and you thought you’d take a cruise in this direction -to see who the prisoner was. Isn’t that so?” - -“Exactly,” repeated Stump, “but I didn’t dream who it was until I had -crept close to that big opening in the partition that divides the run -from the steerage. Then, as I’d got familiar-like with the dark, I -was surprised enough to see you, and I couldn’t imagine how you came -here, which is the same even now.” - -Marline at once proceeded to enlighten his companion, and as soon as -he had concluded, the shipkeeper seized both the hands of his friend -and gave them a hearty squeeze. - -“Misfortunes attends the best of us,” he said philosophically, “but -we’ll hope for the best--ay, ay, we’ll hope for the best, and work -for it too. The gal--Miss Alice--is the great ‘consideration,’ and if -we can only get her safe, why, if we can do _that_ it’s all right.” - -“You do not think they’ll attempt to harm her?” cried Marline, -interrogatively. - -“I don’t know about Tom Lark,” replied Stump, “but, as to them -pow-wows, I wouldn’t trust ’em--not one of ’em. The flesh of that gal -is tender, and them fellows are cannibals and like good grub.” - -“Can not you contrive some way for me to get an interview with -Alice?” said Harry. - -Stump gave his pigtail a jerk. - -“I don’t see how it could be done,” he said, thoughtfully. “The -hatches are all fastened above us--the door of _her_ room is locked -besides, and--and--ay! ay! I have it!” he suddenly interrupted, -“which is that that rascally steward must open the hatch before long -to pass you some food, and p’raps I’ll get a chance to pounce on him, -gag him and tie him up. The rest will be as easy as the greasing of -a marlinspike. I’ll get--if he has ’em about him, which I think is -likely--the key of her room and the one which unlocks your handcuffs.” - -“Thanks!--a thousand thanks, for this happy thought, my dear chum!” -cried the harpooner. - -“P’raps we may even be able to bag the mutineers themselves,” said -the shipkeeper, “to shut ’em all up--the pow-wows in the forecastle, -and Lark in the cabin. It’s wonderful--parfectly wonderful,” he -added, thoughtfully, “how one idee leads to another. Them that is -given to reflection, and the Stumps were always famous for that, -propagates idees--fairly breeds ’em--one from another!” - -“Hush!” whispered Marline. The sound of footsteps approaching the -hatch was heard. - -“It’s him--it’s that rascally Portuguese,” muttered the -shipkeeper. “I’d know that walk of his from a thousand, lad. It’s -peculiar--something like the tramp of a mule, and them that walks so -ain’t to be trusted. Now the walk of the Stumps in every generation -has been like that of a duck--a sort of waddle, and them that moves -in that way generally takes to the water.” - -The noise of the crow-bar--by means of which the hatch had been -secured--was heard, as the implement was removed, and the next -moment, just as Stump drew back, the trap was pulled aside from the -opening, into which a face--the owner of which had stooped upon -his knees--was thrust. Without waiting to take a survey of it, the -shipkeeper seized the intruder by the hair of the head and pulled him -head foremost into the run. But, before he had quite accomplished -this feat, and yet when it was too late to draw back, he had seen the -face clearly enough to recognize the harsh and decided lineaments of -Tom Lark, which were different in every respect from those of the -steward. - -“Ay, ay, that _was_ a mistake, sure enough!” cried Stump, scrambling -quickly through the opening, as soon as the uplifted legs of the -prostrate man beneath had been removed from it, “such a mistake as I -never made before in my life, and as prudence is the better part of -valor, I think I am parfectly justified in getting out of the run!” - -He lifted his feet clear of the aperture just in time to escape the -hand of the mutineer as the latter, who had by this time risen from -his uncomfortable posture, made a furious attempt to clutch the -bottoms of his pants. - -“You wretched imp of Satan!” roared Lark, in a voice of thunder, as -the other eluded his grasp, “you shall suffer for this trick!” - -And he thrust a hand into the side-pocket of his Guernsey, to procure -his pistol. - -Stump saw the movement, and quickly seizing the crow-bar lying at his -feet, he dealt the mutineer such a heavy blow upon his head--which -projected at least eighteen inches above the combings of the -hatch--that he dropped senseless into the run. - -“It was all done in self defense!” cried the shipkeeper, as he -leaped back into the hold. “Ay, ay--that it was, sure enough. But, -bad as the man is--and he’s a parfect shark--it cost me something -to give him that blow, seeing as I’m not in the habit of indulging -myself in that way. I hope I haven’t committed murder--I hope he -isn’t dead!” - -“He’s only stunned, I guess,” replied Marline. “He’ll soon come to -his senses.” - -“You think he will?” cried Stump, twitching his pigtail a little -nervously. “You think he’ll broach to again? My eyes! seeing as -that’s the case, then I think it would be as well to take time by the -forelock--to provide myself with his pistol, and to make him fast, so -he can’t do any more harm. He’ll never forgive me--no, never--when -he gets over his faint. It’s astonishing how the human family holds -grudges!” And, drawing his sheath-knife, he proceeded, with all -possible dispatch, to cut from one of the numerous coils of ratlin -stuff lying about him, a sufficient number of the twisted strands to -secure the arms and legs of the giant. - -This task was soon accomplished, after which the mutineer was -properly secured, and his pistol transferred from his own to the -pocket of his conqueror. - -“Now, then,” said the latter, breathing a sigh of relief, “I think -he’ll be surprised when he wakes.” - - - - - CHAPTER V. - - THE BARRICADE. - - -The shipkeeper had hardly concluded, when he heard footsteps -descending the companion-way, and peering through the hatch, he saw -the steward just as that worthy--still pale and bloody from the -effects of the wounds he had received--gained the bottom of the short -staircase. - -With a low cry of exultation, Stump pulled himself quickly out of the -run, and, rushing upon the startled Portuguese, caught him by the -throat, at the same time presenting his pistol at his head. - -“No noise, you miserable sneak, or down you go, a dead porpoise sure -enough. Just hand over the key that unlocks Miss Howard’s room, -together with the one that belongs to Marline’s handcuffs!” - -“I--I--de--de---- You no kill me!” stammered the steward, nearly -frightened out of his wits. - -“The keys--the keys!” muttered Stump, shaking him violently; “it’s -the keys I want--d’ye hear?” - -“I--I--give you ’em quick,” gasped Joseph, while his eyes fairly -rolled in his head with terror. - -“Here--here,” he added, pulling the required instruments from his -pocket--“here dey be, and now you no kill me!” - -In order to receive the keys, the shipkeeper let go of the steward’s -throat, and his joy was so great when the articles were in his hands, -that for a moment, while contemplating them, he almost forgot the -presence of the mutineer. - -The latter was not slow to take advantage of this circumstance. He -bounded up the companion-way, and disappeared, before Stump could -lift his pistol. - -“Ay, ay--the rascal’s gone, sure enough!” cried the shipkeeper, in a -tone of mortification, “and it’s l’arned me a lesson, which is, that -them that doesn’t keep their eyes squinted both ways, or that allows -their pleasures to turn ’em aside from their duties, is bound to -suffer for it in the end.” - -“Never mind,” said Marline, who had risen, and was looking through -the open hatchway; “but, come quick and unlock these handcuffs. That -fellow, I can even hear now giving the alarm on deck, and the sooner -my arms are at liberty, the better will it be for us both!” - -“There’s plenty of truth in that,” replied the shipkeeper, as he now -set himself to work to unfasten the irons from his friend’s wrists, -“plenty of truth in that, and--” - -“How! Why! A thousand devils! What does this mean?” interrupted the -voice of Tom Lark, at this juncture. “Ho! halloa there--on deck!” - -“That rascal has come to, at last!” cried Stump, “and, although it -consoles me to think that I didn’t kill a fellow creatur’, there -isn’t music enough in that voice--which is something atween the roar -of a bull and the grunting of sea-hog--to give any pleasure.” - -Marline’s handcuffs dropped clanking to the deck, as his chum spoke, -and the young man sprung lightly from the run. The shipkeeper -secured the trap above the hatch, while the other, rushing up the -companion-way, fastened the door leading to it, by hooking it on the -inside. - -This task was not accomplished a moment too soon, for a number -of kicks and blows were now dealt against the door, and together -with the roaring voice of Tom Lark--who evidently chafed in his -confinement like a mad bull--created a din such as is seldom heard in -a whale-ship! - -“Well, my eyes,” soliloquized Stump, “them noises are sartainly not -very inviting, nor those that make ’em very chival-_rie_-ous, seeing -that a young lady lodges in this hotel!” - -“They will pound the door to pieces before many hours,” said Marline, -“and before that happens I must make sure of the rifle that hangs in -the captain’s state-room, so that we can show a good resistance to -the bloodthirsty wretches.” - -“Ay, ay, bloodthirsty is the word,” said Stump. “Them five pow-wows -on deck are mad enough by this time to eat us alive. They ain’t at -all particular, they ain’t, about the quality of their grub when they -be angry. It’s parfectly astonishing how few ‘raal’ ‘epichewers’ -there is in this world!” - -Marline did not pause to reply to this philosophical remark. He -hastened to the state-room and procured the rifle--which was -already loaded--together with a bullet-pouch, and an old-fashioned -powder-horn, containing a small supply of ammunition. - -“Now, then, my friend, quick! Give me the key to Alice’s apartment.” - -“Here it is!” replied the shipkeeper, placing the instrument in his -hand, “and mighty glad, I warrant you, will be the poor gal to see -you. So, away you go, and God bless you both, while Stump keeps -guard.” - -A very few steps carried the young man to the door which he sought, -and which was nearly in a straight line with the foot of the stairway. - -He placed his rifle against the carved wainscot, and turned the key -in the lock of the door. Then he knocked gently upon one of the -panels; but a half-smothered cry of alarm was the only response to -the summons. - -“Do not fear, dear Alice; it is I--Harry Marline!” - -The door was quickly opened, and Alice, with surprise and pleasure -beaming in her great brown eyes, stood before him. - -She looked so beautiful in her excitement, that Harry stood for a -moment staring upon her like one under the influence of a spell. As -the long lashes of those innocent eyes gradually drooped under his -admiring glance, he was unable to resist the impulse that sprung up -within him. He threw an arm around the pretty waist, and drawing the -unresisting girl to his bosom, kissed her with a fervor peculiar to -seafaring men. - -She gently disengaged herself from his embrace. “Oh! Harry, I am so -glad to see you. I have been so frightened! Those terrible noises! -What are they trying to do now? They are at the cabin-door!” - -“To break it open,” replied Harry. - -“Who? the mutineers?” - -“Yes.” - -“Why, I--I thought, when I saw you, that all this was over--that you -and your gallant crew had come aboard and persuaded those misguided -men to return to their duty.” - -“I came alone,” said the harpooner, and he then proceeded to make her -acquainted with those occurrences of which the reader has already -been informed. - -“Dear Harry,” faltered the young girl, “how you must have suffered. I -am sorry, now, that you came aboard.” - -“Sorry?” - -“Yes, because, in addition to what you have already endured, you will -have more trouble. The mutineers will soon break open the door, and, -then--then--Oh! my God! What if they should kill you?” - -“Fear not for me, dear girl,” replied the harpooner, “I am armed--and -so is Stump. We can make a stout resistance and we will protect you -as long as we can stand.” - -“I do not fear for myself,” replied Alice, “I don’t think they would -injure me. But you and your friend--what can you do against three -times your number?” - -“But they have only harpoons and lances while we are provided with -fire-arms. I have your father’s rifle and--” - -“I think I have heard him say that it is damaged so it won’t go off.” - -“I will soon decide that point,” said Marline, and he lifted the -weapon and scanned the lock. - -“You are right, Alice, the piece can not be discharged, but it can be -made useful in other respects.” - -Crash! went a heavy ax, against the cabin-door, at this juncture, and -the sharp edge of the instrument was seen to protrude through the -wood-work! - -“Ay, ay!” cried Stump, “there it goes--it’s a-going--the door!” - -And even as he spoke, another tremendous blow shivered one of the -panels into fragments. - -“This way, friend Stump!” cried Marline, “we must form a barricade.” - -The shipkeeper came, and the two proceeded to erect a sort of -breastwork with a sofa, a few chairs and a table, which were firmly -secured with ratlin stuff across the doorway of Alice’s apartment. -The whole work was completed with great dispatch, and was viewed with -much satisfaction by the two sailors, for they felt confident that -they could prevent the mutineers from passing this barrier. - -Alice, who had been led by Marline to the further corner of the -apartment, stood with clasped hands and pale cheeks watching the -movements of her friends, and it was with a sinking heart that she at -length heard the door of the cabin give way with a tremendous crash -before the repeated blows of the ax! - -Then a terrific yell broke upon her ear, as the savage Driko, -flourishing a sharp hatchet around his head, and followed by the -rest of the mutineers, armed with long lances, rushed down the -companion-way. - -“This way, lads! this way!” roared Tom Lark, from the run, “I am tied -hand and foot! Come and set me free--quick! I am dying to give them -two rascals a lesson on equal rights!” - -“None of that, you infarnal pow-wow!” cried Stump, pointing his -pistol at the head of the Kanaka, who was now moving toward the -hatch, “none of that or you are a dead fish! It’s parfectly -astonishing,” he added, “to hear such an imp of Satan as that -creatur’ in the hold a-prating about equal rights!” - -Every one of the mutineers halted. The sight of Stump’s weapon, and -the rifle in Marline’s hand, had not been anticipated by these men. -They looked at one another in surprise, and even seemed disposed to -beat a retreat. - -Observing these signs of indecision, the resolution of the harpooner -was formed in an instant. Motioning to Stump to follow him, he -suddenly leaped over the barricade, and coolly advanced toward the -party, with the muzzle of his piece directed toward them. - -“Put down your arms, and return to your duty--every man of you!” he -cried, sternly, “if you value your lives! I do not feel disposed to -trifle with you!” - -“No, not a bit of it!” cried the doughty little shipkeeper, as he -covered the head of Driko with his pistol. “You are dead pow-wows of -a sartainty, if you don’t obey. You can’t expect any mercy from _me_, -at any rate, after the way you tumbled me into the main hold!” - -“No--no!” yelled the prisoner in the run, “don’t yield to ’em, men. -Pitch into ’em--they can’t fire but two shots at the most. You -miserable imp of a Driko, where are you? Why don’t you attack ’em? -They are only two and you are four! One good assault and you can cut -’em to pieces--perhaps without the loss of a man!” - -“My eyes!” cried Stump, with a low whistle, “it’s marvelous to hear -the way that animal is urgin’ on his pow-wows, while he himself -is out of harm’s way. Them that does that ain’t always the most -persuasive, seeing as it’s only examples that’s contagious.” - -And the speaker was right, for the mutineers, becoming more -irresolute as they marked the firm purpose that shone in the steady -eyes of their two adversaries, were deaf to the commands of Lark. - -“Come, down with your lances--or we’ll fire!” shouted Marline, “and -we’ll do the same if you attempt to retreat. Remember that whether -you fly from or attack us, two of you at least must fall!” - -This was not to be disputed, and, dropping his weapon, Driko motioned -to his three followers to imitate his example. They obeyed, and the -harpooner then ordered the whole party to the deck. The command -met with the same success as that which had attended the previous -one. The four men, with cowed and sullen faces, ascended the -companion-way, followed by their two conquerors, who still retained -their arms; and as soon as they were on deck, Marline gave orders to -“wear” (veer) ship. - -As the vessel was under whole topsails, it seemed impossible that -this duty could be executed by the few men now in the craft; but, the -harpooner and his friend lent their assistance, and the yards were -swung round at last. As the wind was now from the westward, Marline -soon afterward squared topsails and stood due east--hoping that this -course would soon enable him to fall in with some of the boats. The -man at the wheel, who was none other than the Portuguese steward -Joseph, was doubtless much surprised at the change of commanders; -but, whatever may have been his thoughts, the coward was too prudent -to express them. He was an excellent steersman, and he now did his -best, evidently hoping by this means to find favor in the eyes of the -man whom he had insulted while he was a helpless prisoner. - -“That’s right, keep her steady!” cried Marline, approvingly, “and you -there on the knightheads!” he added, glancing forward--“look sharp -for the boats and the ice!” - -“Ay, ay,” answered the dusky seaman, and his voice was far from -cheerful. - -Descending into the cabin--after having ordered Stump to keep close -to the companion-way, and to maintain a vigilant watch--the young man -now entered the apartment occupied by Alice. - -She bounded forward to meet him, and did not offer any very decided -objection to the embrace with which he received her. - -“I am so glad!” she said, as she gently disengaged herself after he -had kissed her at least a dozen times, “I am so glad that the mutiny -was subdued without bloodshed--that you are safe and uninjured!” - -“And what is still better, I trust that we will soon fall in with the -boats,” said Marline. “I wore round about ten minutes ago.” - -“Wore round? What is that?” inquired Alice. - -“What? you, a sailor’s niece, don’t know what it is to wear ship!” - -“How should I?” retorted Alice. “You know that I never took any -interest in your salt-water phrases, nor much in any thing pertaining -to the ocean.” - -“Why then did you go to sea?” - -The cheeks of the young girl were instantly covered with blushes. -Her heart beat rapidly. She lowered her eyes and did not speak until -she could muster sufficient resolution to lift them to the face of -her interrogator. Then the glances of both met--a heaven of womanly -tenderness in hers, and in his the deep, strong passion of the man. - -She stepped toward him, placed both hands upon his arms and hiding -her face in his bosom, said, in a tremulous voice: - -“Why should I not acknowledge it? It was that I might be near you!” - -“And Alice,” said he, “if you were not in this ship it would lose -all attraction for me. God shield you from all harm,” he added, as a -sudden indefinable presentiment for which he could not account, swept -over his spirit, “and preserve you, that we may both be made happy.” - -Then the lovers seated themselves, and with their hands interlocked, -talked of the future, which they were pleased to fancy would be full -of sunshine and without a cloud. - - - - - CHAPTER VI. - - A SLIGHT CHANGE. - - -They were very unpleasantly interrupted by the sharp report of a -pistol, apparently proceeding from the deck, and springing to his -feet, the harpooner darted up the companion-way. - -As he emerged from the entrance, however, he was seized and thrown -down before he could use his rifle, by three of the New Zealanders, -who had evidently been lying in wait for him. They fastened his arms -and his legs with strong cords, and then stepping back a few paces, -glared upon him with Satanic exultation. At the same moment, turning -his eyes to the right, he saw the corpulent figure of Stump lying -near the foot of the mizzen-mast, and, bending over it, the sinewy -form of the savage Driko. The islander was engaged in securing the -limbs of the prostrate man with ropes, and upon raising his head -to obtain a better view, Marline perceived that the poor fellow -was senseless. His pistol was lying by his side, and near that a -belaying-pin, the latter of which, the young man at once divined, had -been used to deal the shipkeeper the blow which had deprived him of -consciousness. - -“Ay, ay,” said one of the New Zealanders, as though he guessed our -hero’s thoughts, “De Portuguese at de wheel go behind him and knock -him down with pin--strikee on de head--and den de pistol ’e go off, -and we know you den pretty soon come up from de cabin, and we wait -for you. Hi! hi! hi! Very good dis way to catch you!” - -The fierce Driko had by this time finished his task, and rising to -his feet, he now turned his eagle eyes, blazing with fury, upon the -face of Marline. - -“You makee lay down lances, eh? You makee you captain of dis ship, -eh? Now _me_ captain, and me killee _you_!” - -With which words he moved to the carpenter’s chest, took therefrom a -keen-edged hatchet, then rushed to the side of the prostrate youth, -and lifted the weapon on high to deal the fatal blow! - -At that critical instant, a cry of anguish was heard, as Alice--who -had been alarmed by the prolonged absence of her lover, and who -naturally experienced a presentiment of evil--rushed from the -companion-way, and threw herself between the glittering steel and the -body of the harpooner! - -“Spare him! spare him! Oh, for heaven’s sake, Driko--stay your hand!” -she cried, in tones of such earnest entreaty, that even the stern -islander was moved. He remembered--and the wild men of the Pacific -isles seldom forget a favor--that this young girl had once, while the -vessel was anchored near Honolulu, and the captain was ashore, saved -him from being flogged by the flinty-hearted Briggs. - -But then, he had afterward made her a present of a beautiful string -of pearls, and had thought at the time that the gift would cancel -the obligation. Now, however, many doubts upon this subject passed -through his mind, as he looked down upon the sweet, earnest face of -the fair pleader, and listened to her beseeching voice. - -He remained buried in reflection for some time, and then in order to -put an end to his perplexity, turned to his companions, and solicited -their opinion upon the all-important question. - -An animated discussion between them--one which was kept up with -unabated ardor for nearly a quarter of an hour--was the result; -and then the dusky “lawyers” unanimously decided that the gift of -pearls did not quite release Driko from his obligations to his pretty -benefactress. - -The islander promptly threw his hatchet aside, and implied, by a -dignified motion of his hand to Alice, that he would spare her -lover’s life. - -“Me get out of de ‘tankee’ (thank you) in dis way,” said he, “and me -no owe you any more. S’posee Marline makee me mad again, why den, -habbing no more tankee, me killee, _quick_.” - -“Well, blast me!” cried Stump, who had by this time recovered his -senses, “that’s what I call a lubberly way of reasoning, although -good enough, I suppose, for a pow-wow. But, I tell you what it is, -blackskin--if you were only a little more than half civilized, you’d -feel that you was under etarnal obligations to that gal for saving -your hide. She’s a sort of omnipotent creatur’, she is, and the -contrast atween her pretty skin and them tater (tattoo) marks upon -yours, is wonderfully striking and pictur’sque! Besides--” - -The mutineers did not give the shipkeeper an opportunity to conclude -his observations. Two of them lifted him to his feet, and hurried -him along to the main-hold, in which they bundled him without any -ceremony. Marline was soon afterward transferred to the same quarter, -and Alice was led back to her apartment--the door of which was then -closed and locked. - -“Well,” said Stump, as he rolled over upon his back after the hatch -had been secured above the heads of the two prisoners, “here we -are again, thrown into nearly the same situation as we was before. -We ain’t made much progress in good luck, and as misfortunes never -comes single, I suppose there’ll be more breakers presently. That -Portuguese sarved me a most unmannerly trick sure enough, and if I -ever get hold of his long head, I shall punch it of a sartainty. -But, I’ve l’arned by it another lesson, which is that them that -doesn’t look on both sides of a question, is pretty sure to get -swamped.” - -“Ay, ay,” responded Marline, “and I ought to have thought to caution -you to be on your guard against that sneaking villain at the wheel. -Do you suffer any from the effects of the blow?” - -“I’ve a hard head,” replied the shipkeeper, “which has always been a -distinguishin’ feature of the Stumps, and mine is peculiar in that -way, seeing as I was much given to butting when I was a youngster, at -school, a l’arning my letters. I didn’t make much progress in books -on that account; I was always and etarnally a-having these butting -matches with my little shipmates, and the more I butted, the harder -my head grew, which is the reason, as I take it, that after awhile -I couldn’t get any l’arnin’ into it. As a nat’ral consequence, the -blow I got from the Portuguese--blast him--hasn’t affected my in’ard -functions.” - -“I am glad to hear it,” replied Marline. “And now we must hope for -the best. I think it very likely that the ship will be seen and -boarded before long, by our shipmates in the boats.” - -“If hoping on my part will do any good, she sartainly will be; -and now I think that we might as well make a s’arch for that saw -which proved a friend to me the other time I was here. It isn’t -particularly wise to put up with troubles, when they can be -prevented.” - -And the speaker, with much difficulty, proceeded to roll himself -about in different directions, in order that he might come into -contact with the instrument. This, however, was not to be found, and -after he had fruitlessly exerted himself until every bone in his body -ached, the shipkeeper worked himself back to the side of his chum, -declaring that he believed the Kanakas had guessed the manner in -which he had previously liberated himself, and so had carried away -the tool. - -“Never mind,” replied Marline, “if we remain quiet, the cords will -not give us much inconvenience.” - -He had scarcely spoken, when a stream of light, caused by the opening -of the run-hatch, darted into the after-part of the hold; an -occurrence which was duly commented upon by Stump. - -“Ay, ay,” said he, “they are a-setting Tom Lark at liberty; and, as -soon as that animal gets on deck, he’ll wear ship, and then there’ll -be no chance for the craft to fall in with any of the boats. It’s -really miraculous, it is, the amount of mischief that such a wolf can -make before the law brings him to justice, and--” - -“Hark!” interrupted Marline, “the ship is in the ice now!” - -“So she is,” replied Stump, as the grinding of the floating bergs -against the vessel’s sides and her bottom, became louder each moment; -“she’s in for it sure enough, and now if that infarnal champion -for ‘equal rights’ as he calls ’em, doesn’t look out he’ll have us -a-going to the locker below in a stove ship, which I wouldn’t relish -exactly, seeing as my hands and feet are tied criminal-like, and Davy -Jones might make a mistake and take me for a pirate. When I go below -I’d prefer to go as an honest tar should, with neither ropes nor -handcuffs about me. There!” he added, as the after hold again became -dark, “they’ve taken him out; he’s at liberty, the big mule--and a -mighty pleasant time we’ll have of it. We are prisoners now for a -sartainty.” - -“It is too soon yet to despair,” replied Marline. “Lark will wear -ship of course, but even then, there’ll be a chance of his falling in -with the boats. So keep up your spirits, my friend.” - -“My spirits ain’t sunk yet,” retorted Stump, “and I think it would be -a heavy sea that ’ud sink ’em. To make light of our misfortun’s is -the surest way of getting rid of ’em, and it’s astonishing to me how -some of my fellow creatur’s will fret themselves about small matters, -and think _their_ troubles is ‘catamount’ to everybody else’s.” - -“There’s some truth in that,” retorted Marline, “and there’s nothing -like meeting our misfortunes with a brave front. But look, my -friend,” he suddenly added in a whisper, as he lifted his head, “it -seems to me that I can make out the outlines of a figure moving about -in the steerage. There is certainly somebody there, or I am very much -deceived.” - -“Ay, ay,” replied Stump, “you are sartainly right. I see the -creatur’, and I can’t imagine who he is, seeing as only the faint -outlines of him is visible. But if he stays there much longer we’ll -get a clearer squint of him, for we are getting more accustomed-like -to the darkness every minute. It’s a-making parfect cats of us--it -is--so far as our eyes are consarned--this being in confinement; only -I hope that it won’t prevent us from seeing clear in the daylight.” - -The harpooner was about to reply, when both men suddenly beheld -a number of jets of blue flame shoot up amid the gloom of the -after-hold, shedding a faint, unearthly light upon surrounding -objects, and thus bringing into bold relief the long, cruel face and -gleaming eyes of the Portuguese steward. - -“Blast him!” ejaculated Stump, “there he is, sure enough, and if -them blue flames ain’t prognostical of his future downfall into the -great lower hold, that’s prepared for such sinners, then you may have -my pigtail, which is dearer to me than life. But, what the infarnal -blackskin intends to do with that furnace of blazing charcoal that he -carries, baffles my scrutiny into human natur’.” - -“We shall soon see,” replied the harpooner--a terrible suspicion -flashing through his mind, “we shall soon see. The villain is capable -of any crime.” - -“He’s a sneaking wretch,” added the shipkeeper, “as is proved by -his doing every thing in a sneaking way. He must have been one of -them that just liberated the chief mutineer, and in his gen’ral -underhand manner, he’s contrived to remain in the hold, escaping the -observation of Lark, who was too glad, I’ll warrant, when he found -himself free to pay attention to his sat’lite. But what _can_ the -infarnal imp be going to do with that charcoal furnace?” - -Stump, however, was soon enlightened, and the suspicions of his chum -confirmed; for the steward now advanced rapidly toward them, and -placed the furnace upon a cask within a few yards of their feet. Then -he darted forward, and drawing a pump-bolt from his pocket, he thrust -it into the mouth of the shipkeeper and secured it with strong cords, -heedless of the indignant remonstrances of the harpooner, and his -loud hail to those on deck; for the young man did not believe that -they were cognizant of the infernal plans of the Portuguese. - -“Ay, ay,” said the latter, “you may cry until you be hoarse, but -neither Lark nor de men will heed you, for dey t’ink you only do -it so as dey can you let out of de hold. Hey! hey! hey! dis is fine -revenge for de knock-down you make Lark give me. Now den, me gag you -de same as Stump!” And suiting the action to the words, he forced an -iron belaying-pin, with which he was provided, into the mouth of the -prisoner. - -“Dere,” said he, malignantly, when he had secured the -instrument--“now me leave you and go on deck. De charcoal burn in de -furnace, and de gas kill you before long time, de same as a rat!” - -With which comfortable assurance he departed, and the two men soon -afterward heard him open the run-hatch in order to make his way into -the cabin. - -Bound and helpless--deprived even of the consolation of speech--the -situation of the two was now miserable enough. The deadly gas from -the burning charcoal was fast poisoning the close atmosphere of the -hold, and the prisoners could taste the sickening vapor as it entered -their throats. - -The air became more stifling every moment. The seamen felt their -temples throb with violence--an acute pain tearing through the brain -like a knife shot at intervals into the head of each. - -They believed that their doom was sealed--that they were destined -to expire in this miserable pent-up spot, with their rebellious -shipmates within hailing distance of them, and yet--if we except the -Portuguese--unaware of their condition. - - - - - CHAPTER VII. - - ADRIFT. - - -As soon as the steward had fastened the hatch of the run, he made his -way to the deck. Tom Lark was standing near the mizzen-mast watching -the operations of three of the men, who, in obedience to his orders, -had commenced to unlash an old half-shattered boat that was secured -to the beams, extending crossways above the quarter-deck. - -“Come! come! bear a hand there!” he shouted. “We must get the boat -alongside as soon as possible. Here, you, steward,” he added, turning -to that functionary, “jump up there, and help those men.” - -“Ay, ay, sir,” said the Portuguese, in a cringing tone of voice; “me -glad to do what you tell me!” and he mounted to the beams. - -The lashings were soon unfastened, and, by means of a tackle, which -had been rigged over the steerage hatch, a few days previously, the -boat was hoisted, and then lowered alongside. - -“It leaks bad,” said Driko, who had jumped into the vessel, for the -purpose of receiving the oars, and the other articles which Lark had -ordered to be passed into it. - -“Never mind the leak,” said the giant; “the little craft is good -enough for those that are to occupy it. I shall let ’em have some -provision for the sake of the gal. That’s what I call equal rights!” - -A breaker of fresh water, another of hard bread, together with pork -and beef, were accordingly placed in the vessel. Then followed a -couple of line-tubs, a boat-sail, and a bucket of tar, with a brush. - -“The two rascals can make a tent with them things for the gal. I -haven’t any thing against _her_, and so don’t see why she shouldn’t -be made as comfortable as she can be, considering the circumstances, -and according to the law of equal rights.” - -The ship was now running at the rate of about seven knots, along the -eastern edge of the floe, and, as the boat had been lowered upon the -larboard side, it was between the ship and the ice--the latter not -being further than five fathoms from it. - -“If me may be so bold,” said the steward, obsequiously, to the -self-constituted captain, “me would like to ask whether you be going -to put de prisoners in de boat?” - -“Ay, ay,” answered Lark, roughly; “but why do you ask?” - -“Because me wanted to know whether me shouldn’t go into de cabin and -tell Miss Alice to get ready, and gag de mouths of dat Stump and -Marline.” - -“And why should they be gagged?” cried the giant. “You must be mad!” - -“Oh, because me t’ink you no like to hear dem--especially dis -Stump--talk to you, and call you bad names!” stammered the frightened -Portuguese, who readily foresaw that, the instant the hatch was -opened, the villainous trick which he had performed, without the -sanction of Lark, would be discovered. The reader will, therefore, -understand the reason why he wished to obtain the consent of the -giant to the measure he had proposed. Should he succeed in doing -this, he might make his way rapidly from the run to the spot occupied -by the prisoners, and conceal the furnace before the main hold could -be opened. The smoke, that had already emanated from the coal, would, -of course, be perceived, and would excite much astonishment. But the -gags in the mouths of the prisoners would prevent them from betraying -the author of the mischief. - -Thus far, and no further, extended the hastily-formed conclusions of -the Portuguese, who was certainly not a very deep thinker. It did not -occur to his confused brain that the gags would at once be taken from -the prisoners to enable _them_ to explain the cause of the smoke, and -of their own half-senseless condition! - -“Yes, you must be mad!” cried the giant, as he fixed his great, round -eyes upon the livid face of the steward; “and I don’t know but what -it would be as well for me to set you adrift with the prisoners. That -would be equal rights!” - -“Oh, no! no!” cried Joseph, trembling from head to foot; “me no like -to go with dem. Dey kill me, _sure_!” - -“Very well, then, don’t talk any more about gags, and such nonsense. -If you do, I shall think you are mad, and I don’t want any madmen in -this ship. Off with the main-hatch, men!” he added, turning to the -two islanders at his elbow; “and move about lively, for we’ve lost -time enough already.” - -He was obeyed with alacrity, but the hold had scarcely been opened, -when an exclamation of astonishment from the Kanakas drew the giant -to the spot in time to inhale the gas, and to perceive the thin puffs -of smoke that curled upward from the hatch. - -With a loud oath, he leaped through the opening, and he then -perceived the burning coal, and, also, that his two prisoners were -gagged. To pass the heated furnace to the Kanakas, with an order to -throw it overboard at once, was, with the mutineer, the work of an -instant; then, lifting each of the two prostrate men, one after the -other, in his herculean arms, he soon had them placed on deck. - -“Now then!” he cried, as he climbed to the combings of the hatch, -“take those gags from the mouths of the prisoners.” - -The islanders obeyed, and, as soon as the sufferers had recovered -sufficiently to speak, Lark addressed them: - -“It was against my orders that you were served in the way you have -been; for, although I owe you a grudge for disputing my authority, -I wouldn’t go to work to satisfy it in any such sneaking manner as -charcoal and gags, which ain’t in the vocabulary of equal rights. Who -was the man that did this mischief? I wish to know, so that I can -punish him.” - -“Ay, ay!” cried Stump, for, thanks to an excellent constitution, -both himself and his friend were rapidly recovering from the -effects of the deadly carbon. “Ay, ay; that’s a square question, -and desarves to be squarely answered. In the first place, then, you -are parfectly correct when you say that the way we’ve been treated -isn’t in the ‘vocalbubblery’ of equal rights. Them that has suffered -as we have can be reasonably sartain upon that p’int, and I’ll say, -in concluding, that, if I ever get hold of the head of Portuguese -Joe--which was the creatur’ that caused all our woes--I shall give it -a miraculous punching.” - -The eyes of the giant flashed fire, and, rushing aft to the -mizzen-mast, near which the steward had stationed himself, he caught -the trembling wretch by the throat, and shook him until he was almost -senseless. - -“You miserable imp! Do you dare to go against the orders of Captain -Lark? Do you dare to set _my_ authority at defiance? Do you dare--” - -“Mercy! mercy! mercy!” shrieked the Portuguese, trembling in every -limb. “Me won’t do it any more! Me will do any thing you want me to!” - -“If I wasn’t so short-handed, I should blow out your brains!” -thundered the mutineer; “but I want every man to work the ship, -and so I shall content myself by tying you up in the rigging, and -flogging you like a dog! That’s what I call equal rights!” - -“No! no! no!” gasped the coward, clasping both hands; “only let me -go dis time, and never more will me do what you no like. Me cook for -you--wash for you--every t’ing me do, if you let me go!” - -But the giant relentlessly dragged the wretch to the mizzen rigging -and fastened his wrists to the shrouds. - -“And now,” said he, “as soon as I have set the prisoners adrift and -have tacked ship, I shall give you a lesson with a rope’s-end that -you won’t easily forget!” - -The Portuguese continued his cries for mercy; but, without heeding -him, the chief of the mutineers now turned, and ordered the New -Zealanders to bring the prisoners aft. - -“I am going to set you adrift,” he said, addressing the two seamen as -soon as he had been obeyed, “and you won’t starve--leastways not just -yet, as there’s some provisions in the boat.” - -“And Alice!” cried Marline; “you--” - -“She’ll go with you,” interrupted Lark, “and there’s the means in the -boat to make a tent for her. The craft is stove and won’t hold you -long, but you must make the best of it. That’s equal rights!” - -“No, blast me if it is!” cried Stump, “and you can’t make it out -any way you try. Putting three people in a stove boat is about as -unreasonable a thing as can be imagined, seeing as to go down isn’t -to go up. You are a parfect humbug, Captain Lark!” - -“Silence!” said Lark, sternly, “you are an ignoramus and don’t know -any thing about my laws, which I again tell you are all founded upon -the great principle of equal rights. This is my ship--you came aboard -of it--you rebel against my authority--and I set you adrift in a -_stove_ boat to punish you for the mutiny, which is perfect justice, -and would be understood as such by any person who, like me, believes -in equal rights.” - -“Well, shiver me!” replied the shipkeeper, giving vent to a whistle -something like the piping of a boatswain’s mate, “if you don’t pull -and twist things about in the most lubberly fashion I ever saw, and -all for the purpose of making ’em look ship-shape, which they can’t -and never will be for all that, so help me Stump. Why, skin my eyes! -you might as well put a greenhorn in a tub on deck and then insist -for a sartainty that he could lift himself clear of the bulwarks -by pulling upon the sides of the tub. Them that says the days of -miracles is past would be mistaken if the doctrine ‘breeched’ by you -was a true one, which isn’t the case, by any means.” - -“That’s enough,” said Lark, “that’s enough. The more you talk the -more you show your ignorance of the entire subject of our argument. -I don’t wish to say any more to you for I perceive that you know -nothing of equal rights!” And, turning impatiently away, he ordered -one of the islanders to go below and bring Alice to the deck. - -“Tell her from me,” said Marline, addressing the man as he was about -to depart upon his mission, “to wrap herself up as comfortably as she -can, as, thanks to this rascal,” he added, directing an angry glance -toward Lark, who received it with the most imperturbable coolness, -“she is about to undergo many privations and hardships!” - -“God bless the little thing!” ejaculated Stump, in a fervent tone. -“It’s a raal shame--blow me if it isn’t, to turn that sweet creatur’ -out of house and home, who hasn’t never done nothing to desarve such -punishment. I’d lay down my life for her any moment--ay, more than -that, I’d give her my pigtail if such a present would do her any -good. But you’ll be brought to justice, Captain Lark. Them that acts -like you, must be brought to justice in the end!” - -“Amen!” answered Lark, ironically, and at that instant his attention -was drawn to another quarter by the sudden loud flapping of the -ship’s canvas against the masts. - -“How do you head there?” he thundered to the man at the wheel. - -“No’th, half east, sir--the wind has hauled ahead!” - -“Ay, ay, so it has!” cried Lark; “keep her off for the present, White -Squall!” - -“Ay, ay, sir,” answered the islander, as he put up his wheel. - -But, as the vessel fell off, a cracking, grinding sound was heard -under the weather quarter, and upon looking over the rail, the -mutineer perceived that that part of the ship had swung against the -ice, forcing into it the boat alongside with a power that caused the -already injured planks to give way in several places. - -“Unhook the tackle, Driko, and let the boat go. It’s no use now, for -it’s stove so bad that it wouldn’t float an infant. We’ll set the -prisoners adrift on the ice, and if they choose to fish up the boat, -afterward, they can do so. That’s equal rights!” - -By the time he concluded, the New Zealander had obeyed his order, and -both men watched the boat until it had sunk out of sight among the -huge blocks of ice. - -“Now then, luff!” shouted Lark to the helmsman. - -“Ay, ay, sir!” and down went the helm. - -Then, as the ship came into the wind, the giant, with the assistance -of Driko, succeeded in backing the main topsail. - -A minute later and the vessel had drifted with the current alongside -of the floe. - -“Now then,” said Lark, as he fastened the lower part of a rope around -the breast of Marline, just beneath the arm-pits, “over you go!” - -And motioning to the islander to take hold of the other part of the -piece of rigging, he passed the still bound harpooner over the ship’s -rail, and, cautioning Driko to maintain his hold, let go of his -burden. But the rope slipped from the hands of the islander, and as a -natural consequence, the young man was precipitated to the ice with a -force which, for a few minutes, deprived him of his senses. - -He partially regained them in time to see the corpulent body of -Stump--bound hand and foot--dangling above him as it was being -lowered to the ice, and also the form of Alice Howard, as the young -girl, closely wrapped in her fur cloak, and with a pale countenance, -was descending the ship’s side by means of the man-ropes and the -steps which had been prepared for her accommodation. - -The young man raised himself upon his elbow, feeling bewildered, and -half inclined to believe that he was dreaming. But the rough voice of -Tom Lark, and a far gentler voice uttered at nearly one and the same -moment, soon dissipated the mist from his brain, and enabled him to -comprehend the truth. - -“Round with the yards, men. Lively! lively!” - -“Dear Harry, speak to me--are you much hurt?” - -Then the vision of the ship fading away in the mist, as she boomed -upon her new course, was partially hidden from the eyes of the -harpooner by the fair young face of Alice Howard that was bent full -of sympathy toward his own, while she proceeded to cut, with his -sheath-knife, the cords about his ankles and wrists. - -“My own Alice, here on the ice! Heaven help her!” cried Marline, as -he threw his arm impulsively around the waist of the sweet girl. -“Without shelter--without--” - -“Answer me, Harry, are you much hurt?” - -“If we could erect some kind of a canopy to cover you--ay, if we -could only do that,” continued the harpooner, still, in his anxiety -for the comfort of Alice, forgetting to answer her question, “then -there would be some consolation in the matter.” - -“You _are_ hurt--badly injured!” murmured the girl, with tears in her -eyes, “and that is the reason why you will not reply to me.” - -“Hurt? No, indeed--I was only stunned!” And the young man sprung -lightly to his feet. - -Alice also arose, and placed her hand upon the shoulder of her lover, -looking into his face with a bright smile. - -“I am _so_ glad,” she said, “I am happy now!” - -“Ay, ay, but blow me if I am!” grunted Stump, who, with his hands -and his ankles so closely bound that he was forced to sit in a -“doubled-up” position upon the cold surface of the ice, was certainly -in an uncomfortable situation. “No, not a bit of it. These quarters -are worse than that cursed hold; and if you don’t untie me pretty -soon, I shall commit suicide--much as that goes against the Stump -nature--by rolling over the edge of the ice into the water.” - - - - - CHAPTER VIII. - - THE CHASE. - - -As the Montpelier bowled upon her way, after Lark had so -unceremoniously left his prisoners upon the ice, the giant rubbed -his hands with delight, and glancing up at the squared topsails, -which were now filled by the northerly breeze, he thus communed with -himself: - -“It’s all right now. A fair wind, and the craft cleared of all -unnecessary rubbish. That’s as it should be--that’s equal rights!” - -His eye fell upon the steward as he spoke, when he suddenly -remembered that he had another duty to perform before he could -experience that intense satisfaction which, in his opinion should be -felt by the captain of a newly-acquired ship. - -So, he dispatched one of the islanders into the cabin for the -“cat-o’-nine-tails,” an old heirloom that had descended to Briggs -from a nautical grandsire, who was famed for his dexterous and -frequent use of this instrument. - -The native soon returned, and, armed with this cruel weapon, the -chief mutineer advanced to the mizzen shrouds, to commence the work -of punishment. - -The Portuguese writhed like a serpent beneath the torture, which was -inflicted with an unsparing hand, and his screams rung in unearthly -peals through every corner of the ship--thrilling the hearts of the -New Zealanders even with the most uncomfortable sensations. - -The captain, himself, soon became disgusted with these cries, and, -wishing to entertain himself in a more agreeable manner, cut the -steward loose, and, by a dexterous movement of his right leg, sent -him headlong to the companion-way, ordering him, in a very impolite -manner, to go below and prepare his dinner. - -“Keep a sharp look-out there, ahead!” he shouted to the man upon the -look-out, “and if you see any thing in the shape of a boat, let me -know it at once!” - -“Ay, ay, sir,” responded the islander, as he peered with redoubled -vigilance through the thick fog that covered sky and sea. - -With another glance aloft, and a hasty look at the compass, Captain -Lark then stepped to the companion-way, with the intention of -descending and hastening the movements of his steward. But, he had -not quite reached the middle of the staircase, when one of those -prolonged and unearthly cries, such as only the wild men of the -Pacific isles can utter, broke upon his ear and caused him to start. - -“Boat, O-o-o!” - -And before the shrill, vibrating voice had quite died away, the -captain cleared the entrance of the companion-way with a bound, and -ordering the man at the wheel to keep off a couple of points, rushed -forward and sprung upon the knightheads. - -Yes, there it was, sure enough--a boat lying just a little off the -starboard bow, within ten fathoms of the ship, with her oars apeak -and her crew looming up like grim phantoms in the fog! - -“Ship ahoy!” shouted a deep, stentorian voice, which Lark immediately -recognized as that of the hoary-headed Briggs; “isn’t that the -Montpelier?” - -“No,” promptly answered the mutineer, and, as he spoke, the bows of -the ship fell rapidly off, “it’s the Neptune!” - -“Blow me, but I know that voice!” retorted the mate. “It’s Tom -Lark’s, and--and--ay, may I be swallowed by a shark if the craft -_isn’t_ the Montpelier! My eyes can’t deceive me with regard to a -vessel I’ve once sailed in! Pull ahead, Mr. Spooner!” - -“Ay, ay, sir,” retorted the second mate, and he ordered his crew to -take to their oars. - -By this time the ship--which had been kept off a couple of points, -thus bringing the wind upon the quarter--had forged ahead so far that -the boat was now abreast the main-rigging; and, as the oar-blades of -its crew splashed in the water, the mutineer rushed to the waist, and -watched the approaching vessel with an anxious eye. - -“A pull on the lee-braces, men!” he shouted to the three islanders, -who, besides the man at the wheel and the steward in the cabin, now -constituted the crew of the Montpelier. They were all strong men, -and, with the assistance of their powerful leader, they soon had the -yards properly braced, to agree with the new course of the ship. -The latter was now booming along through the water, at the rate of -eight knots, with a man at the wheel who understood his business; -for the New Zealander, besides his readiness in learning to wield -the barbed harpoon, soon acquires a good practical knowledge of -seamanship. “White Squall”--so named by his shipmates, on account of -his fitful temper--was no exception to the rule, and he handled the -spokes like a veteran--keeping the vessel so straight that even a -frigate’s quartermaster could not have found fault with his steering. -Lark’s tormentor, however, was still dashing along toward the ship, -with that peculiar rapidity which characterizes the whale-boat--a -craft which, being sharp at both ends, and gracefully and lightly -modeled, is especially formed for speed. The boat was pulled with -“double-banked oars”--that is, Briggs and his party, who were in -the boat, assisted the crew of the second mate, and it soon was not -further than seven fathoms from the Montpelier, abreast the mizzen -rigging; and the grim-visaged Briggs, with a voice which certainly -could not fail to make an impression, was doing his utmost to -encourage the men. - -A suspicion of the truth had flashed across his mind at the moment -when Lark answered his hail, and, as there were many thousands of -dollars already belonging to him, as his share of the cargo now in -the Montpelier, he did not feel at all inclined to allow the vessel -to escape him. - -“Oh! you lubberly rascal, you! But there’ll be some fine flogging -in that craft when I get aboard of it!” he shouted, as Captain -Lark, with a pipe in his mouth, and his loaded pistol in his right -hand, although kept out of sight, coolly peered at him over the -quarter-rail. - -“Nonsense,” replied this individual, blowing a defiant puff of smoke -toward the boat. “You’ll never get a chance for that, my jolly mate! -Twist me if I don’t think it’s an impudent piece of business--your -wishing to board _my_ ship, when I’m not willing you should!” - -“Why, you villain!” roared Briggs, perfectly furious; “you talk as -though the vessel belonged to you. I’ll teach you better manners -presently!” - -“The craft _is_ mine,” retorted the mutineer. “You and Captain Howard -have enjoyed her and had the good of her for two years. Now, _I_ take -possession, and I doubt, were the ship alive, that she would not be -mightily pleased with her change of owners. That’s equal rights!” - -During this conversation, the boat had lessened, another fathom, the -distance between it and the ship, and Captain Lark became aware that -it was time to show a little resistance. - -Accordingly, he ordered the three islanders to arm themselves with -harpoons, and take their station at his side--a command which they -obeyed with alacrity. - -“And now,” said the chief mutineer, leveling his pistol at the head -of the second mate, “you’ll have the goodness to tell your men to -stop pulling. I do not care to have you any nearer, and the sooner -you act according to _my_ directions, the better will it be for you! -If you object, I shall be obliged to send a bullet through your -brains; but if, on the contrary, you comply, I shall leave you in -unmolested possession of your boat. That’s equal rights!” - -But the second mate, who was a brave old fellow, and who, having -“seen some fighting” in a frigate during the war of 1812, was -familiar with gunpowder as well as with whales, coolly eyed the -mutineer, and replied: - -“Fire, and be hung to you! You can’t scare me with any such little -plaything as that; besides which, I know you are nothing of a -marksman, and couldn’t hit the broadside of a frigate, though it were -but a few fathoms off! Pull ahead, lads!” - -“We’ll see about that!” replied Lark, and, taking deliberate aim, he -fired. - -The second mate did not utter a word of complaint; but the hand that -held the steering-oar dropped bleeding and powerless by his side. - -Seizing the implement with his left, however, he still encouraged -his men, in a low, stern tone, that denoted his sufferings, and the -effort he made to prevent the expression of them. - -The next moment, Briggs had taken his place, and, tearing off a piece -of the boat flag, the wounded man, with the assistance of the after -oarsman, proceeded to wind it about the bleeding hand. - -As soon as this task was accomplished, his assistant seized the -boat-keg, with the intention of pouring some of the fresh water -it contained upon the rag. But, of all the precious elements in -this world, that simple but invaluable one, fresh water, is most -prized, and hoarded with most scrupulous care, by seafaring men, -whose prolonged absence from hospitable shores renders it difficult -for them to procure a sufficient supply of the treasure. Hence, it -followed that Mr. Spooner very promptly and decidedly pushed aside -the keg. - -“Not a drop,” said he, “shall be wasted on me. We’ll need that water, -badly enough, before we get through with this business!” - -Another bullet, at this instant, came whistling toward the boat, and, -striking the handle of one of the oars, passed through the sleeve of -the mate’s jacket. - -“Spring, men, spring!” roared Briggs. “Lay back to your oars with a -will, and we’ll be aboard the craft before that big rascal can load -and fire again.” - -“I’m not so sure of that,” replied Lark, as he proceeded to charge -both barrels of his weapon. “Some of you must suffer before you board -me, if you succeed in doing that little piece of business at all. I -shan’t give you any quarter, as why should I? You wish to board _my_ -ship; I don’t wish you to do so. You insist, and I kill some of you -men--that’s equal rights!” - -“I’ll teach you equal rights with them cat-o’-nine-tails of mine,” -thundered Briggs. “They were made for just such rascals as you are.” - -“Ay, ay, excellent,” responded Lark. “I’ve been practicing with ’em, -and I like ’em pretty well. Now, then, Driko,” he added, turning to -that worthy, “let us see what stuff you are made of. Dart your iron, -and pin Briggs.” - -“Ay, ay, sir,” responded the swarthy islander. - -And, bending back, with his long, lithe figure stretched to its -utmost tension, he lifted the barbed weapon, and directed the point -toward the heart of the mate. - -To say that the latter could stand unmoved before the point of this -deadly instrument, directed by an arm and an eye so unerring as those -of Driko, would be to declare that Briggs was more than human. He -turned pale, and stood prepared to dodge the harpoon, when it should -be thrown, and, viewing his emotion, the men relaxed their exertions -a little, in order to turn their glances over their shoulders. -Then the glimpses which they caught of the uplifted weapon, which -the islander had not yet quite placed to his satisfaction, created -considerable confusion. - -The oars of two of the men “caught crabs,” and the rest fairly turned -around upon their thwarts. - -“What are you about, there?” yelled Mr. Spooner, with flashing eyes. -“The harpoon isn’t pointed at you; it’s directed at Mr. Briggs!” - -A fact which that worthy knew but too well, and which, when it was -thus verbally expressed by his brother officer, did not inspire him -with any very comfortable sensations. He was now “ducking” his head, -and twisting himself about in a manner which would certainly have -been deemed ludicrous under different circumstances. - -“Whiz-z-z!” came the deadly weapon at last, and down went Briggs, -with a suddenness that caused him to tumble over the after oarsman. -He had dodged the iron in time, but it had passed close to his ear, -just grazing it and severing one of his locks. - -“Now then, one good dash, men!” he roared, springing to his feet, -“and we’ll be alongside!” - -But at that instant, another iron came whizzing from the ship, and -the ’midship oarsman fell back with a low groan, as the barbed -instrument entered his body. - -The horror and confusion resulting from this calamity was such -that the exertions of the crew at the oars were entirely suspended -for some moments; and it was not until the dying sailor had been -carefully placed in the stern-sheets, that any thing like order could -be restored. - -Then the men again took to their oars, although they were now so far -astern of the ship that she was nearly out of sight in the thick fog. - -“Never mind, lads!” cried the dauntless second mate. “We’ll be up -with ’em yet, for if I ain’t mistaken there’ll be a calm before many -hours. The breeze has already fallen away a little.” - -And so the men, anxious to avenge their shipmate whose dead face and -glazed eyes in the stern-sheets, confronted them, tugged and strained -at the oars with redoubled energy. - -The breeze, as Mr. Spooner had declared, was gradually dying away, -and Captain Lark deemed it necessary to set the top-gallant sails, -which he now had an opportunity of doing, as the boat was too far -astern at present to give any trouble. - -The additional canvas, when the yards had been hoisted, and the sails -sheeted home, increased the speed of the ship to such a degree that -her pursuers could do but little more than keep her in sight; and -when an hour had passed with no better result, the oarsmen became so -fatigued by their almost frantic exertions, that the breath came from -their lips in short, rapid gasps, while the perspiration rolled in -big drops from their foreheads. - -It was at this juncture that Lark--who stood upon the round-house -rubbing his hands with great glee, and mentally predicting the entire -discomfiture of Spooner and his crew--was startled by an exclamation -from one of the islanders in the waist. He turned quickly, and was -still more startled by the sudden apparition of another boat a few -fathoms off the lee beam, and rapidly approaching the ship! - -“Ship ahoy!” thundered the voice of Captain Howard; “isn’t that the -Montpelier?” - -“Up helm! Stand by with your harpoons, men!” roared the mutineer, -springing to the quarter-deck with a bound and cocking his pistol. - -But, before the vessel could fall off a quarter of a point, the bow -of the boat struck her side, and a couple of her crew succeeded, a -moment afterward, in grasping the man-ropes. - -But Lark’s pistol pointed at the head of one of them, and a -harpoon directed at the heart of the other, together with a fierce -declaration from the mutineer, that he would shoot the first man that -attempted to board him, rather startled the two sailors and caused -them to let go their hold. - -The captain, however, whose previous suspicions of foul play were now -confirmed, darted to the bow with ready presence of mind, and, by -means of the boat-hook drew the little vessel under the mizzen-chains -before she could drop astern, and ordered his harpooner to secure -her with a rope. This was soon done, but, at the same instant, the -islanders threw their deadly weapons, which would certainly have -done terrible execution, had not the bow oarsman, whose eye had not -quitted his enemies for a moment, warded them off by means of the -drag--a square, thick piece of wood, with a rope attached to the -middle. With an oath of disappointment, the mutineer then ordered the -islanders to procure more arms, and leaning far over the rail as he -spoke, in order to make his aim sure, he directed his pistol at the -captain. - -But before he could pull the trigger, the boat-hatchet was hurled -at his head with unerring precision, by the same courageous seaman -who had foiled the murderous intentions of the dusky islanders. The -back of the weapon struck the giant upon the temple with great force, -felling him to the deck like an ox. Then, arming themselves with -lances, the boat’s crew, headed by their captain, scrambled pell-mell -up the ship’s side. - -Perceiving the uselessness of resistance, as they were outnumbered by -six to three, the New-Zealanders surrendered themselves, and every -one of them, not excepting the man at the wheel--who was relieved -by the orders of the captain, were ironed and thrust into the run. -Tom Lark--_Captain_ Lark no longer--who recovered his senses by the -time these little preliminaries had been gone through with, was also -secured with handcuffs--there are always plenty of these articles -in a whaleship--and placed in the hold to enjoy the company of his -fellow-conspirators. - -“Ay, ay,” said this interesting character, as he was pushed through -the open hatchway, “my prospects have received a sudden check. I -haven’t had much opportunity to enjoy my newly acquired property, -which is no sooner in my hands than it escapes ’em. That isn’t in the -vocabulary of equal rights!” - -It was about this time that the man at the wheel, upon casting a -careless glance over his shoulder, saw the boat of the second mate, -which was faintly distinguishable in the fog astern. He notified the -captain, who immediately had the main topsail backed and the ship -brought into the wind. - -But he felt so much anxiety with regard to his niece and her -companions--for Driko had at once informed him of the disposition -that had been made of them by the chief mutineer--that he scarcely -heeded the boat when it dashed alongside. - -The hearty shake of the hand which he received from Mr. Spooner, -however, as the old man confronted him, recalled him to himself. - -“This has been a bad business,” said the poor fellow, as a contortion -caused by the pain in his wounded hand passed over his face. “Tom -Block was killed!” - -“What!” cried the captain, with a start, “Tom--” - -“Ay, ay,” interrupted the mate, “killed by a harpoon thrown by one of -the mutineers;” and he then proceeded to give a graphic description -of the incident. - -“I am sorry--very sorry that this has happened!” cried the captain, -with much emotion. - -“Shall we hoist the boats?” inquired Briggs, at this juncture. - -“Ay, ay, the waist-boat, but not mine,” replied the captain, “for I -shall presently go in search of Alice!” - -“And what shall we do with the body of Tom Block?” - -“Sew it up immediately. We will have the burial as soon as we can.” - -Accordingly, as soon as the boat had been hoisted, the corpse was -placed upon the carpenter’s bench--palms, twine and needles were -procured; a piece of an old sail was wrapped around the lifeless -form, which was securely stitched up, after a number of bricks had -been placed in the bottom of the shroud. Then the flag was hoisted -at half-mast, the gangway plank made ready to receive its burden, -and the captain, with an open Bible in his hand, stood ready to read -the funeral service. The men mustered at the given signal, and, with -uncovered heads, listened respectfully to the words that were read to -them from the Holy Book. The chapter was well chosen--well calculated -to touch the hearts of those rough men with its simple yet beautiful -truths, and when the reader had finished, and the shrouded body, -after sliding adown the sloping board, dropped into the water with a -dull splash--the crew walked forward with a feeling of consolation -that they had not dreamed they could experience so soon after the -death of their shipmate. - -“He always did his duty--Tom did!” said an old seaman, “and if he -don’t go aloft it won’t be his fault!” - -“Ay, ay,” responded another, “there’s a good deal of satisfaction in -that idea, although it’s hard to lose a chum so sudden-like. I’ll -miss him mighty bad--I will--as we always messed together--eating out -of the same pan and using the same knife and fork.” - -“That _is_ hard,” responded the old tar, “but after you’ve lost as -many chums as I have, you won’t think so much of a matter of this -kind.” - -Further conversation was now prevented by the voice of the captain -ordering the men to wear ship, and as soon as this task had been -accomplished, two men were posted upon the knightheads to keep a good -look-out. - -This duty, however, was soon rendered almost unnecessary, by a dead -calm, which fell upon the sea before the vessel had advanced a mile -upon her new course. The sails hung motionless upon the yards, and a -feeling of unaccountable drowsiness stole over the weary helmsman. He -could scarcely keep his eyes open, and it was only the presence of -the captain, who, with rapid and impatient strides was walking the -quarter-deck, that prevented him from indulging in sleep. - -“Mr. Spooner,” said the skipper, addressing the second mate, who was -near the companion-way bathing his wounded hand in cold water, “I -can’t endure this fearful suspense much longer. I shall have my boat -manned immediately after supper, and shall go in search of Alice!” - -“Hadn’t you better wait until morning?” said the old man. “We are at -the least about four leagues from the ice, by this time, and then in -the darkness of the night--it is getting dark even now--coupled with -this fog, you won’t stand much chance of finding your niece.” - -“I can’t endure this suspense. I should lose my senses before -morning! I _must_ look for her, and that as soon as possible!” - -“Supper is ready, sir!” cried, at this moment, the Portuguese -steward, Joseph, thrusting his head through the companion-way. - -Joe had escaped the handcuffs by a plausible tale, in which he made -it appear that he had no hand in the conspiracy to take the ship, and -had exhibited the red stripes upon his back, stating that Lark had -flogged him because he rebelled against his measures. Howard, who -was not of a suspicious nature, credited this story; but the steward -fearing that the prisoners in the run--or if not they, the young -harpooner, Harry Marline, and his friend Stump--(in case they should -ever be picked up)--would eventually betray him, had resolved to make -his escape from the ship as soon as possible. - -The helmsman, whose drowsiness has been noticed, had been drugged -by the Portuguese, who had presented him with a glass of drugged -liquor soon after he took his position at the wheel. The consequence -was that, by the time the decks were deserted by the officers and -crew--who had gone below to get their suppers--the steersman’s head -dropped upon his breast and he fell into a deep slumber. - -The next moment the steward--who, under pretense of going to the -locker for a certain dish, had contrived to make his way stealthily -to the deck--glided to the waist-boat, cautiously glancing around him -to make sure that he was not observed, quickly severed with his knife -the lashings and also the falls. Then he pushed the vessel overboard, -and making his way to the captain’s boat, he sprung into it, severed -the rope that held it to the ship, and seized the steering-oar. - -“Free!” he muttered, exultingly, as he rapidly sculled the craft -away from the Montpelier, and gave the other boat a shove with his -foot, “me clear of dis vessel at last, and me soon be picked up by -some other ship, for de Ochotsk Sea is full of ’em. De cap’n can no -come after me,” he added, glancing toward the waist-boat, which was -drifting off with the current. “He! he! he! me serve ’em fine trick. -Good idee dat, to cut adrift Spooner’s boat, so dey no can catch me. -Dey hang me, sure, if dey did!” - -As he spoke he redoubled his exertions, and he was soon so far from -the Montpelier that he would have been completely shrouded by the -fog from the gaze of any person on deck. The boats were not missed -until half an hour afterward. The captain was the first to perceive -the loss, which overwhelmed him with astonishment, indignation, -and grief. The helmsman was awakened and questioned, but he could -throw no light upon the subject; and it was not until many hours -afterward--when the prolonged absence of the steward from the cabin -began to be remarked--that any definite conclusions began to be -formed. - -“Ay, ay,” said Briggs, in his blunt way, “I always _did_ suspect that -fellow; and now I feel certain that he has deserted the ship, and -that he cut away the other boat to prevent us from catching him!” - -“It is a terrible loss,” replied the captain, with a groan--“the loss -of those boats, at the present moment; for we have not another in the -ship, and so have no means of going in search of Alice. God help her! -God help the poor girl!” - - - - - CHAPTER IX. - - THE DISAPPEARANCE. - - -To return to the little party upon the ice. - -We left our friend Stump, sitting in a very uncomfortable position, -near the edge of the frozen block, and complaining because the lovers -had not yet unfastened his bonds. - -“Oh, a thousand pardons, my dear friend!” replied Alice, blushing -deeply. “It was, indeed, very wrong, on my part, to forget you.” - -“I am more to blame, Alice, than you are,” interrupted Marline, -drawing his sheath-knife, and proceeding to cut the cords from the -wrists and ankles of the prostrate seaman. “Ay, ay, old chum,” he -added, as Stump, with a sigh of relief, arose to his feet, and began -to kick the “cramp” from his little legs; “it is all my fault that -you were overlooked.” - -“Never mind apologies, now,” replied Stump, “seeing as the way you -acted was parfectly nat’ral, considering that you hadn’t met for half -an hour. But those pow-wows, twist ’em, have sarved us a lubberly -trick; for, besides taking the ship, they haven’t left me a drop of -’ile to grease my pigtail with!” - -“Your pigtail, friend Jack, is of but little consequence, at -present,” said the harpooner; “it will doubtless need oiling more -than it does now, before we are picked up.” - -“Ay, ay, there’s some truth in that last,” retorted Stump, with a -mournful “grin,” “and I’m sorry for it, because I always like to keep -the ‘thing’ neat and shining like, when there’s a young lass to look -at it.” - -“Then you may set your mind at ease, my friend,” said Alice, kindly, -“for I like the pigtail as well without it as with it.” - -“The Stumps always wore ’em ’iled,” said the shipkeeper, shaking his -head; “but it’s consoling to me, at any rate, Miss Alice, to hear you -say that you like mine as well when it doesn’t shine as when it does.” - -“We are certainly in a very disagreeable situation, at present,” said -Marline. - -“There’s no disputing that p’int,” replied Stump, as he threw a -woeful glance around him. “There isn’t a very fine prospectus spread -out before us, seeing as these cold blocks and bergs of ice don’t -look quite as comfortable as the quarters we are used to. Then, -again, we ain’t got any provision to live on, which is another -parfectly overpowering consideration.” - -“It’s a pity,” said Marline, “that the captain and his crew did not -remain aboard the ship, as they are accustomed to do. Then all this -trouble would have been prevented. You and I, Stump, can easily -endure the hardships before us; but, with Alice, it is different.” - -“Indeed,” said the captain’s niece, assuming a gay tone; “you will -find that I can bear them, too. Besides,” she continued, “as soon -as the fog clears, we will see the other boats, and then we can go -ashore, and build a tent, and make a good fire.” - -“All this will come to pass, in time, I have no doubt,” replied -Harry, “and very soon, too, if Briggs and the men, who left me about -an hour before the ship stove my boat, have succeeded in their -purpose, which was to find our friends. But, if they have failed, and -have lost themselves, we may have to pass the night upon the ice, and -perhaps a great portion of the next day, for this fog, in my opinion, -will be of long duration.” - -“Never mind,” said the young girl. “You perceive I have a thick -fur cloak, which will keep me warm enough, under almost any -circumstances; but you and Stump, I am sorry to see, are not very -thickly clad.” - -The two seamen laughed, good-humoredly. - -“We are used to roughing it, as you know, Alice,” said Harry, “and -don’t feel the cold.” - -“Ay, ay,” cried Stump, “that’s it; our hides are as tough as -bull-fish, and we can only feel consarn on your account, sweet lass, -for it must be owned that this fog isn’t as good for your lungs as -the steam from a cup of tea.” - -“It won’t hurt me, nevertheless,” said Alice, smiling; “for I have a -good constitution, and you know I have remained on the deck of the -Montpelier, in a thick fog, and when the weather was much colder than -it is now.” - -“Well, blast my eyes!” cried Stump, in admiration, “if ever I saw -such a parfect little duck of a philosopher before! There are few -women that could speak so cheery-like under present sarcumstances.” - -“You are right, there, chum,” said Harry, warmly. “I have seen girls, -before now, that would do nothing but moan and faint, were they to -find themselves in a predicament of this kind.” - -Alice did not attempt to conceal the glowing manifestations of -pleasure that her lover’s compliment called forth upon her cheek, and -in her eyes. But, before the blush and the smile had faded from her -face--with the natural desire to defend her sisters, which animates -the bosom of every true-hearted woman--she added: - -“It is hardly just, Harry, to imply that any woman would act -unbecomingly under circumstances in which you have never seen her -placed. A girl, who shrinks and trembles when threatened with some -light misfortune, may show much bravery and fortitude upon occasions -of great peril.” - -“True enough,” said the harpooner; “but you must acknowledge,” he -added, smiling, “that there are some young women who, by their -general behavior alone, give the most unequivocal proofs of a nature -too weak and frivolous to evince resolution, or unselfish devotion, -under any circumstances.” - -“That’s so,” put in Stump, “and Molly Banks, of Nantucket, was one of -them kind. In my young days, I made a lubber of myself, by proposing -to splice hands with that young she. But, she hadn’t enough devotion -in her natur’, she said, to marry a man that wore a pigtail.” This -took me all aback, as well it might; says I, “Why, Molly,” says I, -“the Stumps always wore ’em, and mine is very becoming to me!” - -“Nonsense!” says she, “it’s too old-fashioned; I’d never have courage -to take a husband with one of them things.” - -“All right,” says I, as I sheered off, “a woman that hasn’t neither -devotion nor courage, isn’t to _my_ taste.” - -“You are a sensible man, Jack,” cried Harry, smiling. “I think I -should have acted in the same manner, had I been in your place.” - -“The damsel was certainly unworthy of you, friend Stump, and showed -herself to be a very frivolous creature,” said Alice. - -She drew her cloak more closely about her as she spoke, for a cold, -drizzling rain had just commenced to fall, increasing the chilliness -of the atmosphere, and dampening the young girl’s cheeks and the -thick braids of her hair. - -Her lover, who had been watching her with tender concern, now -motioned to Stump, and made his way to the spot near which the boat -that Lark had provided for their accommodation had been stove and -sunk. The wreck of the little craft was still partially visible, for, -as the two men perceived, upon making an examination of it, the keel -had become wedged in a narrow fissure that extended across a shelf of -ice about a foot and a half beneath the surface of the water. - -“This is fortunate!” cried the harpooner, “for the wreck and its -contents will be of great service to us. We can pull the boat out of -the water, I think, with a little exertion.” - -“Ay, ay,” replied Stump, “we can do it with the help of some of the -whale line--a few coils of which are still left in one of the tubs, -as you can see for yourself.” - -The young man threw off his jacket, as his shipmate spoke, and rolled -up one of his shirt sleeves to his shoulder. Then stooping over -the edge of the ice, he plunged his naked arm into the partially -submerged boat, and seizing the end of the rope to which the -shipkeeper had alluded, he drew it up and proceeded to coil the -line upon the surface of the frozen raft. After this task had been -accomplished, a part of the rope was secured to the shattered bow -of the boat, whose contents, consisting of a few lances, a couple -of harpoons, a hatchet, a small bucket of tar with a brush, the two -line-tubs, the boatsail, a few large chunks of salt beef, a breaker -of fresh water--another containing hard bread--and a few of the other -articles, were taken out. Then both Marline and his chum grasped that -part of the line which was about a fathom from the place where it was -fastened, and tugged and strained at it until they had succeeded in -raising the head of the vessel above the edge of the ice. A quarter -of an hour’s work accomplished the rest, and, as the shattered craft -lay dripping before them, upon the ice, the little party exchanged -glances of the most intense satisfaction. - -“We’ll soon have a shelter rigged for you now, Alice,” said the -harpooner, as the young girl, who had been watching the operations of -her lover with much interest, glided to his side. - -She looked up gratefully into his face as he spoke, and placed her -hand upon his arm. - -“How will you do it?” she inquired, “with that broken boat and those -line-tubs?” - -“You shall see,” replied Marline, and drawing his sheath knife, he -commenced to cut the pieces of rope-yarn that held the sail to the -mast. - -It had previously been unrolled by Stump, and as the last rope-yarn -was severed, the shipkeeper twisted the cloth into as small a compass -as possible. Both men then seized it and began to wring it out, for -it had become thoroughly soaked, and required a “little drying” -before it could be used for the purposes in view. The manner in which -the two seamen handled the cloth as they squeezed it, seemed droll -enough to Alice, and more than once, as Harry glanced toward her, he -saw a sly smile hovering about the corners of her mouth. The task, -however, was soon accomplished, and, spreading out the sail, the -harpooner then proceeded to cover it with a coat of tar, so that the -rain might not penetrate the cloth; while Stump, in accordance with -the directions of the young man, lashed one of the line-tubs--turned -upon its side--to the after part of the boat, and the other in like -manner to the forward part. An oar was then placed lengthways above -the vessel, with each of its ends resting upon one of the tubs, -to which it was securely fastened in a short time by the skillful -fingers of the harpooner and his companion. - -The tarred sail was then thrown across the oar and secured to the -broken gunwales, in such a manner as to form quite a respectable -roof, and which could be opened at any moment on one side. So much -having been done, the young man seized the hatchet, and knocking -away all the thwarts, with the exception of one, gave them to Stump, -directing him to stop up the holes in the sides of the vessel with -them, as well as he could. While the shipkeeper was engaged in this -duty, Marline examined the inside bottom of the boat, and was glad -to perceive that the planks which covered it were still in good -condition. - -He wiped them with a piece of canvas, until they were as dry as he -could make them in this manner; and then, with the roll of sail-cloth -that had been found among the other contents of the vessel, he -assisted Stump in his efforts to stop up some of the many crevices -and holes in the broken bows and sides of the boat. - -“There, Alice!” he cried, springing out upon the ice, as soon as this -duty was finished, “you can now go into your ark, which will at least -keep you from getting wet.” - -“It is very nice,” said the young girl, “but is there room for us -all?” - -“Oh yes, in case we should care to go in. But Jack and I prefer to -stay outside for the present, so as to watch for Briggs and his -party, or for any of the boats.” - -As he spoke, he seized the hand that Alice extended to him, and -helped her into the vessel--his heart throbbing with delight as -he listened to the praises that she lavished upon the simple -accommodations which had been prepared for her. - -“It is almost as warm and snug here,” she said, when she had seated -herself, “as the cabin of the Montpelier.” - -“My eyes!” whispered Stump in Harry’s ear, “it’s a raal pleasure to -do any thing for this gal; she takes every thing so ship-shape and -sailor-like!” - -“I am glad it pleases you, Alice,” said Marline, “but with the help -of a few blankets it might have been improved.” - -“Indeed, Harry, there is not the least need of them, so far as I am -concerned, for I have my cloak, which will keep me warm enough.” - -The harpooner was about to reply, when Stump twitched his arm, -causing him to turn his head. - -The shipkeeper moved to the edge of the ice-raft, by a wink of the -eye implying that he desired Marline to follow him. Wondering what -he could wish to say to him, of a secret nature, the young man made -his way to the side of his companion, who then addressed him in a low -voice: - -“I didn’t wish to alarm the gal,” said he, “but you can perceive -that the tide is changing, and that we’ll soon, on that account, be -drifting in a direction that won’t be likely to carry us toward the -boats.” - -“Ay, ay, that’s true enough,” said the harpooner; “I expected it; but -we must trust to Providence.” - -“Them that trusts entirely to that,” said Stump, oracularly, -“don’t always come out right in the end, which isn’t the fault -of Providence, hows’ever, but the fault of them that don’t take -advantage of the chances and such like which it offers to ’em to get -out of their scrapes. There was a chaplain on board of the Minerva, a -craft that I once sailed in, and during a terrific gale that we had, -the ship leaked badly and we’d all have gone to Davy Jones, if we had -taken the advice of the Bible-man, who wanted us to leave the pumps -and pray to God to save the vessel. My eyes! she would have gone down -in no time if we’d done that; but the captain was a sensible man, and -ordered us to pump away, by which means we saved the craft, which we -wouldn’t have done if we had leaned on Providence!” - -“You did perfectly right in your case,” said the young man, “and your -words would seem to imply that there is some means that Providence -offers us to get out of our present uncomfortable situation. If so I -should be glad to hear you explain yourself.” - -“Here goes, then,” replied Stump, smoothing his pigtail. “The land, -you know, is not much more than a league to the east’ard of us, and -we have a couple of oars. With them oars, it’s my honest opinion that -we might contrive to work this block of ice that we are standing on, -to the shore, which would be much better than to let the current -carry us any further from the boats. As to Briggs and his party, -there is no use waiting for them, for we couldn’t do ’em any good if -they should come.” - -“True enough!” exclaimed Harry. “I wonder that this plan did not -occur to me. We had better go to work at once!” - -And the two men were preparing themselves for the task, when the -sound of a horn, blown from a distance which could not have been -greater than a quarter of a mile from the spot they occupied, saluted -their ears. The noise was repeated several times, and it drew the -pretty Alice from her miniature ark. - -“Surely, Harry, that is one of our boats,” she said, moving to the -side of the young man. “Oh, I am so glad!” - -“It is a pity that we have no horn,” said the harpooner, in a voice -of regret, “otherwise we could now make our position known.” - -“But the boat will come to us as things are, perhaps,” suggested -Alice. - -“It may, or it may not,” answered Harry. “I think it very likely that -it will turn off in some other direction before it gets here, and for -that reason, I think I shall try to go to _it_.” - -“Oh no!” cried the young girl, anxiously. “Briggs and his party ought -to serve as a warning to you. I would not do so, for the world. You -will certainly lose yourself as the others have done.” - -“You have not the least reason to be alarmed, Alice,” retorted the -young man; “the boats were much further off when Briggs left me than -this one is now, and besides I have only to go in a straight line to -get to it.” - -This assurance somewhat quieted the fears of Alice, but, some minutes -elapsed before the persuasions of her lover could reconcile her to -his departure. At length, however, impressing a kiss upon her cheek, -and assuring her that he would soon be back, he moved away, leaving -the young girl to watch him until the fog had shut his form from her -view. - -Even then she did not stir from her position, but kept her eyes -turned toward the spot where Marline had disappeared; and as minute -after minute passed, she still remained, gently refusing to comply -with the entreaties of Stump, who wished her to return to the ark -that she might not be exposed to the rain. - -Half an hour passed, still, neither her lover nor the boat appeared -to calm her uneasiness; and when the time had lengthened into a -full hour, she turned her pale, agitated countenance toward the -shipkeeper, and expressed her anxiety in a tremulous voice. - -“There’s not the least reason to be alarmed, Miss Alice,” said Stump, -“not the least. The lad has probably reached the boat long before -this, and has got into it. But it is probably so jammed in the ice, -that they can’t get here in a moment.” - -The young girl shook her head. - -“No, no!” she cried, “he wouldn’t have entered the boat; he would -have come right back after finding it, if nothing had happened!” - -Perceiving that he was unable to calm her fears, the shipkeeper -reflected a moment and then drew a small pocket compass from his -Guernsey, and looked at it. He had formed the resolution to go in -search of Marline. - -“I’ll bring you news of the lad in a short time,” he said, turning to -the young girl and exhibiting the compass. “This instrument will let -me know my bearings, so that I can easily find my way back.” - -“You will soon return, my friend?” - -“Ay, ay, bless you, very soon, for I’ve sworn to stick to you, and my -conscience wouldn’t allow me to remain long absent.” - -And ducking his head, by way of a bow, Stump departed, presenting -a comical figure, as he leaped from berg to berg. He made his way, -with a celerity which would not have been expected of a man of his -proportions--moving in the direction of the horn which was still -blowing, but which, it struck him, did not sound so near as it did an -hour before. - -This circumstance made him feel uneasy, for, if Harry had succeeded -in reaching the boat, it would not now be receding instead of -advancing. He hurried on, however, until a sloping iceberg, about ten -feet high and fifteen feet in length, barred his further progress. -This he would be obliged to scale before he could proceed, for he -could not go around it on account of a channel of water, too wide to -cross, that bounded it on each side. He looked up dubiously at the -top of the frozen pile, and, while still hesitating at its base, he -fancied he heard a shout close to his ear. - -He looked around in amazement, and as he did so, the cry was -repeated, this time louder than before, and seeming to emerge from -the very heart of the iceberg. - -“Who is that?” cried the shipkeeper, “and where are you?” - -“It is I--Harry Marline,” retorted the voice. “Is that you, Stump?” - -“Ay, ay, it’s me, bless your eyes, but skin me if I see how you could -have condensed yourself so as to get into this solid chunk of ice!” - -“You are mistaken,” retorted the laughing voice of the harpooner, -“there’s a rift in the berg like a ravine. You can see it if you -climb to the top where I was before I slipped into it.” - -“And is this where you’ve been all the time?” - -“Yes. The inner sides of my quarters are so slippery that I can’t -climb them! You had better get a rope and--” - -“I have a bunch of ratlin stuff in my pocket!” interrupted Stump, who -generally carried a little of every thing useful about him, “which I -guess will do.” - -And pulling out the bunch of rigging, he fastened one of its ends to -his pigtail--for he did not like the taste of tar sufficiently to put -the strands in his mouth--and proceeded to scramble to the top of the -ice, which he finally gained with much difficulty. Peering through -the mouth of the rift, he saw the upturned face of Marline, toward -which he now lowered the disengaged end of the piece of rigging. It -was soon in the young man’s hand, and Stump was about to unfasten the -other end from the pendent mass of hair, so as to secure it to one of -the rough projections of ice, when his foot slipped, causing him to -descend half way down the frozen declivity, which he had mounted with -so much trouble, and where he now hung suspended by his pigtail to -the rope; for the young harpooner, believing that his corpulent chum -was clinging to it with his hands, and that he was doing him a good -service by holding on to the piece of rigging, had not allowed it to -escape his grasp! - -So there hung the stout little shipkeeper, kicking his legs, and -vociferating in an excited manner, until at length he succeeded in -turning himself and grasping the rope with both hands. - -“You sarved me a bad trick, Marline, without knowing it,” he said, as -soon as he had regained the top of the berg. “Blast me if I think my -pigtail will ever recover from the effects of it.” - -And he then proceeded to explain the predicament in which he had -been placed. The harpooner expressed his sympathy and regret, after -which Stump proceeded very carefully to fasten the rope to an icy -projection near the mouth of the crevice. - -Assured that the rope was perfectly secure, Harry clambered hand over -hand, until he had gained the top of the berg, and then expressed his -intention of continuing his search for the boats. - -“As for you, Stump,” he added, “you had better make your way back -to Alice, as speedily as possible, so as to calm her fears on my -account.” - -“Willingly enough will I do that,” replied the shipkeeper, gently -smoothing his ruffled pigtail, “for I’m mightily tired of this -ice-cruising business--I’ll give you my word for that.” - -The two men separated, soon afterward, but not until Stump had -presented the pocket-compass to his chum and delivered a long tirade -upon its merits. - -“You are sure you can find your way back--are you not?” shouted -Harry, after he had gone a few paces. - -“Ay, ay,” responded Stump, “there isn’t a doubt upon that p’int. All -I have to do is to follow my nose, which won’t twist either to the -right or the left, seeing as its parfectly flat.” - -Each of the seamen then continued his course--the shipkeeper waddling -along toward the spot where he had left Alice, which was not more -than five hundred yards from the scene of his late adventure, and -the young harpooner darting swiftly forward in the direction of the -blowing horn. - -Stump strained his eyes, as he neared the point of his destination, -eager to get a glimpse of the captain’s fair niece. In order to -relieve her anxiety as soon as possible, he kept up a continual -shouting as he advanced. - -“It’s all right, Miss Alice--bless your pretty eyes--it’s all right! -I’ve seen him, I have, and he’s well and hearty! He was penned up in -a sort of seal-hole, but I got him out of it in quick time, and he’s -now started off again after the boats.” - -Quickening his pace as he moved on, he had soon made so much progress -that the little ark, looming up through the fog, directly ahead of -him, suddenly broke upon his view. Then looking around him in every -direction, and not seeing Alice, he stopped short, and rubbed his -eyes, to make sure that they had not been disarranged in such a -manner as to deceive him. - -The next moment he laughed very quietly to himself. - -“What a lubber I am getting to be, to think that the poor gal would -have stood where I left her all this time. She’s gone into her little -cubby-hole, and is now, I dare say, a-grieving and taking on in a sad -fashion. And that’s why she didn’t answer my shouting as I came on. -Ay, ay, that’s it, sure enough!” - -Eager to soothe the young girl with the news of her lover’s safety, -he hurried forward until he had gained the side of the boat, when he -hastily threw aside the end of the tarred cloth that covered it. To -his astonishment and dismay, the vessel was empty! - - * * * * * - -Little did the harpooner imagine this as he moved onward over the -floating bergs. Hope made his step light and his heart buoyant. The -horn was still being blown, and he doubted not that he would soon -reach the boat. Suddenly, however, the sound of the instrument became -hushed. He paused, waiting in vain for a repetition of the familiar -notes. He heard only the whispering noise of the rain, the gurgling -of the seal, as it rolled about in the water, impatient for the -sunshine, and the cry of the northern bird, as it wheeled in circles -through the foggy air. Now and then, it is true, a louder and more -startling noise would salute his ears, when some huge mass of ice, -becoming loosened on the summit of a miniature cathedral, would fall, -with a tremendous crash, to the base of the tower. - -He continued his search a quarter of an hour longer, when his further -progress was prevented by a channel not less than fifteen feet wide, -and which separated the floe into two parts. As he was turning to -retrace his steps, his attention was drawn to a number of little -eddies that suddenly appeared upon the surface of the water. Round -and round they whirled, becoming larger every moment. A peculiar -noise, resembling the distant rolling of a drum, rose up from the -depths of the sea. The berg upon which he stood, trembled like a rock -when the rumbling earthquake approaches its foundation. At length -the little whirlpools vanished; the water bubbled and broke into -ripples--then parted with a roar, as the hump of a huge whale rose -above the surface. Marline had no difficulty in recognizing this -monster as the same from which Briggs had been obliged to ‘cut;’ for -he saw his own irons protruding from its body. The barbed instruments -seemed to madden the creature with pain. It rolled and plunged from -side to side, so furiously lashing the water with its flukes, that -the harpooner was enveloped in clouds of spray. In order to escape -this uncomfortable shower-bath, he ascended a “crystal tower,” the -upper part of which, though out of range of the flying drops of -water, yet afforded him a good view of the whale. He continued to -watch the monster with much interest, feeling sorry that he had not -the means with which to put an end to its sufferings. The noise -of its spouting was inexpressibly mournful; it was not unlike the -half-smothered shriek of a drowning man, heard amid the roaring of -the blast. Soon, however, the animal became silent: for a few seconds -it remained nearly motionless: then it rushed quickly backward and -breached (sprung upward) nearly its full length out of the sea. For -an instant, with its fins extended and the tremendous proportions of -its body fully exposed, it hovered in the air, and then came crashing -down with a noise like the bursting of a thunder-bolt! The upheaving -waters dashing against the icebergs, agitated them on all sides. The -frozen mass occupied by Marline, rocked so violently that he could -scarcely maintain his position. He descended from it just in time to -catch a glimpse of the whale’s uplifted flukes, as the monster dove -into the green depths of the sea. - -“Ay, ay,” he muttered, sorrowfully, “there it goes at last--back -again to its watery chambers below, as though it would flee from the -torturing pain caused by those barbed irons. Would to heaven that we -had succeeded in killing it! It must suffer terribly!” - -He turned, and, glancing at the compass in his possession, hurried -off, with the intention of returning to the ark. He had not gone -far, however, when he heard upon his right a light pattering noise, -such as a dog might have made in running over the ice. His curiosity -being excited, he moved in the direction of the sound, peering keenly -through the fog as he advanced. The footfalls receded rapidly, but -pressing steadily forward, the young man was enabled, before long, to -distinguish the faint outline of some animal gliding swiftly on ahead -of him. He quickened his steps into a run; as he did so the object -disappeared behind an iceberg. Marline soon gained the frozen mass, -but the creature, whatever it was, had vanished. - -“This is strange!” muttered the harpooner. “The animal must be pretty -swift of foot to get out of my sight so quickly; though it is true -the fog would hide it, if it were only a few yards from me. Perhaps, -however, it has crawled into some hollow in the ice.” - -So saying, he commenced to peer into the nooks and crevices among the -bergs, after which he climbed to their summits to look for rifts, -using his boat-hatchet freely when he encountered any rugged mass -that might contain a secret chamber; but his search was unrewarded. -He thrust the hatchet in his belt, and had turned once more for -the purpose of making his way to the ark, when his glance fell -upon an object that caused him to utter an exclamation of surprise -and horror. He advanced a few steps to assure himself that he was -not deceived by any peculiarity in the formation of the ice; then -he moved to the side of the object and eyed it closely. It was -the skeleton of a human being, extended upon a shelf of ice that -protruded from the lower part of a lofty berg. Bleached by wind and -sunshine it had evidently lain here for many weeks. Every particle -of flesh had been stripped from its bones by some hungry bear that -had been cast adrift upon the floe. It lay upon its back so that its -hollow sockets, partially glazed over with ice, were turned upward as -if it were trying to discover whether or not its spirit had passed -to the ethereal shores of Heaven. Marline gazed upon it for a long -time, and then clapped his hand to his brow, as though some sudden -recollection had flashed across his mind. - -“Ay, ay!” he exclaimed, as he pointed to the broken ribs of the -skeleton; “it must be so! The remains before me are none other than -those of George Wills, whose story was related to me by one of the -crew of the Comus, a week ago.” - -He turned away with a sigh, and once more consulting his compass, -moved off in the direction of the ark. - -The story of which he had spoken, may be told in a few words. - -George Wills, a native of Nantucket, sailed from New Bedford in the -whaler Comus, on the 18th of September, 18--. Being a strong, active -young man, and an excellent sailor, he was soon promoted from a -foremast hand to the position of harpooner in the mate’s boat. In -due course of time the vessel arrived upon the whaling grounds, in -the Ochotsk Sea, where there was no lack of opportunities for the -new boat-steerer to try his skill in wielding the barbed iron. Much -to his own satisfaction and that of the first officer, he proved as -expert in this work as he was in handling the marlinespike and the -oar. - -One morning the four boats were got ready for one of those protracted -whale-hunts so common in the north-west. The crews were provided with -a plentiful stock of provisions and fresh water, as they intended to -remain absent from the ship for several days. George Wills being very -partial to expeditions of this kind, was in excellent spirits. Little -did he imagine the gloomy fate in store for him. - -At five o’clock, A. M., the boats were lowered; and after pulling -about fifteen miles from the ship, the crews sighted whales in a -large floe to leeward. The eight vessels were soon in the ice, and -separating, each gave chase to a whale. Before long the mate’s boat -was within five fathoms of a huge bowhead. - -“Stand up, George!” - -“Ay, ay, sir!” - -“Give it to him!” - -But before the harpooner could dart, he received a blow upon -the breast from the whale’s ponderous flukes, and fell over the -gunwale--dead! - -“Ay, ay, he’s gone, sure enough--poor Wills!” exclaimed the mate, as -the men dragged the body into the boat. “I don’t know where I shall -find another like him. There blows! there blows! right ahead of us! -Put the body in the ice, men, and do it quickly but gently. God have -mercy on the poor fellow’s soul! There blows! blows! blows! Lively -with that body, lads, it’s high time we were after that whale! We’ll -come back and pick up the corpse after we’ve captured that ‘oil-but!’ -Heaven pity Wills’ poor old mother! Come, men, bear a hand there; -one hundred barrels a-waiting for us to come and take ’em! Poor -Wills!--he’s gone to that ‘boom’ from which no man returns! What -d’ye say, men, are you ready?” - -The men having by this time placed the body upon a shelf of ice, -sprung into the boat and seized their paddles. The whale was -overtaken and fastened to; but after it had towed the boat a long -distance, the line became “foul” and the mate was obliged to cut. -A thick fog having risen in the mean time, he was now unable to -find the spot where the body of George Wills had been left. After -pulling in many different directions for a number of hours, he gave -up the search. On the next day, the fog having cleared, the search -was continued, but without success. The body was never found by the -crew of the Comus, and, as the reader already knows, it was only -mere chance that directed the footsteps of Marline to the ice-tomb -containing the fleshless remains. Leaving him to muse upon his -melancholy discovery, while pursuing his way toward the ark, we will -now return to Stump. - - - - - CHAPTER X. - - AN UNEXPECTED ENCOUNTER--CONCLUSION. - - -Staring at the deserted boat, with open mouth and distended eyes, the -shipkeeper remained for a few moments as motionless as though he had -been frozen to the ice beneath his feet. Then, in a voice tremulous -with emotion, he shouted the young girl’s name, again and again; but -there came no response. Nothing was to be heard save the surging of -the water around the sides and in the hollows of the ice, together -with the light pattering of the falling rain. - -“God help the poor thing--God help her, wherever she may be!” -groaned Stump. “It can’t be possible that she became so anxious-like -as to start off to look for her lover, herself, after I left her, -or I would have met her. I shall never forgive myself for leaving -her alone--no, never. There’s something always happening to -women--sickness, or something else--and I ought to have remembered -that and stuck close by her side.” - -He moved off--passing from berg to berg, and shouting the name of -the lost girl, as he proceeded. But he was soon obliged to sit down -to compose himself; for he loved Alice with an affection fully equal -to that which a kind father feels for an only daughter, and her -prolonged absence inspired him with emotions of grief such as he had -never before experienced. - -“She isn’t lost--no, no, it can’t be!” he burst forth. “She is a good -gal, and Providence watches over them kind. She is young--and yet -I’ve never known her to laugh at my pigtail--not that there’s any -thing about it to laugh at for that matter--like some of her sex that -I’ve come across in my wanderings. Ay, ay, she’s an angel, and God -will take care of her.” - -At that moment he heard a shout which he recognized as that of his -chum, and his response soon brought the young man to his side. - -“Where is she? Where is Alice? She is not where we left her!” - -“God only knows!” replied Stump. “I’ve been a-calling her, and -searching for her in vain, ever since my return!” - -The young harpooner compressed his lips tightly. His head drooped, -and his tall frame trembled, so great was his agitation. - -“Stump,” he at length said, in a hoarse voice, “What can have become -of her? My God!--perhaps she has slipped into the water and been -drowned!” - -“No, no,” cried Stump, “that last couldn’t happen. She is too careful -for that, you may depend upon it. One of the boats couldn’t have come -and taken her away, neither.” - -“It is my opinion that all the boats are a long distance off, by this -time,” replied Marline. “I didn’t even succeed in finding the one I -have been looking for, for the horn suddenly stopped blowing; and the -blocks of ice have now become so closely wedged, that no boat could -have reached Alice soon enough to take her away before your return. -No, no, she is on the ice, and if we look carefully for her, we may -find her before night.” - -Then, with anxious faces and beating hearts, the two men moved away, -threading the many intricate passages among the icy rocks with swift -steps, peering into every cavern and hollow they encountered. But the -crystal chambers were empty, and mockingly echoed back their voices, -as they shouted the name of Alice. - -They continued their search until the shadows of night put an end to -their fruitless exertions; then, in the faint hope that the young -girl might have returned to the ark during their absence, they made -their way to the point from which they had first started, by means of -the pocket-compass in Harry’s possession. - -But, the captain’s niece had not come back, and the two men seated -themselves beside the little retreat, both remaining silent for a -long time under the influence of a feeling akin to despair. The -harpooner was the first to speak: - -“I can never know a moment’s peace until Alice is found,” said he, -“for I can not rid my mind of the idea that she is in some position -in which she is suffering both mental and physical pain.” - -“We’ll find her when the fog clears--ay, ay, we’ll have her then, -I’ll warrant you,” returned Stump, pressing the hand of his chum. -“And now,” he added, throwing open the side of the canvas-roof, “you -had better turn in and get a nap, while I remain up and keep a sort -of a watch.” - -“No, no,” responded the young man, “for I am confident that I -could not sleep at present, and I doubt that I shall close my eyes -throughout the whole night. If either of us sleeps, you must be the -man to do so.” - -“I may do it, lad--ay, ay, I may do so after awhile, which wouldn’t -be the case, hows’ever, if I wasn’t confident that we’ll find the -gal in the morning. I’ll even go further than that,” added Stump, -thrusting his arm into the boat, and drawing forth the breaker of -hard bread, and the chunk of salt meat, which he had carefully -wrapped in a piece of canvas. “I’ll even go further, and acknowledge -that I am hopeful enough to feel hungry, and to believe that you’ll -help me eat some of our allowance.” - -Notwithstanding his boast, however, which in reality was but a _ruse_ -to cheer the drooping spirits of his companion, the shipkeeper, while -bringing his teeth together with a clicking sound, and smacking his -lips as though he were enjoying his meal with a keen relish, scarcely -tasted a morsel. But a half-smothered sigh escaped him when he -perceived that his well-meant trick failed to produce the intended -effect; for Marline would not partake of the food. “Some other time,” -said he, “I’m not hungry now.” - -And Stump rolled up the provision again, and dropped it into the -boat, muttering rapidly to himself in an undertone: - -“That’s the way with ’em--ay, ay, that’s the way with them lovers -the world over. They live on moonlight when they’re together, and -on grief when they are separated, and it’s only when they find -themselves a-dying for the want of nourishment, that they pitch into -the provisions.” - -In order, however, to carry out the deception he had commenced, the -shipkeeper now crawled into the boat, remarking that he should try a -little nap after his meal. - -Accordingly, he soon began to snore; but the noises that emanated -from his nostrils were so loud and peculiar--for in his anxiety to -perform his part well, he went far beyond the limits prescribed by -nature--that Marline, notwithstanding his anguish, could not fail to -penetrate the _ruse_. - -Not dreaming that such was the case, however, Stump continued to -snore, while thoughts something like the following passed through his -mind: - -“Ay, ay--I never tried to deceive anybody before--twist me if I did. -But it’s in a good cause--that it is--and there’s no use for me to -flinch now. Here’s this poor lad a-worrying out his life about this -gal, and I am tortured about it too, though not exactly in the same -way. But, he _must_ be cheered up--ay, that he must; and if snoring -can do it--why if that can do it, there’s nothing more simple.” - -A peculiar noise, like that which might have been made by the -rubbing of some person’s hands against the outside surface of that -portion of the tarred roof opposite to the position occupied by the -harpooner, turned the reflections of the shipkeeper into another -channel. His nose became silent, and raising himself upon his elbow, -he listened eagerly, wondering who the author of the disturbance -could be. - -The scratching continued, and just as the shipkeeper was on the point -of calling the attention of his chum to it, the edge of the tarred -cloth resting upon the gunwale, was pushed up, and Stump beheld a -pair of fierce looking eyes gleaming upon him through the gloom. - -He drew quickly back, at the same time giving vent to a prolonged -whistle of astonishment. - -“Who is that!” he yelled, at length, in a voice so shrill and -startling, that Marline sprung to his feet. “Ay, blast you, who are -you? Not the devil, surely, for that creatur’ never comes to disturb -honest men! Speak! you infernal ghoul-eyed thing--speak and tell me -who or what you be!” - -But before the sailor had concluded, the mysterious orbs disappeared, -like two sparks of fire that are suddenly quenched. - -“What is the matter, Stump?” inquired Harry, thrusting his head into -the boat at the same moment. - -His friend’s explanation was short, but graphic. - -“Perhaps your imagination deceived you,” said the young man. - -“Imagination! As true as my name is Stump, I haven’t a bit of -that article in me. The Stumps have all been matter-of-fact, from -generation to generation!” - -Harry then proposed that an immediate search should be made for the -mysterious creature, and, followed by Stump, who had provided himself -with a harpoon and the boat hatchet, he moved quickly forward. They -had not gone far when they heard a low growl, which seemed to proceed -from some one of the masses of ice directly ahead of them. They were -also enabled to distinguish a pair of gleaming eyes bent fiercely -upon them, and which Stump declared were the same he had seen peering -into the boat. - -“Quick--the harpoon!” whispered Marline, as a dark form, rapidly -approaching them, now became visible--“it’s a bear!” - -The iron was soon in the young man’s hand, and lifting it, he darted -it into the creature’s side. The bear, however, came on, tossing his -head, snapping his teeth, and uttering ferocious growls; and before -Marline had quite recovered his balance upon the slippery surface of -the ice, the beast was so close to him, that he could feel its breath -in his face; for the animal had by this time raised itself upon its -hind-legs and drawn back its fore-paws preparatory to plunging its -claws into the shoulders of the young man. - -Stump, however, now rushed forward and buried the sharp edge of the -boat hatchet deep in the animal’s neck, when, with a snarl of agony -and rage, bruin turned upon his new adversary. Retreating backward, -the latter continued to deal blow after blow upon the bear’s neck, -until the hatchet was knocked from his grasp by a stroke from the paw -of his opponent. - -Stump slipped at the same moment, falling upon his back, and the -next instant the bear, which had paused for a few seconds, seemingly -for the purpose of twisting its half-severed head into its natural -position, was about to throw itself upon the prostrate man, when -Marline plunged his sheath-knife into the creature’s stomach, drawing -the edge--“Norwegian fashion”--along its belly, and ripping open the -flesh. - -The blood of the already weakened animal poured forth in a perfect -torrent, and with a faint growl of defiance, the bear fell expiring -upon the ice. - -“Ay, ay,” said Stump, as he regained his feet and proceeded to smooth -his ruffled pigtail, “he’s a dead lubber, sure enough. I’ve heard -stories before now about them creatur’s up this way, not showing -much fight, but twist me if I don’t think this one is an exception, -although he isn’t much taller than a common-sized Newfoundland dog, -and very lean at that.” - -“The animal was half starved, as you can perceive by its appearance,” -replied Marline, “and that accounts for its ferocity. As a general -thing a bear of this kind will run before an armed man.” - -“Ay, ay, this creatur’ hasn’t had any thing to eat for a long time -I’ll be bound, having got adrift, somehow, on the ice. It’s a brown -bear, I think, although it’s so dark that it’s hard to make out the -color. My eyes! I never yet liked to meet an enemy in the dark!” - -Marline did not reply, but with a pale and agitated countenance stood -looking down upon the dead body at his feet. - -“Hasn’t it occurred to you, Stump,” he said at length, “that this -animal may have been the cause of the disappearance of--” - -“Sure enough!” interrupted the shipkeeper, starting, “and singular -it is, that the idea didn’t get into my head before. Depend upon it, -that creatur’ is at the bottom of the whole thing. But God help her!” -he suddenly added, shuddering, “it can’t be that--that--” - -“I understand what you would say,” broke forth the harpooner; “but -you may set your mind at ease upon that score. Alice has _not_ been -devoured by the bear, for if she had been the animal would not have -attacked us so soon afterward.” - -“Ay, ay!” cried Stump, brightening up, “I didn’t think of that. It’s -as you say--the bear didn’t eat the poor gal. I ought to have known -it by his being so lean, for he couldn’t o’ swallowed such a plump -lass as she is, without showing it. No--no. She saw the ravenous -creatur’ and she’s gone and hid herself somewhere and is afraid to -come out. We’ll find her in the morning, lad, depend upon it!” - -The two men made their way back to the block of ice upon which the -ark was situated, where they remained, sleepless and watchful, until -the gray dawn began to creep into the mist. Then they moved off to -continue the search. But they had not gone far when Stump suddenly -uttered a loud cry, while his eyes--fixed upon some particular -point--gleamed with a peculiar expression. - -“What is it? What do you see?” cried Marline. - -“It’s gone, now!” cried Stump; “it’s gone, sure enough; and more’s -the wonder. It’s a miracle--a parfect miracle; for my eyes didn’t -deceive me; I’m sure of that!” - -“For God’s sake, tell me; what was it?” - -“It was that little golden harpoon--the gift that the captain gave to -Miss Alice!” - -“What? How?--the _harpoon_? You must have been deceived. Where did -you see it?” - -“Where that lump of ice, right ahead of us, rises up. The harpoon was -on top of it. I saw the shine of the gold--I’m sure of it! But it was -only for a moment, for the thing disappeared, all of a sudden--faded -away from my sight!” - -“Impossible! Have your senses left you, Stump?” - -“Not a bit of it, lad. I saw the harpoon as plainly as I see you!” - -“Are you positive upon--” - -“Ay, ay; ready to swear to it?” interrupted the other, resorting to -his pigtail. - -The harpooner darted to the projection of ice to which the shipkeeper -had alluded, and eagerly scanned every nook and crevice around it, -for the idea had occurred to him that the harpoon, owing to some -imperceptible motion of the berg, might have been dislodged from its -position. - -But the golden bauble was not found. - -“It’s parfectly wonderful!” cried Stump. “Here was the harpoon, right -plump and plain, a minute ago, and now it’s gone. Well, well, them -that says the days of miracles is past must be infarnal liars, and--” - -He paused, suddenly, and, fairly trembling with excitement, touched -the arm of his companion. - -“There--there it is, lad, again! sure enough. There, where that small -mass of ice sticks out like a knot from the side of the berg, right -ahead of us!” - -“I see it!” cried Harry, darting forward, and, in a few moments, -he would have seized it, had not the little bauble suddenly and -mysteriously disappeared from his view! - -He carefully scanned the projecting mass of ice, but he saw nothing -to explain the singular phenomenon that had just occurred. - -“It’s a queer bit of gold--my eyes, if it isn’t!” cried Stump, “to -run away from its friends in that style, seeing as it isn’t through -miserliness that we are after it. There’s a miracle about it, sure -enough!” - -As the shipkeeper concluded, he chanced to direct his eyes toward a -hole in that part of the ice near his feet, and he then beheld two -little twinkling orbs looking up at him from the cavity. He started -back, with a cry of surprise, but, the next moment, he condemned -himself for this unnecessary display of emotion. - -“To think that I should be startled by a seal a-looking up at me -from his hole!” he exclaimed, as the inquiring eyes of Marline were -bent upon his face; “for that was all, lad--I’m ashamed to own -it--that was all that made me cry out.” - -He stamped upon the ice, impatiently, as he spoke, and, probably -alarmed by the noise thus made, the seal crawled from the cavity, -and dove into a narrow channel of water that extended along the base -of the berg; but, before it had accomplished this feat, the two men, -to their surprise and unbounded joy, had caught sight of the golden -harpoon, which was suspended to the neck of the little creature by -means of a strip of blue ribbon! - -“Ay, ay; I told you so,” exclaimed Stump, gleefully rubbing his -hands. “The gal is still alive; for who but herself could have tied -that bit of gold to the neck of the seal!” - -“Certainly!” responded Marline, with gleaming eyes; “and, without -doubt, we can find the whereabouts of Alice by closely tracking this -creature, which will probably go to the point from which it first -started. It has been hurt by a blow from a boat-hook, or some other -implement. I know that by the way it moved.” - -“And that’s why it takes to the water,” replied his companion; “for -the creatur’ knows that salts is good for its wound, and it’s only by -cruising along the edge of the channel that we’ll sight it again.” - -Accordingly, the two men, with their gaze still resting upon the -narrow strip of water, proceeded along its icy shore. They had not -gone far when they saw the seal lying motionless upon a small berg, a -few feet ahead of them. - -But it moved slowly away as they advanced--so slowly, in fact, that -they were obliged to slacken their pace, in order not to alarm the -timid animal. Occasionally, it would vanish, by moving under some -overhanging mass of ice; but, the next moment, their eyes would again -catch the gleam of the golden harpoon, as its bearer emerged to their -view. In this manner they followed it for a full half-hour, at the -end of which time the creature glided toward a hole, near the base of -a berg--one which, as it was near the eastern edge of the floe, had -not hitherto been encountered by the men during their search. - -“Ay, ay!” cried Stump, “there it goes, sure enough, into the hole, -and--and--my eyes!” he suddenly interrupted, “it’s only got half-way -in, after all, for the p’int of the harpoon has caught in a crevice, -and holds the little lubber fast!” - -He darted forward, as he concluded, seized the struggling animal, -and, disengaging the bauble from its neck, passed it to Marline. At -the same moment, a musical voice was heard to emerge from between the -thick ice-walls of the berg: - -“Is that you, my friend? Heaven be praised!” - -Both men uttered a simultaneous shout of joy. - -“It is she--it is Alice!” cried Marline, bounding forward. “Thank -God! she is found at last!” - -“Ay, ay!” retorted the shipkeeper, clapping his hands, and dancing -around the frozen mass, like a wild islander; “I felt pretty sartain -that blessed little creatur’ would lead us the right way! We are -here, Miss Alice!--both of us!” he added, raising his voice; “so keep -up a good heart, till we get you out, which we’ll do in the tying of -a square knot!” - -In fact, Harry had already begun to ascend one of the sides of the -crystal pile, and soon afterward, as the berg was not very high, he -had gained its summit. Here he found an aperture, which was barely -large enough to admit a human body, and which led into one of those -small, curiously-formed cells, which are found among the many crystal -wonders fashioned by Nature’s hand. - -And, in this narrow chamber, the sides of which were too smooth to -enable her to climb them, stood the niece of Captain Howard, looking -up at her lover, as he peered through the opening, which was not more -than five feet above her head. - -By means of the “ratlin-cords,” in Stump’s possession, the young girl -was soon extricated from her uncomfortable quarters. Then, under the -natural impulse of the moment, Marline clasped her to his breast, -while she, with a glad but faint cry, pillowed her weary head upon -his bosom. - -“My own Alice, found at last!” - -“Harry--dear Harry! Thank Heaven! we meet again!” - -“Ay, ay!” cried Stump; “so you do; and it does my heart good to see -it. It was that pretty idee of yours--that of fastening the harpoon -to the seal--that brought it all about. But I think we’d better get -back to your ‘hotel,’ as soon as we can, seeing as you’ll be more -comfortable there than you are here. The fog,” he added, glancing -around him, “will soon clear before the northerly breeze, which has -been fresh’ning since midnight; and, if I ain’t mistaken, we’ll see -some of the boats when that happens.” - -Accordingly, the little party moved off in the direction of the ark, -and, as they proceeded, Alice explained to her two friends the cause -of her disappearance. Soon after Stump had quitted her to search for -Marline, she heard a low growl, at no great distance from the spot -she occupied, and, at the same moment, she beheld a ferocious-looking -bear moving toward her. Obeying the impulse of the moment, she turned -and fled, the animal pursuing her, and it was not until she found -herself near the eastern edge of the floe, that she ventured to look -behind her. Then, to her horror and dismay, she perceived that the -savage beast was within a few feet of her. There was, however, within -reach of her hand, a curiously-shaped iceberg, and the thought now -occurred to her that, if she could gain its summit, the bear would -not be able to follow her up the slippery ascent. Accordingly, with -the strength and activity of desperation, she scaled the glittering -mass, in the top of which she found the opening already alluded to, -and through which, by an unguarded movement, she was precipitated -into the cell or cavity beneath. She heard the savage growls of -rage from her pursuer without, as the beast, with rapid but clumsy -movements, vainly endeavored to clamber the slippery sides of the -berg; and, finally, the sound of the retreating footsteps of the -baffled animal saluted her ears. Not long afterward she distinguished -the far-off voices of Stump and Marline, who, by this time, had -commenced to search for her. She responded, as loudly as she could, -but the thickness of the ice-walls prevented her voice from reaching -the two sailors--a fact of which she was convinced by the receding of -the shouts. They became fainter every moment, and, with a weary sigh, -she had crouched in a corner of her cell, when her glance alighted -upon the form of a seal, as it emerged from a small hole opposite -to her. Then the happy thought of fastening the golden harpoon to -the creature’s neck flashed upon her mind. Her friends, she thought, -would certainly see the little traveler, during its wanderings about -the floe, and would finally track the animal to its retreat, to -which, prompted by instinct, it would probably return before many -hours. Be this as it might, however, the novelty of the idea pleased -her, and so, creeping cautiously toward the seal, which, owing to the -wound it had received, was not very active, she finally succeeded -in grasping it and in securing the golden bauble to its neck by the -strip of blue ribbon which was taken from her hair. Then she released -the little prisoner, and was pleased to see it crawl away from her -and disappear through its hole. The reader knows the rest. - -By the time the young girl concluded her story, the fog had cleared -sufficiently to enable the party to see for nearly half a league -across the watery expanse stretching away to the south. - -The faint booming of a gun was now heard in that direction, and it -was followed by a joyful exclamation from Stump. With a loud cheer he -tossed his sou’wester into the air. - -“That gun is from the ship!” he exclaimed, “it’s that lubberly -six-pounder that she carries, forward. I can’t mistake the sound.” - -He was right; but an hour elapsed before enough of the fog had lifted -to enable the spectators to see the vessel, which was nearly a league -to the south’ard, heading directly for the floe. The shipkeeper -seized an oar, and fastening a piece of canvas to it, waved it about -his head. Ere long the signal was answered by that of the Montpelier, -which was “run up” to the truck, and when the vessel had approached -within a mile of the floe, her main topsail was “backed”; then a -boat was lowered. It soon struck the ice, and Alice was received in -her uncle’s arms; while Mr. Briggs advanced and shook hands with his -harpooner. - -Explanations followed, and while the captain’s niece was relating her -story to her uncle, Mr. Briggs proceeded to give Marline an account -of the adventures of himself and his companions after they had parted -from the young men on the floe. - -“It was not until we had wandered about for some time,” said he, -“that we succeeded in sighting one of the boats--that of the second -mate. We shouted to him; he picked us up, and I then told him that I -had left you alone upon the ice to take charge of my stove boat, and -that we must contrive to work his craft to the spot where you were, -so that we could pick you up. By this time, hows’ever, the blocks and -bergs had become so closely jammed together, that none of us could -see how we were a-going to do what I proposed. Spooner declared that -the boat would certainly be knocked to pieces before we got to you, -if we tried to force her through them bergs. But, as I insisted, the -second mate gave in, and we went to work. But, bless your eyes, you -might as well have tried to push the craft through a rock as to force -her through them tightly-squeezing lumps of ice! Still, we tugged -and strained, using oars and paddles, and sometimes jumping out of -the boat to lighten her; and, at last, after we had worked for about -three hours, a-sounding our horn all the time, and after we’d got so -far among the bergs that we didn’t think we could ever get out again, -and all without seeing or hearing anything of you, I came to the -conclusion that my craft had got sunk, and that you’d been picked up -by one of the other boats; and so I said to Spooner, that we’d better -be for getting out of our ticklish quarters if he didn’t want his -boat to get stove.” - -“Ay, ay,” here interposed Stump, “and there’s sartainly a moral in -that part of your story, seeing as it shows how difficulties always -makes us parfectly willing to believe that it’s best to do what -we’re most inclined to do, a-leaving our duty entirely out of the -consideration.” - -As the shipkeeper was a sort of privileged character, the mate took -no notice of his remark beyond a slight frown. Then again turning to -Marline, he continued: - -“It took us as long, if not longer, to get out of the ice than to -get in, but, we got clear at last, and Spooner had just given orders -to the men to take to their oars--for he intended to make for the -shore--when suddenly we heard, ahead of us, a sound like the rushing -of a ship through the water. The crew were then made to stop pulling, -and we were a-sitting with our oars apeak, when, my eyes! what should -come looming out of the fog, and making straight for us, but the -Montpelier itself!” - -And Briggs then went on to describe those incidents concerning the -chase--the death of Tom Block--the final recapture of the ship by -Captain Howard--and, lastly, the loss of the two boats; all of which -are already familiar to the reader. - -“All that we could do after the loss of our boats,” continued the -narrator, “was to wait for a breeze, which, as you know, didn’t -spring up until midnight. Then we headed for the floe, as you can -perceive, and were fortunate enough, soon afterward, to pick up the -third mate, whose boat it is you see alongside of us. You know the -rest, lads, and so that ends the story.” - -We have but little more to add. - -The whole party returned to the Montpelier, in which, after she had -partaken of refreshments, and enjoyed the luxury of sleep, Alice -recovered her youthful spirits, together with the bloom that had, in -a measure, been banished by the hardships she had suffered. - -A week from that time the vessel left the sea of Ochotsk, -homeward-bound. She arrived at her destined port in a few months, and -the trial of all the mutineers--with the exception of the Portuguese -steward (who shortly after his desertion from the Montpelier, had -been picked up by the whaler Comus only to be lost overboard shortly -afterward during a heavy gale of wind)--was then commenced. - -Tom Lark and Driko were sentenced to be hung; the rest, to be -imprisoned for life. - -Alice Howard and Harry Marline were married before a select party of -friends--among whom was Stump, with his pigtail beautifully oiled for -the occasion--at the house of the bride’s uncle. They are now living, -contented and happy, in a pleasant cottage on the outskirts of New -Bedford. - -Stump, who still follows a seafaring life, comes to see them, once -in a while, and on every such occasion, as may well be imagined, he -receives a hearty welcome, not only from Alice and her husband, but -also from two other Marlines--two little pocket editions with chubby -faces and fat hands, who think almost as much of “Uncle Stump” as -they do of the pretty GOLDEN HARPOON that now hangs suspended from -the wall of their mother’s chamber. - - - THE END. - - - - - BEADLE & ADAMS’ - - New Twenty Cent Novels! - - - The TWENTY CENT NOVELS’ series will embrace none but NOTED WORKS OF - NOTED AUTHORS, chiefly in the field of a purely American romance, - of marked originality and high interest--price, size and literary - character all adapting them to the widest circulation. Those - seeking for THE BEST AMERICAN NOVELS will find them in this series. - - - Those already issued embrace: - - ALBERT W. AIKEN’S - - NOTED DICK TALBOT ROMANCES! - - - NAMELY: - - =Overland Kit=, - =Rocky Mountain Rob=, - =Kentuck, the Sport=, - =Injun Dick=. - - Works of unequaled power, brilliancy and interest--a combination of - Bret Harte, Gustave Aimard and Charles Reade--virtually introducing - a New School of _American_ Romance, and whose extraordinary success - opens a NEW ERA IN POPULAR LITERATURE. - - Now in press, and to issue in order, as indicated: - - =5--The Scalp Hunters.= - BY CAPT. MAYNE REID. - =6--The Prairie Mazeppa.= - BY ALBERT W. AIKEN. - =7--The Silent Hunter.= - BY PERCY B. ST. JOHN. - =8--The Man from Texas.= - BY ALBERT W. AIKEN. - =9--The Red Rajah.= - BY FREDERICK WHITTAKER. - =10--The Winged Whale.= - BY ALBERT W. AIKEN. - =11--Idaho Tom.= - BY OLL COOMES. Ready March 15th. - =12--The White Squaw.= - BY CAPT. MAYNE REID. Ready April 10th. - - Sold by all newsdealers; or sent, post-paid, to any address, on - receipt of price--Twenty Cents each--by - - =BEADLE AND ADAMS, Publishers,= - =98 William Street, N. Y.= - - - - - THE ILLUMINATED DIME - - POCKET NOVELS! - - PUBLISHED SEMI-MONTHLY. - - - Comprising the best works only of the most popular living writers - in the field of American Romance. Each issue a complete novel, with - illuminated cover, rivaling in effect the popular chromo no, - - =And yet Sold at the Standard Price--Ten Cents=! - - Incomparably the most beautiful and attractive series, and the most - delightful reading, ever presented to the popular reading public. - - Distancing all rivalry, equally in their beauty and intrinsic - excellence as romances, this new series will quickly take the lead - in public favor, and be regarded as the Paragon Novels! - - - NOW READY, AND IN PRESS. - - =No. 1--Hawkeye Harry, The Young Trapper Ranger.= By Oll Coomes. - =No. 2--Dead Shot=; or, The White Vulture. By Albert W. Aiken. - =No. 3--The Boy Miners=; or, The Enchanted Island. By Edward S. - Ellis. - =No. 4--Blue Dick=; or, The Yellow Chief’s Vengeance. By Capt. Mayne - Reid. - =No. 5--Nat Wolfe=; or, The Gold-Hunters. By Mrs. M. V. Victor. - =No. 6--The White Tracker=; or, The Panther of the Plains. By Edward - S. Ellis. - =No. 7--The Outlaw’s Wife=; or, The Valley Ranche. By Mrs. Ann S. - Stephens. - =No. 8--The Tall Trapper=; or, The Flower of the Blackfeet. By - Albert W. Aiken. - =No. 9--Lightning Jo, the Terror of the Santa Fe Trail.= By Capt. - Adams. - =No. 10--The Island Pirate.= A Tale of the Mississippi. By Captain - Mayne Reid. - =No. 11--The Boy Ranger=; or, The Heiress of the Golden Horn. By Oll - Coomes. - =No. 12--Bess, the Trapper.= A Tale of the Far South-west. By Edward - S. Ellis. - =No. 13--The French Spy=; or, The Fall of Montreal. By W. J. - Hamilton. - =No. 14--Long Shot=; or, The Dwarf Guide. By Capt. Comstock. - =No. 15--The Gunmaker of the Border.= By James L. Bowen. - =No. 16--Red Hand=; or, The Channel Scourge. By A. G. Piper. - =No. 17--Ben, the Trapper=; or, The Mountain Demon. By Maj. Lewis W. - Carson. - =No. 18--Wild Raven, the Ranger=; or, The Missing Guide. By Oll - Coomes. - =No. 19--The Specter Chief=; or, The Indian’s Revenge. By Seelin - Robins. - =No. 20--The B’ar-Killer=; or, The Long Trail. By Capt. Comstock. - =No. 21--Wild Nat=; or, The Cedar Swamp Brigade. By Wm. R. Eyster. - =No. 22--Indian Jo, the Guide.= By Lewis W. Carson. - =No. 23--Old Kent, the Ranger.= By Edward S. Ellis. - =No. 24--The One-Eyed Trapper.= By Capt. Comstock. - =No. 25--Godhold, the Spy.= A Tale of Arnold’s Treason. By N. C. Iron. - =No. 26--The Black Ship.= By John S. Warner. - =No. 27--Single Eye, the Scourge.= By Warren St. John. - =No. 28--Indian Jim.= A Tale of the Minnesota Massacre. By Edward S. - Ellis. - =No. 29--The Scout.= By Warren St. John. - =No. 30--Eagle Eye.= By W. J. Hamilton. - =No. 31--The Mystic Canoe.= A Romance of a Hundred Years Ago. By - Edward S. Ellis. - =No. 32--The Golden Harpoon=; or, Lost Among the Floes. By Roger - Starbuck. - =No. 33--The Scalp King.= By Lieut. Ned Hunter. - =No. 34--Old Lute, the Indian-fighter=; or, The Don in the Hills. By - E. W. Archer. - =No. 35--Rainbolt, the Ranger=; or, The Ærial Demon of the Mountain. - By Oll Coomes. - =No. 36--The Boy Pioneer.= By Edward S. Ellis. - =No. 37--Carson, the Guide=; or, the Perils of the Frontier. By - Lieut. J. H. Randolph. - =No. 38--The Heart Eater=; or, The Prophet of the Hollow Hill. By - Harry Hazard. - =No. 39--Wetzel, the Scout=; or, The Captive of the Wilderness. By - Boynton Belknap, M. D. - =No. 40--The Huge Hunter=; or, The Steam Man of the Prairies. By - Edward S. Ellis. - =No. 41--Wild Nat, the Trapper.= By Paul Prescott. - =No. 42--Lynx-cap=; or, The Sioux Track. By Paul Bibbs. - =No. 43--The White Outlaw=; or, The Bandit Brigand. By Harry Hazard. - =No. 44--The Dog Trailer.= By Frederick Dewey. Ready - =No. 45--The Elk King.= By Capt. Chas. Howard. Ready - =No. 46--Adrian, the Pilot.= By Col. Prentiss Ingraham. Ready March - 28th. - =No. 47--The Man-hunter.= By Maro O. Rolfe. Ready April 11th. - - BEADLE’S DIME POCKET NOVELS are always in print and for sale by all - newsdealers; or will be sent, post-paid, to any address; single - numbers, ten cents; six months (13 Nos.) $1.25; one year (26 Nos.) - $2.50. 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*/ - position: absolute; - color: #A9A9A9; - left: 92%; - font-size: smaller; - text-align: right; - font-style: normal; - font-weight: normal; - font-variant: normal; - text-indent: .5em; -} - - -/* blockquote (/# #/) */ -.blockquot { margin: 1.5em 5% 1.5em 5%; } - - -/* general placement and presentation */ -.bboxa {margin: 0% 15% 0% 15%; - padding: .5em;} - -.bboxb {margin: 0% 0% 0% 20%; - padding: .5em;} - -.bboxc {margin: 0% 10% 0% 10%; - padding: .5em;} - -.bbtxt {font-size: 100%; - font-weight: bold; - padding-left: 25%;} - -.center {text-align: center; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;} - -.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} -.allsmcap {font-variant: small-caps; text-transform: lowercase;} - -.lsp {letter-spacing: 0.1em;} -.lsp2 {letter-spacing: 0.17em;} -.lsp3 {letter-spacing: 0.3em;} - - -/* Images */ - -img { - border: none; - max-width: 100%; - height: auto; -} - -img.w100 {width: 100%;} - - -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; - page-break-inside: avoid; - max-width: 100%;} - - -/* Transcriber's notes */ -.transnote {background-color: #E6E6FA; - color: black; - font-size:smaller; - padding:0.5em; - margin-bottom:5em; - font-family:sans-serif, serif; } - -.transnote p {text-indent: 0em;} - -.illowp47 {width: 47%;} - - </style> - </head> - -<body> - -<div style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Golden Harpoon, by Roger Starbuck</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -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 Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<table style='min-width:0; padding:0; margin-left:0; border-collapse:collapse'> - <tr><td>Title:</td><td>The Golden Harpoon</td></tr> - <tr><td></td><td>Lost Among the Floes</td></tr> -</table> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Roger Starbuck</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: April 05, 2021 [eBook #64999]</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: David Edwards, Susan Carr and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (Northern Illinois University Digital Library at http://digital.lib.niu.edu/)</div> - -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GOLDEN HARPOON ***</div> - -<div class="figcenter illowp47" id="cover" style="max-width: 62.5em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/cover.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<h1 class="pg-brk"><span class="fs70">THE</span><br /><br /> - -<span class="lsp3">GOLDEN HARPOON</span>;<br /><br /> - -<span class="fs50">OR,</span><br /><br /> - -<span class="fs70">LOST AMONG THE FLOES</span></h1> - -<p class="pfs120 p4">A STORY OF THE WHALING GROUNDS.</p> - -<hr class="r20a" /> - -<p class="pfs120">BY ROGER STARBUCK.</p> - -<hr class="r20b" /> - -<p class="pfs100 p6">NEW YORK:<br /> -<span class="fs120">BEADLE AND ADAMS, PUBLISHERS</span>,<br /> -<span class="fs80">98 WILLIAM STREET</span>.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<p class="pfs70 p10 pb10 pg-brk">Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1865, by<br /> -<span class="lsp2">BEADLE AND COMPANY</span>,<br /> -In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States for the<br /> -Southern District of New York. -</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CONTENTS">CONTENTS</h2> -</div> - -<table class="autotable fs90" width="85%" summary=""> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdl"></td> -<td class="tdr fs80">PAGE</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">I.</td> -<td class="tdl">THE GOLDEN HARPOON.</td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">9</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">II.</td> -<td class="tdl">THE RESULT.</td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">19</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">III.</td> -<td class="tdl">A “STOVE” BOAT.</td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">24</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">IV.</td> -<td class="tdl">IN CONFINEMENT.</td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">33</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">V.</td> -<td class="tdl">THE BARRICADE.</td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">39</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">VI.</td> -<td class="tdl">A SLIGHT CHANGE.</td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">46</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">VII.</td> -<td class="tdl">ADRIFT.</td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">52</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">VIII.</td> -<td class="tdl">THE CHASE.</td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">60</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">IX.</td> -<td class="tdl">THE DISAPPEARANCE.</td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">71</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">X.</td> -<td class="tdl">AN UNEXPECTED ENCOUNTER—CONCLUSION.</td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">86</a></td> -</tr> -</table> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</span></p> - -<p class="pfs150 p2">THE<br /> -<span class="lsp2">GOLDEN HARPOON</span>.</p> - -<hr class="r20 p3" /> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.<br /> -<span class="fs60">THE GOLDEN HARPOON.</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p><span class="smcap">On</span> the morning of the 25th day of April, 18—, the whale-ship -Montpelier, of New London, anchored in one of the many -bays that open along the coast of Kamschatka, where it is -washed by the waters of the Sea of Ochotsk.</p> - -<p>As soon as every thing was made snug alow and aloft, the -skipper rubbed his hands with complacency, and a satisfied -expression was seen to cross even the face of Mr. Briggs, the -first mate, who was the ship’s grumbler.</p> - -<p>“Good quarters,” remarked the captain.</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay, sir,” responded Briggs, “the tide is easy here -and I don’t think a gale would hurt us much—we are so shut -in by the cliffs. But,” he suddenly added, turning his glance -toward a large field of ice, about a league from the shore, “I -don’t like the looks of yonder floe. It may come upon us -and give us a jam.”</p> - -<p>“It will drift past us,” replied the captain; “the current -tends to the north’ard.”</p> - -<p>“I’m not so sure of <em>that</em>,” said the mate, as he snatched a -glass from the mizzen fife-rail, and directed it toward the ice. -“Them undercurrents up this way sometimes plays the very -smash. But if I ain’t much mistaken, I see a bear moving -along the floe.”</p> - -<p>As he spoke, he passed the glass to his companion, who -immediately lifted it to his eye.</p> - -<p>“Do you see the animal, captain?”</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay, there it is, sure enough; a <em>brown</em> bear, I believe.”</p> - -<p>“Uncle!” exclaimed a gentle voice at this instant, and a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">[10]</span> -light hand fell upon the captain’s shoulder. “How wild! -how picturesque! What place <em>is</em> this?”</p> - -<p>The speaker was a girl of seventeen, with large brown -eyes, a <em>petite</em> but well-rounded figure, and a countenance truly -lovely in its purity and expression. From her neck, by a -strip of blue ribbon, was suspended a golden harpoon of delicate -workmanship, and about four inches in length. It was -the gift of the captain—her only living relative—who had -presented it to her on the day that he complied with her -request to accompany him on his present voyage.</p> - -<p>And why did she wish to go to sea?</p> - -<p>Firstly, because the bold and handsome Harry Marline had -shipped in the Montpelier as boat-steerer and harpooner’s aid. -Secondly, because she was much attached to her relative, who, -having no children of his own, always had treated his niece -with the indulgent fondness of a father.</p> - -<p>You might have known this, had you seen the smile that -crossed his face as he turned and gazed with admiration upon -the crimsoned cheek, and the expressive eyes of the young girl.</p> - -<p>“Good-morning, Alice,” he said. “I am glad to see you -stirring so early. How did you pass the night?”</p> - -<p>“Very well, thank you,” she replied, raising herself upon -the tips of her toes, and presenting her lips for a kiss, which -was immediately granted. “Very well, indeed; but you -have not answered my question. What place is this?”</p> - -<p>“It has no particular name that I ever heard of,” replied -the captain. “But, you have been long enough at sea, now, -Alice, to perceive that I’ve chosen a good place for an -anchorage—”</p> - -<p>“If it wasn’t for the ice,” interrupted Briggs.</p> - -<p>“An excellent place,” continued the captain, paying no -attention to the words of his companion, “a position well -sheltered, where the craft can lie while we fill her with oil—secure -from every danger—”</p> - -<p>“Except that of ice,” doggedly persisted the mate.</p> - -<p>“Secure from <em>every</em> danger,” repeated the captain, turning -sharply toward his first officer.</p> - -<p>“Oh! I am so glad!” cried Alice, clapping her white -hands with an enthusiasm natural to a girl of seventeen. “It -is such a wild, beautiful place. And, on pleasant days, I can<span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">[11]</span> -bring my sewing on deck. It will be very nice sitting here -and looking up now and then at those great towering cliffs -that rise so far above the tops of our mast-heads.”</p> - -<p>“Until the ice comes,” said Briggs.</p> - -<p>“Why, Mr. Briggs, what do you mean?” said Alice, turning -toward the first officer with an expression of alarm upon -her face; “this is the third time I’ve heard you speak about -the ice. Is there really danger to be apprehended from it?”</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay, Miss Alice, plenty of it,” bluntly responded the -mate, “and unless—”</p> - -<p>“You must not mind him, niece,” interrupted the captain. -“He fancies there is danger from that floe that you see off the -quarter; but, you may believe me, when I tell you, that it -will have drifted past us before night.”</p> - -<p>“There are undercurrents that’ll bring it upon us before -the morning,” persisted Briggs. “This isn’t the first time -I’ve sailed in these waters.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, uncle!” said the young girl, placing both hands upon -the captain’s shoulder; “the mate is an old sailer of this sea, -while this is the first time that <em>you</em> have ventured in this -quarter. I think you had better take his advice.”</p> - -<p>“Fiddlestick!” exclaimed the captain; “what does a girl -know about seafaring matters?”</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay, sir, she’s a girl, but she’s got an uncommon -wise head for all that. Mark ye, Captain Howard,” he added, -feeling so highly gratified by the favorable remark of the skipper’s -niece, that he was disposed to be complimentary—“mark -ye, I’ve seen women enough in my day, but I’ve never -seen one as had a longer head than Miss Alice!”</p> - -<p>The maid blushed, and bit her lips to conceal a smile, -while Briggs, believing that his words had pleased her, but -fearing that she might think he had merely been trying to -flatter, pursued the subject in a manner so earnest, that his -sincerity could not be doubted.</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay, sir—a long head has this young girl, and I -don’t mean to flatter her when I say it. She’s about the first -woman I ever saw with such a head. To look at her, it’s -true, you mightn’t think that she was blessed in that way. -But, my eyes! neither would you think that a horse’s head -was so long as a flour barrel!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">[12]</span></p> - -<p>“You had better stick to currents and icebergs, -Mr. Briggs, and leave the complimenting of girls to those who -understand the art better than you do,” said the captain, a -little resentfully. “Young ladies, as a general rule, do not -care to be told that they have long heads?”</p> - -<p>“Indeed, uncle,” cried Alice, in a voice that faltered with -the efforts she made to restrain her laughter, “indeed, -uncle, I feel much obliged to the mate for the compliment he -has paid me.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, well,” said her uncle, dryly, “there is no accounting -for tastes—especially for those of women. If Briggs’ remark -pleased you, I have no more to say.”</p> - -<p>“He was sincere, dear uncle, and you know that sincerity -<em>always</em> pleases me.”</p> - -<p>“Even when you are told that you have a long head?”</p> - -<p>“That was a figurative expression on the part of Mr. -Briggs.”</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay, that’s it,” broke forth the mate, “figgerin’ is the -word. I’m poor at figgers myself, but my eyes do me instead, -for they have good sight and are good at measuring. -And that’s why I can calculate almost to the minute when -that ice-floe, which is now about a league from us, will be -upon us, jamming our timbers.”</p> - -<p>“It will never reach us,” replied the captain, in a decided -voice; “you can even perceive that it is moving north’ard -now, and—”</p> - -<p>He paused suddenly and turned his gaze toward the ice, -upon which the eyes of the mate had suddenly seemed fixed -with steady intensity.</p> - -<p>“Ay, there it is again,” shouted the first officer, as a -column of vapor shot upward from the center of the floe. -“There blows!—there—there blows! The ice is alive with -whales, captain Howard!”</p> - -<p>“Clear away the boats, there!” shouted the latter.</p> - -<p>These words were addressed to the sailors lounging about -the windlass, some of them smoking, and others engaged in -patching threadbare coats and jackets.</p> - -<p>“Lively—lively, men!” yelled the captain, as the “tailors” -paused to thrust the garments upon which they had been -working, into the many little “cubby-holes” about the windlass,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">[13]</span> -and the smokers proceeded to knock the ashes from their -pipes. “Call all hands!”</p> - -<p>This command was promptly obeyed, and a dozen men who -had been lying asleep upon chests in the forecastle came bounding -through the open scuttle.</p> - -<p>By this time the decks of the Montpelier presented a scene -of bustle and excitement, such as always takes place on board -a vessel of her class when whales have been sighted, and preparations -are being made to lower away. The men rushed to -the falls; the harpooners sprung into their respective boats to -prepare the line-tubs and their craft; while the captain and -his officers hurried the movements of their crews with frantic -gesticulations and excited voices.</p> - -<p>In the midst of the uproar stood Alice Howard, watching -with dilating eyes and blushing cheeks the movements of -Harry Marline, who belonged to the mate’s boat, and who, -more than once, while arranging his irons, contrived to direct -a quick but smiling glance toward the spot where she stood. -She had been so long an inmate of her uncle’s vessel, that—but -for the presence of her lover—the scene passing before -her eyes would have excited but little interest in her bosom.</p> - -<p>The hoarse shouts of the captain and the many expletives -that even her presence did not prevent the mate from uttering, -jarred unpleasantly upon her spirit, and more than once she -pressed her little hands against her ears to shut out the hard -words that saluted them.</p> - -<p>At last, however, the necessary preparations were completed, -and the captain then gave the order to lower away. -As the four boats dropped simultaneously into the water, he -advanced to the side of his niece, and grasped her hand.</p> - -<p>“Good-by, Alice. When we return, I hope we will bring -whales alongside. Take good care of yourself while I am -absent. There are plenty of books in the cabin to amuse you, -I trust.”</p> - -<p>“Oh yes, I shall get along very well. But <em>do</em> be careful, -dear uncle, and don’t have any of your boats stoven, or any -of your men hurt.”</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay, good-by!” and with a parting kiss the captain -sprung into his boat and issued the command to “give way!”</p> - -<p>The light vessels darted with arrowy swiftness from the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">[14]</span> -ship’s side, and, a moment afterward, the bow of each was -heading for the floe.</p> - -<p>Alice then ran to the bulwarks, and stood watching the -boats with a vague feeling of uneasiness that she had never -before experienced.</p> - -<p>The voices of the officers as they shouted encouragement to -their crews, and the dull sound of the oars as they were worked -in the row-locks, fell unpleasantly on her ears. She strove to -recall the feelings of pleasurable excitement that she had been -wont to indulge upon similar occasions; but, the effort was -made in vain, and tears of vexation rose to her eyes, because -she was unable to subdue her melancholy.</p> - -<p>In the mean time the four boats continued to recede rapidly -from the ship, and presently the young girl perceived that -they were upon the outer edge of the ice-field. A few -minutes later their crews had worked them so far among the -bergs that they were out of sight.</p> - -<p>Alice was then on the point of moving in the direction of -the companion-way, when she felt a hand upon her arm. -Turning, she beheld a face and figure, the singular appearance -of which we shall at once describe.</p> - -<p>The face, which was that of a man about forty years of age, -was very large and square, with enormous ears, round, twinkling -blue eyes, a flat nose, and a pair of lips that kept moving -from side to side, producing a ludicrous effect upon the whole -countenance. An old-fashioned pigtail, carefully tied near its -extremity, and well greased with whale oil, hung from the -back of the head, keeping time with the movements of the -wearer, and giving to the huge glazed sou’wester that crowned -his skull, the appearance of a very unnatural animal, with a -black shell and a long tail. Passing on, we come to the -figure, which was not unlike that of a cask, while the arms -were of enormous length. The legs, on the contrary, were -very short. The dress of this person, besides the sou’wester -alluded to, consisted of a Guernsey frock—so profusely -ornamented with patches of different sizes and hues, as to -remind the spectator of “Joseph’s coat of many colors”—and -pants of canvas-duck, very coarse, but scrupulously clean, -with the bottoms flowing loosely around a pair of neat, well-fitting -pumps.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">[15]</span></p> - -<p>“Good-morning, John Stump,” said Alice, as the sailor -lifted his sou’wester and bowed, scraping his right foot as he -did so.</p> - -<p>“<em>Jack</em> Stump, if it please your pretty lips, miss—for I always -feel as though I was turned wrong side out when anybody -calls me John. Jack’s the name that I’ve always gone -by, ever since I was as big as a turtle.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, very well—Jack Stump it shall be, then. You have -something particular to say to me, Jack,” she added, as the -seaman suddenly placed his forefinger upon the side of his -flat nose, while his great blue eyes began to roll in his -head.</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay,” he said, at last, in a low voice, “I’ve been a-trying -to get out, what I wanted to say to you, sweet lass but -your beauty choked the words in my throat, as a stick of -candy put in the mouth of a baby stops its squalling. Such -beauty as yours, miss—”</p> - -<p>“That will do, Jack,” interrupted Alice, with a gratified -smile, for she was too truthful to pretend that the compliment -did not please her; “that will do, and I am much obliged to -you. But you have aroused my curiosity, and I would thank -you to come to the point at once.”</p> - -<p>“Here it goes, then,” said Stump, speaking in a voice of -mysterious confidence, “here it goes, sure enough, which is, -that I’m a friend to you and the captain, and I wish that everybody -in the ship was the same.”</p> - -<p>“Why! how is this, Jack? My father’s crew are all friendly -to us, are they not?”</p> - -<p>“Good grub!” said Stump, in a deep voice, “is the first -consideration in a whaler. Good officers the second, and good -luck the third. Them are the three things that wins men’s -hearts—them are the things that have won mine. But there -are some beings that has the shape of men, and yet they ain’t -men for all that;—amphibious animals like, that has more of -the shark than human natur’ in their corporosities, and believe -me, Miss Alice, there are such creatur’s in this bark. Just -turn your pretty eyes forward, young lady—sly like, as you -women know so well how to do—and look at them five blue-skinned -devils standin’ there by the windlass a-whispering -and talking together. D’ye see ’em?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">[16]</span></p> - -<p>“I do,” replied Alice. “Four New Zealanders and the -Portuguese steward; but what of that?”</p> - -<p>Stump seized the end of his pigtail with his left fingers, and -bringing it over his shoulder, placed his right hand upon -it.</p> - -<p>“It’s an honest pigtail—Miss Howard, and I always swear -by it on occasions of this kind, when a Bible isn’t handy. -And now,” he added, in a solemn voice, “here goes my oath, -which is that them fellows forward are a-plotting and hatching -to do harm—though what harm exactly I can’t tell, but I -think it’s as well to be prepared!”</p> - -<p>“Why Jack! how you talk. What ground can you have -for these strange suspicions? My father, with all his officers -and the greater part of the crew, away, too,” added the young -girl, with a shudder.</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay,” responded the shipkeeper, allowing his pigtail -to drop to its original position, “and that’s why we must be -on our guard. Them devils forward were all laid up with -the rheumatiz a while ago, so that they couldn’t go in the boats, -and now look at ’em, a-standin’ up as well and hearty as you -and I. That’s suspicious to begin with. Then again I overheard -one of ’em talking about freeing that quarrelsome mutineer, -Tom Lark, who, you know, the skipper put in irons a -week ago—because he refused duty—and shut up in the run. -They said something about his understanding navigation; -and I couldn’t hear any more because they saw that I was -near them a-listening and they closed their mouths all of a -sudden.”</p> - -<p>“What shall we do? What <em>can</em> we do?” cried Alice, in -considerable alarm.</p> - -<p>“That’s a hard question to answer, seeing as I’m all alone -without any man to help me. But you may be sartain that -Jack Stump will stick to you and do what he can. You had -better go below now, and lock the door of your room while I -dodge around and find out something about the plans of the -rascals. Of one thing, hows’ever, you may be assured, and it is -that the plotters can’t do anything just now, seeing as the wind -has gone down and there isn’t a breath of air stirring, and—ay, -ay, Miss Alice, a beautiful morning!” he suddenly added, -in a louder tone. “I’ve sailed the sea in every kind of a craft<span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">[17]</span> -for thirty years, and never knew a finer mornin’ than this! -What do you think of that?”</p> - -<p>Alice opened her blue eyes upon the speaker, surprised by -this abrupt change in the thread of his discourse. But in a -few moments she understood the cause, for a light footstep -suddenly saluted her ear, and she divined that a third person -had passed behind them and taken his position near the rail, -not far from the spot they occupied. With woman’s ready -tact, she refrained from turning her head even to get a glimpse -of the intruder, and proceeded at once to reply to her companion’s -remark.</p> - -<p>“I am surprised to hear you say so. The weather is not -as a general thing very clear in the Ochotsk sea, I believe.”</p> - -<p>“Not a bit of it, Miss Alice. There ain’t many heavy -gales here at this season of the year, it’s true, but there’s plenty -of fogs. If I hadn’t such a good paunch in me,” added Jack, -placing his hand upon that protuberant portion of his body, -“I should have died with the rheumatiz long ago. But this -has presarved my soul as a good purse presarves the money -in it. Just give a sly look at that blue devil, will you—a-listening -with all his ears,” continued the speaker, partially turning -his head under the pretense of shaking his pigtail.</p> - -<p>Alice moved closer to the rail, and directing her glances -toward the water, contrived to obtain a good view from beneath -the corners of her eyes of the individual who stood upon the -other side of her.</p> - -<p>He was a tall New Zealander, with a sinewy face, high -cheek-bones, and that peculiarly fierce eagle gleam of the eye, -natural to the people of his race. There was a ring in each -ear, another hanging pendent from his nostrils, and his countenance -was disfigured in many places by “tattoo” marks of yellow -and blue. On the present occasion his thin lips wore a peculiarly -sinister expression, that excited much uneasiness in the bosom -of Alice, notwithstanding that she had been accustomed during -the voyage to see the wild natives of the Pacific shores. The -islander, however, seemed perfectly unconscious of the presence -of those who were so stealthily watching him, but with his -face thrust forward over the rail, and his chin supported by -his hands, he remained as motionless as a statue, gazing -steadily toward the floe that glittered in the distance.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">[18]</span></p> - -<p>“Do you see any thing of the boats, Driko?” inquired -Stump, quitting his original position and placing himself between -Alice and the native.</p> - -<p>“De boat me no see. Dey too far in ’e ice. No comee -back to bark nebber more.”</p> - -<p>“And why not, I’d like to know. You must not make such -a foolish speech as that again, ‘Blueskin.’ You frighten Miss -Howard!” and seizing his pigtail, he gave the savage a light -blow across the nose with it, as he spoke.</p> - -<p>“Takee care!” gritted the native, starting upright with -glittering eyes and placing a hand upon his sheath-knife, “takee -care, you Stump. No strikee me too much with ‘piggle-tail,’ -or me makee you Stump no more.”</p> - -<p>“And boil me afterwards in the try-pot, I suppose, seein’ as -that’s one of your ‘pow-wow’ customs!”</p> - -<p>“Hi! hi! hi!” gritted the New Zealander, while a malicious -smile flashed across his dark face. “Me like plenty Stump to -eat. Good for boil more better dan whale—dis Stump so fat -make very much good!”</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay, too good for such a lean, ravenous, blue-skinned -rascal as you are, to digest. But how about those boats. -Why do you think they’ll never come back?”</p> - -<p>“Nebber come back to bark—no nebber more!” exclaimed -the savage, with a sinister laugh; and turning upon his heel, -with the air of one not caring to be questioned further, he made -his way to the forward part of the vessel and joined his four -shipmates.</p> - -<p>“You had better go below, Alice,” said Stump, “and that -will look as though you don’t suspect that anything is wrong. -Trust to me to ferret out the rascals’ plans.”</p> - -<p>“But they may murder you!” shudderingly murmured the -young girl.</p> - -<p>“Put your hand there!” exclaimed Stump, straightening -himself, and indicating his left breast.</p> - -<p>“Oh! I know your heart is all right. But—”</p> - -<p>“Put your hand there,” persisted Stump again, pointing -toward his heart.</p> - -<p>This time Alice obeyed, and she felt the stock of a revolver -that was concealed beneath the Guernsey frock.</p> - -<p>“You are armed!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">[19]</span></p> - -<p>“Ay, ay!” exclaimed Stump, “two hearts, like two heads, -are better than one. An iron heart for the blueskins—— ’em, -and Stump’s own heart for Alice Howard, at your sarvice!”</p> - -<p>And making his best bow, the speaker turned and rolled off -like a cask of oil, in the direction of the windlass.</p> - -<p>Alice then moved to the companion-way and descended into -the cabin.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.<br /> -<span class="fs60">THE RESULT.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">As</span> Stump rolled on, he turned his glances seaward, and perceived -that a light breeze from the north-west was beginning -to wrinkle the surface of the water. He could feel it fanning -his temples and stirring the pigtail upon his back. He glanced -uneasily toward his dusky shipmates and saw a momentary -gleam of exultation flash across their dark features as they -were turned in the direction of the ripples gradually spreading -over the bosom of the ocean.</p> - -<p>Driko stood a little apart from the rest of his shipmates and -Stump did not fail to notice that the eyes of this savage were -now directed significantly aloft as though he felt impatient to -loosen the topsails.</p> - -<p>The watchful seaman felt that he could no longer entertain -a doubt in regard to the intentions of the conspirators, and -gliding behind the try-works, he seated himself upon the cooper’s -bench, in the hope that a few moments’ reflection might -suggest to him some plan that would enable him to defeat -their schemes. But scarcely had he begun to reflect, when, -chancing to turn his eyes in the direction of the main-top, -his glances alighted upon a roll of red bunting that had been -carefully placed in that quarter. It was the recall signal, which -was used as a summons to the boats to return when they were -absent from the vessel, and it was deemed expedient that they -should come back. On every such occasion, the bunting was -hoisted to the main truck by means of the signal halliards -which were always kept rove for that purpose. Stump sprung<span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">[20]</span> -from the bench, mentally pronouncing himself a fool because -the idea suggested by the sight of the red cloth had not occurred -to him before. The boats he thought could not by this time -be so far from the vessel that their occupants would not perceive -the signal when he should have hoisted it to its proper position; -but feeling conscious that there was no time to lose, he -began at once to waddle toward the main rigging as fast as -the bulky proportions of his body would permit.</p> - -<p>Not until he had gained the seventh ratlin in the shrouds, -did he venture to direct a glance toward the spot where he -had last seen his five shipmates, and he then gave his lips a -satisfactory twist toward his right ear, for the men were engaged -in earnest conversation and the face of each of them -was turned from him. He continued his way as speedily -as he could, and presently succeeded in passing the -futtock shrouds and in drawing himself into the top. Seizing -the bunting, he at once proceeded to unroll it, and a few moments -afterward it might have been seen dancing merrily -aloft, as he pulled upon the slender halliards. The breeze, -which by this time had freshened considerably, rustled among -the folds of the cloth as it ascended, and when it had reached -its proper position, its broad red surface streamed out from the -mast in a manner that elicited a sigh of the most intense satisfaction -from the lips of Stump.</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay,” he muttered, as he continued to gaze aloft, -“there’ll be a rumpus among the boats off there in the ice, when -they see that. Those rascally ‘pow-wows’ are in for it now.”</p> - -<p>At this moment a yell of surprise and rage broke upon the -ears of the speaker, and turning his head, he saw Driko directing -the attention of his companions to the signal at the -truck. No sooner was the red bunting perceived by the other -four seamen, than the whole number, with curses and ejaculations, -rushed into the waist and ordered the shipkeeper to pull -down the signal at once and to come down himself, if he -valued his life.</p> - -<p>“Not a bit of it,” replied the sturdy seaman, thrusting his -hands in his pockets and calmly gazing upon the upturned -faces of the conspirators, “not a bit of it. That rag at the -truck doesn’t come down while I have an arm to keep it -where it is. You may make up your minds upon that point.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">[21]</span></p> - -<p>The men exchanged glances and then held a moment’s -whispered consultation, after which they rushed simultaneously -toward the main shrouds upon the larboard side.</p> - -<p>Stump waited very quietly until Driko, the foremost of the -party, had swung himself into the rigging, and then drawing his -revolver, which, although it was quite rusty, looked very formidable -with its six loaded barrels, he pointed it at the head -of the astonished New Zealander and ordered him back.</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay, blast you!” he added, giving his lips an ominous -twist as he spoke. “You see I’m prepared. I know all about -your infarnal plans to take the ship, and if you make another -step in this direction, you are a dead pow-wow, that’s sartain!”</p> - -<p>The Kanaka paused, and after he had ducked his head three -or four times, in a vain effort to get it out of the range of the -threatening weapon, he looked up with an expression of surprise, -which, if not real, was certainly well feigned.</p> - -<p>“Me no understand. You speakee me take ship. Don’t -know what you mean. No want to take ship—me likee -capen too much. De signal me no like to see, because capen -he no like to come aboard when he after whale. He make -plenty angry when he see de signal!”</p> - -<p>“Bosh! you deceitful blueskin; it’s all bosh. Just as though -I didn’t hear you and your chums there a-whispering and -plotting to free the mutineer, Tom Lark!”</p> - -<p>The dark blood rushed to the faces of those who listened, -and they exchanged rapid glances. Driko, however, presently -looked up again and replied:</p> - -<p>“Hi! hi! You hear we speak about Tom Lark! Why -we so speak? Because de ice ’e come to jam de ship and -’sposing we bring Tom Lark from de run, Tom Lark good -sailor—good navigatem—and he save de ship. Dat’s why -we speak so much Tom Lark!”</p> - -<p>“Bosh again, blast you! For you know that, although I -know nothin’ of navigation, I’d be as handy in working the -ship clear of the ice, as Tom Lark!”</p> - -<p>“Me no believe so,” replied Driko, shaking his head. “Navigatem -more good as plenty go to sea. But no use me speak to -you. You no think me tell truth. Me leaves you. You keep -signal at de truck and when capen come, he scold you -much.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">[22]</span></p> - -<p>The islander sprung to the deck, and rejoined his shipmates, -who had been listening to the foregoing conversation -with sullen faces, and with their uneasy glances directed, at -intervals of every few moments, toward the red bunting fluttering -at the mast-head. The whole party now withdrew to -the forward part of the vessel, but presently they changed -their position, sitting down close to the try-works, where they -were screened from the watchful eyes of the shipkeeper.</p> - -<p>“Blast ’em!” muttered the latter, “they are planning some -deviltry or other, and I must keep on my guard, until the rest -of the crew returns, which won’t be long, unless they are so -wedged in the ice that it’s difficult for ’em to get out.”</p> - -<p>He turned his eyes toward the floe, as he spoke, and gazed -long and earnestly in that direction. But he was unable to -see the boats, and a sigh of disappointment rose to his lips.</p> - -<p>He gave his pigtail an impatient jerk, and again directed -his glances toward the try-works, just in time to witness a -spectacle which was certainly a startling proof that the utmost -vigilance on his part could not be thrown away in his present -position.</p> - -<p>Towering above the try-works, with his tall, lithe figure -drawn back, and his keen, glistening eyes blazing with a deadly -purpose, stood the savage, Driko, holding in his uplifted hands -a well-sharpened harpoon, which he was in the act of darting, -point foremost, into the corpulent body of Stump.</p> - -<p>The latter had so much respect for the wonderful skill of -the islander in the use of the barbed weapon with which he -was now armed, that he drew back, screening himself behind -the mast, with a celerity which was remarkable in a man of -his caliber. The movement, however, was well-timed, for the -next moment the deadly iron flew whistling upon its way, -and, passing close to the mast, struck the revolver held in his -hand with a force that sent the weapon flying from the grasp -of its owner into the sea!</p> - -<p>A yell of exultation followed, and then the mutineers rushed -to the main rigging, and, leaping into the shrouds, proceeded -to mount in the direction of the top, with cat-like agility.</p> - -<p>Stump, however, did not lose his self-possession, but, seizing -both parts of the signal halliards, he gave them a sudden jerk, -that served to unfasten them, and, still contriving to keep<span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">[23]</span> -them taut, commenced to ascend the topmast rigging, intending -to make his way to the top-gallant cross-trees, and, when -there, keep his adversaries at bay, as long as possible, by means -of his legs and his fists.</p> - -<p>Unfortunately, as the reader is already aware, the corpulent -body of this seaman rendered him incapable of very active -exertion, and, as a natural consequence, his enemies gained -upon him rapidly.</p> - -<p>He was still in the topmast rigging, when he felt two strong -hands pulling the bottom of his pants, in an unceremonious -manner, and with a force that made it difficult for him to keep -his position. He vainly strove to disengage himself from the -vice-like grasp, and, while he was still struggling to free himself, -he saw Driko, who had crossed from the topmast rigging -on the other side, descending toward him, with his long knife -between his teeth.</p> - -<p>“Go down, quick, you, Stump!” gritted the savage, as he -seized his knife with his right hand. “Go down, me say, or -knife quick cut de windpipe. No care kill you now, unless -you like. Plenty time, by and by!”</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay, blast you; you’ve got me in your toils, at last. -But it’s a deep sea that hasn’t any bottom, and you may boil -me in one of your pow-wow pots if I don’t come out even -with you yet!”</p> - -<p>Before replying, Driko severed the signal halliards with his -knife, and, pulling down the red bunting, rolled it up, and -allowed it to drop to the deck.</p> - -<p>“Hi! hi! you poor Stump!” he then said; “you think you -play me more trick. But me put you, by and by, where you -no more make tricks. You see, more soon you like!”</p> - -<p>He motioned, as he spoke, to the man who still maintained -his hold of Stump’s pants, and, finding himself released for -the present, and resistance useless, the shipkeeper proceeded -to descend the rigging, Driko following, closely, with his long -knife held in readiness for use, in case of opposition.</p> - -<p>They had no sooner gained the deck, than Stump was surrounded -by the five savages, and thrown down.</p> - -<p>They fastened his arms behind his back with strong cords; secured -his ankles in like manner, and then dropped him into the -main hold, like a pig, closing and fastening the hatch above him.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">[24]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.<br /> -<span class="fs60">A “STOVE” BOAT.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">The</span> Montpelier’s boats, at the moment when Stump succeeded -in hoisting the recall signal, were lying motionless in -an open space of water, situated near the center of the floe to -which we have already alluded. This little lake, of which -the surrounding bergs and compact squares of ice formed the -shores, was of sufficient size to contain all the boats, and the -captain and his mates had expressed much satisfaction because -the position afforded them every facility to maneuver their -light vessels in case of the appearance of whales in their -vicinity. Upright, in the stern-sheets, with his steering oar -under his arm, stood each officer, throwing keen glances -around him, in every direction, and now and then addressing -an angry word to some awkward booby among his crew, who, -by moving an arm or a leg, caused his paddle to strike against -his thwart. Nor were the mates the only watchers, for the -young harpooners, conspicuous among whom towered the tall, -neatly-dressed figure of Harry Marline, were equally on the -alert, piercing the many long, glittering galleries, winding -passages, fantastic arches, and caverns among the ice, with -their penetrating and practiced glances; while, seated close to -the gunwales of their boats—each man with his paddle ready -for use—the swarthy crews directed their indolent glances -toward the reflection of their own faces in the still surface of -the water, or watched the countless numbers of seals that -stared upon them with timid eyes from the polished floors of -their floating halls.</p> - -<p>One of the sailors threw a glance toward the bay where the -ship was anchored, and which was so far off that only the -three masts of the vessel could be distinguished, and these but -faintly, on account of the gray background beyond. But the -red signal, flying at the main-truck, did not escape the keen -eyes of the spectator, and he at once called the attention of -the officer of his boat—Mr. Briggs—to this circumstance.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">[25]</span></p> - -<p>“Ay, ay, blast you!” replied the irritable Briggs; “you are -always fancying that you see the recall signal. If it was a -whale, now, I’ll wager my pipe that you wouldn’t see it, even -though the creature spouted right under your nose! You’ve -a strong imagination, Bates, for signals, even when there ain’t -any to be seen!”</p> - -<p>“You can see it, sir, by turning your head. I am sure I -wasn’t deceived!”</p> - -<p>“I wouldn’t believe you, though you took your oath upon -a stack of Bibles as high as the fore-truck. So, just keep -your eyes the other way, and don’t let me catch you lookin’ -after signals again!”</p> - -<p>As the man resumed his former position, however, the mate, -after having leisurely filled his pipe, and placed it in his -mouth, turned and looked toward the bay.</p> - -<p>Unfortunately, this happened a second after Driko had -pulled down the red bunting, and dropped it to the deck. As -a natural consequence, Mr. Briggs, after having carefully surveyed -the three naked royal masts, came to the conclusion -that Bates’ imagination had deceived him.</p> - -<p>“You thick-skinned lubber!” he muttered, in a low voice, -seizing a paddle, and lifting it, with the intention of breaking -it across his informer’s skull; “you empty-pated greenhorn, -this isn’t the first time that—”</p> - -<p>“There blows! blows!—there blows! A whale right -ahead, sir, and two more to windward!” interrupted Harry -Marline, addressing the mate, in a shrill, penetrating whisper.</p> - -<p>Quickly, but noiselessly, replacing the paddle in the bottom -of the boat, the first officer, with his teeth set, and his eyes -glaring, seized his steering-oar firmly, and hissed out his orders -to the crew.</p> - -<p>“Paddle ahead—every mother’s son of you! Spring! -spring! my lads—softly, but heartily—spring! It’s a bull!”</p> - -<p>The men obeyed, and, shooting into a narrow passage, -about a hundred yards from the mouth of which the first -whale, a huge bowhead, was leisurely rolling and spouting, -unconscious of the near vicinity of enemies, the mate’s boat -darted swiftly, and almost noiselessly, upon its course, followed -by the other three boats. The officers of the latter, how -ever, soon became aware that it would be necessary for them<span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">[26]</span> -to turn their attention to the whales to windward, for the -channel was too narrow to enable them to pass the mate’s -boat, which, on that account, would certainly be the first to -reach the monster ahead of it.</p> - -<p>But, as the harsh grating of the cedar planks against the -compact masses of ice, among which the rear boats must be -directed when their course should be changed, would certainly -“gally” (frighten) the leviathan in the passage, the captain -made a sign to the second and third officers to stop the exertions -of their men for the present.</p> - -<p>This silent mandate was obeyed, and the three boats soon -became nearly motionless, their officers and crews watching -the progress of the mate with breathless interest.</p> - -<p>He was nearing the whale with great rapidity, and the -huge animal, as it rolled leisurely along, with its great barnacled -hump rising and dripping in the cool element, still -seemed unconscious of the vicinity of foes.</p> - -<p>“Stand up, Harry!” whispered Briggs, when the boat was -within seven fathoms of the intended prey; and quickly, but -noiselessly, springing to his feet, the young harpooner seized -his iron, and stood prepared.</p> - -<p>The mate now pointed the bow of the boat directly toward -the hump of the monster, and then, in a scarcely audible -whisper, ordered his men to stop pulling, and take their -places upon their thwarts.</p> - -<p>This command was readily obeyed, but the light boat still -continued to glide on under the impetus which it had received, -and, in a few moments, it was within four fathoms of the -leviathan.</p> - -<p>“Now then—give it to him!” thundered Briggs.</p> - -<p>The barbed weapon flew whistling from the hands of the -stout-armed harpooner, with a force that buried it to the -socket in the whale’s hump. The second iron immediately -followed.</p> - -<p>“Starn! starn all!” roared the mate, as the startled giant -of the deep, writhing with pain, threw his tremendous body -toward the boat. “Starn, you beef-eating rascals—<em>starn</em>!”</p> - -<p>But the oar-blades, striking against the ice, greatly impeded -the motions of the men, and the boat was not yet quite out of -the monster’s reach, when, lifting his tremendous flukes, he<span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">[27]</span> -brought them down sideways with a force which would have -shivered the forward part of the little craft to atoms had not -the watchful Briggs, by a dexterous movement of his steering-oar, -caused the bow to swing off to the right.</p> - -<p>The little craft, however, did not wholly escape injury, for -it received a light tap from the edge of the creature’s flukes, -which caused the cedar planks to crack in more than one -place, and dislodged the bow oarsman from his thwart.</p> - -<p>The man was not injured, and he resumed his place, just as -the whale disappeared in the green depths of the sea.</p> - -<p>Away went the boat with the speed of a whirlwind, the -line smoking as it ran around the loggerhead, and the tub -oarsman pouring water upon it to prevent it from burning.</p> - -<p>The harpooner and the mate now changed places, the latter -individual taking his station in the bow, after Marline had relieved -him in the stern-sheets. Each of the two men found it -difficult to maintain his position, for the whale had, this time, -“milled” (turned under water), and was now dragging the -light boat through heavy fragments of ice, that caused it to -sway from side to side with that quick, jerking motion which -only a well-balanced body can resist.</p> - -<p>The constant jamming of the boat against the rough -edges of the floating bergs, through which it was forced onward -like a wedge, seamed it with many cracks; but, as the -bottom had not yet been injured, the water did not enter with -sufficient rapidity to overpower the efforts of the man who -was “bailing out.”</p> - -<p>“Look out there! look to your oars!” shouted Briggs, -as the flying vessel approached the entrance to one of -those floating tunnels that form one of the many icy -curiosities of the northern seas. It was about twenty -feet in length, and the passage was so narrow—the roof so -low—that the mate, as they continued to approach it, placed -his hand upon the knife in the bow, feeling half conscious that -it was his duty to sever the line and loose the whale, rather -than to risk the lives of himself and his crew by attempting -the dangerous channel; for when he should have entered it, -the slightest deviation of the boat from its direct course, would -result in its destruction.</p> - -<p>He threw a glance behind him, to see whether, in case<span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">[28]</span> -such an event should take place, his fellow-officers would be -near enough to witness it and to come to the rescue in time; -but his surprise may well be imagined, when he discovered -that the three vessels he had left astern were no longer visible, -on account of one of those sudden fogs so common in that -region, and which now covered the whole surface of the ice -behind him, and also the open stretch of blue water beyond.</p> - -<p>“Well!” he exclaimed, turning to Marline, “here’s a dirty -fog coming upon us, without a moment’s warning!”</p> - -<p>“There were signs of it before we struck the whale—in -fact, when we first lowered!” replied the harpooner. “I saw -it gathering in the nor’west, and a breeze has sprung up since -then and hurried it along.”</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay, I don’t doubt it,” answered Briggs. “But -there’s no time to lose in chattering about it. What d’ye -say, men,” he added, addressing the crew; “shall we cut, or -hold on and try the tunnel? I am willing to try it for one.”</p> - -<p>“So am I!” cried Bates, and the rest of the men expressing -themselves in a similar manner, the mate breathed a sigh of -relief, for he now felt as though a load had been lifted from -his conscience.</p> - -<p>By this time the boat was within a few feet of the tunnel, -and the men placed their oars lengthwise across the thwarts, -so that they might not come in contact with the sides of the -narrow passage, and bowed their heads to prevent them from -striking against the low, jagged roof of ice.</p> - -<p>With unabated speed the light vessel flew on, and presently -it darted, with the swiftness of a discharged arrow, into the -mouth of the archway.</p> - -<p>The crew fairly held their breath with anxiety, and kept -their eyes upon the pointed bow of the little craft, which was -now in a straight line with the opening at the further ends, but -which, at any moment, was liable to swerve either to the right -or the left. In fact, before the boat had reached the center -of the passage, there was a loud, swashing noise, as the larboard -gunwale heeled over, until it was almost level with the -water, while the bows dipped and swayed with that uncertain -motion which almost invariably serves as a warning to the -crew of a fast boat, that the whole is about to change its course.</p> - -<p>“Trim boat! trim boat, every man!” hissed the mate,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">[29]</span> -through his closely compressed teeth, “and stand by, Marline, -to do what you can to keep the bows from swinging.”</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay, sir, but that won’t be much,” responded the -harpooner, “for there’s little room in this narrow channel to -work a steering-oar.”</p> - -<p>Scarcely had the speaker concluded, when Briggs, whose -watchful eye had noted every motion of the little craft, perceived -that the boat’s head was about to swing to the right and -strike against the side of the passage; and seizing a knife, he -quickly severed the running line, thus freeing the vessel from -the whale but not in time to prevent the bow, under the -impetus it had already received, from being dashed with considerable -force against the icy wall.</p> - -<p>The result of the concussion was the cracking of the light -cedar planks near the bottom of the boat; and the water now -entered the craft with such rapidity, that the exertions of three -men were required to prevent the vessel from filling.</p> - -<p>The rest of the crew were ordered to “take their paddles,” -and as they worked vigorously, the boat was soon clear of the -dangerous channel.</p> - -<p>By this time, however, the fog had become so dense that -the after oarsman could scarcely distinguish the person of the -harpooner, who had just exchanged places with the mate, so -that he now occupied his proper position in the bow.</p> - -<p>The loss of the whale had increased the ill-humor of Briggs, -and he proceeded to bemoan his “bad luck,” as he called it, in -true sailor terms. Stamping upon his cap, several times, he -wound up by stating that he wished all ice-tunnels were sent -to the pit to be melted in brimstone.</p> - -<p>This rude witticism was received with a shout of laughter -by Tom Plaush, the little Portuguese, who pulled the tub oar, -and who was always ready to show his appreciation of all -jokes—however stale—that fell from the lips of any of the -officers. The laugh had a good effect upon Briggs, who, believing -that he had said something brilliant, assumed a waggish -air, and glided at once into a pleasant humor.</p> - -<p>The good-humor of the mate, however, was not destined to -continue for a long time; for like a rusty wheel which has -been set in motion by the application of oil to certain parts -of it, but which stops and gets in bad condition again the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">[30]</span> -moment it meets with an obstruction—so when at length the -boat became jammed between heavy fragments of ice that -rendered it impossible for the crew to use their oars with success, -the irritability of Briggs again made itself manifest. -Rough contact with the floating bergs, through which the -light craft had been forced, after it passed out of the tunnel, -had so widened the cracks in the thin planks, that the water -entered with a rapidity that, taxed to the utmost the energies -of those engaged in bailing. The mate sprung upon one of -the blocks of ice by which they were surrounded, and ordered -every man with the exception of Marline to imitate his example.</p> - -<p>“I want a man I can depend upon to take charge of the -boat,” he said, addressing the young harpooner, “while I go -with the crew to search for our shipmates and inform ’em of -our condition!”</p> - -<p>“Wouldn’t it be better, sir,” suggested Marline, “for all of -us to stay here, and wait for the other boats? If we blow the -boat-horn I have no doubt that they will soon reach us.”</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay,” growled the mate, impatiently, “and do you suppose -that I would be contented to stay here in this plight, -waiting for the boats? Not a bit of it, young man. I am -now in a hurry to get aboard ship, for that cutting from the -whale has spoilt all <em>my</em> fun.”</p> - -<p>“If you will take my advice, you’ll not go far, in search of -the other boats,” said Marline, “for I think it hardly possible -that you will find them, in this fog.”</p> - -<p>“And I think exactly the other way,” retorted the mate, -impatiently. “All a man has to do to find ’em is to follow -his own nose to the north’ard, as I take it; for we’ve been -going south, and the other boats must be somewhere astern of -us—not far off either.”</p> - -<p>At this moment the sound of a horn was heard, apparently -proceeding from the direction in which the mate had stated -that his fellow-officers might be found; and he now turned -his eyes triumphantly toward the harpooner.</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay—d’ye see, young man—it’s just as I said. Them -boats are astarn of us, though further off than I thought they -were. But by moving quickly over the ice, we’ll soon reach -’em. Come on, men—there’s no time to lose,” he added, turning -to the crew.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">[31]</span></p> - -<p>Leaping from berg to berg, the five men followed closely -upon the footsteps of their leader, and in a few seconds they -were all shrouded from the view of the harpooner by the -dense fog.</p> - -<p>“It’s a wild-goose chase,” muttered Marline, as he proceeded -to bail out the boat, “and nobody except a man of Briggs’ -restless and impatient nature would have thought of undertaking -it until he had first sounded the horn, and that had -failed to bring our shipmates to us.”</p> - -<p>As minute after minute passed away, and neither the party -nor the boats made their appearance, the young man became -more confirmed than ever in his opinion, that Briggs’ expedition -was a useless undertaking. He even began to fear that -the mate and his men had lost themselves among the floating -galleries and caverns of ice, and were, therefore, neither able -to advance in the right direction nor to return.</p> - -<p>Once or twice, since the departure of his shipmates, he had -heard the sound of a horn, but the notes of the instrument -were so faint that he believed the boats were receding from, -instead of approaching, the spot he occupied.</p> - -<p>While his mind was still busy with conjectures and fears, -he suddenly started to his feet, listening with eager attention, -for he fancied he heard a rushing noise ahead of him like that -of some heavy object forging slowly through the ice. The -noise became louder every moment, and presently the ears of -the young man were saluted with the creaking of ropes, the -dull flapping of canvas, and the murmur of voices. An instant -afterward the broad black bows and the square foresail -of a ship loomed up indistinctly through the fog, a few fathoms -ahead of the boat, which lay directly in the track of the -vessel.</p> - -<p>“Ship ahoy!” thundered Marline. “Up helm, and keep -off, or you will run me down!”</p> - -<p>He was evidently heard by those on board, for a dark face -was suddenly thrust over the bulwarks forward, but its owner, -instead of directing the man at the wheel to “keep off,” ordered -him to “luff.”</p> - -<p>The head of the advancing ship, as she came booming on, -was therefore within a few feet of the boat before it could obey -the helm, the consequence of which was that the bows of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">[32]</span> -little craft received a thump from the vessel as she swung to -windward, that caused a few of the thin planks to give way -like the shell of an egg beneath the blow of a man’s fist.</p> - -<p>The boat filled rapidly, and as it sunk the young harpooner -leaped upon one of the blocks of ice by which he was surrounded, -in time to seize a rope, which was thrown to him by -Tom Lark, as the ship came up into the wind with her main topsails -aback.</p> - -<p>“The Montpelier!” shouted Marline—“the Montpelier, by -all that’s good!”</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay,” gruffly responded Lark, “and the less said about -it the better!”</p> - -<p>The speaker was a tall man, of herculean frame, and with -one of those swarthy, hang-dog faces, that never fail to inspire -the beholder with feelings of distrust. He wore gray pants, a -fez cap of blue cloth, and a black woolen shirt, the latter of -which, being open at the throat, disclosed the sinewy muscles -of an enormous neck.</p> - -<p>“What is the ship doing here?” pursued Harry. “We left -her anchored in the bay. And how came you at liberty? -Where is Stump? and Alice How—”</p> - -<p>“One question at a time, youngster,” interrupted Lark, with -a broad grin. “You’ll know every thing presently, and—”</p> - -<p>“There’s villainy at work here, Tom Lark—ay, downright -villainy!” cried the harpooner, as a suspicion of the truth -flashed upon his mind.</p> - -<p>Grasping the lower part of the main chains, and drawing -himself to the rail, he sprung upon the deck, to be confronted -by the mutineer, who drew from one of the pockets of his -Guernsey a heavy pistol, which he pointed at the head of the -youth.</p> - -<p>“You’ve got yourself into a hornet’s nest, youngster. It -might have been better for you if you had stuck to the ice!”</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay,” said Marline, with perfect coolness, as he fixed -his clear, unwavering eye upon the face of the giant. “You -have the advantage of me, at present, and can murder me if -you wish, but you will swing for it in the end.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you, for your good advice,” gruffly responded the -other, “but, I have no intention of murdering you—leastways, -not just now—unless you try to kick against what you<span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">[33]</span> -can’t help. I’m just using this iron to keep you quiet, while -the steward goes after the handcuffs!”</p> - -<p>“And by what authority,” angrily demanded the young -man, “do you thus—”</p> - -<p>“Tut! tut!” growled the mutineer, “none of your polly-wow -with me, lad. You know how things are as well as I do. -I generally do what I please in my own ship.”</p> - -<p>“And dare you pretend that this vessel—”</p> - -<p>“Is mine? Certainly,” interrupted Lark. “She’s mine by -the law of equal rights. Captain Howard had her for awhile. -Now, it’s my turn. I’ve been confined in the run a long -time, and need a little fresh air, besides the satisfaction of putting -some of the captain’s friends in my place. As you are -the first of these that I’ve met with, you shall have the honor -of filling that position. I rebelled against Captain Howard’s -authority—you rebel against mine. Captain Howard puts -<em>me</em> in the run—Captain Lark puts <em>you</em> in the run. That’s -what I call equal rights!”</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.<br /> -<span class="fs60">IN CONFINEMENT.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">The</span> steward—a tall man with a long face, dark gray eyes, -and thin lips, advanced, and proceeded to secure the handcuffs -to the wrists of the young man.</p> - -<p>The latter eyed him sternly, for a few moments, before he -ventured to address him.</p> - -<p>“What has the captain ever done to you, Joseph,” he then -said, “that you should thus turn traitor?”</p> - -<p>“He! he! he!” laughed the Portuguese, “Captain Lark -more better as Captain Howard. He take de ship to some -port and sell him—cargo and all. Den me get big share of -de profit.”</p> - -<p>Marline had benefited this man in many ways—had often, -by kindly interposition, shielded him from the blows of the -first mate; had even, on one occasion, saved him from falling -overboard while he was aloft assisting the watch to reef the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">[34]</span> -main topsail in a gale of wind; and yet the ungrateful villain -seemed now to exult in the misfortunes of his benefactor.</p> - -<p>“Where is Alice?” inquired the latter, as the steward -locked the handcuffs.</p> - -<p>The Portuguese chuckled, but did not reply.</p> - -<p>“Speak!” cried the harpooner, fiercely. “Where is she?”</p> - -<p>“Why, of course, in de cabin—in her own room—me -fasten her in so she can’t get out!”</p> - -<p>“You are a sneaking wretch, Joseph!”</p> - -<p>“What you say? No call me dat—I tell you,” cried the -steward, as he pushed the young man against the rail.</p> - -<p>The chief mutineer interposed. With the stock of his pistol -he dealt the Portuguese a blow upon the head that felled him -to the deck.</p> - -<p>“Equal rights!” he said, quietly, as he pointed to the prostrate -man, and placed the pistol in his pocket; “that’s the law -aboard o’ this craft, in future. This way, Driko, Amolo, and -Black Squall,” he added, motioning to three of the New Zealanders; -“take Marline to the run, and fasten the hatch the -same as it was fastened when I was there!”</p> - -<p>The men obeyed with alacrity, and Marline was in the run. -No sooner had the hatch been secured, than he heard the -rushing of the water, and the grinding of the icebergs against -the ship’s bottom, as she boomed upon her way.</p> - -<p>His reflections were certainly very gloomy. The thought -that Alice was only separated from him by a few planks, and -yet that he could neither hold converse with her, nor go to -her in case that Tom Lark, or any of his party, should insult -her, worked upon his mind until it was wrought up to the -highest pitch of excitement.</p> - -<p>“What are the plans of these mutineers in regard to the -young girl?” he asked himself again and again, and although -it seemed to him that they <em>must</em> respect the purity, the loveliness, -and the goodness of one who had benefited them by -a thousand of those kindly little attentions to their welfare -and comfort which a woman in a ship—especially if she have -influence with the captain—has it in her power to bestow, -yet there was a presentiment within him that whispered of -trouble and suffering.</p> - -<p>And with his head bowed upon his bosom—with his manacled<span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">[35]</span> -hands against his brow, and his heart beating loud and -fast with anxiety—he offered up a silent but fervent prayer to -God, to spare his beautiful Alice—to shield her from all harm—and -restore her to the arms of those who loved her.</p> - -<p>That prayer was scarcely finished when he felt a hand -upon his arm, and on lifting his head, he was enabled to make -out in the gloom with which he had by this time become -familiar, the outlines of a human countenance.</p> - -<p>“Hist!” whispered a low voice, “don’t speak too loud; it’s -me—Stump—and this if I ain’t mistaken is Harry Marline!”</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay, you are right!” cried the harpooner, much surprised, -“but where in the name of heaven, Stump, did you -come from? You were not confined here were you? I -thought you were in league with the mutineers.”</p> - -<p>“That’s the way of the world,” muttered the shipkeeper, -mournfully. “Yes—yes, that’s the way with ’em all! Sarcumstances -always goes against a man, hows’ever honest he -may be! But I didn’t think it, Marline—no, blast me if I -did—that <em>you</em>, my chum, would ever mix up my deeds with -those of them infarnal scoundrels!”</p> - -<p>“Forgive me!” exclaimed the young man, joyfully grasping -the hand of his friend as tightly as his irons would admit. -“I was altogether too hasty, and I’m sorry for it. But, tell -me how you came here.”</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay,” said Stump. “I’ll explain matters willingly -enough, especially as it will give me a chance to curse those -rascally blueskins again, and to show you as I always was -for maintaining, that them creatur’s ain’t to be trusted.”</p> - -<p>He proceeded to tell his story, commencing with those -incidents with which the reader is already acquainted.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” continued the exasperated seaman, as soon as he -had described the manner in which he had been thrust into -the hole, “they fastened the hatches above me, and then I -heard ’em go aft, and presently the voice of Tom Lark ordering -’em to cut the cable, and loosen the topsails, broke upon -my ears, so that I knowed they had set that big hang-dog rascal -at liberty. Scarcely was the ship under way, when I -also heard that wild fiend Driko, proposing to Lark -to knock me in the head, and thus get rid of me. But -Tom, you know, although he is a parfect savage when<span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">[36]</span> -he holds a grudge against anybody, doesn’t care to shed -blood when he can get along without it, and that was the -reason, as I take it, that he refused to comply with the polite -request of that infarnal pow-wow.”</p> - -<p>“Did you overhear any thing that gave you an idea of what -Lark intended to do with the ship?”</p> - -<p>“Not a bit of it, but I haven’t a doubt that he intends to -take the craft into some out o’ the way port, and sell her—cargo -and all.”</p> - -<p>“That’s very probable,” replied his friend. “It’s a pity,” -he added, “it’s a pity that the captain and his boat’s crew -didn’t stay aboard as they are in the habit of doing. Then -this misfortune might have been prevented.”</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay, but we’ll be even with ’em yet,” replied the narrator, -“and now I’ll tell you how I came here, which was -done by a little of that ‘injunyewity’ for which the Stump natur’ -has always been famous. As soon as I perceived that the -craft was under way, says I to myself, ‘Why,’ says I, ‘I’m -only fastened with ropes, and p’raps if I can find the old saw -which is somewhere in the hold, I can make short work of -’em. And so I crept about as well as I was able, looking for -the instrument, which I soon came afoul of. It was a long -time hows’ever before I could get it in the right position, for I -could only use my teeth to do that, and they ain’t quite as -parfect as the teeth of a shark, seeing as three of ’em were -once knocked out by an old woman, because I took her part -against her husband who was beating her—blast him—and -the rest are almost ruined by the long use of baccy and the -habit of biting off the ends of spun yarn. Well, I tugged and -pulled with my teeth for a long time and at last got the saw -ship-shape. Then I turned my back to it, and by running the -ropes that was about my wrists, up and down the edge, I soon -had ’em apart. The rest was easy, and I was glad enough, -lad—mightily glad to find myself freed from the cords.”</p> - -<p>“And afterward you heard the mutineers as they led me -to the run,” said Marline, “and you thought you’d take a cruise -in this direction to see who the prisoner was. Isn’t that so?”</p> - -<p>“Exactly,” repeated Stump, “but I didn’t dream who it was -until I had crept close to that big opening in the partition that -divides the run from the steerage. Then, as I’d got familiar-like<span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">[37]</span> -with the dark, I was surprised enough to see you, and I -couldn’t imagine how you came here, which is the same even -now.”</p> - -<p>Marline at once proceeded to enlighten his companion, and -as soon as he had concluded, the shipkeeper seized both the -hands of his friend and gave them a hearty squeeze.</p> - -<p>“Misfortunes attends the best of us,” he said philosophically, -“but we’ll hope for the best—ay, ay, we’ll hope for the best, -and work for it too. The gal—Miss Alice—is the great ‘consideration,’ -and if we can only get her safe, why, if we can do -<em>that</em> it’s all right.”</p> - -<p>“You do not think they’ll attempt to harm her?” cried -Marline, interrogatively.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know about Tom Lark,” replied Stump, “but, as -to them pow-wows, I wouldn’t trust ’em—not one of ’em. -The flesh of that gal is tender, and them fellows are cannibals -and like good grub.”</p> - -<p>“Can not you contrive some way for me to get an interview -with Alice?” said Harry.</p> - -<p>Stump gave his pigtail a jerk.</p> - -<p>“I don’t see how it could be done,” he said, thoughtfully. -“The hatches are all fastened above us—the door of <em>her</em> -room is locked besides, and—and—ay! ay! I have it!” he -suddenly interrupted, “which is that that rascally steward -must open the hatch before long to pass you some food, and -p’raps I’ll get a chance to pounce on him, gag him and tie him -up. The rest will be as easy as the greasing of a marlinspike. -I’ll get—if he has ’em about him, which I think is likely—the -key of her room and the one which unlocks your handcuffs.”</p> - -<p>“Thanks!—a thousand thanks, for this happy thought, my -dear chum!” cried the harpooner.</p> - -<p>“P’raps we may even be able to bag the mutineers themselves,” -said the shipkeeper, “to shut ’em all up—the pow-wows -in the forecastle, and Lark in the cabin. It’s wonderful—parfectly -wonderful,” he added, thoughtfully, “how one idee -leads to another. Them that is given to reflection, and the -Stumps were always famous for that, propagates idees—fairly -breeds ’em—one from another!”</p> - -<p>“Hush!” whispered Marline. The sound of footsteps approaching -the hatch was heard.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">[38]</span></p> - -<p>“It’s him—it’s that rascally Portuguese,” muttered the shipkeeper. -“I’d know that walk of his from a thousand, lad. -It’s peculiar—something like the tramp of a mule, and them -that walks so ain’t to be trusted. Now the walk of the Stumps -in every generation has been like that of a duck—a sort of -waddle, and them that moves in that way generally takes to -the water.”</p> - -<p>The noise of the crow-bar—by means of which the hatch -had been secured—was heard, as the implement was removed, -and the next moment, just as Stump drew back, the trap was -pulled aside from the opening, into which a face—the owner -of which had stooped upon his knees—was thrust. Without -waiting to take a survey of it, the shipkeeper seized the intruder -by the hair of the head and pulled him head foremost into the -run. But, before he had quite accomplished this feat, and yet -when it was too late to draw back, he had seen the face clearly -enough to recognize the harsh and decided lineaments of Tom -Lark, which were different in every respect from those of the -steward.</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay, that <em>was</em> a mistake, sure enough!” cried Stump, -scrambling quickly through the opening, as soon as the uplifted -legs of the prostrate man beneath had been removed from -it, “such a mistake as I never made before in my life, and as -prudence is the better part of valor, I think I am parfectly -justified in getting out of the run!”</p> - -<p>He lifted his feet clear of the aperture just in time to escape -the hand of the mutineer as the latter, who had by this time -risen from his uncomfortable posture, made a furious attempt -to clutch the bottoms of his pants.</p> - -<p>“You wretched imp of Satan!” roared Lark, in a voice of -thunder, as the other eluded his grasp, “you shall suffer for -this trick!”</p> - -<p>And he thrust a hand into the side-pocket of his Guernsey, -to procure his pistol.</p> - -<p>Stump saw the movement, and quickly seizing the crow-bar -lying at his feet, he dealt the mutineer such a heavy blow upon -his head—which projected at least eighteen inches above -the combings of the hatch—that he dropped senseless into the -run.</p> - -<p>“It was all done in self defense!” cried the shipkeeper, as<span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">[39]</span> -he leaped back into the hold. “Ay, ay—that it was, sure -enough. But, bad as the man is—and he’s a parfect shark—it -cost me something to give him that blow, seeing as I’m not -in the habit of indulging myself in that way. I hope I -haven’t committed murder—I hope he isn’t dead!”</p> - -<p>“He’s only stunned, I guess,” replied Marline. “He’ll soon -come to his senses.”</p> - -<p>“You think he will?” cried Stump, twitching his pigtail a -little nervously. “You think he’ll broach to again? My -eyes! seeing as that’s the case, then I think it would be as -well to take time by the forelock—to provide myself with his -pistol, and to make him fast, so he can’t do any more harm. -He’ll never forgive me—no, never—when he gets over his -faint. It’s astonishing how the human family holds grudges!” -And, drawing his sheath-knife, he proceeded, with all possible -dispatch, to cut from one of the numerous coils of ratlin stuff -lying about him, a sufficient number of the twisted strands to -secure the arms and legs of the giant.</p> - -<p>This task was soon accomplished, after which the mutineer -was properly secured, and his pistol transferred from his own -to the pocket of his conqueror.</p> - -<p>“Now, then,” said the latter, breathing a sigh of relief, “I -think he’ll be surprised when he wakes.”</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.<br /> -<span class="fs60">THE BARRICADE.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">The</span> shipkeeper had hardly concluded, when he heard footsteps -descending the companion-way, and peering through the -hatch, he saw the steward just as that worthy—still pale and -bloody from the effects of the wounds he had received—gained -the bottom of the short staircase.</p> - -<p>With a low cry of exultation, Stump pulled himself quickly -out of the run, and, rushing upon the startled Portuguese, -caught him by the throat, at the same time presenting his pistol -at his head.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">[40]</span></p> - -<p>“No noise, you miserable sneak, or down you go, a dead -porpoise sure enough. Just hand over the key that unlocks -Miss Howard’s room, together with the one that belongs to -Marline’s handcuffs!”</p> - -<p>“I—I—de—de—— You no kill me!” stammered the steward, -nearly frightened out of his wits.</p> - -<p>“The keys—the keys!” muttered Stump, shaking him violently; -“it’s the keys I want—d’ye hear?”</p> - -<p>“I—I—give you ’em quick,” gasped Joseph, while his eyes -fairly rolled in his head with terror.</p> - -<p>“Here—here,” he added, pulling the required instruments -from his pocket—“here dey be, and now you no kill me!”</p> - -<p>In order to receive the keys, the shipkeeper let go of the -steward’s throat, and his joy was so great when the articles -were in his hands, that for a moment, while contemplating -them, he almost forgot the presence of the mutineer.</p> - -<p>The latter was not slow to take advantage of this circumstance. -He bounded up the companion-way, and disappeared, -before Stump could lift his pistol.</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay—the rascal’s gone, sure enough!” cried the shipkeeper, -in a tone of mortification, “and it’s l’arned me a lesson, -which is, that them that doesn’t keep their eyes squinted -both ways, or that allows their pleasures to turn ’em aside -from their duties, is bound to suffer for it in the end.”</p> - -<p>“Never mind,” said Marline, who had risen, and was -looking through the open hatchway; “but, come quick and -unlock these handcuffs. That fellow, I can even hear now -giving the alarm on deck, and the sooner my arms are at liberty, -the better will it be for us both!”</p> - -<p>“There’s plenty of truth in that,” replied the shipkeeper, -as he now set himself to work to unfasten the irons from his -friend’s wrists, “plenty of truth in that, and—”</p> - -<p>“How! Why! A thousand devils! What does this mean?” -interrupted the voice of Tom Lark, at this juncture. “Ho! -halloa there—on deck!”</p> - -<p>“That rascal has come to, at last!” cried Stump, “and, although -it consoles me to think that I didn’t kill a fellow -creatur’, there isn’t music enough in that voice—which is -something atween the roar of a bull and the grunting of -sea-hog—to give any pleasure.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">[41]</span></p> - -<p>Marline’s handcuffs dropped clanking to the deck, as his -chum spoke, and the young man sprung lightly from the run. -The shipkeeper secured the trap above the hatch, while the -other, rushing up the companion-way, fastened the door leading -to it, by hooking it on the inside.</p> - -<p>This task was not accomplished a moment too soon, for a -number of kicks and blows were now dealt against the door, -and together with the roaring voice of Tom Lark—who evidently -chafed in his confinement like a mad bull—created a -din such as is seldom heard in a whale-ship!</p> - -<p>“Well, my eyes,” soliloquized Stump, “them noises are sartainly -not very inviting, nor those that make ’em very chival-<em>rie</em>-ous, -seeing that a young lady lodges in this hotel!”</p> - -<p>“They will pound the door to pieces before many hours,” -said Marline, “and before that happens I must make sure of -the rifle that hangs in the captain’s state-room, so that we can -show a good resistance to the bloodthirsty wretches.”</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay, bloodthirsty is the word,” said Stump. “Them -five pow-wows on deck are mad enough by this time to eat -us alive. They ain’t at all particular, they ain’t, about the -quality of their grub when they be angry. It’s parfectly astonishing -how few ‘raal’ ‘epichewers’ there is in this world!”</p> - -<p>Marline did not pause to reply to this philosophical remark. -He hastened to the state-room and procured the rifle—which -was already loaded—together with a bullet-pouch, and an -old-fashioned powder-horn, containing a small supply of ammunition.</p> - -<p>“Now, then, my friend, quick! Give me the key to Alice’s -apartment.”</p> - -<p>“Here it is!” replied the shipkeeper, placing the instrument -in his hand, “and mighty glad, I warrant you, will be the -poor gal to see you. So, away you go, and God bless you -both, while Stump keeps guard.”</p> - -<p>A very few steps carried the young man to the door which -he sought, and which was nearly in a straight line with the -foot of the stairway.</p> - -<p>He placed his rifle against the carved wainscot, and turned -the key in the lock of the door. Then he knocked gently -upon one of the panels; but a half-smothered cry of alarm -was the only response to the summons.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">[42]</span></p> - -<p>“Do not fear, dear Alice; it is I—Harry Marline!”</p> - -<p>The door was quickly opened, and Alice, with surprise and -pleasure beaming in her great brown eyes, stood before him.</p> - -<p>She looked so beautiful in her excitement, that Harry stood -for a moment staring upon her like one under the influence -of a spell. As the long lashes of those innocent eyes gradually -drooped under his admiring glance, he was unable to resist -the impulse that sprung up within him. He threw an arm -around the pretty waist, and drawing the unresisting girl to -his bosom, kissed her with a fervor peculiar to seafaring men.</p> - -<p>She gently disengaged herself from his embrace. “Oh! -Harry, I am so glad to see you. I have been so frightened! -Those terrible noises! What are they trying to do now? -They are at the cabin-door!”</p> - -<p>“To break it open,” replied Harry.</p> - -<p>“Who? the mutineers?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Why, I—I thought, when I saw you, that all this was -over—that you and your gallant crew had come aboard and -persuaded those misguided men to return to their duty.”</p> - -<p>“I came alone,” said the harpooner, and he then proceeded -to make her acquainted with those occurrences of which the -reader has already been informed.</p> - -<p>“Dear Harry,” faltered the young girl, “how you must -have suffered. I am sorry, now, that you came aboard.”</p> - -<p>“Sorry?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, because, in addition to what you have already endured, -you will have more trouble. The mutineers will soon -break open the door, and, then—then—Oh! my God! What -if they should kill you?”</p> - -<p>“Fear not for me, dear girl,” replied the harpooner, “I am -armed—and so is Stump. We can make a stout resistance -and we will protect you as long as we can stand.”</p> - -<p>“I do not fear for myself,” replied Alice, “I don’t think -they would injure me. But you and your friend—what can -you do against three times your number?”</p> - -<p>“But they have only harpoons and lances while we are -provided with fire-arms. I have your father’s rifle and—”</p> - -<p>“I think I have heard him say that it is damaged so it -won’t go off.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">[43]</span></p> - -<p>“I will soon decide that point,” said Marline, and he lifted -the weapon and scanned the lock.</p> - -<p>“You are right, Alice, the piece can not be discharged, but -it can be made useful in other respects.”</p> - -<p>Crash! went a heavy ax, against the cabin-door, at this -juncture, and the sharp edge of the instrument was seen to -protrude through the wood-work!</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay!” cried Stump, “there it goes—it’s a-going—the -door!”</p> - -<p>And even as he spoke, another tremendous blow shivered -one of the panels into fragments.</p> - -<p>“This way, friend Stump!” cried Marline, “we must form a -barricade.”</p> - -<p>The shipkeeper came, and the two proceeded to erect a -sort of breastwork with a sofa, a few chairs and a table, which -were firmly secured with ratlin stuff across the doorway of -Alice’s apartment. The whole work was completed with -great dispatch, and was viewed with much satisfaction by the -two sailors, for they felt confident that they could prevent the -mutineers from passing this barrier.</p> - -<p>Alice, who had been led by Marline to the further corner of -the apartment, stood with clasped hands and pale cheeks -watching the movements of her friends, and it was with a -sinking heart that she at length heard the door of the cabin -give way with a tremendous crash before the repeated blows of -the ax!</p> - -<p>Then a terrific yell broke upon her ear, as the savage Driko, -flourishing a sharp hatchet around his head, and followed by -the rest of the mutineers, armed with long lances, rushed down -the companion-way.</p> - -<p>“This way, lads! this way!” roared Tom Lark, from the -run, “I am tied hand and foot! Come and set me free—quick! -I am dying to give them two rascals a lesson on -equal rights!”</p> - -<p>“None of that, you infarnal pow-wow!” cried Stump, -pointing his pistol at the head of the Kanaka, who was -now moving toward the hatch, “none of that or you are -a dead fish! It’s parfectly astonishing,” he added, “to hear -such an imp of Satan as that creatur’ in the hold a-prating -about equal rights!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">[44]</span></p> - -<p>Every one of the mutineers halted. The sight of Stump’s -weapon, and the rifle in Marline’s hand, had not been anticipated -by these men. They looked at one another in surprise, -and even seemed disposed to beat a retreat.</p> - -<p>Observing these signs of indecision, the resolution of the -harpooner was formed in an instant. Motioning to Stump to -follow him, he suddenly leaped over the barricade, and coolly -advanced toward the party, with the muzzle of his piece directed -toward them.</p> - -<p>“Put down your arms, and return to your duty—every -man of you!” he cried, sternly, “if you value your lives! I -do not feel disposed to trifle with you!”</p> - -<p>“No, not a bit of it!” cried the doughty little shipkeeper, -as he covered the head of Driko with his pistol. “You are -dead pow-wows of a sartainty, if you don’t obey. You can’t -expect any mercy from <em>me</em>, at any rate, after the way you -tumbled me into the main hold!”</p> - -<p>“No—no!” yelled the prisoner in the run, “don’t yield to -’em, men. Pitch into ’em—they can’t fire but two shots at -the most. You miserable imp of a Driko, where are you? -Why don’t you attack ’em? They are only two and you are -four! One good assault and you can cut ’em to pieces—perhaps -without the loss of a man!”</p> - -<p>“My eyes!” cried Stump, with a low whistle, “it’s marvelous -to hear the way that animal is urgin’ on his pow-wows, -while he himself is out of harm’s way. Them that does that -ain’t always the most persuasive, seeing as it’s only examples -that’s contagious.”</p> - -<p>And the speaker was right, for the mutineers, becoming -more irresolute as they marked the firm purpose that shone in -the steady eyes of their two adversaries, were deaf to the commands -of Lark.</p> - -<p>“Come, down with your lances—or we’ll fire!” shouted -Marline, “and we’ll do the same if you attempt to retreat. -Remember that whether you fly from or attack us, two of you -at least must fall!”</p> - -<p>This was not to be disputed, and, dropping his weapon, -Driko motioned to his three followers to imitate his example. -They obeyed, and the harpooner then ordered the whole party -to the deck. The command met with the same success as that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">[45]</span> -which had attended the previous one. The four men, with -cowed and sullen faces, ascended the companion-way, followed -by their two conquerors, who still retained their arms; and as -soon as they were on deck, Marline gave orders to “wear” -(veer) ship.</p> - -<p>As the vessel was under whole topsails, it seemed impossible -that this duty could be executed by the few men now in -the craft; but, the harpooner and his friend lent their assistance, -and the yards were swung round at last. As the wind -was now from the westward, Marline soon afterward squared -topsails and stood due east—hoping that this course would -soon enable him to fall in with some of the boats. The man -at the wheel, who was none other than the Portuguese -steward Joseph, was doubtless much surprised at the change -of commanders; but, whatever may have been his thoughts, -the coward was too prudent to express them. He was an excellent -steersman, and he now did his best, evidently hoping -by this means to find favor in the eyes of the man whom he -had insulted while he was a helpless prisoner.</p> - -<p>“That’s right, keep her steady!” cried Marline, approvingly, -“and you there on the knightheads!” he added, glancing forward—“look -sharp for the boats and the ice!”</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay,” answered the dusky seaman, and his voice was -far from cheerful.</p> - -<p>Descending into the cabin—after having ordered Stump to -keep close to the companion-way, and to maintain a vigilant -watch—the young man now entered the apartment occupied -by Alice.</p> - -<p>She bounded forward to meet him, and did not offer any very -decided objection to the embrace with which he received her.</p> - -<p>“I am so glad!” she said, as she gently disengaged herself -after he had kissed her at least a dozen times, “I am so glad -that the mutiny was subdued without bloodshed—that you -are safe and uninjured!”</p> - -<p>“And what is still better, I trust that we will soon fall in -with the boats,” said Marline. “I wore round about ten -minutes ago.”</p> - -<p>“Wore round? What is that?” inquired Alice.</p> - -<p>“What? you, a sailor’s niece, don’t know what it is to wear -ship!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">[46]</span></p> - -<p>“How should I?” retorted Alice. “You know that I never -took any interest in your salt-water phrases, nor much in any -thing pertaining to the ocean.”</p> - -<p>“Why then did you go to sea?”</p> - -<p><ins class="corr" id="tn46" title="Transcriber’s Note—“The cheeks of the youg” changed to “The cheeks of the young”.">The cheeks of the young</ins> -girl were instantly covered with blushes. Her heart beat rapidly. She -lowered her eyes and did not speak until she could muster sufficient -resolution to lift them to the face of her interrogator. Then the -glances of both met—a heaven of womanly tenderness in hers, and -in his the deep, strong passion of the man.</p> - -<p>She stepped toward him, placed both hands upon his arms -and hiding her face in his bosom, said, in a tremulous voice:</p> - -<p>“Why should I not acknowledge it? It was that I might -be near you!”</p> - -<p>“And Alice,” said he, “if you were not in this ship it would -lose all attraction for me. God shield you from all harm,” he -added, as a sudden indefinable presentiment for which he could -not account, swept over his spirit, “and preserve you, that we -may both be made happy.”</p> - -<p>Then the lovers seated themselves, and with their hands interlocked, -talked of the future, which they were pleased to fancy -would be full of sunshine and without a cloud.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.<br /> -<span class="fs60">A SLIGHT CHANGE.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">They</span> were very unpleasantly interrupted by the sharp report -of a pistol, apparently proceeding from the deck, and springing -to his feet, the harpooner darted up the companion-way.</p> - -<p>As he emerged from the entrance, however, he was seized -and thrown down before he could use his rifle, by three of the -New Zealanders, who had evidently been lying in wait for -him. They fastened his arms and his legs with strong cords, -and then stepping back a few paces, glared upon him with -Satanic exultation. At the same moment, turning his eyes to -the right, he saw the corpulent figure of Stump lying near the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">[47]</span> -foot of the mizzen-mast, and, bending over it, the sinewy form -of the savage Driko. The islander was engaged in securing -the limbs of the prostrate man with ropes, and upon raising -his head to obtain a better view, Marline perceived that the -poor fellow was senseless. His pistol was lying by his side, -and near that a belaying-pin, the latter of which, the young -man at once divined, had been used to deal the shipkeeper -the blow which had deprived him of consciousness.</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay,” said one of the New Zealanders, as though he -guessed our hero’s thoughts, “De Portuguese at de wheel go -behind him and knock him down with pin—strikee on de head—and -den de pistol ’e go off, and we know you den pretty -soon come up from de cabin, and we wait for you. Hi! hi! -hi! Very good dis way to catch you!”</p> - -<p>The fierce Driko had by this time finished his task, and -rising to his feet, he now turned his eagle eyes, blazing with -fury, upon the face of Marline.</p> - -<p>“You makee lay down lances, eh? You makee you captain -of dis ship, eh? Now <em>me</em> captain, and me killee <em>you</em>!”</p> - -<p>With which words he moved to the carpenter’s chest, took -therefrom a keen-edged hatchet, then rushed to the side of the -prostrate youth, and lifted the weapon on high to deal the -fatal blow!</p> - -<p>At that critical instant, a cry of anguish was heard, as -Alice—who had been alarmed by the prolonged absence of -her lover, and who naturally experienced a presentiment of -evil—rushed from the companion-way, and threw herself -between the glittering steel and the body of the harpooner!</p> - -<p>“Spare him! spare him! Oh, for heaven’s sake, Driko—stay -your hand!” she cried, in tones of such earnest entreaty, -that even the stern islander was moved. He remembered—and -the wild men of the Pacific isles seldom forget a favor—that -this young girl had once, while the vessel was anchored -near Honolulu, and the captain was ashore, saved him from -being flogged by the flinty-hearted Briggs.</p> - -<p>But then, he had afterward made her a present of a beautiful -string of pearls, and had thought at the time that the gift -would cancel the obligation. Now, however, many doubts -upon this subject passed through his mind, as he looked down<span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">[48]</span> -upon the sweet, earnest face of the fair pleader, and listened to -her beseeching voice.</p> - -<p>He remained buried in reflection for some time, and then -in order to put an end to his perplexity, turned to his companions, -and solicited their opinion upon the all-important -question.</p> - -<p>An animated discussion between them—one which was -kept up with <ins class="corr" id="tn48" title="Transcriber’s Note—“unabated ardor for nearly a qaarter” changed to “unabated ardor for nearly a quarter”.">unabated ardor for nearly a quarter</ins> -of an hour—was the result; and then the dusky “lawyers” -unanimously decided that the gift of pearls did not quite release -Driko from his obligations to his pretty benefactress.</p> - -<p>The islander promptly threw his hatchet aside, and implied, -by a dignified motion of his hand to Alice, that he would spare -her lover’s life.</p> - -<p>“Me get out of de ‘tankee’ (thank you) in dis way,” said -he, “and me no owe you any more. S’posee Marline makee -me mad again, why den, habbing no more tankee, me killee, -<em>quick</em>.”</p> - -<p>“Well, blast me!” cried Stump, who had by this time -recovered his senses, “that’s what I call a lubberly way of -reasoning, although good enough, I suppose, for a pow-wow. -But, I tell you what it is, blackskin—if you were only a little -more than half civilized, you’d feel that you was under etarnal -obligations to that gal for saving your hide. She’s a sort of -omnipotent creatur’, she is, and the contrast atween her -pretty skin and them tater (tattoo) marks upon yours, is wonderfully -striking and pictur’sque! Besides—”</p> - -<p>The mutineers did not give the shipkeeper an opportunity -to conclude his observations. Two of them lifted him to his -feet, and hurried him along to the main-hold, in which they -bundled him without any ceremony. Marline was soon afterward -transferred to the same quarter, and Alice was led back to -her apartment—the door of which was then closed and locked.</p> - -<p>“Well,” said Stump, as he rolled over upon his back after -the hatch had been secured above the heads of the two prisoners, -“here we are again, thrown into nearly the same situation -as we was before. We ain’t made much progress in -good luck, and as misfortunes never comes single, I suppose -there’ll be more breakers presently. That Portuguese sarved -me a most unmannerly trick sure enough, and if I ever get<span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">[49]</span> -hold of his long head, I shall punch it of a sartainty. But, -I’ve l’arned by it another lesson, which is that them that -doesn’t look on both sides of a question, is pretty sure to get -swamped.”</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay,” responded Marline, “and I ought to have thought -to caution you to be on your guard against that sneaking -villain at the wheel. Do you suffer any from the effects of -the blow?”</p> - -<p>“I’ve a hard head,” replied the shipkeeper, “which has -always been a distinguishin’ feature of the Stumps, and mine -is peculiar in that way, seeing as I was much given to butting -when I was a youngster, at school, a l’arning my letters. I -didn’t make much progress in books on that account; I was -always and etarnally a-having these butting matches with my -little shipmates, and the more I butted, the harder my head -grew, which is the reason, as I take it, that after awhile I -couldn’t get any l’arnin’ into it. As a nat’ral consequence, -the blow I got from the Portuguese—blast him—hasn’t -affected my in’ard functions.”</p> - -<p>“I am glad to hear it,” replied Marline. “And now we -must hope for the best. I think it very likely that the ship -will be seen and boarded before long, by our shipmates in the -boats.”</p> - -<p>“If hoping on my part will do any good, she sartainly will -be; and now I think that we might as well make a s’arch -for that saw which proved a friend to me the other time I was -here. It isn’t particularly wise to put up with troubles, when -they can be prevented.”</p> - -<p>And the speaker, with much difficulty, proceeded to roll -himself about in different directions, in order that he might -come into contact with the instrument. This, however, was -not to be found, and after he had fruitlessly exerted himself -until every bone in his body ached, the shipkeeper worked -himself back to the side of his chum, declaring that he believed -the Kanakas had guessed the manner in which he had previously -liberated himself, and so had carried away the tool.</p> - -<p>“Never mind,” replied Marline, “if we remain quiet, the -cords will not give us much inconvenience.”</p> - -<p>He had scarcely spoken, when a stream of light, caused by -the opening of the run-hatch, darted into the after-part of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">[50]</span> -hold; an occurrence which was duly commented upon by -Stump.</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay,” said he, “they are a-setting Tom Lark at liberty; -and, as soon as that animal gets on deck, he’ll wear ship, and -then there’ll be no chance for the craft to fall in with any of -the boats. It’s really miraculous, it is, the amount of mischief -that such a wolf can make before the law brings him to -justice, and—”</p> - -<p>“Hark!” interrupted Marline, “the ship is in the ice now!”</p> - -<p>“So she is,” replied Stump, as the grinding of the floating -bergs against the vessel’s sides and her bottom, became louder -each moment; “she’s in for it sure enough, and now if that infarnal -champion for ‘equal rights’ as he calls ’em, doesn’t look -out he’ll have us a-going to the locker below in a stove ship, -which I wouldn’t relish exactly, seeing as my hands and feet -are tied criminal-like, and Davy Jones might make a mistake -and take me for a pirate. When I go below I’d prefer to go -as an honest tar should, with neither ropes nor handcuffs about -me. There!” he added, as the after hold again became dark, -“they’ve taken him out; he’s at liberty, the big mule—and a -mighty pleasant time we’ll have of it. We are prisoners now -for a sartainty.”</p> - -<p>“It is too soon yet to despair,” replied Marline. “Lark will -wear ship of course, but even then, there’ll be a chance of his -falling in with the boats. So keep up your spirits, my friend.”</p> - -<p>“My spirits ain’t sunk yet,” retorted Stump, “and I think -it would be a heavy sea that ’ud sink ’em. To make light of -our misfortun’s is the surest way of getting rid of ’em, and it’s -astonishing to me how some of my fellow creatur’s will fret -themselves about small matters, and think <em>their</em> troubles is -‘catamount’ to everybody else’s.”</p> - -<p>“There’s some truth in that,” retorted Marline, “and there’s -nothing like meeting our misfortunes with a brave front. But -look, my friend,” he suddenly added in a whisper, as he lifted -his head, “it seems to me that I can make out the outlines of -a figure moving about in the steerage. There is certainly -somebody there, or I am very much deceived.”</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay,” replied Stump, “you are sartainly right. I see -the creatur’, and I can’t imagine who he is, seeing as only the -faint outlines of him is visible. But if he stays there much<span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">[51]</span> -longer we’ll get a clearer squint of him, for we are getting -more accustomed-like to the darkness every minute. It’s -a-making parfect cats of us—it is—so far as our eyes are consarned—this -being in confinement; only I hope that it won’t -prevent us from seeing clear in the daylight.”</p> - -<p>The harpooner was about to reply, when both men suddenly -beheld a number of jets of blue flame shoot up amid the -gloom of the after-hold, shedding a faint, unearthly light upon -surrounding objects, and thus bringing into bold relief the long, -cruel face and gleaming eyes of the Portuguese steward.</p> - -<p>“Blast him!” ejaculated Stump, “there he is, sure enough, -and if them blue flames ain’t prognostical of his future downfall -into the great lower hold, that’s prepared for such sinners, -then you may have my pigtail, which is dearer to me than -life. But, what the infarnal blackskin intends to do with -that furnace of blazing charcoal that he carries, baffles my -scrutiny into human natur’.”</p> - -<p>“We shall soon see,” replied the harpooner—a terrible -suspicion flashing through his mind, “we shall soon see. The -villain is capable of any crime.”</p> - -<p>“He’s a sneaking wretch,” added the shipkeeper, “as is -proved by his doing every thing in a sneaking way. He -must have been one of them that just liberated the chief -mutineer, and in his gen’ral underhand manner, he’s contrived -to remain in the hold, escaping the observation of Lark, who -was too glad, I’ll warrant, when he found himself free to pay -attention to his sat’lite. But what <em>can</em> the infarnal imp be -going to do with that charcoal furnace?”</p> - -<p>Stump, however, was soon enlightened, and the suspicions -of his chum confirmed; for the steward now advanced -rapidly toward them, and placed the furnace upon a cask -within a few yards of their feet. Then he darted forward, -and drawing a pump-bolt from his pocket, he thrust it into -the mouth of the shipkeeper and secured it with strong cords, -heedless of the indignant remonstrances of the harpooner, -and his loud hail to those on deck; for the young man did not -believe that they were cognizant of the infernal plans of the -Portuguese.</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay,” said the latter, “you may cry until you be -hoarse, but neither Lark nor de men will heed you, for dey<span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">[52]</span> -t’ink you only do it so as dey can you let out of de hold. -Hey! hey! hey! dis is fine revenge for de knock-down you -make Lark give me. Now den, me gag you de same as -Stump!” And suiting the action to the words, he forced an -iron belaying-pin, with which he was provided, into the mouth -of the prisoner.</p> - -<p>“Dere,” said he, malignantly, when he had secured the -instrument—“now me leave you and go on deck. De charcoal -burn in de furnace, and de gas kill you before long time, -de same as a rat!”</p> - -<p>With which comfortable assurance he departed, and the -two men soon afterward heard him open the run-hatch in -order to make his way into the cabin.</p> - -<p>Bound and helpless—deprived even of the consolation of -speech—the situation of the two was now miserable enough. -The deadly gas from the burning charcoal was fast poisoning -the close atmosphere of the hold, and the prisoners could -taste the sickening vapor as it entered their throats.</p> - -<p>The air became more stifling every moment. The seamen -felt their temples throb with violence—an acute pain tearing -through the brain like a knife shot at intervals into the head -of each.</p> - -<p>They believed that their doom was sealed—that they were -destined to expire in this miserable pent-up spot, with their -rebellious shipmates within hailing distance of them, and yet—if -we except the Portuguese—unaware of their condition.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII.<br /> -<span class="fs60">ADRIFT.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">As soon</span> as the steward had fastened the hatch of the run, -he made his way to the deck. Tom Lark was standing near -the mizzen-mast watching the operations of three of the men, -who, in obedience to his orders, had commenced to unlash an -old half-shattered boat that was secured to the beams, extending -crossways above the quarter-deck.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">[53]</span></p> - -<p>“Come! come! bear a hand there!” he shouted. “We -must get the boat alongside as soon as possible. Here, you, -steward,” he added, turning to that functionary, “jump up -there, and help those men.”</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay, sir,” said the Portuguese, in a cringing tone of -voice; “me glad to do what you tell me!” and he mounted -to the beams.</p> - -<p>The lashings were soon unfastened, and, by means of a -tackle, which had been rigged over the steerage hatch, a few -days previously, the boat was hoisted, and then lowered -alongside.</p> - -<p>“It leaks bad,” said Driko, who had jumped into the vessel, -for the purpose of receiving the oars, and the other articles -which Lark had ordered to be passed into it.</p> - -<p>“Never mind the leak,” said the giant; “the little craft is -good enough for those that are to occupy it. I shall let ’em -have some provision for the sake of the gal. That’s what I -call equal rights!”</p> - -<p>A breaker of fresh water, another of hard bread, together -with pork and beef, were accordingly placed in the vessel. -Then followed a couple of line-tubs, a boat-sail, and a bucket -of tar, with a brush.</p> - -<p>“The two rascals can make a tent with them things for the -gal. I haven’t any thing against <em>her</em>, and so don’t see why -she shouldn’t be made as comfortable as she can be, considering -the circumstances, and according to the law of equal -rights.”</p> - -<p>The ship was now running at the rate of about seven knots, -along the eastern edge of the floe, and, as the boat had been -lowered upon the larboard side, it was between the ship and -the ice—the latter not being further than five fathoms -from it.</p> - -<p>“If me may be so bold,” said the steward, obsequiously, to -the self-constituted captain, “me would like to ask whether -you be going to put de prisoners in de boat?”</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay,” answered Lark, roughly; “but why do you -ask?”</p> - -<p>“Because me wanted to know whether me shouldn’t go -into de cabin and tell Miss Alice to get ready, and gag de -mouths of dat Stump and Marline.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">[54]</span></p> - -<p>“And why should they be gagged?” cried the giant. “You -must be mad!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, because me t’ink you no like to hear dem—especially -dis Stump—talk to you, and call you bad names!” stammered -the frightened Portuguese, who readily foresaw that, the -instant the hatch was opened, the villainous trick which he -had performed, without the sanction of Lark, would be discovered. -The reader will, therefore, understand the reason -why he wished to obtain the consent of the giant to the measure -he had proposed. Should he succeed in doing this, he -might make his way rapidly from the run to the spot occupied -by the prisoners, and conceal the furnace before the main -hold could be opened. The smoke, that had already emanated -from the coal, would, of course, be perceived, and would excite -much astonishment. But the gags in the mouths of the -prisoners would prevent them from betraying the author of -the mischief.</p> - -<p>Thus far, and no further, extended the hastily-formed conclusions -of the Portuguese, who was certainly not a very deep -thinker. It did not occur to his confused brain that the gags -would at once be taken from the prisoners to enable <em>them</em> to -explain the cause of the smoke, and of their own half-senseless -condition!</p> - -<p>“Yes, you must be mad!” cried the giant, as he fixed his -great, round eyes upon the livid face of the steward; “and I -don’t know but what it would be as well for me to set you -adrift with the prisoners. That would be equal rights!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, no! no!” cried Joseph, trembling from head to foot; -“me no like to go with dem. Dey kill me, <em>sure</em>!”</p> - -<p>“Very well, then, don’t talk any more about gags, and such -nonsense. If you do, I shall think you are mad, and I don’t -want any madmen in this ship. Off with the main-hatch, -men!” he added, turning to the two islanders at his elbow; -“and move about lively, for we’ve lost time enough already.”</p> - -<p>He was obeyed with alacrity, but the hold had scarcely been -opened, when an exclamation of astonishment from the Kanakas -drew the giant to the spot in time to inhale the gas, and -to perceive the thin puffs of smoke that curled upward from -the hatch.</p> - -<p>With a loud oath, he leaped through the opening, and he<span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">[55]</span> -then perceived the burning coal, and, also, that his two prisoners -were gagged. To pass the heated furnace to the Kanakas, -with an order to throw it overboard at once, was, with -the mutineer, the work of an instant; then, lifting each of the -two prostrate men, one after the other, in his herculean arms, -he soon had them placed on deck.</p> - -<p>“Now then!” he cried, as he climbed to the combings of -the hatch, “take those gags from the mouths of the prisoners.”</p> - -<p>The islanders obeyed, and, as soon as the sufferers had -recovered sufficiently to speak, Lark addressed them:</p> - -<p>“It was against my orders that you were served in the way -you have been; for, although I owe you a grudge for disputing -my authority, I wouldn’t go to work to satisfy it in any -such sneaking manner as charcoal and gags, which ain’t in -the vocabulary of equal rights. Who was the man that did -this mischief? I wish to know, so that I can punish him.”</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay!” cried Stump, for, thanks to an excellent constitution, -both himself and his friend were rapidly recovering from -the effects of the deadly carbon. “Ay, ay; that’s a square -question, and desarves to be squarely answered. In the first -place, then, you are parfectly correct when you say that the -way we’ve been treated isn’t in the ‘vocalbubblery’ of equal -rights. Them that has suffered as we have can be reasonably -sartain upon that p’int, and I’ll say, in concluding, that, if I -ever get hold of the head of Portuguese Joe—which was the -creatur’ that caused all our woes—I shall give it a miraculous -punching.”</p> - -<p>The eyes of the giant flashed fire, and, rushing aft to the -mizzen-mast, near which the steward had stationed himself, -he caught the trembling wretch by the throat, and shook him -until he was almost senseless.</p> - -<p>“You miserable imp! Do you dare to go against the -orders of Captain Lark? Do you dare to set <em>my</em> authority at -defiance? Do you dare—”</p> - -<p>“Mercy! mercy! mercy!” shrieked the Portuguese, trembling -in every limb. “Me won’t do it any more! Me will -do any thing you want me to!”</p> - -<p>“If I wasn’t so short-handed, I should blow out your -brains!” thundered the mutineer; “but I want every man to -work the ship, and so I shall content myself by tying you up<span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">[56]</span> -in the rigging, and flogging you like a dog! That’s what I -call equal rights!”</p> - -<p>“No! no! no!” gasped the coward, clasping both hands; -“only let me go dis time, and never more will me do what -you no like. Me cook for you—wash for you—every t’ing -me do, if you let me go!”</p> - -<p>But the giant relentlessly dragged the wretch to the mizzen -rigging and fastened his wrists to the shrouds.</p> - -<p>“And now,” said he, “as soon as I have set the prisoners -adrift and have tacked ship, I shall give you a lesson with a -rope’s-end that you won’t easily forget!”</p> - -<p>The Portuguese continued his cries for mercy; but, without -heeding him, the chief of the mutineers now turned, and -ordered the New Zealanders to bring the prisoners aft.</p> - -<p>“I am going to set you adrift,” he said, addressing the two -seamen as soon as he had been obeyed, “and you won’t starve—leastways -not just yet, as there’s some provisions in the -boat.”</p> - -<p>“And Alice!” cried Marline; “you—”</p> - -<p>“She’ll go with you,” interrupted Lark, “and there’s the -means in the boat to make a tent for her. The craft is stove -and won’t hold you long, but you must make the best of it. -That’s equal rights!”</p> - -<p>“No, blast me if it is!” cried Stump, “and you can’t make -it out any way you try. Putting three people in a stove boat -is about as unreasonable a thing as can be imagined, seeing as -to go down isn’t to go up. You are a parfect humbug, Captain -Lark!”</p> - -<p>“Silence!” said Lark, sternly, “you are an ignoramus and -don’t know any thing about my laws, which I again tell you -are all founded upon the great principle of equal rights. This -is my ship—you came aboard of it—you rebel against my -authority—and I set you adrift in a <em>stove</em> boat to punish you -for the mutiny, which is perfect justice, and would be understood -as such by any person who, like me, believes in equal rights.”</p> - -<p>“Well, shiver me!” replied the shipkeeper, giving vent to -a whistle something like the piping of a boatswain’s mate, -“if you don’t pull and twist things about in the most lubberly -fashion I ever saw, <ins class="corr" id="tn56" title="Transcriber’s Note—“and all for the pursose” changed to “and all for the purpose”.">and all for the purpose</ins> -of making ’em look ship-shape, which they can’t and never will be for all that, so<span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">[57]</span> -help me Stump. Why, skin my eyes! you might as well put -a greenhorn in a tub on deck and then insist for a sartainty -that he could lift himself clear of the bulwarks by pulling upon -the sides of the tub. Them that says the days of miracles -is past would be mistaken if the doctrine ‘breeched’ by you was -a true one, which isn’t the case, by any means.”</p> - -<p>“That’s enough,” said Lark, “that’s enough. The more -you talk the more you show your ignorance of the entire -subject of our argument. I don’t wish to say any more to you -for I perceive that you know nothing of equal rights!” And, -turning impatiently away, he ordered one of the islanders to -go below and bring Alice to the deck.</p> - -<p>“Tell her from me,” said Marline, addressing the man as he -was about to depart upon his mission, “to wrap herself up as -comfortably as she can, as, thanks to this rascal,” he added, -directing an angry glance toward Lark, who received it with -the most imperturbable coolness, “she is about to undergo -many privations and hardships!”</p> - -<p>“God bless the little thing!” ejaculated Stump, in a fervent -tone. “It’s a raal shame—blow me if it isn’t, to turn that -sweet creatur’ out of house and home, who hasn’t never done -nothing to desarve such punishment. I’d lay down my life -for her any moment—ay, more than that, I’d give her my -pigtail if such a present would do her any good. But you’ll -be brought to justice, Captain Lark. Them that acts like you, -must be brought to justice in the end!”</p> - -<p>“Amen!” answered Lark, ironically, and at that instant his -attention was drawn to another quarter by the sudden loud -flapping of the ship’s canvas against the masts.</p> - -<p>“How do you head there?” he thundered to the man at -the wheel.</p> - -<p>“No’th, half east, sir—the wind has hauled ahead!”</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay, so it has!” cried Lark; “keep her off for the -present, White Squall!”</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay, sir,” answered the islander, as he put up his -wheel.</p> - -<p>But, as the vessel fell off, a cracking, grinding sound was -heard under the weather quarter, and upon looking over the -rail, the mutineer perceived that that part of the ship had -swung against the ice, forcing into it the boat alongside with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">[58]</span> -a power that caused the already injured planks to give way in -several places.</p> - -<p>“Unhook the tackle, Driko, and let the boat go. It’s no -use now, for it’s stove so bad that it wouldn’t float an infant. -We’ll set the prisoners adrift on the ice, and if they choose to -fish up the boat, afterward, they can do so. That’s equal -rights!”</p> - -<p>By the time he concluded, the New Zealander had obeyed -his order, and both men watched the boat until it had sunk -out of sight among the huge blocks of ice.</p> - -<p>“Now then, luff!” shouted Lark to the helmsman.</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay, sir!” and down went the helm.</p> - -<p>Then, as the ship came into the wind, the giant, with the -assistance of Driko, succeeded in backing the main topsail.</p> - -<p>A minute later and the vessel had drifted with the current -alongside of the floe.</p> - -<p>“Now then,” said Lark, as he fastened the lower part of a -rope around the breast of Marline, just beneath the arm-pits, -“over you go!”</p> - -<p>And motioning to the islander to take hold of the other -part of the piece of rigging, he passed the still bound harpooner -over the ship’s rail, and, cautioning Driko to maintain -his hold, let go of his burden. But the rope slipped from the -hands of the islander, and as a natural consequence, the young -man was precipitated to the ice with a force which, for a few -minutes, deprived him of his senses.</p> - -<p>He partially regained them in time to see the corpulent -body of Stump—bound hand and foot—dangling above him -as it was being lowered to the ice, and also the form of Alice -Howard, as the young girl, closely wrapped in her fur cloak, -and with a pale countenance, was descending the ship’s side -by means of the man-ropes and the steps which had been prepared -for her accommodation.</p> - -<p>The young man raised himself upon his elbow, feeling bewildered, -and half inclined to believe that he was dreaming. -But the rough voice of Tom Lark, and a far gentler voice uttered -at nearly one and the same moment, soon dissipated the -mist from his brain, and enabled him to comprehend the -truth.</p> - -<p>“Round with the yards, men. Lively! lively!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">[59]</span></p> - -<p>“Dear Harry, speak to me—are you much hurt?”</p> - -<p>Then the vision of the ship fading away in the mist, as she -boomed upon her new course, was partially hidden from the -eyes of the harpooner by the fair young face of Alice Howard -that was bent full of sympathy toward his own, while she -proceeded to cut, with his sheath-knife, the cords about his -ankles and wrists.</p> - -<p>“My own Alice, here on the ice! Heaven help her!” cried -Marline, as he threw his arm impulsively around the waist of -the sweet girl. “Without shelter—without—”</p> - -<p>“Answer me, Harry, are you much hurt?”</p> - -<p>“If we could erect some kind of a canopy to cover you—ay, -if we could only do that,” continued the harpooner, still, -in his anxiety for the comfort of Alice, forgetting to answer -her question, “then there would be some consolation in the -matter.”</p> - -<p>“You <em>are</em> hurt—badly injured!” murmured the girl, with -tears in her eyes, “and that is the reason why you will not -reply to me.”</p> - -<p>“Hurt? No, indeed—I was only stunned!” And the -young man sprung lightly to his feet.</p> - -<p>Alice also arose, and placed her hand upon the shoulder of -her lover, looking into his face with a bright smile.</p> - -<p>“I am <em>so</em> glad,” she said, “I am happy now!”</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay, but blow me if I am!” grunted Stump, who, with -his hands and his ankles so closely bound that he was forced -to sit in a “doubled-up” position upon the cold surface of the -ice, was certainly in an uncomfortable situation. “No, not a -bit of it. These quarters are worse than that cursed hold; -and if you don’t untie me pretty soon, I shall commit suicide—much -as that goes against the Stump nature—by rolling over -the edge of the ice into the water.”</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">[60]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII.<br /> -<span class="fs60">THE CHASE.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">As the</span> Montpelier bowled upon her way, after Lark had -so unceremoniously left his prisoners upon the ice, the giant -rubbed his hands with delight, and glancing up at the squared -topsails, which were now filled by the northerly breeze, he -thus communed with himself:</p> - -<p>“It’s all right now. A fair wind, and the craft cleared of -all unnecessary rubbish. That’s as it should be—that’s equal -rights!”</p> - -<p>His eye fell upon the steward as he spoke, when he suddenly -remembered that he had another duty to perform before -he could experience that intense satisfaction which, in his -opinion should be felt by the captain of a newly-acquired -ship.</p> - -<p>So, he dispatched one of the islanders into the cabin for the -“cat-o’-nine-tails,” an old heirloom that had descended to -Briggs from a nautical grandsire, who was famed for his dexterous -and frequent use of this instrument.</p> - -<p>The native soon returned, and, armed with this cruel weapon, -the chief mutineer advanced to the mizzen shrouds, to -commence the work of punishment.</p> - -<p>The Portuguese writhed like a serpent beneath the torture, -which was inflicted with an unsparing hand, and his screams -rung in unearthly peals through every corner of the ship—thrilling -the hearts of the New Zealanders even with the most -uncomfortable sensations.</p> - -<p>The captain, himself, soon became disgusted with these cries, -and, wishing to entertain himself in a more agreeable manner, -cut the steward loose, and, by a dexterous movement of his -right leg, sent him headlong to the companion-way, ordering -him, in a very impolite manner, to go below and prepare his -dinner.</p> - -<p>“Keep a sharp look-out there, ahead!” he shouted to the -man upon the look-out, “and if you see any thing in the shape -of a boat, let me know it at once!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">[61]</span></p> - -<p>“Ay, ay, sir,” responded the islander, as he peered with redoubled -vigilance through the thick fog that covered sky and -sea.</p> - -<p>With another glance aloft, and a hasty look at the compass, -Captain Lark then stepped to the companion-way, with the -intention of descending and hastening the movements of his -steward. But, he had not quite reached the middle of the -staircase, when one of those prolonged and unearthly cries, -such as only the wild men of the Pacific isles can utter, broke -upon his ear and caused him to start.</p> - -<p>“Boat, O-o-o!”</p> - -<p>And before the shrill, vibrating voice had quite died away, -the captain cleared the entrance of the companion-way with -a bound, and ordering the man at the wheel to keep off a -couple of points, rushed forward and sprung upon the knightheads.</p> - -<p>Yes, there it was, sure enough—<ins class="corr" id="tn61" title="Transcriber’s Note—“a boat lying just a little off the starbord” changed to “a boat lying just a little off the starboard”.">a boat lying just a little off the starboard</ins> -bow, within ten fathoms of the ship, with her oars apeak and her crew -looming up like grim phantoms in the fog!</p> - -<p>“Ship ahoy!” shouted a deep, stentorian voice, which Lark -immediately recognized as that of the hoary-headed Briggs; -“isn’t that the Montpelier?”</p> - -<p>“No,” promptly answered the mutineer, and, as he spoke, -the bows of the ship fell rapidly off, “it’s the Neptune!”</p> - -<p>“Blow me, but I know that voice!” retorted the mate. -“It’s Tom Lark’s, and—and—ay, may I be swallowed by a -shark if the craft <em>isn’t</em> the Montpelier! My eyes can’t deceive -me with regard to a vessel I’ve once sailed in! Pull ahead, -Mr. Spooner!”</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay, sir,” retorted the second mate, and he ordered his -crew to take to their oars.</p> - -<p>By this time the ship—which had been kept off a couple -of points, thus bringing the wind upon the quarter—had forged -ahead so far that the boat was now abreast the main-rigging; -and, as the oar-blades of its crew splashed in the water, the -mutineer rushed to the waist, and watched the approaching -vessel with an anxious eye.</p> - -<p>“A pull on the lee-braces, men!” he shouted to the three -islanders, who, besides the man at the wheel and the steward<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">[62]</span> -in the cabin, now constituted the crew of the Montpelier. -They were all strong men, and, with the assistance of their -powerful leader, they soon had the yards properly braced, to -agree with the new course of the ship. The latter was now -booming along through the water, at the rate of eight knots, -with a man at the wheel who understood his business; for -the New Zealander, besides his readiness in learning to wield -the barbed harpoon, soon acquires a good practical knowledge -of seamanship. “White Squall”—so named by his shipmates, -on account of his fitful temper—was no exception to -the rule, and he handled the spokes like a veteran—keeping -the vessel so straight that even a frigate’s quartermaster could -not have found fault with his steering. Lark’s tormentor, -however, was still dashing along toward the ship, with that -peculiar rapidity which characterizes the whale-boat—a craft -which, being sharp at both ends, and gracefully and lightly -modeled, is especially formed for speed. The boat was pulled -with “double-banked oars”—that is, Briggs and his party, -who were in the boat, assisted the crew of the second mate, -and it soon was not further than seven fathoms from the -Montpelier, abreast the mizzen rigging; and the grim-visaged -Briggs, with a voice which certainly could not fail to make -an impression, was doing his utmost to encourage the -men.</p> - -<p>A suspicion of the truth had flashed across his mind at -the moment when Lark answered his hail, and, as there were -many thousands of dollars already belonging to him, as his -share of the cargo now in the Montpelier, he did not feel at -all inclined to allow the vessel to escape him.</p> - -<p>“Oh! you lubberly rascal, you! But there’ll be some fine -flogging in that craft when I get aboard of it!” he shouted, as -Captain Lark, with a pipe in his mouth, and his loaded pistol -in his right hand, although kept out of sight, coolly peered at -him over the quarter-rail.</p> - -<p>“Nonsense,” replied this individual, blowing a defiant puff -of smoke toward the boat. “You’ll never get a chance for -that, my jolly mate! Twist me if I don’t think it’s an impudent -piece of business—your wishing to board <em>my</em> ship, when -I’m not willing you should!”</p> - -<p>“Why, you villain!” roared Briggs, perfectly furious; “you<span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">[63]</span> -talk as though the vessel belonged to you. I’ll teach you -better manners presently!”</p> - -<p>“The craft <em>is</em> mine,” retorted the mutineer. “You and -Captain Howard have enjoyed her and had the good of her -for two years. Now, <em>I</em> take possession, and I doubt, were the -ship alive, that she would not be mightily pleased with her -change of owners. That’s equal rights!”</p> - -<p>During this conversation, the boat had lessened, another -fathom, the distance between it and the ship, and Captain -Lark became aware that it was time to show a little resistance.</p> - -<p>Accordingly, he ordered the three islanders to arm themselves -with harpoons, and take their station at his side—a -command which they obeyed with alacrity.</p> - -<p>“And now,” said the chief mutineer, leveling his pistol at -the head of the second mate, “you’ll have the goodness to -tell your men to stop pulling. I do not care to have you any -nearer, and the sooner you act according to <em>my</em> directions, the -better will it be for you! If you object, I shall be obliged to -send a bullet through your brains; but if, on the contrary, you -comply, I shall leave you in unmolested possession of your -boat. That’s equal rights!”</p> - -<p>But the second mate, who was a brave old fellow, and who, -having “seen some fighting” in a frigate during the war of -1812, was familiar with gunpowder as well as with whales, -coolly eyed the mutineer, and replied:</p> - -<p>“Fire, and be hung to you! You can’t scare me with any -such little plaything as that; besides which, I know you are -nothing of a marksman, and couldn’t hit the broadside of a -frigate, though it were but a few fathoms off! Pull ahead, -lads!”</p> - -<p>“We’ll see about that!” replied Lark, and, taking deliberate -aim, he fired.</p> - -<p>The second mate did not utter a word of complaint; but -the hand that held the steering-oar dropped bleeding and powerless -by his side.</p> - -<p>Seizing the implement with his left, however, he still encouraged -his men, in a low, stern tone, that denoted his sufferings, -and the effort he made to prevent the expression of them.</p> - -<p>The next moment, Briggs had taken his place, and, tearing -off a piece of the boat flag, the wounded man, with the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">[64]</span> -assistance of the after oarsman, proceeded to wind it about -the bleeding hand.</p> - -<p>As soon as this task was accomplished, his assistant seized -the boat-keg, with the intention of pouring some of the fresh -water it contained upon the rag. But, of all the precious elements -in this world, that simple but invaluable one, fresh -water, is most prized, and hoarded with most scrupulous care, -by seafaring men, whose prolonged absence from hospitable -shores renders it difficult for them to procure a sufficient supply -of the treasure. Hence, it followed that Mr. Spooner very -promptly and decidedly pushed aside the keg.</p> - -<p>“Not a drop,” said he, “shall be wasted on me. We’ll -need that water, badly enough, before we get through with -this business!”</p> - -<p>Another bullet, at this instant, came whistling toward the -boat, and, striking the handle of one of the oars, passed -through the sleeve of the mate’s jacket.</p> - -<p>“Spring, men, spring!” roared Briggs. “Lay back to your -oars with a will, and we’ll be aboard the craft before that big -rascal can load and fire again.”</p> - -<p>“I’m not so sure of that,” replied Lark, as he proceeded to -charge both barrels of his weapon. “Some of you must suffer -before you board me, if you succeed in doing that little -piece of business at all. I shan’t give you any quarter, as -why should I? You wish to board <em>my</em> ship; I don’t wish -you to do so. You insist, and I kill some of you men—that’s -equal rights!”</p> - -<p>“I’ll teach you equal rights with them cat-o’-nine-tails of -mine,” thundered Briggs. “They were made for just such -rascals as you are.”</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay, excellent,” responded Lark. “I’ve been practicing -with ’em, and I like ’em pretty well. Now, then, -Driko,” he added, turning to that worthy, “let us see -what stuff you are made of. Dart your iron, and pin -Briggs.”</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay, sir,” responded the swarthy islander.</p> - -<p>And, bending back, with his long, lithe figure stretched to -its utmost tension, he lifted the barbed weapon, and directed -the point toward the heart of the mate.</p> - -<p>To say that the latter could stand unmoved before the point<span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">[65]</span> -of this deadly instrument, directed by an arm and an eye so -unerring as those of Driko, would be to declare that Briggs -was more than human. He turned pale, and stood prepared -to dodge the harpoon, when it should be thrown, and, viewing -his emotion, the men relaxed their exertions a little, in -order to turn their glances over their shoulders. Then the -glimpses which they caught of the uplifted weapon, which -the islander had not yet quite placed to his satisfaction, created -considerable confusion.</p> - -<p>The oars of two of the men “caught crabs,” and the rest -fairly turned around upon their thwarts.</p> - -<p>“What are you about, there?” yelled Mr. Spooner, with -flashing eyes. “The harpoon isn’t pointed at you; it’s directed -at Mr. Briggs!”</p> - -<p>A fact which that worthy knew but too well, and which, -when it was thus verbally expressed by his brother officer, -did not inspire him with any very comfortable sensations. -He was now “ducking” his head, and twisting himself about -in a manner which would certainly have been deemed ludicrous -under different circumstances.</p> - -<p>“Whiz-z-z!” came the deadly weapon at last, and down -went Briggs, with a suddenness that caused him to tumble over -the after oarsman. He had dodged the iron in time, but it -had passed close to his ear, just grazing it and severing one of -his locks.</p> - -<p>“Now then, one good dash, men!” he roared, springing to -his feet, “and we’ll be alongside!”</p> - -<p>But at that instant, another iron came whizzing from the -ship, and the ’midship oarsman fell back with a low groan, as -the barbed instrument entered his body.</p> - -<p>The horror and confusion resulting from this calamity was -such that the exertions of the crew at the oars were entirely -suspended for some moments; and it was not until the dying -sailor had been carefully placed in the stern-sheets, that any -thing like order could be restored.</p> - -<p>Then the men again took to their oars, although they were -now so far astern of the ship that she was nearly out of sight -in the thick fog.</p> - -<p>“Never mind, lads!” cried the dauntless second mate. -“We’ll be up with ’em yet, for if I ain’t mistaken there’ll be<span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">[66]</span> -a calm before many hours. The breeze has already fallen -away a little.”</p> - -<p>And so the men, anxious to avenge their shipmate whose -dead face and glazed eyes in the stern-sheets, confronted them, -tugged and strained at the oars with redoubled energy.</p> - -<p>The breeze, as Mr. Spooner had declared, was gradually -dying away, and Captain Lark deemed it necessary to set the -top-gallant sails, which he now had an opportunity of doing, -as the boat was too far astern at present to give any -trouble.</p> - -<p>The additional canvas, when the yards had been hoisted, -and the sails sheeted home, increased the speed of the ship to -such a degree that her pursuers could do but little more than -keep her in sight; and when an hour had passed with no -better result, the oarsmen became so fatigued by their almost -frantic exertions, that the breath came from their lips in short, -rapid gasps, while the perspiration rolled in big drops from -their foreheads.</p> - -<p>It was at this juncture that Lark—who stood upon the -round-house rubbing his hands with great glee, and mentally -predicting the entire discomfiture of Spooner and his crew—was -startled by an exclamation from one of the islanders in -the waist. He turned quickly, and was still more startled by -the sudden apparition of another boat a few fathoms off the -lee beam, and rapidly approaching the ship!</p> - -<p>“Ship ahoy!” thundered the voice of Captain Howard; -“isn’t that the Montpelier?”</p> - -<p>“Up helm! Stand by with your harpoons, men!” roared -the mutineer, springing to the quarter-deck with a bound and -cocking his pistol.</p> - -<p>But, before the vessel could fall off a quarter of a point, -the bow of the boat struck her side, and a couple of her crew -succeeded, a moment afterward, in grasping the man-ropes.</p> - -<p>But Lark’s pistol pointed at the head of one of them, and -a harpoon directed at the heart of the other, together with a -fierce declaration from the mutineer, that he would shoot the -first man that attempted to board him, rather startled the -two sailors and caused them to let go their hold.</p> - -<p>The captain, however, whose previous suspicions of foul -play were now confirmed, darted to the bow with ready<span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">[67]</span> -presence of mind, and, by means of the boat-hook drew the little -vessel under the mizzen-chains before she could drop astern, -and ordered his harpooner to secure her with a rope. This -was soon done, but, at the same instant, the islanders threw their -deadly weapons, which would certainly have done terrible execution, -had not the bow oarsman, whose eye had not quitted his -enemies for a moment, warded them off by means of the -drag—a square, thick piece of wood, with a rope attached to -the middle. With an oath of disappointment, the mutineer -then ordered the islanders to procure more arms, and leaning -far over the rail as he spoke, in order to make his aim sure, -he directed his pistol at the captain.</p> - -<p>But before he could pull the trigger, the boat-hatchet was -hurled at his head with unerring precision, by the same -courageous seaman who had foiled the murderous intentions -of the dusky islanders. The back of the weapon struck the -giant upon the temple with great force, felling him to the -deck like an ox. Then, arming themselves with lances, the -boat’s crew, headed by their captain, scrambled pell-mell up -the ship’s side.</p> - -<p>Perceiving the uselessness of resistance, as they were outnumbered -by six to three, the New-Zealanders surrendered -themselves, and every one of them, not excepting the man at -the wheel—who was relieved by the orders of the captain, -were ironed and thrust into the run. Tom Lark—<em>Captain</em> -Lark no longer—who recovered his senses by the time these -little preliminaries had been gone through with, was also -secured with handcuffs—there are always plenty of these -articles in a whaleship—and placed in the hold to enjoy the -company of his fellow-conspirators.</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay,” said this interesting character, as he was pushed -through the open hatchway, “my prospects have received a -sudden check. I haven’t had much opportunity to enjoy my -newly acquired property, which is no sooner in my hands -than it escapes ’em. That isn’t in the vocabulary of equal -rights!”</p> - -<p>It was about this time that the man at the wheel, upon -casting a careless glance over his shoulder, saw the boat of -the second mate, which was faintly distinguishable in the -fog astern. He notified the captain, who immediately<span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">[68]</span> -had the main topsail backed and the ship brought into the -wind.</p> - -<p>But he felt so much anxiety with regard to his niece and -her companions—for Driko had at once informed him of the -disposition that had been made of them by the chief mutineer—that -he scarcely heeded the boat when it dashed alongside.</p> - -<p>The hearty shake of the hand which he received from Mr. -Spooner, however, as the old man confronted him, recalled -him to himself.</p> - -<p>“This has been a bad business,” said the poor fellow, as a -contortion caused by the pain in his wounded hand passed -over his face. “Tom Block was killed!”</p> - -<p>“What!” cried the captain, with a start, “Tom—”</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay,” interrupted the mate, “killed by a harpoon thrown -by one of the mutineers;” and he then proceeded to give a -graphic description of the incident.</p> - -<p>“I am sorry—very sorry that this has happened!” cried the -captain, with much emotion.</p> - -<p>“Shall we hoist the boats?” inquired Briggs, at this juncture.</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay, the waist-boat, but not mine,” replied the captain, -“for I shall presently go in search of Alice!”</p> - -<p>“And what shall we do with the body of Tom Block?”</p> - -<p>“Sew it up immediately. We will have the burial as soon -as we can.”</p> - -<p>Accordingly, as soon as the boat had been hoisted, the corpse -was placed upon the carpenter’s bench—palms, twine and -needles were procured; a piece of an old sail was wrapped -around the lifeless form, which was securely stitched up, after -a number of bricks had been placed in the bottom of the shroud. -Then the flag was hoisted at half-mast, the gangway plank -made ready to receive its burden, and the captain, with an -open Bible in his hand, stood ready to read the funeral service. -The men mustered at the given signal, and, with uncovered -heads, listened respectfully to the words that were read to them -from the Holy Book. The chapter was well chosen—well -calculated to touch the hearts of those rough men with its -simple yet beautiful truths, and when the reader had finished, -and the shrouded body, after sliding adown the sloping board, -dropped into the water with a dull splash—the crew walked -forward with a feeling of consolation that they had not dreamed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">[69]</span> -they could experience so soon after the death of their shipmate.</p> - -<p>“He always did his duty—Tom did!” said an old seaman, -“and if he don’t go aloft it won’t be his fault!”</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay,” responded another, “there’s a good deal of satisfaction -in that idea, although it’s hard to lose a chum so sudden-like. -I’ll miss him mighty bad—I will—as we always messed -together—eating out of the same pan and using the same knife -and fork.”</p> - -<p>“That <em>is</em> hard,” responded the old tar, “but after you’ve -lost as many chums as I have, you won’t think so much of a -matter of this kind.”</p> - -<p>Further conversation was now prevented by the voice of the -captain ordering the men to wear ship, and as soon as this -task had been accomplished, two men were posted upon the -knightheads to keep a good look-out.</p> - -<p>This duty, however, was soon rendered almost unnecessary, -by a dead calm, which fell upon the sea before the vessel had -advanced a mile upon her new course. The sails hung motionless -upon the yards, and a feeling of unaccountable drowsiness -stole over the weary helmsman. He could scarcely -keep his eyes open, and it was only the presence of the captain, -who, with rapid and impatient strides was walking the -quarter-deck, that prevented him from indulging in sleep.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Spooner,” said the skipper, addressing the second mate, -who was near the companion-way bathing his wounded hand -in cold water, “I can’t endure this fearful suspense much -longer. I shall have my boat manned immediately after -supper, and shall go in search of Alice!”</p> - -<p>“Hadn’t you better wait until morning?” said the old man. -“We are at the least about four leagues from the ice, by this -time, and then in the darkness of the night—it is getting dark -even now—coupled with this fog, you won’t stand much chance -of finding your niece.”</p> - -<p>“I can’t endure this suspense. I should lose my senses -before morning! I <em>must</em> look for her, and that as soon as -possible!”</p> - -<p>“Supper is ready, sir!” cried, at this moment, the Portuguese -steward, Joseph, thrusting his head through the companion-way.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">[70]</span></p> - -<p>Joe had escaped the handcuffs by a plausible tale, in which -he made it appear that he had no hand in the conspiracy to -take the ship, and had exhibited the red stripes upon his back, -stating that Lark had flogged him because he rebelled against -his measures. Howard, who was not of a suspicious nature, -credited this story; but the steward fearing that the prisoners -in the run—or if not they, the young harpooner, Harry Marline, -and his friend Stump—(in case they should ever be picked -up)—would eventually betray him, had resolved to make his -escape from the ship as soon as possible.</p> - -<p>The helmsman, whose drowsiness has been noticed, had -been drugged by the Portuguese, who had presented him with -a glass of drugged liquor soon after he took his position at -the wheel. The consequence was that, by the time the decks -were deserted by the officers and crew—who had gone below -to get their suppers—the steersman’s head dropped upon his -breast and he fell into a deep slumber.</p> - -<p>The next moment the steward—who, under pretense of -going to the locker for a certain dish, had contrived to make -his way stealthily to the deck—glided to the waist-boat, cautiously -glancing around him to make sure that he was not -observed, quickly severed with his knife the lashings and also -the falls. Then he pushed the vessel overboard, and making -his way to the captain’s boat, he sprung into it, severed the -rope that held it to the ship, and seized the steering-oar.</p> - -<p>“Free!” he muttered, exultingly, as he rapidly sculled the -craft away from the Montpelier, and gave the other boat a -shove with his foot, “me clear of dis vessel at last, and me -soon be picked up by some other ship, for de Ochotsk Sea is -full of ’em. De cap’n can no come after me,” he added, -glancing toward the waist-boat, which was drifting off with -the current. “He! he! he! me serve ’em fine trick. Good -idee dat, to cut adrift Spooner’s boat, so dey no can catch me. -Dey hang me, sure, if dey did!”</p> - -<p>As he spoke he redoubled his exertions, and he was soon -so far from the Montpelier that he would have been completely -shrouded by the fog from the gaze of any person on deck. -The boats were not missed until half an hour afterward. The -captain was the first to perceive the loss, which overwhelmed -him with astonishment, indignation, and grief. The helmsman<span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">[71]</span> -was awakened and questioned, but he could throw no -light upon the subject; and it was not until many hours afterward—when -the prolonged absence of the steward from the -cabin began to be remarked—that any definite conclusions -began to be formed.</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay,” said Briggs, in his blunt way, “I always <em>did</em> suspect -that fellow; and now I feel certain that he has deserted -the ship, and that he cut away the other boat to prevent us -from catching him!”</p> - -<p>“It is a terrible loss,” replied the captain, with a groan—“the -loss of those boats, at the present moment; for we have -not another in the ship, and so have no means of going in -search of Alice. God help her! God help the poor girl!”</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX.<br /> -<span class="fs60">THE DISAPPEARANCE.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">To</span> return to the little party upon the ice.</p> - -<p>We left our friend Stump, sitting in a very uncomfortable -position, near the edge of the frozen block, and complaining -because the lovers had not yet unfastened his bonds.</p> - -<p>“Oh, a thousand pardons, my dear friend!” replied Alice, -blushing deeply. “It was, indeed, very wrong, on my part, -to forget you.”</p> - -<p>“I am more to blame, Alice, than you are,” interrupted -Marline, drawing his sheath-knife, and proceeding to cut the -cords from the wrists and ankles of the prostrate seaman. -“Ay, ay, old chum,” he added, as Stump, with a sigh of -relief, arose to his feet, and began to kick the “cramp” from -his little legs; “it is all my fault that you were overlooked.”</p> - -<p>“Never mind apologies, now,” replied Stump, “seeing as -the way you acted was parfectly nat’ral, considering that you -hadn’t met for half an hour. But those pow-wows, twist -’em, have sarved us a lubberly trick; for, besides taking the -ship, they haven’t left me a drop of ’ile to grease my pigtail -with!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">[72]</span></p> - -<p>“Your pigtail, friend Jack, is of but little consequence, at -present,” said the harpooner; “it will doubtless need oiling -more than it does now, before we are picked up.”</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay, there’s some truth in that last,” retorted Stump, -with a mournful “grin,” “and I’m sorry for it, because I -always like to keep the ‘thing’ neat and shining like, when -there’s a young lass to look at it.”</p> - -<p>“Then you may set your mind at ease, my friend,” said -Alice, kindly, “for I like the pigtail as well without it as -with it.”</p> - -<p>“The Stumps always wore ’em ’iled,” said the shipkeeper, -shaking his head; “but it’s consoling to me, at any rate, Miss -Alice, to hear you say that you like mine as well when it -doesn’t shine as when it does.”</p> - -<p>“We are certainly in a very disagreeable situation, at -present,” said Marline.</p> - -<p>“There’s no disputing that p’int,” replied Stump, as he -threw a woeful glance around him. “There isn’t a very fine -prospectus spread out before us, seeing as these cold blocks -and bergs of ice don’t look quite as comfortable as the quarters -we are used to. Then, again, we ain’t got any provision to -live on, which is another parfectly overpowering consideration.”</p> - -<p>“It’s a pity,” said Marline, “that the captain and his crew -did not remain aboard the ship, as they are accustomed to do. -Then all this trouble would have been prevented. You and -I, Stump, can easily endure the hardships before us; but, with -Alice, it is different.”</p> - -<p>“Indeed,” said the captain’s niece, assuming a gay tone; -“you will find that I can bear them, too. Besides,” she continued, -“as soon as the fog clears, we will see the other boats, -and then we can go ashore, and build a tent, and make a -good fire.”</p> - -<p>“All this will come to pass, in time, I have no doubt,” replied -Harry, “and very soon, too, if Briggs and the men, who -left me about an hour before the ship stove my boat, have -succeeded in their purpose, which was to find our friends. -But, if they have failed, and have lost themselves, we may -have to pass the night upon the ice, and perhaps a great portion -of the next day, for this fog, in my opinion, will be of -long duration.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">[73]</span></p> - -<p>“Never mind,” said the young girl. “You perceive I have -a thick fur cloak, which will keep me warm enough, under -almost any circumstances; but you and Stump, I am sorry to -see, are not very thickly clad.”</p> - -<p>The two seamen laughed, good-humoredly.</p> - -<p>“We are used to roughing it, as you know, Alice,” said -Harry, “and don’t feel the cold.”</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay,” cried Stump, “that’s it; our hides are as tough -as bull-fish, and we can only feel consarn on your account, -sweet lass, for it must be owned that this fog isn’t as good for -your lungs as the steam from a cup of tea.”</p> - -<p>“It won’t hurt me, nevertheless,” said Alice, smiling; “for -I have a good constitution, and you know I have remained on -the deck of the Montpelier, in a thick fog, and when the weather -was much colder than it is now.”</p> - -<p>“Well, blast my eyes!” cried Stump, in admiration, “if -ever I saw such a parfect little duck of a philosopher before! -There are few women that could speak so cheery-like under -present sarcumstances.”</p> - -<p>“You are right, there, chum,” said Harry, warmly. “I -have seen girls, before now, that would do nothing but moan -and faint, were they to find themselves in a predicament of -this kind.”</p> - -<p>Alice did not attempt to conceal the glowing manifestations -of pleasure that her lover’s compliment called forth upon her -cheek, and in her eyes. But, before the blush and the smile -had faded from her face—with the natural desire to defend -her sisters, which animates the bosom of every true-hearted -woman—she added:</p> - -<p>“It is hardly just, Harry, to imply that any woman would -act unbecomingly under circumstances in which you have -never seen her placed. A girl, who shrinks and trembles -when threatened with some light misfortune, may show much -bravery and fortitude upon occasions of great peril.”</p> - -<p>“True enough,” said the harpooner; “but you must acknowledge,” -he added, smiling, “that there are some young -women who, by their general behavior alone, give the most -unequivocal proofs of a nature too weak and frivolous to -evince resolution, or unselfish devotion, under any circumstances.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">[74]</span></p> - -<p>“That’s so,” put in Stump, “and Molly Banks, of Nantucket, -was one of them kind. In my young days, I made a lubber -of myself, by proposing to splice hands with that young -she. But, she hadn’t enough devotion in her natur’, she said, -to marry a man that wore a pigtail.” This took me all aback, -as well it might; says I, “Why, Molly,” says I, “the Stumps -always wore ’em, and mine is very becoming to me!”</p> - -<p>“Nonsense!” says she, “it’s too old-fashioned; I’d never -have courage to take a husband with one of them things.”</p> - -<p>“All right,” says I, as I sheered off, “a woman that hasn’t -neither devotion nor courage, isn’t to <em>my</em> taste.”</p> - -<p>“You are a sensible man, Jack,” cried Harry, smiling. “I -think I should have acted in the same manner, had I been in -your place.”</p> - -<p>“The damsel was certainly unworthy of you, friend Stump, -and showed herself to be a very frivolous creature,” said -Alice.</p> - -<p>She drew her cloak more closely about her as she spoke, -for a cold, drizzling rain had just commenced to fall, increasing -the chilliness of the atmosphere, and dampening the -young girl’s cheeks and the thick braids of her hair.</p> - -<p>Her lover, who had been watching her with tender concern, -now motioned to Stump, and made his way to the spot near -which the boat that Lark had provided for their accommodation -had been stove and sunk. The wreck of the little -craft was still partially visible, for, as the two men perceived, -upon making an examination of it, the keel had become -wedged in a narrow fissure that extended across a shelf of ice -about a foot and a half beneath the surface of the water.</p> - -<p>“This is fortunate!” cried the harpooner, “for the wreck -and its contents will be of great service to us. We can pull -the boat out of the water, I think, with a little exertion.”</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay,” replied Stump, “we can do it with the help of -some of the whale line—a few coils of which are still left in -one of the tubs, as you can see for yourself.”</p> - -<p>The young man threw off his jacket, as his shipmate -spoke, and rolled up one of his shirt sleeves to his shoulder. -Then stooping over the edge of the ice, he plunged his naked -arm into the partially submerged boat, and seizing the end of -the rope to which the shipkeeper had alluded, he drew it up<span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">[75]</span> -and proceeded to coil the line upon the surface of the frozen -raft. After this task had been accomplished, a part of the -rope was secured to the shattered bow of the boat, whose contents, -consisting of a few lances, a couple of harpoons, a -hatchet, a small bucket of tar with a brush, the two line-tubs, -the boatsail, a few large chunks of salt beef, a breaker -of fresh water—another containing hard bread—and a few -of the other articles, were taken out. Then both Marline and -his chum grasped that part of the line which was about a -fathom from the place where it was fastened, and tugged and -strained at it until they had succeeded in raising the head of -the vessel above the edge of the ice. A quarter of an hour’s -work accomplished the rest, and, as the shattered craft lay -dripping before them, upon the ice, the little party exchanged -glances of the most intense satisfaction.</p> - -<p>“We’ll soon have a shelter rigged for you now, Alice,” said -the harpooner, as the young girl, who had been watching the -operations of her lover with much interest, glided to his side.</p> - -<p>She looked up gratefully into his face as he spoke, and -placed her hand upon his arm.</p> - -<p>“How will you do it?” she inquired, “with that broken boat -and those line-tubs?”</p> - -<p>“You shall see,” replied Marline, and drawing his sheath -knife, he commenced to cut the pieces of rope-yarn that held -the sail to the mast.</p> - -<p>It had previously been unrolled by Stump, and as the last -rope-yarn was severed, the shipkeeper twisted the cloth into -as small a compass as possible. Both men then seized it and -began to wring it out, for it had become thoroughly soaked, -and required a “little drying” before it could be used for the -purposes in view. The manner in which the two seamen -handled the cloth as they squeezed it, seemed droll enough to -Alice, and more than once, as Harry glanced toward her, he -saw a sly smile hovering about the corners of her mouth. -The task, however, was soon accomplished, and, spreading out -the sail, the harpooner then proceeded to cover it with a coat -of tar, so that the rain might not penetrate the cloth; while -Stump, in accordance with the directions of the young man, -lashed one of the line-tubs—turned upon its side—to the -after part of the boat, and the other in like manner to the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">[76]</span> -forward part. An oar was then placed lengthways above the -vessel, with each of its ends resting upon one of the tubs, to -which it was securely fastened in a short time by the skillful -fingers of the harpooner and his companion.</p> - -<p>The tarred sail was then thrown across the oar and secured -to the broken gunwales, in such a manner as to form quite a -respectable roof, and which could be opened at any moment -on one side. So much having been done, the young man -seized the hatchet, and knocking away all the thwarts, with -the exception of one, gave them to Stump, directing him to -stop up the holes in the sides of the vessel with them, as well -as he could. While the shipkeeper was engaged in this duty, -Marline examined the inside bottom of the boat, and was glad -to perceive that the planks which covered it were still in good -condition.</p> - -<p>He wiped them with a piece of canvas, until they were -as dry as he could make them in this manner; and then, with -the roll of sail-cloth that had been found among the other contents -of the vessel, he assisted Stump in his efforts to stop up -some of the many crevices and holes in the broken bows and -sides of the boat.</p> - -<p>“There, Alice!” he cried, springing out upon the ice, as -soon as this duty was finished, “you can now go into your -ark, which will at least keep you from getting wet.”</p> - -<p>“It is very nice,” said the young girl, “but is there room -for us all?”</p> - -<p>“Oh yes, in case we should care to go in. But Jack and I -prefer to stay outside for the present, so as to watch for -Briggs and his party, or for any of the boats.”</p> - -<p>As he spoke, he seized the hand that Alice extended to him, -and helped her into the vessel—his heart throbbing with delight -as he listened to the praises that she lavished upon the -simple accommodations which had been prepared for her.</p> - -<p>“It is almost as warm and snug here,” she said, when she -had seated herself, “as the cabin of the Montpelier.”</p> - -<p>“My eyes!” whispered Stump in Harry’s ear, “it’s a raal -pleasure to do any thing for this gal; she takes every thing -so ship-shape and sailor-like!”</p> - -<p>“I am glad it pleases you, Alice,” said Marline, “but with -the help of a few blankets it might have been improved.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">[77]</span></p> - -<p>“Indeed, Harry, there is not the least need of them, so far -as I am concerned, for I have my cloak, which will keep me -warm enough.”</p> - -<p>The harpooner was about to reply, when Stump twitched -his arm, causing him to turn his head.</p> - -<p>The shipkeeper moved to the edge of the ice-raft, by a wink -of the eye implying that he desired Marline to follow him. -Wondering what he could wish to say to him, of a secret -nature, the young man made his way to the side of his companion, -who then addressed him in a low voice:</p> - -<p>“I didn’t wish to alarm the gal,” said he, “but you can -perceive that the tide is changing, and that we’ll soon, on that -account, be drifting in a direction that won’t be likely to carry -us toward the boats.”</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay, that’s true enough,” said the harpooner; “I expected -it; but we must trust to Providence.”</p> - -<p>“Them that trusts entirely to that,” said Stump, oracularly, -“don’t always come out right in the end, which isn’t the fault -of Providence, hows’ever, but the fault of them that don’t take -advantage of the chances and such like which it offers to ’em -to get out of their scrapes. There was a chaplain on board of -the Minerva, a craft that I once sailed in, and during a terrific -gale that we had, the ship leaked badly and we’d all have gone -to Davy Jones, if we had taken the advice of the Bible-man, -who wanted us to leave the pumps and pray to God to save -the vessel. My eyes! she would have gone down in no time -if we’d done that; but the captain was a sensible man, and -ordered us to pump away, by which means we saved the craft, -which we wouldn’t have done if we had leaned on Providence!”</p> - -<p>“You did perfectly right in your case,” said the young -man, “and your words would seem to imply that there is some -means that Providence offers us to get out of our present uncomfortable -situation. If so I should be glad to hear you explain -yourself.”</p> - -<p>“Here goes, then,” replied Stump, smoothing his pigtail. -“The land, you know, is not much more than a league to the -east’ard of us, and we have a couple of oars. With them -oars, it’s my honest opinion that we might contrive to work -this block of ice that we are standing on, to the shore, which -would be much better than to let the current carry us any<span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">[78]</span> -further from the boats. As to Briggs and his party, there is -no use waiting for them, for we couldn’t do ’em any good if -they should come.”</p> - -<p>“True enough!” exclaimed Harry. “I wonder that this plan -did not occur to me. We had better go to work at once!”</p> - -<p>And the two men were preparing themselves for the task, -when the sound of a horn, blown from a distance which could -not have been greater than a quarter of a mile from the spot -they occupied, saluted their ears. The noise was repeated several -times, and it drew the pretty Alice from her miniature ark.</p> - -<p>“Surely, Harry, that is one of our boats,” she said, moving -to the side of the young man. “Oh, I am so glad!”</p> - -<p>“It is a pity that we have no horn,” said the harpooner, in -a voice of regret, “otherwise we could now make our position -known.”</p> - -<p>“But the boat will come to us as things are, perhaps,” suggested -Alice.</p> - -<p>“It may, or it may not,” answered Harry. “I think it -very likely that it will turn off in some other direction before -it gets here, and for that reason, I think I shall try to go to <em>it</em>.”</p> - -<p>“Oh no!” cried the young girl, anxiously. “Briggs and -his party ought to serve as a warning to you. I would not -do so, for the world. You will certainly lose yourself as the -others have done.”</p> - -<p>“You have not the least reason to be alarmed, Alice,” retorted -the young man; “the boats were much further off when -Briggs left me than this one is now, and besides I have only -to go in a straight line to get to it.”</p> - -<p>This assurance somewhat quieted the fears of Alice, but, -some minutes elapsed before the persuasions of her lover could -reconcile her to his departure. At length, however, impressing -a kiss upon her cheek, and assuring her that he would -soon be back, he moved away, leaving the young girl to watch -him until the fog had shut his form from her view.</p> - -<p>Even then she did not stir from her position, but kept her -eyes turned toward the spot where Marline had disappeared; -and as minute after minute passed, she still remained, gently -refusing to comply with the entreaties of Stump, who wished -her to return to the ark that she might not be exposed to the -rain.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">[79]</span></p> - -<p>Half an hour passed, still, neither her lover nor the boat -appeared to calm her uneasiness; and when the time had -lengthened into a full hour, she turned her pale, agitated countenance -toward the shipkeeper, and expressed her anxiety in -a tremulous voice.</p> - -<p>“There’s not the least reason to be alarmed, Miss Alice,” -said Stump, “not the least. The lad has probably reached -the boat long before this, and has got into it. But it is -probably so jammed in the ice, that they can’t get here in a -moment.”</p> - -<p>The young girl shook her head.</p> - -<p>“No, no!” she cried, “he wouldn’t have entered the boat; -he would have come right back after finding it, if nothing -had happened!”</p> - -<p>Perceiving that he was unable to calm her fears, the shipkeeper -reflected a moment and then drew a small pocket compass -from his Guernsey, and looked at it. He had formed the -resolution to go in search of Marline.</p> - -<p>“I’ll bring you news of the lad in a short time,” he said, -turning to the young girl and exhibiting the compass. “This -instrument will let me know my bearings, so that I can easily -find my way back.”</p> - -<p>“You will soon return, my friend?”</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay, bless you, very soon, for I’ve sworn to stick to -you, and my conscience wouldn’t allow me to remain long absent.”</p> - -<p>And ducking his head, by way of a bow, Stump departed, -presenting a comical figure, as he leaped from berg to berg. -He made his way, with a celerity which would not have been -expected of a man of his proportions—moving in the direction -of the horn which was still blowing, but which, it struck -him, did not sound so near as it did an hour before.</p> - -<p>This circumstance made him feel uneasy, for, if Harry had -succeeded in reaching the boat, it would not now be receding -instead of advancing. He hurried on, however, until a sloping -iceberg, about ten feet high and fifteen feet in length, barred his -further progress. This he would be obliged to scale before he -could proceed, for he could not go around it on account of a -channel of water, too wide to cross, that bounded it on each -side. He looked up dubiously at the top of the frozen pile,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">[80]</span> -and, while still hesitating at its base, he fancied he heard a -shout close to his ear.</p> - -<p>He looked around in amazement, and as he did so, the cry -was repeated, this time louder than before, and seeming to -emerge from the very heart of the iceberg.</p> - -<p>“Who is that?” cried the shipkeeper, “and where are -you?”</p> - -<p>“It is I—Harry Marline,” retorted the voice. “Is that you, -Stump?”</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay, it’s me, bless your eyes, but skin me if I see how -you could have condensed yourself so as to get into this solid -chunk of ice!”</p> - -<p>“You are mistaken,” retorted the laughing voice of the -harpooner, “there’s a rift in the berg like a ravine. You can -see it if you climb to the top where I was before I slipped -into it.”</p> - -<p>“And is this where you’ve been all the time?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. The inner sides of my quarters are so slippery that -I can’t climb them! You had better get a rope and—”</p> - -<p>“I have a bunch of ratlin stuff in my pocket!” interrupted -Stump, who generally carried a little of every thing useful -about him, “which I guess will do.”</p> - -<p>And pulling out the bunch of rigging, he fastened one of -its ends to his pigtail—for he did not like the taste of tar -sufficiently to put the strands in his mouth—and proceeded to -scramble to the top of the ice, which he finally gained with -much difficulty. Peering through the mouth of the rift, he -saw the upturned face of Marline, toward which he now lowered -the disengaged end of the piece of rigging. It was soon -in the young man’s hand, and Stump was about to unfasten -the other end from the pendent mass of hair, so as to secure it -to one of the rough projections of ice, when his foot slipped, -causing him to descend half way down the frozen declivity, -which he had mounted with so much trouble, and where he -now hung suspended by his pigtail to the rope; for the young -harpooner, believing that his corpulent chum was clinging to -it with his hands, and that he was doing him a good service -by holding on to the piece of rigging, had not allowed it to -escape his grasp!</p> - -<p>So there hung the stout little shipkeeper, kicking his legs,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">[81]</span> -and vociferating in an excited manner, until at length he succeeded -in turning himself and grasping the rope with both -hands.</p> - -<p>“You sarved me a bad trick, Marline, without knowing it,” -he said, as soon as he had regained the top of the berg. “Blast -me if I think my pigtail will ever recover from the effects of -it.”</p> - -<p>And he then proceeded to explain the predicament in which -he had been placed. The harpooner expressed his sympathy -and regret, after which Stump proceeded very carefully to -fasten the rope to an icy projection near the mouth of the -crevice.</p> - -<p>Assured that the rope was perfectly secure, Harry clambered -hand over hand, until he had gained the top of the berg, -and then expressed his intention of continuing his search for -the boats.</p> - -<p>“As for you, Stump,” he added, “you had better make -your way back to Alice, as speedily as possible, so as to calm -her fears on my account.”</p> - -<p>“Willingly enough will I do that,” replied the shipkeeper, -gently smoothing his ruffled pigtail, “for I’m mightily tired of -this ice-cruising business—I’ll give you my word for that.”</p> - -<p>The two men separated, soon afterward, but not until -Stump had presented the pocket-compass to his chum and -delivered a long tirade upon its merits.</p> - -<p>“You are sure you can find your way back—are you not?” -shouted Harry, after he had gone a few paces.</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay,” responded Stump, “there isn’t a doubt upon that -p’int. All I have to do is to follow my nose, which won’t -twist either to the right or the left, seeing as its parfectly flat.”</p> - -<p>Each of the seamen then continued his course—the shipkeeper -waddling along toward the spot where he had left -Alice, which was not more than five hundred yards from the -scene of his late adventure, and the young harpooner darting -swiftly forward in the direction of the blowing horn.</p> - -<p>Stump strained his eyes, as he neared the point of his destination, -eager to get a glimpse of the captain’s fair niece. In -order to relieve her anxiety as soon as possible, he kept up a -continual shouting as he advanced.</p> - -<p>“It’s all right, Miss Alice—bless your pretty eyes—it’s all<span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">[82]</span> -right! I’ve seen him, I have, and he’s well and hearty! He -was penned up in a sort of seal-hole, but I got him out of -it in quick time, and he’s now started off again after the boats.”</p> - -<p>Quickening his pace as he moved on, he had soon made so -much progress that the little ark, looming up through the fog, -directly ahead of him, suddenly broke upon his view. Then -looking around him in every direction, and not seeing Alice, -he stopped short, and rubbed his eyes, to make sure that they -had not been disarranged in such a manner as to deceive him.</p> - -<p>The next moment he laughed very quietly to himself.</p> - -<p>“What a lubber I am getting to be, to think that the poor gal -would have stood where I left her all this time. She’s gone -into her little cubby-hole, and is now, I dare say, a-grieving and -taking on in a sad fashion. And that’s why she didn’t answer -my shouting as I came on. Ay, ay, that’s it, sure enough!”</p> - -<p>Eager to soothe the young girl with the news of her lover’s -safety, he hurried forward until he had gained the side of the -boat, when he hastily threw aside the end of the tarred cloth -that covered it. To his astonishment and dismay, the vessel -was empty!</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Little did the harpooner imagine this as he moved onward -over the floating bergs. Hope made his step light and his -heart buoyant. The horn was still being blown, and he -doubted not that he would soon reach the boat. Suddenly, -however, the sound of the instrument became hushed. He -paused, waiting in vain for a repetition of the familiar notes. -He heard only the whispering noise of the rain, the gurgling -of the seal, as it rolled about in the water, impatient for the -sunshine, and the cry of the northern bird, as it wheeled in -circles through the foggy air. Now and then, it is true, a -louder and more startling noise would salute his ears, when -some huge mass of ice, becoming loosened on the summit of a -miniature cathedral, would fall, with a tremendous crash, to -the base of the tower.</p> - -<p>He continued his search a quarter of an hour longer, when -his further progress was prevented by a channel not less than -fifteen feet wide, and which separated the floe into two parts. -As he was turning to retrace his steps, his attention was -drawn to a number of little eddies that suddenly appeared<span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">[83]</span> -upon the surface of the water. Round and round they -whirled, becoming larger every moment. A peculiar noise, -resembling the distant rolling of a drum, rose up from the -depths of the sea. The berg upon which he stood, trembled -like a rock when the rumbling earthquake approaches its -foundation. At length the little whirlpools vanished; the -water bubbled and broke into ripples—then parted with a -roar, as the hump of a huge whale rose above the surface. -Marline had no difficulty in recognizing this monster as the -same from which Briggs had been obliged to ‘cut;’ for he -saw his own irons protruding from its body. The barbed -instruments seemed to madden the creature with pain. It -rolled and plunged from side to side, so furiously lashing the -water with its flukes, that the harpooner was enveloped in -clouds of spray. In order to escape this uncomfortable -shower-bath, he ascended a “crystal tower,” the upper part -of which, though out of range of the flying drops of water, -yet afforded him a good view of the whale. He continued to -watch the monster with much interest, feeling sorry that he -had not the means with which to put an end to its sufferings. -The noise of its spouting was inexpressibly mournful; it was -not unlike the half-smothered shriek of a drowning man, -heard amid the roaring of the blast. Soon, however, the -animal became silent: for a few seconds it remained nearly -motionless: then it rushed quickly backward and breached -(sprung upward) nearly its full length out of the sea. For an -instant, with its fins extended and the tremendous proportions -of its body fully exposed, it hovered in the air, and then came -crashing down with a noise like the bursting of a thunder-bolt! -The upheaving waters dashing against the icebergs, -agitated them on all sides. The frozen mass occupied by Marline, -rocked so violently that he could scarcely maintain his -position. He descended from it just in time to catch a -glimpse of the whale’s uplifted flukes, as the monster dove -into the green depths of the sea.</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay,” he muttered, sorrowfully, “there it goes at last—back -again to its watery chambers below, as though it -would flee from the torturing pain caused by those barbed -irons. Would to heaven that we had succeeded in killing -it! It must suffer terribly!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">[84]</span></p> - -<p>He turned, and, glancing at the compass in his possession, -hurried off, with the intention of returning to the ark. He -had not gone far, however, when he heard upon his right a -light pattering noise, such as a dog might have made in running -over the ice. His curiosity being excited, he moved in -the direction of the sound, peering keenly through the fog as -he advanced. The footfalls receded rapidly, but pressing -steadily forward, the young man was enabled, before long, to -distinguish the faint outline of some animal gliding swiftly on -ahead of him. He quickened his steps into a run; as he did so -the object disappeared behind an iceberg. Marline soon gained -the frozen mass, but the creature, whatever it was, had vanished.</p> - -<p>“This is strange!” muttered the harpooner. “The animal -must be pretty swift of foot to get out of my sight so quickly; -though it is true the fog would hide it, if it were only a few -yards from me. Perhaps, however, it has crawled into some -hollow in the ice.”</p> - -<p>So saying, he commenced to peer into the nooks and -crevices among the bergs, after which he climbed to their -summits to look for rifts, using his boat-hatchet freely when -he encountered any rugged mass that might contain a secret -chamber; but his search was unrewarded. He thrust the -hatchet in his belt, and had turned once more for the purpose -of making his way to the ark, when his glance fell upon an -object that caused him to utter an exclamation of surprise and -horror. He advanced a few steps to assure himself that he -was not deceived by any peculiarity in the formation of the -ice; then he moved to the side of the object and eyed it -closely. It was the skeleton of a human being, extended -upon a shelf of ice that protruded from the lower part of a -lofty berg. Bleached by wind and sunshine it had evidently -lain here for many weeks. Every particle of flesh had been -stripped from its bones by some hungry bear that had been -cast adrift upon the floe. It lay upon its back so that its -hollow sockets, partially glazed over with ice, were turned upward -as if it were trying to discover whether or not its spirit -had passed to the ethereal shores of Heaven. Marline gazed -upon it for a long time, and then clapped his hand to his -brow, as though some sudden recollection had flashed across -his mind.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">[85]</span></p> - -<p>“Ay, ay!” he exclaimed, as he pointed to the broken -ribs of the skeleton; “it must be so! The remains before -me are none other than those of George Wills, whose story was -related to me by one of the crew of the Comus, a week ago.”</p> - -<p>He turned away with a sigh, and once more consulting his -compass, moved off in the direction of the ark.</p> - -<p>The story of which he had spoken, may be told in a few -words.</p> - -<p>George Wills, a native of Nantucket, sailed from New -Bedford in the whaler Comus, on the 18th of September, 18—. -Being a strong, active young man, and an excellent sailor, he -was soon promoted from a foremast hand to the position of -harpooner in the mate’s boat. In due course of time the -vessel arrived upon the whaling grounds, in the Ochotsk Sea, -where there was no lack of opportunities for the new boat-steerer -to try his skill in wielding the barbed iron. Much to -his own satisfaction and that of the first officer, he proved as -expert in this work as he was in handling the marlinespike -and the oar.</p> - -<p>One morning the four boats were got ready for one of those -protracted whale-hunts so common in the north-west. The -crews were provided with a plentiful stock of provisions and -fresh water, as they intended to remain absent from the ship -for several days. George Wills being very partial to expeditions -of this kind, was in excellent spirits. Little did he -imagine the gloomy fate in store for him.</p> - -<p>At five o’clock, <span class="allsmcap">A. M.</span>, the boats were lowered; and after -pulling about fifteen miles from the ship, the crews sighted -whales in a large floe to leeward. The eight vessels were -soon in the ice, and separating, each gave chase to a whale. -Before long the mate’s boat was within five fathoms of a huge -bowhead.</p> - -<p>“Stand up, George!”</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay, sir!”</p> - -<p>“Give it to him!”</p> - -<p>But before the harpooner could dart, he received a blow -upon the breast from the whale’s ponderous flukes, and fell -over the gunwale—dead!</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay, he’s gone, sure enough—poor Wills!” exclaimed -the mate, as the men dragged the body into the boat.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">[86]</span> -“I don’t know where I shall find another like him. There -blows! there blows! right ahead of us! Put the body in the -ice, men, and do it quickly but gently. God have mercy on -the poor fellow’s soul! There blows! blows! blows! Lively -with that body, lads, it’s high time we were after that whale! -We’ll come back and pick up the corpse after we’ve captured -that ‘oil-but!’ Heaven pity Wills’ poor old mother! Come, -men, bear a hand there; one hundred barrels a-waiting for us -to come and take ’em! Poor Wills!—he’s gone to that -‘boom’ from which no man returns! What d’ye say, men, -are you ready?”</p> - -<p>The men having by this time placed the body upon a shelf -of ice, sprung into the boat and seized their paddles. The -whale was overtaken and fastened to; but after it had towed -the boat a long distance, the line became “foul” and the mate -was obliged to cut. A thick fog having risen in the mean -time, he was now unable to find the spot where the body of -George Wills had been left. After pulling in many different -directions for a number of hours, he gave up the search. On -the next day, the fog having cleared, the search was continued, -but without success. The body was never found by -the crew of the Comus, and, as the reader already knows, it -was only mere chance that directed the footsteps of Marline -to the ice-tomb containing the fleshless remains. Leaving -him to muse upon his melancholy discovery, while pursuing -his way toward the ark, we will now return to Stump.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X.<br /> -<span class="fs60">AN UNEXPECTED ENCOUNTER—CONCLUSION.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Staring</span> at the deserted boat, with open mouth and distended -eyes, the shipkeeper remained for a few moments as -motionless as though he had been frozen to the ice beneath -his feet. Then, in a voice tremulous with emotion, he shouted -the young girl’s name, again and again; but there came no -response. Nothing was to be heard save the surging of the -water around the sides and in the hollows of the ice, together -with the light pattering of the falling rain.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">[87]</span></p> - -<p>“God help the poor thing—God help her, wherever she -may be!” groaned Stump. “It can’t be possible that she -became so anxious-like as to start off to look for her lover, -herself, after I left her, or I would have met her. I shall -never forgive myself for leaving her alone—no, never. There’s -something always happening to women—sickness, or something -else—and I ought to have remembered that and stuck -close by her side.”</p> - -<p>He moved off—passing from berg to berg, and shouting -the name of the lost girl, as he proceeded. But he was soon -obliged to sit down to compose himself; for he loved Alice -with an affection fully equal to that which a kind father feels -for an only daughter, and her prolonged absence inspired him -with emotions of grief such as he had never before experienced.</p> - -<p>“She isn’t lost—no, no, it can’t be!” he burst forth. “She -is a good gal, and Providence watches over them kind. She -is young—and yet I’ve never known her to laugh at my pigtail—not -that there’s any thing about it to laugh at for that -matter—like some of her sex that I’ve come across in my -wanderings. Ay, ay, she’s an angel, and God will take care -of her.”</p> - -<p>At that moment he heard a shout which he recognized as -that of his chum, and his response soon brought the young -man to his side.</p> - -<p>“Where is she? Where is Alice? She is not where we -left her!”</p> - -<p>“God only knows!” replied Stump. “I’ve been a-calling -her, and searching for her in vain, ever since my return!”</p> - -<p>The young harpooner compressed his lips tightly. His -head drooped, and his tall frame trembled, so great was his -agitation.</p> - -<p>“Stump,” he at length said, in a hoarse voice, “What can -have become of her? My God!—perhaps she has slipped -into the water and been drowned!”</p> - -<p>“No, no,” cried Stump, “that last couldn’t happen. She -is too careful for that, you may depend upon it. One of the -boats couldn’t have come and taken her away, neither.”</p> - -<p>“It is my opinion that all the boats are a long distance off, -by this time,” replied Marline. “I didn’t even succeed in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">[88]</span> -finding the one I have been looking for, for the horn suddenly -stopped blowing; and the blocks of ice have now become so -closely wedged, that no boat could have reached Alice soon -enough to take her away before your return. No, no, she is -on the ice, and if we look carefully for her, we may find her -before night.”</p> - -<p>Then, with anxious faces and beating hearts, the two men -moved away, threading the many intricate passages among -the icy rocks with swift steps, peering into every cavern and -hollow they encountered. But the crystal chambers were -empty, and mockingly echoed back their voices, as they -shouted the name of Alice.</p> - -<p>They continued their search until the shadows of night put -an end to their fruitless exertions; then, in the faint hope -that the young girl might have returned to the ark during -their absence, they made their way to the point from which -they had first started, by means of the pocket-compass in -Harry’s possession.</p> - -<p>But, the captain’s niece had not come back, and the two -men seated themselves beside the little retreat, both remaining -silent for a long time under the influence of a feeling akin to -despair. The harpooner was the first to speak:</p> - -<p>“I can never know a moment’s peace until Alice is found,” -said he, “for I can not rid my mind of the idea that she is in -some position in which she is suffering both mental and physical -pain.”</p> - -<p>“We’ll find her when the fog clears—ay, ay, we’ll have her -then, I’ll warrant you,” returned Stump, pressing the hand of -his chum. “And now,” he added, throwing open the side of -the canvas-roof, “you had better turn in and get a nap, while -I remain up and keep a sort of a watch.”</p> - -<p>“No, no,” responded the young man, “for I am confident -that I could not sleep at present, and I doubt that I shall -close my eyes throughout the whole night. If either of us -sleeps, you must be the man to do so.”</p> - -<p>“I may do it, lad—ay, ay, I may do so after awhile, which -wouldn’t be the case, hows’ever, if I wasn’t confident that -we’ll find the gal in the morning. I’ll even go further than -that,” added Stump, thrusting his arm into the boat, and -drawing forth the breaker of hard bread, and the chunk of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">[89]</span> -salt meat, which he had carefully wrapped in a piece of canvas. -“I’ll even go further, and acknowledge that I am hopeful -enough to feel hungry, and to believe that you’ll help me -eat some of our allowance.”</p> - -<p>Notwithstanding his boast, however, which in reality was -but a <em>ruse</em> to cheer the drooping spirits of his companion, the -shipkeeper, while bringing his teeth together with a clicking -sound, and smacking his lips as though he were enjoying his -meal with a keen relish, scarcely tasted a morsel. But a half-smothered -sigh escaped him when he perceived that his well-meant -trick failed to produce the intended effect; for Marline -would not partake of the food. “Some other time,” said he, -“I’m not hungry now.”</p> - -<p>And Stump rolled up the provision again, and dropped it -into the boat, muttering rapidly to himself in an undertone:</p> - -<p>“That’s the way with ’em—ay, ay, that’s the way with -them lovers the world over. They live on moonlight when -they’re together, and on grief when they are separated, and -it’s only when they find themselves a-dying for the want of -nourishment, that they pitch into the provisions.”</p> - -<p>In order, however, to carry out the deception he had commenced, -the shipkeeper now crawled into the boat, remarking -that he should try a little nap after his meal.</p> - -<p>Accordingly, he soon began to snore; but the noises that -emanated from his nostrils were so loud and peculiar—for in -his anxiety to perform his part well, he went far beyond the -limits prescribed by nature—that Marline, notwithstanding -his anguish, could not fail to penetrate the <em>ruse</em>.</p> - -<p>Not dreaming that such was the case, however, Stump continued -to snore, while thoughts something like the following -passed through his mind:</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay—I never tried to deceive anybody before—twist -me if I did. But it’s in a good cause—that it is—and there’s -no use for me to flinch now. Here’s this poor lad a-worrying -out his life about this gal, and I am tortured about it too, -though not exactly in the same way. But, he <em>must</em> be cheered -up—ay, that he must; and if snoring can do it—why if that -can do it, there’s nothing more simple.”</p> - -<p>A peculiar noise, like that which might have been made by -the rubbing of some person’s hands against the outside surface<span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">[90]</span> -of that portion of the tarred roof opposite to the position occupied -by the harpooner, turned the reflections of the shipkeeper -into another channel. His nose became silent, and raising -himself upon his elbow, he listened eagerly, wondering who -the author of the disturbance could be.</p> - -<p>The scratching continued, and just as the shipkeeper was -on the point of calling the attention of his chum to it, -the edge of the tarred cloth resting upon the gunwale, was -pushed up, and Stump beheld a pair of fierce looking eyes -gleaming upon him through the gloom.</p> - -<p>He drew quickly back, at the same time giving vent to a -prolonged whistle of astonishment.</p> - -<p>“Who is that!” he yelled, at length, in a voice so shrill -and startling, that Marline sprung to his feet. “Ay, blast you, -who are you? Not the devil, surely, for that creatur’ never -comes to disturb honest men! Speak! you infernal ghoul-eyed -thing—speak and tell me who or what you be!”</p> - -<p>But before the sailor had concluded, the mysterious orbs -disappeared, like two sparks of fire that are suddenly quenched.</p> - -<p>“What is the matter, Stump?” inquired Harry, thrusting -his head into the boat at the same moment.</p> - -<p>His friend’s explanation was short, but graphic.</p> - -<p>“Perhaps your imagination deceived you,” said the young -man.</p> - -<p>“Imagination! As true as my name is Stump, I haven’t a -bit of that article in me. The Stumps have all been matter-of-fact, -from generation to generation!”</p> - -<p>Harry then proposed that an immediate search should be -made for the mysterious creature, and, followed by Stump, who -had provided himself with a harpoon and the boat hatchet, -he moved quickly forward. They had not gone far when -they heard a low growl, which seemed to proceed from some -one of the masses of ice directly ahead of them. They were -also enabled to distinguish a pair of gleaming eyes bent fiercely -upon them, and which Stump declared were the same he had -seen peering into the boat.</p> - -<p>“Quick—the harpoon!” whispered Marline, as a dark -form, rapidly approaching them, now became visible—“it’s a -bear!”</p> - -<p>The iron was soon in the young man’s hand, and lifting it,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">[91]</span> -he darted it into the creature’s side. The bear, however, came -on, tossing his head, snapping his teeth, and uttering ferocious -growls; and before Marline had quite recovered his balance -upon the slippery surface of the ice, the beast was so close -to him, that he could feel its breath in his face; for the -animal had by this time raised itself upon its hind-legs -and drawn back its fore-paws preparatory to plunging its -claws into the shoulders of the young man.</p> - -<p>Stump, however, now rushed forward and buried the sharp -edge of the boat hatchet deep in the animal’s neck, when, -with a snarl of agony and rage, bruin turned upon his new -adversary. Retreating backward, the latter continued to deal -blow after blow upon the bear’s neck, until the hatchet was -knocked from his grasp by a stroke from the paw of his -opponent.</p> - -<p>Stump slipped at the same moment, falling upon his back, -and the next instant the bear, which had paused for a few -seconds, seemingly for the purpose of twisting its half-severed -head into its natural position, was about to throw itself upon -the prostrate man, when Marline plunged his sheath-knife into -the creature’s stomach, drawing the edge—“Norwegian fashion”—along -its belly, and ripping open the flesh.</p> - -<p>The blood of the already weakened animal poured forth in -a perfect torrent, and with a faint growl of defiance, the bear -fell expiring upon the ice.</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay,” said Stump, as he regained his feet and proceeded -to smooth his ruffled pigtail, “he’s a dead lubber, sure enough. -I’ve heard stories before now about them creatur’s up this -way, not showing much fight, but twist me if I don’t think -this one is an exception, although he isn’t much taller than a -common-sized Newfoundland dog, and very lean at that.”</p> - -<p>“The animal was half starved, as you can perceive by its -appearance,” replied Marline, “and that accounts for its ferocity. -As a general thing a bear of this kind will run before an -armed man.”</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay, this creatur’ hasn’t had any thing to eat for a long -time I’ll be bound, having got adrift, somehow, on the ice. It’s -a brown bear, I think, although it’s so dark that it’s hard to -make out the color. My eyes! I never yet liked to meet an -enemy in the dark!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">[92]</span></p> - -<p>Marline did not reply, but with a pale and agitated countenance -stood looking down upon the dead body at his feet.</p> - -<p>“Hasn’t it occurred to you, Stump,” he said at length, -“that this animal may have been the cause of the disappearance -of—”</p> - -<p>“Sure enough!” interrupted the shipkeeper, starting, “and -singular it is, that the idea didn’t get into my head before. -Depend upon it, that creatur’ is at the bottom of the whole -thing. But God help her!” he suddenly added, shuddering, -“it can’t be that—that—”</p> - -<p>“I understand what you would say,” broke forth the harpooner; -“but you may set your mind at ease upon that score. -Alice has <em>not</em> been devoured by the bear, for if she had been -the animal would not have attacked us so soon afterward.”</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay!” cried Stump, brightening up, “I didn’t think of -that. It’s as you say—the bear didn’t eat the poor gal. I -ought to have known it by his being so lean, for he couldn’t -o’ swallowed such a plump lass as she is, without showing it. -No—no. She saw the ravenous creatur’ and she’s gone and -hid herself somewhere and is afraid to come out. We’ll find -her in the morning, lad, depend upon it!”</p> - -<p>The two men made their way back to the block of ice upon -which the ark was situated, where they remained, sleepless -and watchful, until the gray dawn began to creep into the -mist. Then they moved off to continue the search. But they -had not gone far when Stump suddenly uttered a loud cry, -while his eyes—fixed upon some particular point—gleamed -with a peculiar expression.</p> - -<p>“What is it? What do you see?” cried Marline.</p> - -<p>“It’s gone, now!” cried Stump; “it’s gone, sure enough; -and more’s the wonder. It’s a miracle—a parfect miracle; -for my eyes didn’t deceive me; I’m sure of that!”</p> - -<p>“For God’s sake, tell me; what was it?”</p> - -<p>“It was that little golden harpoon—the gift that the captain -gave to Miss Alice!”</p> - -<p>“What? How?—the <em>harpoon</em>? You must have been -deceived. Where did you see it?”</p> - -<p>“Where that lump of ice, right ahead of us, rises up. The -harpoon was on top of it. I saw the shine of the gold—I’m -sure of it! But it was only for a moment, for the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">[93]</span> -thing disappeared, all of a sudden—faded away from my -sight!”</p> - -<p>“Impossible! Have your senses left you, Stump?”</p> - -<p>“Not a bit of it, lad. I saw the harpoon as plainly as I -see you!”</p> - -<p>“Are you positive upon—”</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay; ready to swear to it?” interrupted the other, resorting -to his pigtail.</p> - -<p>The harpooner darted to the projection of ice to which -the shipkeeper had alluded, and eagerly scanned every nook -and crevice around it, for the idea had occurred to him that -the harpoon, owing to some imperceptible motion of the berg, -might have been dislodged from its position.</p> - -<p>But the golden bauble was not found.</p> - -<p>“It’s parfectly wonderful!” cried Stump. “Here was the -harpoon, right plump and plain, a minute ago, and now it’s -gone. Well, well, them that says the days of miracles is past -must be infarnal liars, and—”</p> - -<p>He paused, suddenly, and, fairly trembling with excitement, -touched the arm of his companion.</p> - -<p>“There—there it is, lad, again! sure enough. There, where -that small mass of ice sticks out like a knot from the side of -the berg, right ahead of us!”</p> - -<p>“I see it!” cried Harry, darting forward, and, in a few moments, -he would have seized it, had not the little bauble suddenly -and mysteriously disappeared from his view!</p> - -<p>He carefully scanned the projecting mass of ice, but he -saw nothing to explain the singular phenomenon that had just -occurred.</p> - -<p>“It’s a queer bit of gold—my eyes, if it isn’t!” cried Stump, -“to run away from its friends in that style, seeing as it isn’t -through miserliness that we are after it. There’s a miracle -about it, sure enough!”</p> - -<p>As the shipkeeper concluded, he chanced to direct his eyes -toward a hole in that part of the ice near his feet, and he then -beheld two little twinkling orbs looking up at him from the -cavity. He started back, with a cry of surprise, but, the next -moment, he condemned himself for this unnecessary display -of emotion.</p> - -<p>“To think that I should be startled by a seal a-looking up<span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">[94]</span> -at me from his hole!” he exclaimed, as the inquiring eyes of -Marline were bent upon his face; “for that was all, lad—I’m -ashamed to own it—that was all that made me cry out.”</p> - -<p>He stamped upon the ice, impatiently, as he spoke, and, -probably alarmed by the noise thus made, the seal crawled -from the cavity, and dove into a narrow channel of water -that extended along the base of the berg; but, before it had -accomplished this feat, the two men, to their surprise and unbounded -joy, had caught sight of the golden harpoon, which -was suspended to the neck of the little creature by means of -a strip of blue ribbon!</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay; I told you so,” exclaimed Stump, gleefully rubbing -his hands. “The gal is still alive; for who but herself could -have tied that bit of gold to the neck of the seal!”</p> - -<p>“Certainly!” responded Marline, with gleaming eyes; “and, -without doubt, we can find the whereabouts of Alice by closely -tracking this creature, which will probably go to the point -from which it first started. It has been hurt by a blow from -a boat-hook, or some other implement. I know that by the -way it moved.”</p> - -<p>“And that’s why it takes to the water,” replied his companion; -“for the creatur’ knows that salts is good for its -wound, and it’s only by cruising along the edge of the channel -that we’ll sight it again.”</p> - -<p>Accordingly, the two men, with their gaze still resting upon -the narrow strip of water, proceeded along its icy shore. They -had not gone far when they saw the seal lying motionless -upon a small berg, a few feet ahead of them.</p> - -<p>But it moved slowly away as they advanced—so slowly, in -fact, that they were obliged to slacken their pace, in order not -to alarm the timid animal. Occasionally, it would vanish, by -moving under some overhanging mass of ice; but, the next -moment, their eyes would again catch the gleam of the golden -harpoon, as its bearer emerged to their view. In this manner -they followed it for a full half-hour, at the end of which time -the creature glided toward a hole, near the base of a berg—one -which, as it was near the eastern edge of the floe, had not -hitherto been encountered by the men during their search.</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay!” cried Stump, “there it goes, sure enough, into -the hole, and—and—my eyes!” he suddenly interrupted, “it’s<span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">[95]</span> -only got half-way in, after all, for the p’int of the harpoon has -caught in a crevice, and holds the little lubber fast!”</p> - -<p>He darted forward, as he concluded, seized the struggling -animal, and, disengaging the bauble from its neck, passed it to -Marline. At the same moment, a musical voice was heard to -emerge from between the thick ice-walls of the berg:</p> - -<p>“Is that you, my friend? Heaven be praised!”</p> - -<p>Both men uttered a simultaneous shout of joy.</p> - -<p>“It is she—it is Alice!” cried Marline, bounding forward. -“Thank God! she is found at last!”</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay!” retorted the shipkeeper, clapping his hands, and -dancing around the frozen mass, like a wild islander; “I felt -pretty sartain that blessed little creatur’ would lead us the -right way! We are here, Miss Alice!—both of us!” he added, -raising his voice; “so keep up a good heart, till we get -you out, which we’ll do in the tying of a square knot!”</p> - -<p>In fact, Harry had already begun to ascend one of the sides -of the crystal pile, and soon afterward, as the berg was not -very high, he had gained its summit. Here he found an -aperture, which was barely large enough to admit a human -body, and which led into one of those small, curiously-formed -cells, which are found among the many crystal wonders fashioned -by Nature’s hand.</p> - -<p>And, in this narrow chamber, the sides of which were too -smooth to enable her to climb them, stood the niece of Captain -Howard, looking up at her lover, as he peered through the -opening, which was not more than five feet above her head.</p> - -<p>By means of the “ratlin-cords,” in Stump’s possession, -the young girl was soon extricated from her uncomfortable -quarters. Then, under the natural impulse of the moment, -Marline clasped her to his breast, while she, with a glad but -faint cry, pillowed her weary head upon his bosom.</p> - -<p>“My own Alice, found at last!”</p> - -<p>“Harry—dear Harry! Thank Heaven! we meet again!”</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay!” cried Stump; “so you do; and it does my heart -good to see it. It was that pretty idee of yours—that of -fastening the harpoon to the seal—that brought it all about. -But I think we’d better get back to your ‘hotel,’ as soon as -we can, seeing as you’ll be more comfortable there than you -are here. The fog,” he added, glancing around him, “will<span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">[96]</span> -soon clear before the northerly breeze, which has been fresh’ning -since midnight; and, if I ain’t mistaken, we’ll see some -of the boats when that happens.”</p> - -<p>Accordingly, the little party moved off in the direction of -the ark, and, as they proceeded, Alice explained to her two -friends the cause of her disappearance. Soon after Stump -had quitted her to search for Marline, she heard a low growl, -at no great distance from the spot she occupied, and, at the -same moment, she beheld a ferocious-looking bear moving -toward her. Obeying the impulse of the moment, she turned -and fled, the animal pursuing her, and it was not until she -found herself near the eastern edge of the floe, that she ventured -to look behind her. Then, to her horror and dismay, -she perceived that the savage beast was within a few feet of -her. There was, however, within reach of her hand, a curiously-shaped -iceberg, and the thought now occurred to her -that, if she could gain its summit, the bear would not be able -to follow her up the slippery ascent. Accordingly, with the -strength and activity of desperation, she scaled the glittering -mass, in the top of which she found the opening already -alluded to, and through which, by an unguarded movement, -she was precipitated into the cell or cavity beneath. She -heard the savage growls of rage from her pursuer without, as -the beast, with rapid but clumsy movements, vainly endeavored -to clamber the slippery sides of the berg; and, finally, -the sound of the retreating footsteps of the baffled animal -saluted her ears. Not long afterward she distinguished the -far-off voices of Stump and Marline, who, by this time, had -commenced to search for her. She responded, as loudly as -she could, but the thickness of the ice-walls prevented her -voice from reaching the two sailors—a fact of which she was -convinced by the receding of the shouts. They became fainter -every moment, and, with a weary sigh, she had crouched in a -corner of her cell, when her glance alighted upon the form -of a seal, as it emerged from a small hole opposite to her. -Then the happy thought of fastening the golden harpoon to -the creature’s neck flashed upon her mind. Her friends, she -thought, would certainly see the little traveler, during its wanderings -about the floe, and would finally track the animal to -its retreat, to which, prompted by instinct, it would probably<span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">[97]</span> -return before many hours. Be this as it might, however, the -novelty of the idea pleased her, and so, creeping cautiously -toward the seal, which, owing to the wound it had received, -was not very active, she finally succeeded in grasping it and -in securing the golden bauble to its neck by the strip of blue -ribbon which was taken from her hair. Then she released -the little prisoner, and was pleased to see it crawl away from -her and disappear through its hole. The reader knows the -rest.</p> - -<p>By the time the young girl concluded her story, the fog had -cleared sufficiently to enable the party to see for nearly half a -league across the watery expanse stretching away to the -south.</p> - -<p>The faint booming of a gun was now heard in that direction, -and it was followed by a joyful exclamation from Stump. -With a loud cheer he tossed his sou’wester into the air.</p> - -<p>“That gun is from the ship!” he exclaimed, “it’s that lubberly -six-pounder that she carries, forward. I can’t mistake -the sound.”</p> - -<p>He was right; but an hour elapsed before enough of the -fog had lifted to enable the spectators to see the vessel, which -was nearly a league to the south’ard, heading directly for the -floe. The shipkeeper seized an oar, and fastening a piece of -canvas to it, waved it about his head. Ere long the signal -was answered by that of the Montpelier, which was “run up” -to the truck, and when the vessel had approached within a -mile of the floe, her main topsail was “backed”; then a boat -was lowered. It soon struck the ice, and Alice was received -in her uncle’s arms; while Mr. Briggs advanced and shook -hands with his harpooner.</p> - -<p>Explanations followed, and while the captain’s niece was -relating her story to her uncle, Mr. Briggs proceeded to give -Marline an account of the adventures of himself and his companions -after they had parted from the young men on the -floe.</p> - -<p>“It was not until we had wandered about for some time,” -said he, “that we succeeded in sighting one of the boats—that -of the second mate. We shouted to him; he picked us up, -and I then told him that I had left you alone upon the ice to -take charge of my stove boat, and that we must contrive to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">[98]</span> -work his craft to the spot where you were, so that we could -pick you up. By this time, hows’ever, the blocks and bergs -had become so closely jammed together, that none of us could -see how we were a-going to do what I proposed. Spooner -declared that the boat would certainly be knocked to pieces -before we got to you, if we tried to force her through them -bergs. But, as I insisted, the second mate gave in, and we -went to work. But, bless your eyes, you might as well have -tried to push the craft through a rock as to force her through -them tightly-squeezing lumps of ice! Still, we tugged and -strained, using oars and paddles, and sometimes jumping out -of the boat to lighten her; and, at last, after we had worked -for about three hours, a-sounding our horn all the time, and -after we’d got so far among the bergs that we didn’t think we -could ever get out again, and all without seeing or hearing -anything of you, I came to the conclusion that my craft had -got sunk, and that you’d been picked up by one of the other -boats; and so I said to Spooner, that we’d better be for getting -out of our ticklish quarters if he didn’t want his boat to get -stove.”</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay,” here interposed Stump, “and there’s sartainly a -moral in that part of your story, seeing as it shows how -difficulties always makes us parfectly willing to believe that -it’s best to do what we’re most inclined to do, a-leaving our -duty entirely out of the consideration.”</p> - -<p>As the shipkeeper was a sort of privileged character, the -mate took no notice of his remark beyond a slight frown. -Then again turning to Marline, he continued:</p> - -<p>“It took us as long, if not longer, to get out of the ice than -to get in, but, we got clear at last, and Spooner had just given -orders to the men to take to their oars—for he intended to -make for the shore—when suddenly we heard, ahead of us, a -sound like the rushing of a ship through the water. The -crew were then made to stop pulling, and we were a-sitting -with our oars apeak, when, my eyes! what should come looming -out of the fog, and making straight for us, but the Montpelier -itself!”</p> - -<p>And Briggs then went on to describe those incidents concerning -the chase—the death of Tom Block—the final recapture -of the ship by Captain Howard—and, lastly, the loss of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">[99]</span> -the two boats; all of which are already familiar to the -reader.</p> - -<p>“All that we could do after the loss of our boats,” continued -the narrator, “was to wait for a breeze, which, as you -know, didn’t spring up until midnight. Then we headed for -the floe, as you can perceive, and were fortunate enough, soon -afterward, to pick up the third mate, whose boat it is you see -alongside of us. You know the rest, lads, and so that ends -the story.”</p> - -<p>We have but little more to add.</p> - -<p>The whole party returned to the Montpelier, in which, after -she had partaken of refreshments, and enjoyed the luxury of -sleep, Alice recovered her youthful spirits, together with the -bloom that had, in a measure, been banished by the hardships -she had suffered.</p> - -<p>A week from that time the vessel left the sea of Ochotsk, -homeward-bound. She arrived at her destined port in a few -months, and the trial of all the mutineers—with the exception -of the Portuguese steward (who shortly after his desertion from -the Montpelier, had been picked up by the whaler Comus only -to be lost overboard shortly afterward during a heavy gale of -wind)—was then commenced.</p> - -<p>Tom Lark and Driko were sentenced to be hung; the rest, -to be imprisoned for life.</p> - -<p>Alice Howard and Harry Marline were married before a -select party of friends—among whom was Stump, with his -pigtail beautifully oiled for the occasion—at the house of the -bride’s uncle. They are now living, contented and happy, in -a pleasant cottage on the outskirts of New Bedford.</p> - -<p>Stump, who still follows a seafaring life, comes to see them, -once in a while, and on every such occasion, as may well be -imagined, he receives a hearty welcome, not only from Alice -and her husband, but also from two other Marlines—two -little pocket editions with chubby faces and fat hands, who -think almost as much of “Uncle Stump” as they do of the -pretty <span class="smcap">Golden Harpoon</span> that now hangs suspended from the -wall of their mother’s chamber.</p> - - -<p class="pfs80 bold p2">THE END.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<p class="pfs135 lsp">BEADLE & ADAMS’</p> - -<p class="pfs135 bold">New Twenty Cent Novels!</p> - -<hr class="r15" /> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p>The TWENTY CENT NOVELS’ series will embrace none but <span class="allsmcap">NOTED -WORKS OF NOTED AUTHORS</span>, chiefly in the field of a purely American -romance, of marked originality and high interest—price, size and -literary character all adapting them to the widest circulation. Those -seeking for <span class="smcap">The Best American Novels</span> will find them in this series.</p> - -<p>Those already issued embrace:</p> - -<p class="pfs100 lsp2">ALBERT W. AIKEN’S</p> - -<p class="pfs100 bold">NOTED DICK TALBOT ROMANCES!</p> - -<p class="pfs90"><span class="allsmcap">namely</span>:</p> - -<div class="bboxa bbtxt"> -<p class="noindent">Overland Kit,<br /> -Rocky Mountain Rob,<br /> -Kentuck, the Sport,<br /> -Injun Dick.</p> -</div> - -<p>Works of unequaled power, brilliancy and interest—a combination -of Bret Harte, Gustave Aimard and Charles Reade—virtually introducing -a New School of <em>American</em> Romance, and whose extraordinary -success opens a <span class="smcap">New Era in Popular Literature</span>.</p> - -<p>Now in press, and to issue in order, as indicated:</p> - -<div class="bboxb"> -<b> 5—The Scalp Hunters.</b> <br /><span class="fs70 pad30pc">BY CAPT. MAYNE REID.</span><br /> -<b> 6—The Prairie Mazeppa.</b> <br /><span class="fs70 pad30pc">BY ALBERT W. AIKEN.</span><br /> -<b> 7—The Silent Hunter.</b> <br /><span class="fs70 pad30pc">BY PERCY B. ST. JOHN.</span><br /> -<b> 8—The Man from Texas.</b> <br /><span class="fs70 pad30pc">BY ALBERT W. AIKEN.</span><br /> -<b> 9—The Red Rajah.</b> <br /><span class="fs70 pad30pc">BY FREDERICK WHITTAKER.</span><br /> -<b>10—The Winged Whale.</b> <br /><span class="fs70 pad30pc">BY ALBERT W. AIKEN.</span><br /> -<b>11—Idaho Tom.</b> <br /><span class="fs70 pad30pc">BY OLL COOMES. Ready March 15th.</span><br /> -<b>12—The White Squaw.</b> <br /><span class="fs70 pad30pc">BY CAPT. MAYNE REID. Ready April 10th.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>Sold by all newsdealers; or sent, post-paid, to any address, on receipt -of price—Twenty Cents each—by</p> - -<p class="pfs100 bold">BEADLE AND ADAMS, Publishers,<br /> -<span class="fs80 pad20pc bold">98 William Street, N. Y.</span></p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<p class="pfs120">THE ILLUMINATED DIME</p> - -<p class="pfs150 lsp2 bold">POCKET NOVELS!</p> - -<p class="pfs90">PUBLISHED SEMI-MONTHLY.</p> - - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p>Comprising the best works only of the most popular living writers in the field -of American Romance. Each issue a complete novel, with illuminated cover, -rivaling in effect the popular chromo no,</p> - -<p class="center bold">And yet Sold at the Standard Price—Ten Cents!</p> - -<p>Incomparably the most beautiful and attractive series, and the most delightful -reading, ever presented to the popular reading public.</p> - -<p>Distancing all rivalry, equally in their beauty and intrinsic excellence as romances, -this new series will quickly take the lead in public favor, and be regarded -as the Paragon Novels!</p> - -<hr class="r15" /> - -<p class="pfs90 bold">NOW READY, AND IN PRESS.</p> - -<div class="bboxc"> -<p class="noindent"><b>No. 1—Hawkeye Harry, The Young Trapper Ranger.</b> By Oll Coomes.<br /> -<b>No. 2—Dead Shot</b>; or, The White Vulture. By Albert W. Aiken.<br /> -<b>No. 3—The Boy Miners</b>; or, The Enchanted Island. By Edward S. Ellis.<br /> -<b>No. 4—Blue Dick</b>; or, The Yellow Chief’s Vengeance. By Capt. Mayne Reid.<br /> -<b>No. 5—Nat Wolfe</b>; or, The Gold-Hunters. By Mrs. M. V. Victor.<br /> -<b>No. 6—The White Tracker</b>; or, The Panther of the Plains. By Edward S. Ellis.<br /> -<b>No. 7—The Outlaw’s Wife</b>; or, The Valley Ranche. By Mrs. Ann S. Stephens.<br /> -<b>No. 8—The Tall Trapper</b>; or, The Flower of the Blackfeet. By Albert W. Aiken.<br /> -<b>No. 9—Lightning Jo, the Terror of the Santa Fe Trail.</b> By Capt. Adams.<br /> -<b>No. 10—The Island Pirate.</b> A Tale of the Mississippi. By Captain Mayne Reid.<br /> -<b>No. 11—The Boy Ranger</b>; or, The Heiress of the Golden Horn. By Oll Coomes.<br /> -<b>No. 12—Bess, the Trapper.</b> A Tale of the Far South-west. By Edward S. Ellis.<br /> -<b>No. 13—The French Spy</b>; or, The Fall of Montreal. By W. J. Hamilton.<br /> -<b>No. 14—Long Shot</b>; or, The Dwarf Guide. By Capt. Comstock.<br /> -<b>No. 15—The Gunmaker of the Border.</b> By James L. Bowen.<br /> -<b>No. 16—Red Hand</b>; or, The Channel Scourge. By A. G. Piper.<br /> -<b>No. 17—Ben, the Trapper</b>; or, The Mountain Demon. By Maj. Lewis W. Carson.<br /> -<b>No. 18—Wild Raven, the Ranger</b>; or, The Missing Guide. By Oll Coomes.<br /> -<b>No. 19—The Specter Chief</b>; or, The Indian’s Revenge. By Seelin Robins.<br /> -<b>No. 20—The B’ar-Killer</b>; or, The Long Trail. By Capt. Comstock.<br /> -<b>No. 21—Wild Nat</b>; or, The Cedar Swamp Brigade. By Wm. R. Eyster.<br /> -<b>No. 22—Indian Jo, the Guide.</b> By Lewis W. Carson.<br /> -<b>No. 23—Old Kent, the Ranger.</b> By Edward S. Ellis.<br /> -<b>No. 24—The One-Eyed Trapper.</b> By Capt. Comstock.<br /> -<b>No. 25—Godhold, the Spy.</b> A Tale of Arnold’s Treason. By N. C. Iron.<br /> -<b>No. 26—The Black Ship.</b> By John S. Warner.<br /> -<b>No. 27—Single Eye, the Scourge.</b> By Warren St. John.<br /> -<b>No. 28—Indian Jim.</b> A Tale of the Minnesota Massacre. By Edward S. Ellis.<br /> -<b>No. 29—The Scout.</b> By Warren St. John.<br /> -<b>No. 30—Eagle Eye.</b> By W. J. Hamilton.<br /> -<b>No. 31—The Mystic Canoe.</b> A Romance of a Hundred Years Ago. By Edward S. Ellis.<br /> -<b>No. 32—The Golden Harpoon</b>; or, Lost Among the Floes. By Roger Starbuck.<br /> -<b>No. 33—The Scalp King.</b> By Lieut. Ned Hunter.<br /> -<b>No. 34—Old Lute, the Indian-fighter</b>; or, The Don in the Hills. By E. W. Archer.<br /> -<b>No. 35—Rainbolt, the Ranger</b>; or, The Ærial Demon of the Mountain. By Oll Coomes.<br /> -<b>No. 36—The Boy Pioneer.</b> By Edward S. Ellis.<br /> -<b>No. 37—Carson, the Guide</b>; or, the Perils of the Frontier. By Lieut. J. H. Randolph.<br /> -<b>No. 38—The Heart Eater</b>; or, The Prophet of the Hollow Hill. By Harry Hazard.<br /> -<b>No. 39—Wetzel, the Scout</b>; or, The Captive of the Wilderness. By Boynton Belknap, M. D.<br /> -<b>No. 40—The Huge Hunter</b>; or, The Steam Man of the Prairies. By Edward S. Ellis.<br /> -<b>No. 41—Wild Nat, the Trapper.</b> By Paul Prescott.<br /> -<b>No. 42—Lynx-cap</b>; or, The Sioux Track. By Paul Bibbs.<br /> -<b>No. 43—The White Outlaw</b>; or, The Bandit Brigand. By Harry Hazard.<br /> -<b>No. 44—The Dog Trailer.</b> By Frederick Dewey. Ready<br /> -<b>No. 45—The Elk King.</b> By Capt. Chas. Howard. Ready<br /> -<b>No. 46—Adrian, the Pilot.</b> By Col. Prentiss Ingraham. Ready March 28th.<br /> -<b>No. 47—The Man-hunter.</b> By Maro O. Rolfe. Ready April 11th.</p> -</div> - -<p class="noindent"><span class="fs150">☞ </span><span class="smcap">Beadle’s Dime Pocket Novels</span> are always in print and for sale by all newsdealers; or will be sent, -post-paid, to any address; single numbers, ten cents; six months (13 Nos.) $1.25; one year (26 Nos.) $2.50. -Address,</p> - -<p class="center bold">BEADLE AND ADAMS, Publishers, 98 William Street, New York.</p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<div class="transnote"> -<p class="center bold">Transcriber’s Notes</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p>The Table of Contents at the beginning of the book was created by -the transcriber.</p> - -<p>Inconsistencies in hyphenation such as “boat-sail”/“boatsail” -have been maintained.</p> - -<p>Minor punctuation and spelling errors have been silently corrected -and, except for those changes noted below, all misspellings in the -text, especially in dialogue, and inconsistent or archaic usage, -have been retained.</p> -</div> - -<ol> -<li><a href="#tn46">Page 46</a>: “The cheeks of the youg” changed to “The cheeks of the young”.</li> - -<li><a href="#tn48">Page 48</a>: “unabated ardor for nearly a qaarter” changed to “unabated ardor for nearly a quarter”.</li> - -<li><a href="#tn56">Page 56</a>: “and all for the pursose” changed to “and all for the purpose”.</li> - -<li><a href="#tn61">Page 61</a>: “a boat lying just a little off the starbord” changed to “a boat lying just a little off the starboard”.</li> -</ol> -</div> - - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GOLDEN HARPOON ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -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. 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