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was now drawing well in spite of dock s about the speed of his vessel the young believed the would her but this was only a blind confidence of fortune os the was headed directly towards a place called the oil spot and as it was dead low tide thought she could not pass over it farther to the southward was a ledge with only nine feet of water on it but captain knew all about the dangers of the on this part of the coast he went just to the southward of the oil spot and instead of gaining anything was obliged to keep away and lose the weather in order to avoid the himself he was disappointed and felt cheap after his failure the close hauled was standing off to the south east while the flag was a quarter of a mile of her neither had the advantage and it was still an open question which could make the best time soon found that the was running away from him but she carried a main and a fortunately he had similar sails on board though he seldom used them they were set when the two vessels were about a mile apart the wind held fresh and steady and was happy when he realized that the was no longer bound the world gaining upon him hour after hour he followed her without any perceptible change in the distance between them it was plain now that the two vessels were about equally matched and day and night held his course on the third day out he spoke a ship bound to new york he knew what agony mr was suffering and he wrote two letters to him one directed to new york and the other to i shall follow the round the world if necessary and i will not return without he wrote these letters he sent on board of the ship and in due time both were received by mr for weeks and weeks the flag followed the but the voyage would be as tedious to the reader as it was to from the summer time the went into the heat of the and from that to the spring time of the south temperate a week out from new york she encountered a heavy gale and lost sight of the chase but true to his promise did not give up the pursuit though he did not see the again for weeks as the was getting short of water and of fortune or provisions he put in at the island of st for fresh supplies and learned that the had left the port only the day before again he made a harbor at cape town but the chase had not been there with fresh provisions he sailed again not expecting to see the till he found her at the port for which she had cleared but as he went out of the harbor he discovered her coming in the went about and stood on her course again to the eastward was in high spirits now he had his rival from st he had by an attentive study of the current and gained a day proud of this triumph over the skilful seaman who was in charge of the chase he in the pursuit saw the flag from the deck of the and understood why captain put about she was amazed at the persistent devotion of in following her so far and hope brightened and inspired her captain and mat laughed at what they called the folly of and assured he would never find her week after week both vessels held on their course half round tub world through sunshine and tempest oft the southern coast of a fearful storm burst upon them and for the third time since leaving the cape of good hope they parted company but both of them the tempest one hundred and seven days from new york in the spring time of the southern the flag was approaching bass straits the was difficult and dangerous had read up his library and carefully studied the he had obtained at cape town the wind was blowing a fresh gale from the southward and westward and the young commander was full of doubt and anxiety the night was coming on with the promise of thick and heavy weather another day would enable him to reach but it was to attempt to thread his way among the rocks and coral in the night and the storm therefore he put about and stood away to the southward close hauled with the heavy seas washing his decks for his had been stove in the tempest a week before sail ho shouted the man on the forward of fortune ob u where away asked on the weather bow w it s the exclaimed to bob thomas who had been made first mate of the ay ay it is replied the mate she went to the southward of while we went to the northward after the great storm the current has carried her off her course i should judge added the captain and the mate watched her with the most intense interest the stood on her course and it was evident that she intended to enter the straits regardless of the perils before her could not do less than follow reckless as it seemed to him he did follow but he took extraordinary precautions he bent on his heavy anchor and made other preparations for trying events but the instead of entering the straits in the darkness stood away to the northward all night long the gale its angry notes and the flag again lost sight of the chase in the gloom the weather in the morning though the gale only partially subsided again the was half round the discovered down in the south she was then entering the straits to the southward of king s island where no prudent would venture in bad | 36 |
weather the was headed in that direction and anxiously did watch the chase he had no intention of following her through the of that rock bounded channel two hours later the cry ran through the that the had struck on a hidden the heart of the young was in his mouth was in great peril and he was almost distracted as he thought of her in the angry waves surrounded only by enemies the dashed madly on towards the scene of the disaster trembling with anxiety went below to consult his which lay all the time on the cabin table he found the locality and the ledge on which the had struck there was no other peril very near it and he stood on confidently till the flag was within hail of the wreck or would have been in less weather the of the had gone by the board and the waves were making a clean sweep over of fortune or her decks the life boat which swung at the port of the had been cleared away in readiness to be lowered finding he had good under him ordered the men to let go the heavy anchor fortunately it brought her up but the other anchor was also thrown over the sails were lowered and the rode tolerably easy the gale was and was satisfied that the two would hold her the life boat was with four men and took his place in the stern sheets it was no easy matter to board the wreck while the sea was making a clean breach over her she had struck her bow upon the sharp rock and stove in her bottom she had filled and her stern had settled down and the water was over her while her stem projected up into the air her had swung round a little so that there was a choice of sides in approaching her the had been up by the breaking of the where it was set and hung over the side to this the life boat was made fast and followed by bob thomas climbed on board crouching under the lee of the the young half bound the world found mrs and the two children while the crew were clinging to the of the to prevent being washed overboard a o cried when she saw the manly form of her true friend in the blast and the spray clasped her hands and both of them wept it was more than three i months since they had parted in the house of mr there was no time to think of the past or even of the future the present absorbed all the of the young seaman with the assistance of bob thomas conveyed along the fallen and lowered her into the life boat mrs cent and her two children were assisted into the boat l the same manner mat and two men r all that were left of the crew were then ted to enter the boat which pulled back to the with much difficulty and the exercise of no little skill the life boat was kept right side up and the rescued party were safely placed on board of the i flag though the females had to be hoisted up in over the stern op fortune ob u tou are safe said as he conducted her to the cabin thanks to our good father and to you i am i have the happiness of greeting you again said mr c as he threw open the door of her state room the gale rapidly subsided and in the afternoon after the wreck had been again the sailed for half bound the would chapter xxv a happy the sea in the strait was comparatively smooth and the sped on her way to mrs and her children had been in mr s state room while occupied her own from her had obtained all the particulars of her voyage she told him what she had suffered what she had feared and what she had hoped who had charge of the asked when after and mrs had been made comfortable they gathered in the cabin captain replied who was he he was a pilot on a steamer replied mrs he and my husband became acquainted while they were on a boat near new york i never of fortune or saw him till just before we sailed from the cape he is a bad man that is plain enough added but where is he now he and three other men were washed overboard when the vessel struck on the rocks and three of the men were saved yes mat the steward and another man why did you sail without your husband mrs asked i don t know anything about this business i hadn t anything to do with it replied the poor woman and and pitied her because she was the wife of such a bad man i am sure she had nothing to do with carrying me interposed she has been very kind to me from the moment i went on board of the and would have assisted me to escape if there had been any chance i am very glad indeed to know that added i don t see why this captain sailed without your husband half bound the world captain sent a letter to him saying that things were going wrong with him and ordered him to sail at once wondered how dock had sent the letter when told that it was written in pencil and that the address on the envelope was not in her husband s hand he was satisfied that had rendered him this important service my husband was to come to by the steamer from england added mrs perhaps he is here now i think not replied why so because he was arrested and committed to jail before i left the cape caught him i had that honor said | 36 |
s father was introduced to the party as the american we did not expect to see you mr said i have been in for three weeks replied he this is the port for which the cleared at the custom house but where is the u she struck on a rock to the southward of bang s island in the gale yesterday morning she has broken up before this time and i was on board of her at the time said though the was twenty tons larger than the flag we were just a match for her in sailing added we lost her a week out of new york saw her again at the cape of good of fortune ob hope and then lost sight of her three or four times but we arrived at the entrance of bass strait about the same time i think i will not stop to hear the now there is some one on shore who wishes to see you replied mr who o i know father it is mother come let us go on shore this minute exclaimed the bewildered girl dancing about again as this new joy dawned upon her informed the that one of the had been saved from the wreck and this gentleman promised to attend to the matter the was lowered and leaving his mate in charge of the vessel with strict not to let mat escape went on shore with and her father my mother in exclaimed and mrs too added mr why then the whole family are here only think of it i didn t expect to see you or mother for months yet we could not do anything but come for every half bound the world hour seemed like age to us replied mr when i received s letter i saw that nothing more could be done on our side of the world and i decided to follow you dock assured me i should never see my daughter again and i was satisfied by the confidence he exhibited and the with which he urged me to pay his demand that the had indeed sailed upon her long voyage s letter written when he had been three days at sea with the in sight fully confirmed my view i was sorry did not return to new york instead of following the vessel why so asked blushing under the im plied censure if i had known the result in season i might have sent a steamer in pursuit of the as it was i did not get the letter till a week after her departure the chances of a steamer finding the were not more than one in fifty replied i was sorry then but i am not now you have achieved almost a miracle and i am willing to believe now that your course was the best and the of fortune or safest i decided at once to be in when the arrived i sailed for england in the steamer with your mother and your aunt we came from there by the way of egypt and here three weeks ago i have an agent in every principal port in on the for the when any fore and aft vessel came into this harbor i was informed of the fact and you may judge my surprise when i saw the flag i will not tell you what i feared when i recognized her for all that passed away when i saw on the deck and the devoted father clasped her in his arms again the party landed in a few moments they reached the hotel and was folded in the embrace of her mother half round the world chapter xxvi conclusion mrs wept tears of joy over her lost child now restored to her mrs declared that the pleasure of witnessing such a joyful meeting was worth a voyage half round the world or indeed all the way round the world well what shall we do next asked mr when the young had been thanked and by the ladies till his cheeks burned with u go home i suppose sir unless the ladies desire to settle here doubtless we shall go home added mr but how shall we do it i think the ladies will not care to be kept on board of the for three months or more i will do what i can to make them comfortable of fortune or if they will return in the flag but that is saying only a little you would arrive on the coast of the united states in the middle of the winter and you will see many heavy storms and much bad weather suggested mr yes sir it was bad enough coming out here especially after we left the cape of good hope but it would be worse returning i cannot honestly advise them to go back in the glad as i should be of their company and glanced at i think they had better go by the way you came i am very clear of that added mr but i can t bear the idea of your knocking about for three or four months perhaps six in such a small vessel it won t hurt me any i rather like it laughed i will have a stove put up in the cabin for use when we get into the cold region and we shall be as comfortable as a in a rug i ll tell you my plan i can sell the and you can return with us by steamer sell the flag exclaimed i half round the world should as soon think of selling my mother if i had one i love her after the good service she has done and i don t think any could get up another as good as she is i know what she is now she i has a and don t mind an ordinary gale any more than a summer | 36 |
besides i have a crew of six men without the cook and ard if you want to sell her i ll buy her u she is yours now and you may do as you please with her then i shall certainly take her home she needs some and then she will be as good as new i if the ladies are willing we will all go on board j of her said mr we must make some arrangements for mrs and her children and attend to mat s case the party went on board of the mr summoned the crew as soon as they reached the deck and gave each of them a check for a thousand dollars this little incident made the day a happy one to them as well as to the members of mr s family he then asked mrs what she i to do and offered her a return pas of fortune ob sage in the she had been kind to had been her companion and friend in her distress and her conduct a grateful recognition the poor woman did not know what to do she had no idea what her husband had done with all the money he had collected it was not to be found and no one knew anything about it it was afterwards ascertained that the proceeds of the sale of his house and furniture had been expended upon the fitting out of the and he had deposited the ten thousand borrowed of mr in boston until he was ready to leave the country mrs did not wish to return to her native land her husband had ruined himself and disgraced his family and she did not care to meet the which awaited her in the midst of her friends the informed her when she had stated her views that she could make a good living and perhaps a by keeping a boarding house in i mr promptly offered to assist her j to the means for making a beginning before the sailed on her home voyage the had purchased for her such an establishment as she need half bound the world ed and she was in a fair way to do better for herself than her husband had ever done for her the met the family in the cabin of the and mat s case came up for discussion the steward and the other from the had gone on shore to shift for themselves as mat would have done if he had been permitted mat says he got into a scrape and dock helped him out said when the matter was brought up the old rascal had him in his power then and made a tool of him in this business what scrape did he get into asked mr i don t know he began to tell me when your boat came alongside replied he said my uncle borrowed a screw driver of him but i don t know what this had to do with it send for him added mr if he tells the and means to do well perhaps we may do something to help him the steward was called and directed to bring the prisoner for such he was into the cabin mat was on the stool of repentance all his expectations of fortune or had been and whichever way he turned the prospect was dark and forbidding as it must sooner or later be to all evil even if permitted to go on shore he was alone and in a strange land the share he was to receive of s had failed him another evil speculation had also come to if he returned to his native land in the it was only to be covered with disgrace and to spend years of his life in the state prison when mat entered the cabin under the escort of the steward he felt like a ruined man one wh by his own folly and wickedness had sacrificed all his hopes in this world mr and the spoke to him with the utmost the latter informing him that if he declined to return home in the he should procure his arrest on a criminal charge i will return in her if you say so mat whose pluck was all gone if you wish to explain your conduct you may do so added mr i don t know as it s any use i wish i had been drowned in the half bound the world you began to tell me your story said i was going to tell you how i happened to help captain he made me do it til tell you about it if you like go on added mr perhaps fm worse than you think i am but i ll tell the whole truth that s what we want s uncle borrowed a screw driver of me in the shop i wanted to use it pretty soon and i went over to mr s after it he was fixing a board to put over a hole in the in his chamber i saw he had cut away the and i knew he wasn t putting up the piece to keep the cold out as he said i made up my mind he had money hid in that hole at the fire when the folks had the room and all the men were on the i took off that board for i thought the money would be all lost if there was any there i found the four bags of gold i dropped them out the window into the bushes and put the board up again i didn t mean to steal it then i never stole anything in my life not even a pin of fortune or what did you put the board up again for asked i didn t screw it up till afterwards i carried the gold over to the shop and | 36 |
hid it under the floor then i went back and fastened up the board just as i found it while i was doing this dock came in and saw what i was doing i turned it off as well as i could and helped move the furniture where the water was coming down upon it there was a lot of money in those bags and i didn t like to give them up dock had said something to me about going to with him and i thought i could take the money out here with me just as soon as it came out that the gold was gone captain pitched into me he knew then what i was up that board for it wasn t any use to deny it to him after what he had seen i said i would give it back to the old man and tell him i had taken it to keep it from being lost in the fire dock said it wan t worth while to do that the old man had lost it and he wouldn t feel any worse if he didn t find it we talked it over and after a while i agreed to divide with him half round the world then he began to tell me a little at once about carrying off miss again i didn t like the job but dock said he d send me to jail for stealing the gold if i didn t go in with him and i had to go when the new flag came round he told me wanted to hire me before the mast and told me to engage with him so as to help him get miss when the time came all along dock said that was in his way if he could get rid of him he could carry her off without any trouble so he laid the stealing to him and tried to prove it on him dock told me to put the bag and some of the gold in the state room but i hadn t any chance to do it the steward was in my way all the time the was going off the next clay and dock wanted to have taken up before he started i handed the bag i had fixed to ben and told him i had forgotten to do what the captain had ordered i asked him to give it to the steward and tell him wanted him to put it into a in his ben did just what i told him and i knew he was going off that day was taken up but of fortune or things didn t work as dock wanted he was discharged a all this time the money was hid under the shop after the examination dock wanted the money divided i had taken out one hundred and fifty dollars wo put fifty in the bag before and divided a hundred i agreed to meet him at the old that was burned and i carried the bags down and put them under an old sail where i could get the money when we wanted it dock and i met in the fish house at ten o clock he had a lantern so that we could see to count the money we sat down on the rocks to talk the matter over for dock wanted the whole of the money then and promised to give me my share when we got to i didn t like this and while we were talking about it the steward tumbled down through the floor of the right between us i never was so scared in my life i thought the evil one was after me for what i had done dock was as scared as i was and we both ran off as fast as our legs would carry us we went into dock s back kitchen and staid half round the world there till the alarm of fire was given we meant to go back but neither of us dared to do so the fish house got and burned up and that was the last we saw of the gold can tell you better than i can where it went to i have told that already interposed the steward when the was ready to sail continued mat dock went to new york and told captain to follow as soon as miss was on board i was told to watch my chance when was on board the and go to her saying he had sent me for her i waited three days without having such a chance when the race at fixed things just as i wanted them you know how i worked it i wouldn t have done it if i hadn t been afraid dock would send me to jail as soon as we got to new york captain sent a letter to boston where dock was keeping himself out of sight till he could get the money i suppose he sent his letter to mr as soon as he heard miss was missing we waited ten days below new york but dock didn t come then captain got a letter from him saying things were going wrong of fortune or with him and ordering the vessel to sail without him he was to come out here by mat s confession made everything plain what was not understood before was clear enough now dock did not believe in the power of goodness and when he took advantage of the robbery to charge the crime upon he did not realize that a young man s character is his tower of strength he failed to break down his reputation failed to ruin him failed to injure him in the opinion of any for more than a brief period perhaps if he could have ruined and got him out of the way as he desired he might have succeeded in | 36 |
ent upon which the turning point of the plot rests the of the various incidents are intended to be correctly described as they were fixed in the mind of the writer by a pleasant of a few weeks on cape ann during a summer it is more important that the hero should be worthy of the admiration and regard of the reader than that merely local surroundings should be accurately and the author hopes that his young friends while they to be as resolute and daring as will also endeavor to be as noble and true as void of offence before god and man as he labored to be since the publication of the flag was completed in the magazine the author has found allusions to it in at least a hundred letters from young persons who seem to be strongly im with the opinion that the whole story has not been told though it was not his original purpose to write a second story with the same characters the author has neither the inclination nor the courage to disappoint his young friends and at no distant period the fortunes of and will be followed to a more satisfactory conclusion in a to the flag square mass september contents chapter i the dingy h chapter ii two hundred and fifty dollars chapter iii dock chapter iv a pitched battle chapter v s chamber chapter vi who stole the chapter vii off eastern point contents chapter viii thb tempest and the chapter ix after the chapter x dock s little plan chapter xi s chapter xii makes a speech chapter xiii mb s testimony chapter xiv the examination chapter xv the chimney chapter xvi on s point ch xvii the evil man contents chapter xviii the flag to chapter xix dock s letter chapter xx the of the flag chapter xxi the flag to chapter xxii bound chapter the night and the gale chapter xxiv the op the flag chapter xxv the result of the examination chapter xxvi conclusion the flag ob the young op cape ann chapter l the dingy but i must have one more bath before we go said as she gazed down into the clear blue waters of the sea which against the rocks near the hotel on cape ann where she and her parents had been spending a week there is hardly time replied mr as he consulted his watch what time is it f her quarter past eight there is time enough then i don t like to have you here it id the flag oe is a dangerous place and going to almost who because yo are so fond of the salt water i have been afraid every time you went in that you would slip off that rock there is no danger i think there is the rope will prevent any accident the rope is some protection but i don t think the place is safe just one more plunge pa i shall feel so much better for the journey pleaded whose bright eyes and pretty face were so eloquent tiiat the indulgent could not resist them undoubtedly mr was entirely correct in his estimate of the bathing of the particular point on cape ann of which we write the hotel was on high land which terminated at the shore in ragged r and steep there was no beach even a patch of sand on which the could obtain a a sloping r ck which afforded not more than a of square rods of flat surface had been selected for bathing purposes a rope secured on perpendicular iron bars set in the rock had the of stretched around it to prevent the b from being carried off by the or from t beyond their depth mr was a wealthy merchant x m the city and was his only child if she had not been spoiled by over it was because there was so little in her nature because she was too gentle and affectionate to take advantage of the weakness of her parents bathing in itself was a ant and harmless and as it was the of sea shore life thought it was quite proper that she should indulge in a plunge on the present occasion there was i d possible objection except t ie alleged of the place and as she h d bathed there sl half a dozen times e without being washed off the rocks it might be done just once more her father yielded the point and it was a happy t for him that this was the last time he should be compelled to yield the bathing dresses were sent for and fe ther and daughter made haste to improve the short time left to them for the during the night the wind had thb flag been blowing fresh from the south west which in this locality always produces a heavy sea the weather was now warm and pleasant with a light breeze from the but the waves from the effects of the night wind were still strong and heavy rushed into the water closely followed by her father a great immediately tipped her over but she sprang to her feet again leaping and shouting with childish delight it was rare sport to her and if she had been a fish to the watery bom she could not have enjoyed it more nor have felt more perfectly at home another great wave rolled up and again she lifted from her feet like a piece of cork and would have been dashed against the bathing hut if she had not grasped the rope this won t do said mr shaking his head why pa i think it s delicious replied in a silvery scream the waves are a great deal stronger than i supposed i can hardly keep my feet o do | 36 |
keep them pa you will want them when we get to shouted the excited little miss thb of cape ann come don t stay in any longer we haven t been in two minutes don t go out yet that s a dear pa i m aid the sea will carry you be a good girl and go out now just a minute or two longer father i will keep hold of the rope i won t let go and i shall be just as safe here as i should be in the house be very careful then for you have no idea of the strength of these waves there isn t a bit of danger pa not a bit replied the as she extended her form upon the water and began to beat the blue with her delicate little feet but the water was not quite deep enough near the cliff for certain suggested to her vivid imagination by the presence of the rope and she followed the line out to the part which ran parallel with the shore there she hung under the guard and and and kicked and the great waves screaming all the time as young ladies always do in the of her delight her attempted to assist her in the the flag ob i fun of the occasion but he was so anxious and so nervous for the safety of the little that he did not materially increase the merriment of the moment though his presence was always a joy to his daughter about the time s tiny feet touched the waters a loaded to the rail and heaped up in the middle with dog fish rounded the rocky point a few rods beyond the bathing place this boat contained the hero of our story and it was quite proper that it should round the point at this particular moment when our readers are reasonably sure that miss will unfortunately lose her hold of the guard rope and be carried out into the deep water by a treacherous retreating wave the which contained the important personage alluded to whose presence suggests heroic deeds and tender words was not at all like s and was utterly unworthy the honor of receiving on board the gentle water who was her locks in the on the le e the had been and patched till there was not much of the original left she had been and tin the of cape ann and pitched and until she would condescend to remain on the top of the water apparently in acknowledgment of the perseverance rather than the skill of him who had the audacity to attempt to make such a craft float but she did float and bore up a goodly freight of staring dog fish bent on a rude mast stepped through the fore of the was a small which like the beneath it was a thing of and patches and which was even a better of the ingenuity and perseverance of him who spread it to the breeze of that soft summer morning nearly with the dog fish heaped up before and behind him sat the author and more especially the of the dingy uncouth and craft we have described with both hands he held a worm eaten oar firmly against the side of the boat the blade projecting down into the water below the bottom of the thus serving the double purpose of and would not have passed muster in the drawing room of wealth and or even in the flag ok tbe of uie cape but be was an good ar all tbat and fit to be tbe of a more the one we to tell it is that his of as many as bis sail and as mi tj a bad been made to them to hold together as had been expended on the boat itself and they were from head to foot with dog fish to say nothing of of paint and pitch tar and bnt underneath this garb of cut and unity were iron muscles and a heart of steel inconsistent as it was with his homely dress and inconsistent as it may seem to present a youthful hero in the first chapter with his wealth already piled up s fortune as fortunes were measured on cape ann was made his had left him considerable property and his uncle whose only god was money had been appointed his guardian was ambitious not for his future alone but for the present there were two things he wanted an of which he felt himself to be especially in p a new suit of clothes and a new boat and the young of he wanted the more than he wanted the which will not seem veiy strange to ad boys fond of salt water air and sailing in crack boats on the week before we present onr to the reader there had been a great ir held in a tent by one of the societies in the place to obtain money to build a a devout and devoted brother in a town had built a sail boat a handsome and substantial craft and presented it to the to be for the benefit of the enterprise this boat named the flag had been sent round to the town and at a wharf near the great tent it had been used to carry out parties firom the and thus contributed something to the object but it had not been sold the flag was le i ideal of a good boat and he used to gaze at her with delighted eyes from his he longed to possess her longed to own her to go a fishing and in her not alone as a pleasure craft did he her but he felt that he could make her pay what the flag or a load of dog fish she could bring | 36 |
m what a party of ladies and gentlemen he could take out to the fishing grounds in her in a word she would be a present to him he entertained some serious thoughts of applying to his uncle for two hundred and fifty dollars the sum asked for the flag but he rejected the idea after faithful consideration for he knew that it would be easier to squeeze a of milk out of a foot of granite than to get two hundred and fifty dollars out of his uncle for any purpose whatever unless it was to pay his nephew s expenses wanted that boat and he continued to want it up to the time when he rounded the point beyond the bathing place we assure our impatient readers who have consented to follow us through this account of le i and his that is not yet drowned and hasn t even slipped off the flat rock into the deep water we et the but it would be absurd to have a young lady rescued fi om a watery grave without knowing anything the person who is to achieve the heroic deed in the of cape ann the next if not in the present generation when a hearted young fellow is to rescue a helpless fi om impending fire or water it will be absolutely to introduce him before he in after leading our readers to anticipate the appalling event suggested at the beginning of this chapter it would be cruel to disappoint them and with no ill will against poor whom we both admire and love we are compelled to let her lose her hold upon the rope and to permit the ugly wave with one fell to bear her far out beyond the reach of her father see me pa shouted she as she sprang out of the water into the air just as the tenth wave the greatest of all swept under her isn t this she descended as the rolled back with foam from the rocks and buried herself in the the heavy volume of water rushed against her her grasp from the line and carried her shrieking but into the tub flag ob chapter n two hundred and fifty dollars was fifteen old when his dingy rounded the point above where was bathing his father had been a and had made a cape ann fortune in the fishing business it is rather beneath the dignity of history and even of the higher flights of story to descend to particulars but we are compelled in this instance to acknowledge that captain fan field s was only fifteen thousand dollars as by the after his and even these figures shrank to ten thousand when the s were sold and the debts due his estate collected t s was hen there was not the least need for him to soil his with of tar and when captain was dead as then only eight years old the young ov cape ann had no mother the court in its ine ble wisdom appointed the lad s to be the of his person and his property to feed clothe and him in a manner to his worldly circumstances the selection would have been a very good one if the captain s brother had been a decent man with even tolerably enlarged ideas of the duty a parent or guardian owes to a child especially when the child has money to pay for all he needs moral intellectual and material uncle was mean close he called it economical he sent the boy to school two months in the winter and worked him like a the rest of the time it was generally believed that if should fell overboard and be drowned or tumble off a cliff and break his neck his guardian would not mourn as one without hope when attained the age of fourteen he began to have some decided views of his own he liked to work but he wanted to make something by bis labor he felt the need of a little more learning than his s policy had permitted him to obtain having a will of his own he had the flag ob decided to purchase a fine and go into the fishing business as soon as the law would allow him to handle his own money he was a boy of energy and enterprise and in spite of his uncle who had no claim upon his time he had already gone to work on his own hook mainly for the purpose of improving his education the wreck of an old with money earned by he had made it into the craft in which we now find him was dissatisfied with his position he was worth ten thousand dollars and dressed than the sons of and stone he had another suit of clothes at home but it was hardly better than that he wore at least it was none too good to wear every day but uncle held the purse strings and would not them while the rags held together there was a very wide difference of opinion between them on this subject as indeed there was on many others so that their relations were far fi om harmonious and agreeable as sat in the proud and happy in the possession of so many dog fish whose would add eight or ten dollars to his worldly wealth the young of cape ann he glanced occasionally at the little who was beating the angry waves with her he had seen before and it had even to him that she was the young lady he had ever beheld creation shouted the young as he saw the receding wave tear her firom the rope and bear her fer out fi om her ther help me o help me cried the little maiden alarmed as the great waves lifted h r on their stormy and then buried her | 36 |
beneath the her either was filled with agony he waa no but he plunged from the rope and attempted to reach his struggling child he was powerless to save her for he could not even save himself let out the sheet of his ragged sail and headed the which was jumping wildly over the waves towards the spot was struggling for life he was a skilful and putting his down he the sail and came to at the of her reaching out he grasped f u l tj lor t tt ia ih r n i care x r i t c the t jt r p at t ii r li ui r iii w u a v i to the of cape ann pulled to the shore with his passengers paying no attention to the situation of the young needed no assistance up his sheet he filled away again and soon reached the shore the adventure however romantic was not entirely satisfactory to the for he had lost two thirds of his cargo and neither father nor daughter had yet even thanked him for his services it is of no use to cry for milk or dog fish therefore did not cry he threw t je remainder of his fish into a hollow in the rocks and out the intending to pull out and save what he could of those which had gone overboard while he was thus occupied mr and who had dried and dressed themselves in the bathing hut and were hardly the worse for the catastrophe approached the spot man you have saved my daughter s life and i am very grateful to you aid mr j that s air i up i find adrift replied with a broad laugh you saved me and i shall remember you as long as i live added warmly the flag or both father and daughter expressed their and gratitude for the prompt and skilful manner in which he had rescued the little maiden from the waves now what can i do for you i owe you more than t can ever pay i don t charge anything sir for what done i should expect to be picked up myself if i broke adrift as the young lady did and i m always willing to do as much as that for any one replied tm sure i would like to save a nice girl like her every day in the week cast a timid glance of admiration at and her father seemed to have some doubts about offering to pay one with so much pride and dignity for what he had done i shall gratefully remember you as long as i live but i wish to do something for you now added the merchant i don t ask anything but if you have a mind to pay for the dog fish i lost overboard in the scrape i will call it square how much are they laughed mr the op cape ann well i don t know ye or six dollars that will make me whole and i don t want anything more i will certainly do that and i wish to do much more is this your asked the merchant pointing to the dingy yes sir such as she is she is mine it isn t much of a that s a fact but she s the best i can get i fixed her up so she answers pretty well don t you want a better boat i expect to have one some time wouldn t you like one now i don t know but i would do you know of a good one about here there was one round here the flag may be you have seen her she s a nice boat if you want one where is she now they have taken her round to what is the price of her two hundred and fifty dollars do you know where to find her the flag or i think i find her you shall have her i exclaimed the young i gave her up some time ago i will e a present of her added mr well no sir i don t exactly like th t way of doing things replied gazing upon the rock at his feet sorely tempted by the offer yet to be paid for the humane act he had done you need a better boat and i insist upon your having the flag i don t want to be paid not going to pay you my boy i couldn t do that if i tried i am going to to day but i will give you the money to pay for the boat and you shall go to for her yourself i want the boat very bad i won t deny and perhaps i ll borrow the money of you fm rich myself but my uncle won t give me a red cent you need not borrow it said the merchant taking two hundred and fifty dollars fi om his pocket it is yours the young of cape ann on the whole i guess i will borrow it replied taking the bills i don t want anything for saving your daughter let him borrow it father li he wants to interposed who was delighted with s honesty and delicacy mr yielded the point though it is not at all likely that he intended the money should ever be returned to him and here is ten dollars for the you lost added the merchant handing him another bill it s only six dollars at the most and i can t change this replied never mind take the whole of it there comes the stage father we must up to the house said good by added mr i shall never forget you | 36 |
paid me ten dollars for the dog fish i lost answered the young ten dollars why you saved the s life if i didn t her father s she would have gone down the flag or as sure as the world before i could have reached her ten dollars that was than dirt well he did the handsome thing by me added unwilling that mr should suffer even for a single day in the estimation of his companion though it was not prudent for him to say that he was the happy possessor of two hundred and fifty dollars until the boat had been purchased i ll tell you to morrow just what he did did he give you a thousand dollars no he did not nor anything like it then he was mean if you want to make a heap of money i will put you in the way of doing it said dock in a low how will you keep still about it i don t know whether i will or not on the whole i guess i won t have anything to do with it answered who was quite sure that any of dock s schemes for making a heap of money could not be very honest if a hundred dollars was enough for me he ought to have given you a thousand the young of cape ann i don t think so i do and everybody will say so don t you want to go round to with me after dinner continued dock in the most of tones i m going round in my and we can talk over this matter on the way what matter about the money i don t want to talk about it i am satisfied now and if you want to ask mr for any more money you must do it without me you don t me i don t want to understand you if you are going to do any such dirty w fi tis that i felt mean to take anything and i would cut my right hand off before i would ask for more will you go round with me young wanted to go to but he did not wish to have anything to do with dock who was a reckless dissipated and man he was the owner of a of seventy tons in which he fi om and to boston it was plain that the flag or dock his full name was had a purpose in his mind in whose execution he was anxious to have join him and which he wished to discuss with him on the passage to the neighboring port the young had no suspicion that his purpose was anything worse than to ask mr for one or two thousand dollars as a reward for their services in the father and daughter dock kept his own counsel and did not hint at his real intentions not doubting that one who had been so well abused by his uncle was ripe for any scheme even if it involved some risk what regarded as dock s intention was bad enough and the brave boy morally brave now finally refused even to visit with the dangerous man fm going to ask him to do what is right added dock ask him for yourself then not for me to morrow if i see you i will tell you what he gave me well i want to see you to morrow about this matter i think you ll come to it after you have thought it over the young of cape ann no i shall not dock went off at last satisfied that nothing could be done with at present ask him for more money i i wouldn t do it if i was sure he would give me a million dollars said to himself i should as soon think of asking uncle for a thousand dollars as mr for another hundred i m rich now finished his work and carried the he had obtained to a man in the vicinity who bought them and having received the money for them he went home to dinner the house of was a type of the man it was an dingy building with tumble down sheds and broken fences within it was cheerless and uncomfortable the owner never spent a dollar when by any expedient it could be saved his wife was sharp and close like himself they were well and either of them would all day over the loss or the of a three cent piece the intelligence of the exciting event off the cliff had been thoroughly in the neighborhood the flag or and s uncle and aunt were already informed that he had saved the life of dock for his own purposes had declared that had received only ten dollars for his vices but even this sum was enough to excite the of his uncle his guardian questioned him in regard to the affair and gave a truthful account of the rescue of the father and daughter how much did he give you asked his uncle he gave me ten for the fish i lost re plied still the larger sum a loan you ve been selling too haven t you yes sir i have how many have you sold all i could get replied who was not disposed to talk very freely on this subject answer me i said uncle sternly how much money have you got now twenty one dollars replied desperately twenty one dollars exclaimed the opening his eyes with astonishment that s a great deal of money for a boy to have i think you had better give it to me the young op cape i don t think i had i want it to buy some clothes said firmly you don t need any clothes i want you to give me that money i don t | 36 |
want to give it to you i want it myself i m your and you must give me that money no sir i shall not or no to law that money belongs to me to take care on said uncle angrily you take too good care of it for me you are my guardian but you keep me short and make me go ragged i earned this money myself and i m going to get some clothes with it no you are not i m not goin to let you have twenty one dollars to fool away give it to me this minute i m willing to do anything that s right replied warmly but when you get this money the chickens will all be old will you give it to me or shall i take it from you demanded the uncle fiercely as he stepped towards the boy the flag or neither answered retreating to the window you young i ll teach you what a is uncle roused to the highest pitch of anger rushed forward and seized by the collar the young op cape ann chapter iv a pitched battle was alarmed for the two hundred and fifty dollars in his pocket he knew that if his uncle once got his hand upon the money it would be as impossible to remove it as it would be to roll back the tide of the sea besides uncle had a talent for getting his hands into other people s pockets at least in a sense and in the present instance the act threatened to be altogether too literal for the safety of s high wi ought visions of and sailing the flag he was quite willing to his uncle s legal right to the care of all his money but there was something wrong and being no lawyer he couldn t tell exactly what it was uncle was so mean and that he was hated and despised by all his neighbors and the flag or acquaintances and there were plenty of people to say that it was a shame for a boy to be brought up as liis nephew was the boy was deprived of proper food clothing and education his home was the most disagreeable place he visited within the hours of a day and looking at the pleasant dwellings the happy homes of other people could not help feeling that his lot was hard and that the sons of even the common were better off than he was under the general sense of wi felt that it was his duty to do something to better his condition boldly and bravely he was doing it he was like a common for the comforts of life which his uncle denied him and now to have the fruits of his toil from him by the same hard hand which had all along robbed him of suitable food and for which his father s estate was charged was intolerable to him it was worth a hard fight in his estimation to save even the twenty one dollars and much more to save the two hundred and fifty with which he was to purchase the flag the young of cape ann he was roused to the highest pitch of anger and resentment it was bad enough to eat such a dinner as that set before him and to dress in rags but to have his own money that for which he had worked hard taken from him roused his indignation to such a degree that he was ready to be torn in pieces rather than yield it might be law for his uncle to take his money but under the circumstances he felt that it would not be justice give me that money said uncle savagely as he his grasp upon s collar le me alone cried struggling to escape i ll let you alone when you give me the money i won t give you the money i ll die first i replied giving a desperate spring towards the middle of the room uncle was a powerful man and when there was any money he always held on tight holding the young man by the collar he attempted to thrust his hand into the pocket wherein had been deposited the le me be shouted the flag or my exclaimed mrs the boy s getting worse every year doubled himself up in such a way as to prevent his uncle from reaching his pocket here wife you hold his hands said the guardian puffing under the violence of his exertions alive i t him replied the matron timidly approaching the go behind him and get hold of his ai ms added uncle to avoid being in this manner backed up towards the table attempted to pull him away so as to afford his timid but willing ally a chance to assist him the boy felt that the battle was going against him and it was necessary for him to make a final he kicked and twisted he jumped up lay down and in some measure exhausted his who had relaxed his exertions though he still held like a bull dog was young and active and though his breath was nearly gone he declined to the struggle the youth had been backed up against the the new york public library and foundations r l the young of cape ann table again where his exhausted wished to hold him for a moment while he recovered his breath as this seemed to be for final action renewed his efforts with energy his back was against the table and in his desperate effort to release himself he had doubled himself up under the extended leaf like everything else in the mansion of field this piece of ture was a worn out and concern and as sprang up he carried the leaf up with him the table and causing all the dishes to slide off | 36 |
hear that added uncle appealing to the visitor he me just as though i wan t nobody he don t seem to know what a is for i think i do replied significantly that boy s got twenty one dollars in his pocket and he won t give it to me let him have it then laughed let him have it exclaimed mr field with an exhibition of something like horror on his face yes let him have it he is fifteen years old and ought to know enough not to fool it away he i only want it to buy some clothes added the flag ob he don t need no clothes he s got a good suit up stairs why don t he wear it then suggested them s his sunday clothes i want to put them on for every day added to go a and work in the dirt in ejaculated mrs alive what ai e we to i want to wear them about town i shall put on my old clothes to fish in said you don t need no clothes them you got on is good enough protested the i don t think they are added they are nothing but rags and he went down town with me to day and i m free to say i was ashamed of his looks well he ought to put on his best clothes when we have company i don t know as i want to say anything more about it now said glancing at i see you don t agree very well and i don t want to make things any worse the young op cape ann g he s a bad i don t know what he s to if something ain t done added mr to think he should keep that money when i told him to give it to me me his i guess ril go to bed i m going to get up pretty early continued who saw that had something to say which he did not wish to say before him i don t know as you ve got room enough for me to night suggested the visitor who knew that there was no spare room in the house yes we have if you are to sleep with it s a wide bed added mrs o yes i can sleep with if he is willing you are welcome to sleep with me replied uncle looked as though it did not make much difference whether he was willing or not and went to his room leaving whom he already regarded as his friend to plead his cause before his uncle and aunt was faithful to the duty of hour he knew well enough to believe that the flag or in his complaints had uttered no more than the truth and he was sorry to be compelled to acknowledge that his sister had adopted the views of her husband he spoke very plainly of the boy s and declared that ho had a right to be supported in a manner corresponding to his ty the guardian listened impatiently to the reproof he was angry that his brother in law for whose use and benefit he had actually expended twenty five cents in the purchase of a of the under side of the round should presume to take part with the boy and condemn his guardian it was and ungrateful fm saying what i do for your sake quite as much as for the boy s protested when he found that his a was received you re sides with the boy and him to treat as he does replied mr field le i says he won t stand this any longer and if i know human nature he won t added there s fight in him and he can make a good deal of for you exclaimed the matron n the young an op cape ann he s made trouble enough already added her husband he can go to tlie court or get somebody to do it for him and if he can prove half he says tlie judge would remove you so quick it would make your head swim added decidedly you don t say ejaculated mrs i ain t of of that sort said he s a bad boy why he fit me hke a tiger to day all this is none of my business but i give it to you as my advice that you had better not with him if he any money let him have it let him keep the twenty one dollars yes and see what he does with it if he uses it well let him have what he you don t understand that boy said i tell you he s a bad boy and he s goin to ruin as fast as he can go let him alone and then we shall see if he his foolishly it will be time enough to stop him then he ll fool away every cent of that money thk flag ob wait and see i think i m about tired enough to go to bed now added rising from his i ve got considerable money about me you know do you think it will be safe i s pose it a ill be there s nobody here to steal it unless does and i m he ain t none too good to do a thing o is honest replied i hope he is added uncle took a lamp and went up to the little low dingy chamber which had served before s advent into the family as a spare room though since it had been devoted to the use of the ward most of the furniture had been removed or exchanged for articles from other parts of the house asleep asked the guest as he entered the room no sir not yet well been talking over your | 36 |
affairs with your uncle and i hope you will have less reason to complain added he hoped so perhaps but he hardly believed it would be so the young of cape ann i am much obliged to you fm sure answered i only want what is fair and right i m willing to work for my board uncle has an allowance of three a week for my support i know he does be if you can i will i don t want to have any trouble got considerable money about me do you think it will be safe changing the subject i don t know who could take it here i guess it will be all right put it under my pillow deposited his in the place indicated and got into bed he was tired and in a short time both he and were sound asleep half an hour later uncle entered the room in his feet and after over the garments of both the for some time he ed as noiselessly as he had entered what other events in t chamber before the dawn of the day were known to no one in the house the flag oe at four o clock got up dressed himself in his best clothes and left the room without waking when the guest rose two hours later his two hundred and fifty dollars was gone i the young of cape ann chapter vi who stole the it was six o clock when rose from his and wondered how he could have slept so long but he concluded that the fatigue and excitement of collecting a bad debt were the cause and as he was dressing he congratulated himself upon his good fortune in obtaining his money and considering the character and of dock he had abundant reasons for doing so was a hard working carpenter and by no means a rich man the two hundred and fifty dollars therefore was a large sum of money to him and as he had had no expectation of collecting it he was peculiarly happy in its possession as he put on his clothes he could not help thinking what a pleasure it would be to tell his wife that he had the money in his pocket and as the thought the flag or passed through his mind he went to the bed and raised the pillow under which he had placed his it was not there was alarmed he pulled out the pillows and shook the turned the and searched in every place he could think of for the lost treasure it w s certainly gone was in despair what a story this would be to tell his wife he felt cheap and mean to think he had been smart enough to collect the money and had then lost it he finished dressing himself and then made another thorough search for the but with no better success than before he went down stairs and announced his loss to his sister she was quite sure it must be somewhere in the room and she went up and searched for it then mr field came in and being informed of the loss he went up and searched for it but the was not to be found i can t think what s become on t said mrs greatly perplexed nor i either replied i was dreaming the young op cape ann of that money last night now i think of it it seemed to me i got scared about it i had an idea some one was coming into the room to take it away from me perhaps you wasn t asleep suggested mrs glancing at her husband o i slept like a rock i didn t know a thing from the time i went to sleep till six o clock this morning added perhaps you kinder half up when went into your room continued the matron did he come into the room yes i went in about o clock added mr field well i didn t hear you perhaps you sort o and thought you dreamed it explained mrs it may have been so but i don t think it was what did you come into the room for asked i hope you don t think i took your money exclaimed mr of course i don t think anything of that sort the flag ob did not believe his brother in law had robbed him though he could not help thinking that such a thing was possible with a man who loved money as did i ll tell you how it was continued mr not a little embarrassed by the circumstances which appeared to against him as s i think twenty one dollars is too much for him to have so do i posed mrs willing to justify her husband it s a shame for him to behave as he does he knows more n his uncle now and if ain t done the boy ll go to ruin right i didn t mean should fool away that money no how and i went up stairs for it after he had gone to sleep that s the long and short of the whole matter that s the truth you may depend upon t added his did you get the money asked curiously no i didn t i suppose not the op cape ann i all his pockets but i couldn t find on t isn t a fool added what do you mean by that demanded after you tried to take his money away from him by force he wouldn t be likely to bring it into the house again but that s neither here nor there my money s gone if s isn t and i d like to know what has become of it so should i said mr field i can t think what has become on t added mrs fail | 36 |
field nobody couldn t into the house to steal it the doors were all bolted this just as i left em last night and none of the has been i can t see through it at all nor i said mr two hundred and fifty dollars is a sight of money to lose where s asked perhaps he will know something about it where is he i don t know i h n t seen the boy i got up i s pose he s gone ofi after dog fish replied mrs fail field i t seen him added her husband the ful ob i went down after to cat and t been about till just now uncle had actually purchased another the under side of the round that morning and after the ingratitude of his brother in law in with taking twenty five cents from his pocket for such a pose was like taking out the best tooth in his head was nervous and uneasy about his money he hoped might know something about it and he went to the to see if he was there was not there but the dingy was which proved that he had not gone after dog fish at seven o clock the young had not returned when mrs went up stairs to make the bed she saw the old clothes of hanging in the closet and then she made the discovery that he had dressed himself in his sunday suit what can it mean exclaimed she after she had announced the significant fact to her husband and the it means that he has gone off replied mr the young of ann gone off repeated run away added perhaps he is round town somewhere now i guess not what did he dress himself up for why didn t he come home to breakfast if he dressed up for company why don t he stay and see the company continued the guardian of up his arguments until the poor boy seemed to be crushed and condemned beneath the weight of them there was something like triumph apparent in the tones and the manner of as he heaped up the evidence against his nephew could not think now with all these indications of s guilt that he his in law had taken his besides he had labored hard on the preceding evening to show that was a bad boy would not believe it and it was pleasant to have his statement proved to be correct especially at the expense of the i didn t think was a bad boy said musing he didn t seem like one to me and i rather liked him the flag i late you ll believe what i say another time replied s a bad boy and he s been goin on from bad to till no one can tell what u become on him i s pose you know what s come of your money now i hope didn t take it answered and he really did hope so even while it seemed to be impossible to doubt the fact that boy must be taken care on tain t no use to let him run on any longer added the guardian what can we do we must find him first i think we d better have him taken up and then we can tell what s best to be done replied before we do that we had better look round town and see if we can find him he ain t in town now you may depend on t he s gone was not so positive and an hour was spent in searching the vicinity for the fugitive he was not to be found and by nine o clock a wan ant for the arrest of on the charge of his of two hundred and fifty dollars was taken the young s of cape ann out and placed in the hands of an officer who immediately went to in search of the alleged robber field groaned in spirit on that day for appeared to be upon him for several days and what pounds of the under side of the round he would i what quantities of hot he would what of cheap tea he would pour down what of brown sugar he would use it was really appalling and not even the satisfaction of proving that was a rascal could for such an upon his domestic economy leaving him to groan in over his visitor s terrific appetite we will return to the unfortunate youth over whom the clouds of wrath were gathering thick and black got up at daylight and dressed himself in his best clothes for the to he hoped that the influence of would have some upon his lot that his uncle would permit him to have and to enjoy his extra in peace he felt grateful to the guest for the he had manifested in him and if he had the flag ob dared to do so he would have told him all about the money he had concealed m the rocks and all about his plan to buy the flag dressed himself very carefully so as not to disturb the visitor he did not like to go away and leave him for had seemed like a friend but the flag might be sold if there was any delay besides he hoped to return before the guest departed and thus secure his influence in his guardian to the new boat with a light step he descended the stairs and left the house passing out through the cellar door which fastened with a wooden spring for when had so much money about him he did not think it was safe to leave the back door the thought of the guest s money made him inquire whether his own was safe he had left it out doors because it would be more secure than | 36 |
under the same roof with his guardian but he had some doubts dock might have watched him when he concealed the his heart rose up into his throat at the very thought but he hastened down to the the he had the young op cape ann made had not been disturbed and after removing the stones he had heaped upon it he took the from the in the rock it was all right and his heart leaped with joy with a light step he walked through the village and took the road to as he along bright visions lighted up liis vivid imagination and he to himself the pleasure he should derive sailing the flag k his uncle did not treat him well or would not allow him to enjoy his own he could even live on board the boat for there was a large enough for him to sleep in there would be an tempest when uncle found he had bought the boat but was prepared for the worst he was determined not to be ground down any longer if his guardian would not make a man of him he would make a man of himself thus dreaming of the and thus preparing his mind for the wrath of his guardian he entered and soon found the wharf where the ry flag lay the flag or chapter vn off point it was half past five in the morning when reached the wharf in all of the mischief which his departure from home was to occasion the flag lay in the water near the shop of her benevolent who had not yet come to hia daily work as nothing could be done to forward the business devoted himself to an examination of the beautiful in the painter he went on board and carefully every part of her the flag was twenty one feet long and had a forward which contained two she was built in the most substantial manner and had already proved herself to be a and sea boat she worked admirably in a heavy sea and it was even said that she could be the young of cape ann worked to under her alone it is true she was not what would be called a she had no mahogany no elaborate brass work no gilded figure head she was plain and neat with little or no work about her it was her fine model and her graceful sitting upon the water that made her a beautiful craft glowed with enthusiasm as he surveyed the boat as he examined the construction and arrangement of everything about her he crawled into the which was just high enough to permit him to sit down on the berth though for the size of the craft it was quite a apartment and large enough to accommodate himself and one other very comfortably it was not and while the pi owner of the flag was with himself whether he should spend his twenty one s in the purchase of a couple of or in a suit of clothes he heard a step upon the wharf what are you doing in that boat demanded the owner i was only looking at her replied s i the flag ob wo don t allow folks on board of her unless they want to buy her that s just my case added as he stepped upon the wharf reckon you don t exactly know what you are t about said mr the as he the boy from head to foot with liis eye i i do mr i came over from l on to buy her if you will let me have her for what s about right you fm your man mr i know you if you don t know me if you want to sell this boat for a price i want to buy her i rather think she will cost too much for you she s a nice boat i know she is and that s the reason i want to b iy her i shouldn t want her if she wasn t a nice what do you ask for her two and fifty and she s as cheap as nt won t you take two hundred for her i won i like a cent less than i said for you see the young op cape ann the money s for the new church over in your town offered two hundred and twenty five but mr thought it would be the treasury of the lord to take anything less than the price and he was take her sir said when he had exercised all his yankee in trying to make a good bargain it seems to me you are pretty young to buy a boat like this said the good perhaps i am but got the money and i suppose that is all you want answered well no that isn t all i want boys like you don t very often have two hundred and fifty dollars to spend for a boat and i want to know that it s all right before i let her go what s your name you are not captain field s boy are you yes sir i live at with my uncle yes i know you do and i don t know as that helps the matter much added mr with a s the flag or significant chuckle s your guardian and i suppose it would be just about as easy to jump over the moon as it would be for him to give you money enough to buy this boat he didn t give it to me i not laughed the boat where did you get the money explained where he got it i guess it s all right added mr mr the minister was over here yesterday afternoon and told me a boy saved a girl fi om drowning but i had no | 36 |
idea you were the young fellow mr let me have the money on purpose to buy this boat and you may depend upon it the matter is all straight then the boat is yours come into the shop with me and i will make out a bill of sale of her the bill was made out and paid over the two hundred and fifty dollars with the feeling that the flag was dog cheap at that mr was much pleased with the and when the trade was completed he invited him to the of ass d take t with him accepted the invitation and finding a better that to which he was accustomed at the house of his guardian he did ample justice to the ue his host the stores were now open in the town anxious to reach the departure of concluded to the of his clothes till another day foil of joy and exultation he embarked in the boat which he could now call his own cast painter pushed and with the best wishes of mr on his voyage round the cape the tide was going out but there was hardly a breath of wind to swell the sails he spread unless he found a breeze outside of the harbor he could hardly expect to reach before afternoon but he hoped for the best with a fresh wind the boat would make the distance in a couple of hours when two hours had elapsed the flag had hardly reached woe which lies at the entrance of harbor as there was now no of getting home before the depart the flag or of the young gave up the hope of doing so and began to consider how he should conduct his defence before his guardian ahead of lay a small which he recognized as the dock s vessel she had probably been during the night and could not get up the bay against the tide did not care to meet dock just then especially after the assistance he had rendered in collecting his debt he wanted to sheer ofl and avoid him but there was not a of wind and the boat was drifting helplessly with the tide which bore him directly alongside of the what are you doing here demanded dock from the deck of his vessel going home is that the flag yes what are you doing with her i ve bought her and she s mine now replied with a feeling of pride and satisfaction have you though just bought her and paid for her the op cape ann come aboard will you i want to talk with you added dock i can t stop now i want to get home you might as well stop where you are till a breeze of wind comes when you get outside of eastern pint the tide will set you back knew this to be true and he hauled up alongside the dock did not manifest any resentment towards him on account of the debt and wished to inform him what mr had done in order to free the rich merchant from the of meanness which dock cast upon him so you ve bought the flag have you continued dock when stepped upon the deck of the i have gave two hundred and fifty dollars for her i promised to tell you to day what mr did for me he gave you two hundred and fifty dollars did he he offered to give it to me but i didn t like to take it for picking up a drowning girl so i borrowed it of him the flag ob borrowed it i say you are a fool sneered dock that man ought to have ven you a thousand dollars at the very least and you were a fool to let him off for anything less than that if i am satisfied with what he has done i don t think anybody else has a right to complain replied with considerable spirit for an hour dock labored to convince the young that he had been wronged and cheated by the wealthy merchant from boston but happy in the possession of the flag to be mr had done the handsome thing in his opinion and so far fi om feeling any dissatisfaction he was deeply grateful to him if you don t know your rights i m not going to teach you continued dock according to your own story didn t give you anything he paid you ten dollars for the fish you lost and lent you two hundred and fifty dollars i don t suppose he expects me to pay him back what i borrowed but i mean to do so added the young op cape ann then didn t give you anything no but that s all i want to know now got a bone to pick with you what that you served me a mean trick yesterday i didn t serve you any mean trick protested yes you did you helped get that money out of me you owed it to him didn t you that s none of your business i don t like to pay money till i get ready i know just where i can trip you up and i m going to do it i used to think you was a friend of mine and would be willing to do me a good turn if you got a chance without claiming to be your friend fm willing to do you a good turn now replied you are not if you had told me was looking for me i could have kept my vessel out of his way you didn t do it you helped instead of me i don t find no fault you have chosen for yourself if you don t want any the flag or thing of me i don t want | 36 |
anything of you i m your enemy now if you are i can t help it you ll get tripped up if i am i will pick myself up said as lightly as he could but he did not like to have such a man as dock for an enemy if you have a mind to join me in a little i of mine that won t hurt nobody i will i won t join you in any plan interposed who being honest felt that he could afford to be independent just as you like but look out for said dock with a threatening shake of his head there s a breeze coming and i guess be off added as he jumped into his boat just remember what i ve said to you and when you want to see me fm round said dock the flag caught the first breath of the coming wind and went off towards eastern point was annoyed by the threats of dock but he was resolved to be honest and true come what the young of cape ann might come the boat worked well and as she was the point was rather pleased to see a boat making towards him for it gave him the promise of a race that boat contained the with a warrant in his pocket for the arrest of thb flag or chapter vm the and the wreck had no suspicion of the tempest that was over him at home and of which the in the boat was the but he was enough to see that a literal storm was gathering in the west which might try the nerves of the flag if it did not those of her bold hearted the was now blowing a gentle breeze from the eastward but vast volumes of dense black clouds were up in the opposite quarter they were looking clouds and even a less experienced salt than the young might have known tliat there was wind in them there was no present danger and determined to keep his weather eye open tight watched with deep interest the movement of the the young of cape ann boat which by getting the breeze sooner than the flag had approached within a quarter of a mile she was evidently following him and he could conceive of no other purpose on the part of her than that of trying a race with him had a great deal of confidence in the sailing qualities of his boat and after holding on his course to the northward for a time he had the intense of finding that the other boat did not gain upon him but the race was not so exciting at that distance as it would be with the boats abreast of each other and he put his down throwing the flag up into the wind for the purpose of waiting for his rival to come up the boat bore down on him and in a few moments was within distance the keeping her well to for he seemed to comprehend the fact that the flag was the faster craft of the two when she was fairly abreast of him filled away again and began to be quite excited as the race opened shouted the in the boat when he saw that the chase was off again the flag or shouted in reply repeated the officer replied now mr the but without the remotest idea that the officer was after him in his official capacity i want to see you added mr want to race don t you i m after you all right answered who interpreted this remark to mean that he wished to catch him speaking come along fm all ready for you the flag gathered and began to run away fi om the boat at a rate which probably astonished the of the latter much as it delighted the of the former hold on cried the can t stop replied the young so by the race that he could think of nothing else if he had been guilty of any crime he might have thought that the was after him he knew mr very well indeed he was the man who the of cape ann bought the dog fish of him and he was anxious to prove to him that the flag was the boat out he certainly established the fact that she could the boat for in half an hour she was a quarter of a mile ahead of her rival and the parties were no longer within speaking distance of each other while they were in these relative positions the wind suddenly died out and the sails of both loosely from the the black and angry clouds were travelling rapidly up to the the morning had been intensely warm and the air was close and oppressive it was one of those days which seem to invite a in the elements one of those days which wind up with a a or an earthquake both the and the now lay helpless upon the water rising and falling on the long which and with till they were dashed to pieces on the rocky coast the calm was the of a storm the glared upon the darkened waters and the heavy roared and rattled the sun was shut in by the clouds and it looked like coming the flag ob night upon the ocean all was still and quiet in the boats except the swaying of the sails as the little craft rolled on the ceased to regard the boat as a and now gazed earnestly to the westward which the shower was coming up he improved these idle moments in lowering and his for he was almost sure of a heavy glancing at the other boat he saw that she had taken in her and and that the two men in her were towards him he then examined his to make | 36 |
sure they were not foul so that he could pull down the sail in an instant if necessary while he was thus engaged a dull heavy roar fi om attracted his attention it increased in volume and seemed to travel like the lightning needed no second warning but casting off the hauled down the sail as rapidly as though his life depended upon the of his movements and indeed it did the came down upon the boats with appalling speed and violence and had only time to the of cape ann a couple of the stops on his before it struck the flag and she under the blast till the young began to fear that she would go over even with no sail upon her it was by far the heaviest he had ever seen almost to a le i saw that the over of the boat was caused by a portion of the sail taking the wind it was impossible to stand up so savage was the tempest but he succeeded in the lift and bringing the boom down so that he could secure the canvas the continued for several they seemed like hours to the young and terrific were the roaring and howling of the blast the crash of the thunder and the blinding glare of the lightning it was awful even to one accustomed to the sea when the elements rage in their wildest it was one of those moments when nothing human seems to be abiding and man upon the arm of god who his power and his majesty in the of the fierce tempest the was over in two or three minutes but the storm king appeared not to be satisfied with thb flag or the tumult he had created and though the blast subsided th wind still blew a gale from the westward as though there were still empty chambers to be filled by the currents as the tempest of winds subsided the rain began to pour down in torrents and s sunday suit was soon he had closed up his to keep it dry but he dared not take shelter within lest the boat should come to harm for the want of a help help the came to him through the thick mists formed by the rain near the surface of the water he was thinking whether the boat had the when these appalling sounds came to him above tlie howling of the gale by this tune the sea had been lashed into fury and the waves were covered with white caps and flying spray help j help came the wail again through the blast and the rain it might have been repeated twenty times for until a moment before the voice if it had been that of a could not have been heard above the young of cape ann the roar of the storm the flag was now leaping and in the angry sea occasionally dipping in the water over her wash board while the spray dashed furiously upon her half deck a cry of distress touches the sailor s heart and had enough of the spirit of the true seaman to be deeply moved by the summons but the tempest was still fearful and it was little better than madness for him to his help help again came the tones of the through the storm and this time it sounded like a voice from a could not resist the appeal for he felt that it would be better to die in a noble and manly t to save his fellow beings in distress than to lie idly by counting up the perils of the attempt taking off the stops he hastily put two in his though the work was not accomplished until the cry had been several times repeated with much doubt and anxiety he hoisted the sail the wind came in and the beat and as though it were part of the a the flag or the carefully secured and the ends down so they would not foul if it were again necessary suddenly to reduce sail he the swaying boom and reached the the main sheet the wind filled the sail the boat over till the water rushed in over the lee side the young her off a little and she and then she darted ofi leaping over the wild waves as if in utter contempt of their impotent now had the flag under perfect control and she flew towards the wreck from which proceeded the drowning cry of the two men when the blast came too fresh he off the sheet giving the sail no more wind than it could safely carry the boat behaved admirably lifting herself on the instead of plunging her nose down into them strained his eyes to catch a glimpse through the dense mists of the men who needed his assistance but he was quite near when he obtained his first view of them the boat had been upset with her still set she was full of water though she had partially and not the new york public library and k l the young of cape ann being heavily she did not go down the was flapping madly in the gale and the two men were clinging to the wreck for then lives rounded to under the stem of the boat and her seizing the leaped on board the flag save me save me cried the in terror as he saw the flag fall off and drift out of his reach i ll save you mr hold on tight for a moment longer shouted and in his main sheet he brought the flag up again until the was within the officer s reach god bless you exclaimed mr as he crawled in over the bow and made his way to the standing room you have saved my life i always pick up anything i find adrift replied coolly the | 36 |
ob chapter ix ths that was a pretty tough one wasn t it said the of the boat referring to the it was the hardest blow i was ever out in replied i don t know that i should want to try that over again i shouldn t either it knocked my boat over quicker n a flash of lightning i was and didn t mind much about it till it struck us but it s beginning to moderate it will be good weather pretty soon now i think i can carry my sail with two and i shall stand on i suppose you are bound to continued the glancing at the that s where i m going i suppose you are going there too added the young of cape ann well no i don t know as i need to go there now i want to save my boat if you ain t in no hurry i can t afford to lose her ru help you if you uke thank you mr was after you never mind that now interposed the who to the skin and chilled through sat on the weather side of the boat shivering like a man with the after me exclaimed with some astonishment i wanted to see you explained mr but it s no matter now did not understand what the could wish to see him for but the management of the boat ed all his attention and he could not press the question he kept the flag off and on for a short time till the wind had subsided enough to allow the to board his water craft the black clouds blew over almost as rapidly as they had come up and though the sea was still angry it was not violent the flag was run up to the wreck and the thk flag or jumped aboard while mr was instructed to stand by with the boat hook and keep the boats from each other in the sea the work of out the boat commenced with a bucket and a two belonging to the flag it was a two hours job but the exercise was very agreeable in the chilled state of the workmen as the operation proceeded the rose in the water and the was the most grateful of men when he realized that both his boat and his life were preserved if you want to get away from him i ll manage it for you said the in a low tone when the water in the boat had fallen below the get away from him what do you mean asked so astonished that he suspended his work why don t you know tm sure i don t they say you stole the money to buy your boat stole it gasped i m sure i didn t the of cape ann i don t know anything about it but if you want to get rid of the help you do it hush don t say a word or he ll hear us i didn t steal the money and i don t want to get away from him then you were after me i thought you only wanted to race well thought i could beat the flag i stole the money repeated who under this startling accusation had lost his interest in racing i hope it ain t true added the it is not i ll get into this boat as soon as we have her out and then you may go where you like i shall face the music i didn t steal the money and i m not afraid of any of them that s right i like your i ll take mr round to in my boat i should like to see the man that says i stole the money i don t know nothing about it only what the says he s got a warrant for you the flag or has he i don t understand it was so existed and indignant that he not work any longer the wind had subsided to a gentle breeze the dark clouds had rolled away and the sun was struggling out from the black mantle which had concealed it the volunteered to complete the work of out the boat himself and to release the flag from further attendance so that she could proceed on her way round the cape who says i stole that money mr demanded as he returned to the flag you mustn t blame me for i hadn t any thing to do with it i m very thankful to you for saving me and i don t like but who says i stole the money repeated indignantly your uncle and both say so well i didn t i don t believe you did i know i didn t tell you all about it as we go along do you think it is safe to go round in this boat asked the as he glanced at the retreating the young op cape ann from which the thunder still in the distance safe enough replied to shake out the in his the flag had taken in considerable water during the and the blow that followed it which out and then with his wiped off the seats in the standing room the sun soon came out clear and dried the boat so that she was clean and comfortable under all sail the flag stood on her course round the cape i don t care what any one says i didn t steal that money said when he had put the boat in order and seated himself at the weather side of the i don t know anything about it myself replied mr who was exceedingly embarrassed by the awkwardness of his position for it was anything but pleasant for him to an est the young man who had just saved his life the | 36 |
warrant was given to me with orders to arrest you i am almost tempted to let you go now i don t want you to let me go i haven t done the flag or anything and i should like to see the man who says i stole the money i hope it will be all right when you explain matters are you going to put me in jail asked with a shudder needn t be alarmed i ll see that you are well treated i m responsible for your appearance before the justice and i think you and i can arrange matters uncle and say i stole the money added trying to think what possible foundation there was for such a charge that s what they say whose money was it that was stolen s he had two hundred and fifty dollars and put it under his pillow when he went to bed and this morning it was gone added mr was it stolen asked to whom this intelligence was all new the money was gone and so were you it was the op cape ann found that you had up in your sunday clothes and gone off without a word to anybody that s true but i didn t take s money no i wouldn t do that if anybody took it it was well i won t say that for i don t know anything about it he was going to mention his uncle s name when it was found that you didn t come home to breakfast they were sure you had the money your uncle stuck to it that you were bad enough to do such a thing added mr perhaps he thinks so he and i don t ee very well no one is much surprised at that said the with a chilly smile but i wonder what did become of s money mused i felt pretty sure you had it when i got over to i might as well tell you the worst you had just bought this boat for exactly the sum had lost as mr told me didn t he tell you where i got the money the ob he told me you said mr gave it to you for saving his but when i saw dock nt on board his vessel he said mr didn t give you anything you acknowledged that he didn t then told mi the simple truth in regard to the whole transaction uncle tried to get my money away from me yesterday but i didn t let him know that i had the two hundred and fifty dollars he continued i knew he wouldn t let me buy the boat if i did where is mr now asked the he went off to beach yesterday just as soon as they came out of the water we want him as a witness he can make the daylight shine through this matter in the twinkling of an eye added the officer now fully convinced that his bold was innocent of the foul charge we must do mr the justice to say that this conclusion was highly satisfactory to him confident that his innocence would be proved the young of cape ill was very and even laughed as he thought of the confusion which awaited his uncle the wind was not fresh enough for a j sage and it was the middle of the afternoon when the flag reached the head of the little where the dingy was hauled up on the rocks the landing place was near the house of uncle and before could secure the flag at her he was seen from the windows the host and the guest hastened down to the you ve got him said with a gleam of satisfaction on his face as he glanced from the officer to his nephew i don t know whether got him or he s got me replied mr fe why don t you hold on to him nd put the irons him added the humane guardian i shall put no irons on that boy you may depend upon it he s a bad boy and he ll get away from you as sure as you re alive protested mr whose boat is that the flag ob it belongs to replied mr he went over to this morning to buy her with the money he stole exclaimed the guardian i don t think he stole any money don t you sneered mr field and you say he bought that boat what did he give for it i gave two hundred and fifty dollars for the boat and i didn t steal the money to do it with either interposed do you hear that now you can see what that boy is ejaculated the guardian where did you get the money to pay for the boat asked told the whole story about the two hundred and fifty dollars given him or rather for the purchase of the boat i don t believe a word on t exclaimed uncle me i know better that boy stole the money fi om under your pillow i hope he tells the truth replied i know he don t protested mr field mr why don t you take him up the young op cape ann come we will walk np town if yon are ready said the in a gentle and respectful tone fm ready replied and he walked off with mr to the great indignation of his uncle who seemed to think he ought to be put in irons and dragged up to the bar of justice the flag ob chapter x dock s little plan what are you going to do with me mr asked as he walked up the road with the if you hadn t saved my life to day i should put you in the lock up i don t know that i | 36 |
saved your life you would have done well enough as long as you held on to the boat but what i did needn t make any difference added you can put me in jail if you uke but i don t like i m not afraid of a jail i haven t done anything i shall not put you in jail i must take you before a justice to morrow when you will be examined the of cape well what then asked curiously if there is evidence enough to hold you the justice will commit you for trial what then you will be tried before the court next week what do you mean by commit me commit you to jail to await your trial but you can give perhaps i can replied musing but i think my uncle would let me lie in jail a year before he would risk any money on me i will see about your but i hope there will be no need of any if at your examination before the justice to morrow you can prove to his satisfaction that you came honestly by the money you paid for the boat you will be discharged perhaps can t prove it mr went away yesterday morning do you know where he went to beach that matter must be attended to at once said mr as they reached his house in the flag ob is this the lock up asked with a sickly smile this is all the lock up i shall take you to i am responsible for your safe keeping i won t run away mr protested the prisoner i m going to stand up and face the music i m satisfied we will make you as comfortable as we can here added the as they entered the house mr told his wife as briefly as he could what had since he left home in the morning and the young was as welcome beneath that humble roof as though he had been the president or the richest man in he was treated like an honored guest and not like a criminal while mrs was cooking some ham and eggs for the dinner of the from the sea the officer drew from all the latter knew in regard to mr it was absolutely necessary that the attendance of the rich boston merchant should be procured for the examination on the following day for he was the only person by whom it the you g of could be proved where obtained the money t purchase the boat i have some money mr twenty one dollars til hand it over to you and i want you to do everything that needs to be done for me continued as he gave him his do you want counsel counsel a lawyer to do the talking for you just as you think best i will see about that to morrow a good lawyer would be a great help to you but if we can get ml here i don t think we shall need one after dinner mr left the house to send a special messenger to for mr when he had gone called to see the prisoner well i m sorry for this business said it will come out all right you may be sure of that fm only sorry you think i stole your money replied i didn t want to think so i suppose uncle tried to make you believe it the flag ob while i hope you didn t do it i must say i think it looks bad for you maybe it does you got up this morning and went off without saying a word to anybody you put on your best clothes and when i got up my money was gone now it seems you have bought a boat for two hundred and fifty dollars just the sum i lost but it wasn t your money added warmly don t i say it was given to me by mr or rather lent to me on purpose to buy that boat we don t know anything about mr just when we want to see him we find he has gone away he has gone away but he will be here again tomorrow i hope i don t like to be hard upon you for i always rather liked you and you have had a hard row to with your uncle but it looks to me just as though you made up this story to show where you got the money i did get the money of mr the young op but you told your he gave you but ten dollars for the dog fish you lost that s au he gave me he lent me the two hundred and fifty that s a pretty story do you mean to tell me a rich merchant like mr would lend a boy like you two hundred and fifty dollars continued sternly i mean to say that is just what he did do replied decidedly did you give him your note sneered no i didn t he was in a hurry to go and i had no time why didn t you tell of it last night i knew better than that would have taken it away from me he will do that now mr let me have the money to buy that boat who sold you the boat mr and a nice man he is too so they say and i suppose he will give back the money you paid liim for the boat the flag ob give it back exclaimed almost at the thought of losing the flag i don t want him to do that it don t make any difference whether you do or not your uncle started right off for to get the money back as soon as you were taken up did he bitterly you can | 36 |
set your mind at rest about the boat for your uncle as your guardian won t let you buy her i have bought her and she is mine it s no use for you to talk in that way i don t think there s any sense or reason in a boy like you a boat that costs so much money i think fm able to keep as good a boat as that that may be when you are of age you can do what you like with your money but you won t have that boat replied this matter don t look right the best thing you can do is to make a clean breast of it i ve told the truth i haven t got your money and i haven t had it the op cape ann where is it then i don t know you think your uncle took it i don t know anything about it could make nothing of the prisoner and he went away rather confirmed than otherwise in his belief that had stolen the money in the evening while mr was out dock who was his vessel at and had come home to spend the night paid the prisoner a visit he was very anxious to see alone and they met in the s little parlor the young could not imagine what dock wanted of him and he could not help calling to mind the threats the reckless had used on board the that morning dock had declared that he was s enemy and to the young man it did not seem as though they could have any business together well you have got into a bad scrape said dock perhaps i have you will be lucky if you get off with six months in the house of it looks bad for you the flag or it will look all right when mr comes replied cheerfully is he coming back asked dock apparently a little startled by the intelligence we expect him perhaps he will come but in my opinion he won t what makes you he won t asked anxiously why should he what do you suppose he cares for you he s a mean man i don t think so well no matter about that fm a witness in this case and i think it depends more upon what i say than it does upon what anybody else says i can get you out of this scrape quicker than you can say jack how never mind that now replied dock with a knowing nod of the head and a word from me will you to tho house of for six months i only want you to tell the added t m m tho thi ont of dock the young of cape ann that s what i expect to do but it will spoil your case i suppose you remember what you said to me off eastern point this morning what was it that mr didn t give you anything for saying his daughter that s right your own mouth and it s the truth too had said so to dock and to his uncle and if mr did not come to the examination their evidence would certainly condemn him but i told you mr lent me the money said lent it to you laughed dock i say i wouldn t say a word about his the money to you no one will believe it if you do was really afraid no one would believe it and he could not help being deeply depressed by the situation for his own words were to be brought up to condemn him you did me an iu turn yesterday and i shall have a chance to get even with you to morrow continued dock satisfied with the effect he had already produced the flag ob then you mean to give evidence against me replied gloomily that will depend upon circumstances i suppose you didn t know i saw mr give you the two hundred and fifty dollars did you nobody knows anything about it if i did but you remember i joined you at the just after mr and his daughter went up to the house you didn t see me but perhaps i was within of you when you were talking with him and perhaps i heard all you said about the money did you hear it captain dock demanded eagerly i didn t say i did and i didn t say i didn t but you know i wasn t a mile off while you were talking together all i want is the truth it is true that you told me gave you nothing i can swear to that in court or perhaps i don t say i can or can t perhaps i can swear did let you have the money i to you thb of something a little plan of br of as can make a heap of money if i know what are g to say and i won t have anything to do with don t be in a hurry i prevent mr from coming here if yon will help me through with my little plan i am and i will get you out of this scrape i can do it if you won t why you go to the house of as sure as my name is dock well i wont protested i would go to the house of for life before i would have anything to do with you or your little plan all right replied dock angrily as he took his hat and left the house thb flag ob chapter xi felt relieved when dock had left him for it was not pleasant to think that so vile a man considered him capable of a base and mean act he had still no idea of what dock meant by his little plan except | 36 |
uncle rather and as nothing was to be made by his visit he left the house and went home was a money was his only joy in this world and he loved it so well that he thought little of the next world s property amounted to over ten thousand dollars for the interest more than paid even the charges of the guardian for the ward s support he wanted this money he had not the patience to think of twelve or fourteen thousand dollars falling into the hands of a young man like who had no of the of money perhaps he did not clearly and distinctly wish that would die or if he did he was not willing to acknowledge as much even to himself but he could not help thinking how much better it would be if the op cape ann the fortune should come to one who knew how to keep it with this thought in his mind where it often was he entered the kitchen of his home where and mrs were seated if the guardian did not allow himself to believe that he wished for the conviction of his ward it was none the less time thai he did wish it the high spirited the house of break him down the disgrace might even kill him and mr as the only brother of s deceased father would inherit his property what the had said about the identity of the bills disturbed him might escape if he did he would be more stubborn and than ever did you notice the bills that captain dock paid you asked mr as he seated himself in a broken chair of course i did replied and he named the banks by which the bills had been issued on one of the hundred dollar bills there was a great blot of ink something in the shape of half a star after the s name as though the pen had snapped as he finished writing the flag ob then you d know the bills if you see em i should know that one and i think i should the others bless me there s another shower up exclaimed the matron as a heavy peal of thunder startled her the conversation continue for half an hour when the rain began to fall in torrents mrs field said the windows in s room were open and wished her husband to go up and close them he lighted a lamp and went up for this purpose as he entered the chamber the wind began to blow in a fierce as it had in the of that day he closed the windows and was about to descend the stairs when he heard a sharp in the chimney like everything else about the house the chimney was in a state of two or three bricks had been detached by the fierce wind from the top and had tumbled down the into the room mr returned to ascertain the extent of the damage fearful that he might be compelled to employ a for a few hours to repair it and he had f the young op cape a paid out so much money for from the under side of the round that he felt almost the thirty cents he had expended in railroad also stung him at that moment he pulled down the and saw the bricks lying upon the hearth of the large old fashioned fi replace on the top of them lay an object which all his attention and he forgot the storm and even the falling chimney it was s with eager hand he picked it up it contained three bills two one hundreds and a he was amazed and bewildered by the sight he examined the bills on one of them was the blot in the shape of half a star which had mentioned doubt this was the money his brother in law had lost was innocent he had not stolen the husband what s the matter called mrs at the foot of the stairs what s that noise she had heard the fall of the bricks and perhaps feared her husband had been struck by them only a few bricks fell down chimney the flag ob replied mr hastily thrusting the into his pocket he went down stairs and having satisfied his wife that the old house had not in he seated himself in the broken chair again and leaving mrs and her brother to continue their conversation he proceeded to consider the discovery he had just made how came that money in the chimney it had been concealed there by somebody and the falling bricks had it fi om its hiding place who put it there not he would not hide his own money he would not cheat himself out of two hundred and fifty mr field did hot hide it himself of course then it must have been no one else could have done it mr was roused fi om his brown study at half past ten and reminded that it was time to go to bed he went to bed the next morning he took the first train for apparently heedless of the expense though the thirty cents must have him like a thorn in his flesh the young of cape ann chapter xii a speech how a man who has lived years and stands almost in sight of the open grave can love money as loved it is beyond oar comprehension he had found s money for the stealing of which was at least in danger of being sent to the house of he was entirely satisfied that had stolen the and concealed it in the chimney for it was not possible in his opinion that any one else could have taken it but it was equally clear to him that had not used s money for the purchase of the flag he concluded that | 36 |
the wretched youth had hidden it in the chimney for future use after the storm following the loss of the bills had blown over it was quite proper that should be convicted the flag or for he was guilty and the guardian was determined to break him down he actually hated his ward for having a will of his own and he was determined to have him convicted if possible mr hastened to the wharf where the boat s shop was as soon as the train reached the examination of was to take place at eleven o clock and mr had been summoned to appear as a witness but the guardian found him at the shop mr i come over to see you about that boat business said mr after they had passed the usual i want to know more about it it s bad business but i hope the boy didn t steal the money the boat i hope he didn t but i know he did added the visitor whose was no match for his malice have you got them bills the boy paid you mr i have i wanted to pay the money away but i couldn t do it while there was likely to be any trouble about it the young op cape ann i wish you d jest let me look at them bills i ll give em right back to you do you know what bank they re on no i didn t mind i only looked at the figures replied mr as he took out his j book and handed the bills to mr field i think i ve got a to this business said the guardian as he took the bills and in his pocket for his spectacles i was talking to my brother in law last night about the bills he looked at em and knows jest what they was mr with no little agitation and excitement in his manner put on his spectacles and opened the roll of bills he held in his hand are those the your brother in law lost asked mr much interested in the result of the investigation fact i don t know s i can tell now but knows all about it replied mr field as he returned the bills what did you want to see the bills for if you don t know them when you see them asked mr the flag or i was over to this and i thought i d jest see you about the bills i didn t know but you might have paid em away and i wanted you to have em with you when you go over to to the trial it seems to me mr you are very anxious to have your nephew convicted of the crime added the boat disgusted at tlie conduct of the guardian tain t so mr no thing protested mr fail field you don t understand this business as well as i do the fact on t is that money was stole in my house more n half hinted that i stole it myself and goodness knows i wouldn t do no thing as that but the boy tells where he got the money he don t tell the truth replied mr field shaking his head as he walked away mr concluded that the guardian had come to him to assure himself that the identical bills paid for the boat would be produced at the though he had no respect for the and thought it very unnatural that an uncle should be so forward to have the young op cape ann his nephew and ward condemned he could see no good reason why the whole truth should not come out at the examination with the bank bills in his pocket book he took the same train with mr for at eleven o clock was taken to the office of the trial justice by mr the special messenger who had been sent for mr had not yet appeared but it was believed that the important witness would be present mr was so confident would be discharged that no lawyer had been employed to manage his case the cause was duly brought before the justice and in his testimony gave a full history of the loss of his money as it has been already to the reader mr detailed the arrest and gave s explanation of the manner he had come into possession of the money with which he had bought the boat but both mr and dock swore that had told them mr gave him no money had only paid him ten dollars for the fish he had lost by this time mr who had been to see the the flag or minister for whose society he had built the boat came into the room and gave his testimony had already declared that he could identify the bills he had lost the boat told what had passed between himself and the day before which included the statement that mr had let him have the money have you the bills the boy paid you asked the justice i have replied mr taking out his and producing the bills was directed to examine them this appeared to be the turning point of the case and those present were breathless with interest smiled as pleasantly as a summer morning for he was entirely satisfied that this line of evidence would establish his innocence these are the very bills i lost said what exclaimed springing to his feet hon at the words had spoken can you swear that those are the bills you lost mr demanded the justice the young of cape ann i can how do you identify them by this blot of ink in the shape of half a star near the s signature at this stage of the examination the special messenger appeared he had stopped a moment to do | 36 |
an errand in and had lost the train but he had no good news for now overwhelmed by the evidence against him he had been to but mr had hardly reached the hotel at the beach before he was summoned to boston by a telegraph despatch to meet some business emergency and his family had gone with him the most important witness for therefore could not be obtained the evidence was all heard s money had disappeared had left his home the next morning without any explanation of his purpose bought the flag and had identified the bills paid to mr as the money he had lost two witnesses had sworn that said mr gave him no money it seemed to be a very plain case and the justice said as much the flag or i know d just how it would be said mr who sat near i didn t steal that money cried springing to his feet again and he was so overcome by his emotions that the tears streamed down his cheeks mr let me have that money how could mr have given you the very bills which mr lost asked the justice quietly i don t know about that protested but if you will only wait till mr comes he will tell you that he gave me the money that is hardly necessary the case seems to be made out and i commit you for trial if you wish to ask the witnesses any questions or offer any new evidence you may do so i want to ask mr if the bills he showed here are the ones i paid him they are replied mr are you sure demanded earnestly have they been out of your hands since i gave them to you the young of cape ann well yes once answered the boat they have exclaimed catching at this your uncle came over to see me this morning and wanted to know if i had the same bills you paid me i told him i had and showed them to him did he take them in his hand he did but he couldn t tell me whether they were the ones mr had lost or not what did he want to see them for asked greatly excited i don t know i guess you don t mr was very uneasy and very angry be calm and ask any questions you wish said the justice did uncle give you back same bills you gave him i suppose he did i don t know replied mr didn t you examine the bills before you passed them to mr field asked the justice the flag or no sir i supposed of course he gave me back just what i handed to him may i say something squire continued wiping the tears from his face anything relating to the matter before us replied the justice i know i didn t steal that money squire and i want to have you wait till i can get mr here i ve got money enough to send for him he ll tell you he gave me the money for saving his daughter i wanted that boat to some money with here s my uncle he s my guardian and pointed at mr who sat like an in his chair he s than dirt he don t give me enough to eat and not much of anything to wear i want to go to school and he won t let me if i should die he would be the happiest man in he wants to break me down yes sir he wants to break me down he wants to get rid of me and he s done everything he could to make it out that i stole this money f f the new public ab i the young op ann that s a fact ejaculated mr loud enough to be heard by all in the room eloquent he was actually making a speech but i didn t steal it he continued i wouldn t steal any man s money i ve been trying to make something to help myself because my guardian will not give me what i need i earned twenty one dollars and he tried to take it away from me squire i m his interposed uncle savagely tell me only about the money said the justice he tried to take my money from me sir he wants to make it out that i am a bad boy that fm a thief but i am not i ve been treated worse than a dog and i won t stand it s tears began to flow again and as his indignation was kindled at his wrongs he violently and even shook his fist in the face of his guardian he came into the room where mr and the flag ob i slept night before last looking for my money mr told me he did and he says i stole the money but i didn t and i m almost sure now that he stole it himself mr jumped up as though he had been the op chapter mb s testimony you villain you gasped mr filled with rage at being charged with stealing the money in addition to the other unpleasant revelations which had made squire i say just what i believe i don t know as i ought to say it but i can t help thinking it added the young you villain you how dare you say i stole the money i never did a thing in my life lived here in all my days and i folks know me well enough to know i wouldn t steal interposed mr a little more composed when he found himself standing up before the justice and other persons in the room it s jest as clear to me as anything in can be that the boy stole | 36 |
that money and seems to me tain t thb flag ob exactly right to let him stand here and talk so about one that has been his best friend on i ve done everything i could for that boy tried to bring him up right and to day he s got more property than he had when his father died done the best i could for him squire and now you see what i for t mr having his feeling sat down and looked like a much abused man squire all i ve got to say is if the money mr showed here is the same that lost my uncle must have changed it when he was looking at it for i know i didn t steal the money i never touched it and never saw it said stoutly all i want is to have mr come here and tell what he knows about this business the prisoner sat down again with the feeling that he had at least raised a doubt in regard to his guilt i am entirely willing to continue the case until mr s attendance can be procured added squire though if mr is ready to testify that the money in mr s hands the op cape ann which he was paid to him by is composed of the identical bills he lost it is hardly necessary mr rose and seemed much embarrassed i think that is to say when i gave my evidence i hope your honor don t think i think i was a little too fast said he winding up desperately when he found he was making a mess of it you wish to correct your testimony said the justice with a smile i said just what i thought was true but on second thought i think i may be mistaken it didn t occur to me till spoke that the money had been out of my hands you can correct your statements if you wish added the magistrate i don t know as i want to correct anything more when the boy paid me the money and told me where he got it so that i was satisfied it was all right i just looked at the figures on the bills the national bank bills are all alike to me and all of em good so i didn t mind much about em i was just going to pay that money away for some thb flag or i bought when mr came along to find the boy i thought the proceeds of the sale of the boat were for the benefit of mr s church interposed squire bless you so they were but i had money enough in the bank to pay it i didn t know as i should see the minister for a week or two so i thought i might as well use the money i had in my pocket to pay for my lumber it would save me going clear up to the bank you see no doubt it was all right mr added the justice o it you may depend upon it said the boat earnestly for he was not quite sure that he might not yet be accused of an attempt to from the church the proceeds of the sale but every one knew that mr would be sunk a thousand feet in the sea rather than wrong any person of the value of one cent i might have drawn a check for the lumber and i should have done so if i hadn t had that money in my pocket you see squire it would save me taking some steps the young of cape ann never mind that mr i am entirely satisfied with your explanation confine yourself if you please to the matter before the interposed the justice yes sir well sir mr came along and said he was after because he had stolen the money i was kind of struck up when i heard this and didn t think anything more about the lumber the fact on t is i haven t paid for it yet but mr knows fm good no doubt you are mr but the question relates to the identity of the bills in your possession just so well sir mr went off in a boat after and i didn t hear anything more about the matter till this morning though i was afraid all of em would get cast away when it so yesterday that was one of the heaviest we have had in these parts since i was a boy we had another last night but it wasn t quite so heavy well i was afraid the boats would upset in that and i kept thinking of em for i was out once in a though it wasn t quite so heavy as the one we had yesterday noon but i ve observed the flag ob that these coming np from the westward after such a day we do not care to listen just now to a on mr interrupted the justice you said you didn t look at the bills yesterday no sir i didn t say so fm on oath and i want to tell it just exactly as it was this time i did look at the bills but only to see the figures this morning mr here came over to see me about them bills he wanted to look at em and i let him have em didn t he change them demanded impatient under the long speeches of the worthy bless your soul i i don t know as he did and then again i don t know but he did i wasn t particularly what he did what did he do when you gave them to him asked anxiously fi r he was by this time almost certain that his uncle when he went into | 36 |
the room to search for the twenty one dollars had stolen s and exchanged the lost bills for those paid for the flag the op cape ann well he took the bills and lis pockets for his spectacles he found em put em on looked at the bills and then gave em back to me you have no means of knowing whether he changed them or not said the justice no sir i have not he might have done it for all i know mr continued the magistrate rather sternly are you willing to swear that the bills produced by you in court are the identical ones paid to you by the prisoner well sir i ve told you just exactly how it was and you can judge for yourself whether the bills are the same ones replied mr wiping the perspiration from his brow that is not the point mr positively that the bills you have exhibited are the ones he lost now can you swear that they were paid to you by no sir i cannot that is to say i m not willing to do so i ll swear to anything in reason but the ob can yon swear that mr did change the bills added squire no i certainly cannot he might have changed em but you see i don t know whether he did or not that will do mr sit down if you please continued the justice mr do you wish to make any change in your testimony no sir i don t know that i do you are quite positive the bills produced by mr are the identical ones you lost i m just as sure of it as i am that i stand here replied confidently i looked them over very carefully for i m not much used to handling bills and i rather liked the looks of them where did you get the bills they were paid to me yesterday by captain i think i should know them again added dock who was then invited to examine them they are the very bills i paid mr he did not say how reluctantly this new one was given me by mr thb yoimg of cape ann mr do you wish to alter your evidence said squire turning to s not one word on t replied he with energy you visited the chamber in which mr and were asleep did you not yes sir i did go in the fact on t is that boy had twenty one dollars and fm his we know that interposed the justice he s to be a bad boy and it s high time was done he s got to be seen to or what did you go into the room for to s money i didn t want to have him fool it away waste the money and hurt did you find his money no i did not i wish i had you found no money not a cent for what purpose did you visit this morning to see mr you see i was afraid he d pay away them bills the flag or and your nephew would not be added the justice with evident disgust if that boy stole the money and i know he did i want the facts to come out jest as they be he s a bad boy and he s every day i can t do with him he fit me like a and it s a good deal better to have him seen to afore it s too late than tis to let him go to ruin and then try to save him from the error of his ways i b in the door afore the is stole did you change the bills handed to you by mr did i change em repeated trying to look savage and indignant but the attempt was a miserable failure for his emphasis was and his thin quivered did i change you ve known me a good many s squire answer the question of course i didn t change em what should i change em for i only wanted to be sure that mr didn t pass them bills ofi the op cape ann that is sufficient said the justice turning to whom he called up this is not a court to try you for the crime with which you are charged it is my duty to examine the evidence for and against you and determine whether there are sufficient grounds for holding you to answer in the proper court on the charge against you this is not your trial i know it sir replied i m ready to do whatever you say but i didn t steal that money any more than you did understand me i do not say you are guilty but there is probable cause for believing you guilty as the case stands at present it wouldn t stand so if mr had been here added as you seem to lay a great deal of stress upon the appearance of mr i will if you desire continue the case for a few days i do desire it replied decidedly very well i will put the case off for one week but in the mean time i must commit you unless the flag or you offer sufficient for your appearance perhaps your uncle would be your i m to do anything in reason squire but that boy would be jest as to run away as he would be to eat when he s hungry interrupted mr if he could get something to eat added bitterly very much to the prisoner s surprise a cape ann worth one hundred and fifty thousand dollars came forward and offered to go for him the father in law of mr also offered himself both gentlemen having been secured by the grateful the | 36 |
was acceptable and left the office to ear again in one week the young of cape ann chapter xiv after the examination of those who attended the examination of one half believed that mr had the money and the other half that was guilty of the some thought that was a bad boy and all knew that his uncle was a hard and mean man the prisoner left the office with mr the boat was in great trouble he was now entirely satisfied that the money in his possession was that which had been stolen from and when the squire told him he might restore it to owner taking his receipt he made haste to get rid of it now you have got your money mr and you ought to be satisfied said he as he gave up the bills the st flag or i am entirely satisfied now do you believe that boy stole the money he did interposed mr nobody else could have took it i don t say you took it mr field but i can t quite get it through my head that isn t an honest boy added mr the fact on t is i know the boy stole the money mr didn t give him no two hundred and y s for that into the continued mr he s a rich man and he didn t rich away his money in that shape it stands to reason a man like him wouldn t do no thing if mr did give him two hundred and fifty dollars where is it now that s the question suggested i m just as sure this money paid me by mr is what i lost as i am that i stand here now i don t believe mr give him any money if he did the boy has hid it said the guardian i think we d better round and see if we can t find it added the young op cape ann seemed to be very sure that mr field changed the bills when he looked at them this morning continued squire glancing at the guardian that boy hates me and all because tried to do well by him make a man of him he d say anything replied mr but he did not like the look which the magistrate gave him the conversation continued for some time longer but without making any of the party wiser than they were before mr was disturbed and uneasy he wanted to get away but he didn t wish to leave while it was possible that anything might be said to him he knew that he had at that moment the identical bills in his pocket which mr had paid he knew that he had changed the bills in the morning his interview with the boat and he was afraid as all guilty men are that some circumstance might betray him but we must do the guardian the justice to say that he believed had stolen s he had found it concealed in the chimney he was con the flag ob that no one but the boy could have stolen it he did not steal it himself he knew that and would not his own money if he did steal it and he did he ought to be convicted and the fact that the had been found in the chimney would be as likely to the uncle as the nephew and mr left the office together but they soon separated and went home alone he was very nervous for he had done a mean base and wicked act though this did not trouble him half so much as the fear that what he had done would be discovered mr might come to within a few days probably he would be able to identify the large bills he had given to what if they should be found upon him the cold sweat started on his forehead at the very thought for it would prove that he had changed the bills mr handed to him he was alarmed he reached his mansion and went in though he told his wife the result of the examination he was not disposed to the young of cape ann upon the subject what if the should come to look for the bills he was terrified as the thought flashed through his mind and jumping out of his chair he went up s to s room taking the stolen from his pocket he placed the bills he had taken from mr just as he found the original contents when the fell out of its hiding place without thinking that he was attired in his best clothes he crawled into the fireplace and then his head up into the it was an house and the were large enough to hold firom a foot to half a cord of wood mr was looking for a safe place for the he intended to restore it to the chimney where he had found it until the excitement had subsided when the money be used but if he put it where it was before who had concealed it would find it again and before the week had expired would take it and leave for parts unknown mr concluded to place it about eight feet above the hearth where he found a projecting brick upon which it could rest not finding the flag or the where he had hidden it would naturally conclude that it was gone and not search higher up for it at the same time if should be driven to confess the and reveal the hiding place of the then it would be found in the chimney but he hoped the boy would not be weak enough to confess and when the trouble was all over mr field could put the money in his pocket the miserable old wretch was satisfied with the precautions he had | 36 |
used and was reasonably confident that his own would not be discovered he had hardly put up the when he heard a very emphatic knocking at the front door hastening down stairs he found that mrs had just admitted mr and the who were attended by when the party at the separated mr had gone directly to mr s house he was a little anxious about the boat and wished to settle the question in regard to the present of the flag he told that he had up the money which had identified as his own the op cape ann but you have the bill of sale of th boat he added i won t keep it mr i ll give it back to you said i suppose as things have turned out the flag don t belong to me any longer well i ve given back the money and i think i ought to have the boat again you can take her sir replied sadly she lies in the or if you wish i ll sail her back to for you well i don t know added mr scratching his head violently in his bad as matters look some how or other i can t help thinking things will come out right in the end i know they will but i don t see that i am likely to have the boat and you may as well take her now as at any other time answered gloomily for the bright visions of and sailing the beautiful boat had passed away i believe my uncle stole that money and laid it to me fm pretty certain he changed the bills when you let him have them this morning the flag ob of course he has those you paid to mr said the i m sure he has do you know them t bet i do i studied them well replied the young eagerly all three of them were on ae same bank and they were new and stiff those i had in court were on three different banks but one of them was a new one added the yes and that new one was on the same bank as mine the continental national bank boston i saw it when looked at them fu bet the hundred dollar bill was the one paid by mr to dock a great mind to get out a ch warrant and see what money the old has on hand continued mr mr thought he would be willing to show his money if everything was right with him and thus remove all suspicion against him we can go down and see him at any rate he added the of as i i will go with yon for i want to to where the flag lies said about the boat i d hi t know as hi take l round with me on the whole i i won t continued mr i cant be that things will come out right i know they will mr answered decidedly for however dark the prospect looked he did not at any time lose his ith in the ru tell you what do ma leave the boat in your business is settled np yon will use her and mr can have an eye to her if t f any trouble thank yon sir fm very much to r w mr like to use her bat i i t ir think i shall ever own her now w has got the money i ought to pay for mr must come here in a few added mr we will go aod i we can make of mr the party arrived at th ri w paying a to the at um v thb flag or they were ushered into the kitchen by mrs fair field where you been cried the on as her husband from head to foot dust ashes and presented at the door what on you been i t been replied mr to whom his wife s words sounded like an accusation he had evidently rubbed his hand across his face after it was thoroughly with and he looked very much like the driver of a cart the visitors in spite of the seriousness of the occasion could not restrain their laughter mr field tried to laugh making a very painful effort to do so which caused him to look all the more what you been repeated his wife been that that over last night replied mr fail field finding it necessary to explain his aspect with your best clothes on exclaimed his careful the young of cape ann i didn t think of that he now astonished at his own in the use of his best clothes mr then explained that in order to re move all suspicion mr had better exhibit what money he had on hand i m glad you ve come i ll show you every dollar of money got in the house the with sudden energy as he took out his pocket book and handed it to the officer of course the bills which mr had paid to were not to be found in his pocket book or in the where he kept his spare funds i hope you are satisfied now said mr in a tone as triumphant as the speaker could make it the bills don t seem to be about you or in your replied mr i think we had better look into that chimney suggested mr turned pale and the black on his face looked than before by the contrast the flag ob t chapter xv the chimney mr was appalled when suggested that the chimney should be examined he was very certain that his ward had stolen the and hidden it and was just as certain that his uncle was guilty of the to the guardian it made but little difference | 36 |
who stole the money for if the were found in the chimney it would be lost to him when the storm had blown over what do you want to look into the for demanded he when the exhibited a readiness to adopt s suggestion we may find the money there replied mr i begin to see into this business a little gi ain added mr and i ain t a goin to have the young op cape ann m you my house for have you got a warrant no i have not answered the officer of the law then you can t go no further said the decidedly for he knew very well that the search in the chimney would be sure to involve him in trouble i will procure a search warrant if you are not willing i should make the examination without one well i ain t if you are an innocent man mr i suppose the search would do you more good than harm it s a feet that about one half the people in town believe you stole s money they no business to think so protested the i m an innocent man do you think i d steal my brother in law s money you can see through a mill stone when there s a hole in it mr i reckon i can and i see through this too you ve got that boy and you don t know as well as i do what a bad boy he is he stole that money don t tell me i know he did the ob now he wants to look up don t he wliat does all that mean he stole the money and he hid it somewhere in the for s all i know now he wants to let you find it and make it out that i hid it he s a bad boy and it don t look right for you to hear to him and not mind a word that i say continued mr uncle i d like to know what you ve been in the chimney for the first thing after the court with your best clothes on inquired in a very pointed manner don t i tell you the top of the in last night in the and been it the uncle mr that boy said i stole the money yes he said so in the court and i m goin to make him prove it i think i can prove it before we get through with this business said well you ain t goin about my house no more not without you have a warrant added uncle very decidedly don t you think you had better let mr look up that chimney interposed mr the young of cape ann i don t think no such thing and i ain t to do it just as you say mr i know it s just as i say stole the money and hid it if he s a mind to confess that he stole it and says it is in the i m willing to let you look there i didn t steal the money and i didn t hide it and i m not going to confess it said emphatically mr positively refused to permit the chimney to be searched unless the officer was armed with the proper authority to do so and the party left the house to procure the warrant but determined to remain near the house and ve the movements of his uncle who was not the man to spoil his best clothes by exploring the interior of a chimney unless for some extraordinary reason he was quite sure that mr had changed the bills which mr showed him and he was equally confident that the two hundred and fifty dollars paid him by mr was somewhere in th house his uncle s appearance suggested the flag or the hiding place and warrant or no warrant he was determined to discover whether or not the money was hidden in the without informing mr of his purpose he returned to liis uncle s house what do you want now demanded uncle as he entered the kitchen i want my old clothes i m going a fishing you ain t goin up stairs no how interposed mr field you villain you you want to make it out that i stole the money do you you ve hid it somewhere and you want to put it in a place where the will find it and lay it to me i know you you villain you i want my old clothes em for him wife if he put that money in the i mean to have the officer find it just where he put it i ain t a goin to have things fixed so as to me into trouble mrs brought the old clothes down from the chamber and went into the wood shed to change his dress it was clear that his uncle would the op cape ann not permit him to enter his own room and he was very anxious to examine the interior of the chimney before his guardian had an opportunity to remove the stolen when he had put on his old clothes he went out doors and looked up at the broken chimney top he was a born sailor as a cat and dizzy heights had no terrors for him springing to the roof of the shed first and then to r the top of the house whose half decayed rattled and snapped beneath his feet he reached the top of the chimney it was spacious enough even at the outlet to permit his passage down his knees against the sides and using such projecting bricks as afforded him a he gradually descended the till he reached the fireplace in his own chamber removing the so as to | 36 |
give him more light he carefully examined the inside of the but the was not to be found while he was changing his clothes in the mr had removed it again and concealed it in another place the had promptly concluded that the finding of the in its the flag or original hiding place would be of more damage to him than it would to especially as he had been seen so soon after the examination covered with was disappointed his uncle had him though of course the young man did not know it he was reasonably certain that his guardian had the money but he could prove nothing he returned through the to the roof of the house and made his way down to the solid earth again it is quite probable that his uncle knew what he was about but he said nothing squire declined to issue a search for the purpose indicated by mr the law requires that the object to be searched for shall be particularly the bills which had lost had been identified and restored to owner and it did not appear that any other bills had been lost nothing could be done therefore but wait for the time to which the of had been postponed on the following day mr went to boston and found mr who was deeply interested in the welfare of the the young of ann young and promised to be present at the examination i would go down to and stay two or three weeks if there was a decent place to said mr as the was leaving his counting room there isn t a better place on the coast replied mr emphatically i won t trust my daughter on those rocks again she is so fond of the salt water that she must be in it if she is near the shore there isn t a better place in the world than back beach in our town added mr but that is a mile fi om pigeon well you can board down in the village within a stone s throw of the beach mr has two nice rooms in a new house and his folks will take first rate care of you mr liked the idea and instructed the to engage the rooms for him and fit up a bathing room on back beach for the use of his family on the saturday afternoon following he took possession of his apartments at mr br s two the flag ob little rooms under the public hall which extended nearly down to high water mark had been fitted up for dressing rooms and before evening and her father were again in the the little water was delighted with the place the beach was so hard the water so clear and the so long and gentle while the little maiden and her father were sporting in the waves the flag with all sail spread to the gentle breeze glided up as near to the shore as the depth of water would permit lived in the boat now he would not go to his uncle s house and had slept two nights in the forward mr and his daughter were expected and he had run down to see them when they came out of the water he took them on board at old pier fm glad to see you said mr as he stepped into the boat and thinks you are a hero of the first water salt water father laughed thank you sir i would have given more to see the young of cape ann you last thursday than any other man in the world replied fm sorry you have had so much about this boat added mr but i see you keep the flag the owner lent her to me i gave him back the bill of sale i don t own her now but you shall own her if she costs me a thousand dollars mr told me about affair do you really think your uncle changed the bills when mr let him look at them i know very well that i paid mr the money you lent me i didn t steal s and there is only one other person that could have done it you mean your uncle yes sir he has never treated me well and he wants to break me down i believe he has the bills now which you gave me and i mean to keep watch of him till i find them be prudent and it will come out right added mr the flag stood out as far as half tide the flag or rock and then returned the merchant and his daughter were delighted with the boat and themselves much pleasure in sailing and fishing in her there comes the said as the flag was approaching the old pier what s the she is dock s he is the man who picked you up the other day the came to anchor and as he landed his passengers could not help thinking about her s little plan and wondering whether the present visit of the merchant and his daughter would not bring trouble to one or the other of them the young of cape ann chapter xvi on s point mr was the most miserable man on cape ann even the absence of though it saved th e provisions necessary to satisfy the appetite of a boy of fifteen worried intensely he could not help believing that the young during this time was and against him that he was setting awful traps into which with all his and worldly policy he might fall losing his reputation and what was worse his money he wished the boy would stay at home or at least come home nights so that he could keep the run of him the had changed the bills handed to him by the boat he knew what others only suspected | 36 |
he was fearful that he had slightly his part and that in his efforts to cover up the the flag ob wrong which he had actually committed he should prove himself to be guilty of what he had not done but his chances were still good in his own estimation harassed though he was by doubts and fears it could not be proved that he changed the bills mr might swear that he had given the money to buy the boat but that would not prove that he had not stolen s money if worse came to worst and he found himself compelled to the two hundred and fifty dollars he could place the in a in the flag or in some other place which would fasten the guilt upon the boy the case was by no means hopeless though it did not work as well as the had hoped and expected had a powerful friend in mr he was a man of wealth and influence and this fact troubled mr the accused would be defended at the examination which was yet to take place probably there would be smart lawyers who would indulge in ugly cross and dig down into the deepest depths of human nature it gave him a cold sweat to think of the the young op cape ann awkward questions be would be asked and of the efforts which would be made to induce him to contradict himself but if the case looked desperate on the day before the examination he could easily change the whole aspect of it by carrying out the policy he had adopted when he found the in the chimney mr still believed that would be committed for trial and that he should be able to keep the money dock had delivered his cargo of fish in boston and returned to where he expected to obtain another eight the following week as left old pier after landing his passengers he passed near the he was sorry to see dock come back now that mr had returned he was aid the grasping villain would make a demand upon the merchant for a larger reward and perhaps mention his name dock was a mean man and capable of doing very mean things as the flag stood away fi om the shore almost made up his mind to say something to mr about the little plan and put him on his guard against the of the wretch but aa it might look like a hint thb flag or or at least open th question as to whether the merchant had sufficiently rewarded those who saved his daughter and himself he decided to say nothing the matter stood out from the to the deep water where his boat could float at low tide and came to anchor there after his sails it was nearly dark and he concluded to pipe to supper he had laid in a stock of provisions consisting of a small boiled ham bread cakes and he had no for making tea or coffee though he had heard of an apparatus for making coffee with a spirit lamp which he intended to procure but he had a of water on board with whose contents he was satisfied for the present the young without being an was very fond of good living and certainly his fare on board the boat was much better than that to which he had been accustomed at the house of his uncle and what filled the measure of his satisfaction there was plenty of it like a prince and having cleared away his table which a swinging board in the he sat for an the young op cape ann hour watching the sea as the flag gently rose and fell on the long regular and listening to their dull roar as they broke upon the and the rocks then he thought of the coming examination of the triumph which awaited him when mr gave his evidence for he believed that he would fully establish his innocence the darkness gathered around him and it was time to pipe below he had not yet purchased the for the of his boat but he had made up a bed of old clothes in one of them using the tattered sail of the dingy for a covering if he ate like a prince he slept better than princes are said to sleep for he did not wake till daylight it was sunday and as he had procured all his clothes from his uncle s he dressed himself in his best after he had washed down the boat and put her in order he had declined an offer of ten dollars to take a party out to the fishing grounds on that day and running in at old pier he went to church and to sunday school as the next morning he went after dog fish and pro the flag ob cured a full cargo whose added ten dollars funds in his by three o clock in the afternoon he had sold his fare to mr and washed up the boat so that she was as clean and sweet as a lady s he intended to devote the rest of the day to a pleasure trip to s island the occasion was to be complimentary to he had spoken of the trip on saturday night and mr had consented for he had perfect confidence in s prudence as well as his mrs had been invited but she was always so sick that sailing parties afforded her no pleasure and she declined to go in order to make the occasion more agreeable to had invited john and to join the party always did the handsome thing and it was perhaps rather extravagant he expended three dollars and a half in the purchase of the cake the made and in fruit and all the party except were at old pier the | 36 |
place appointed at four o clock but the young of cape ann where was the bright particular star of the occasion she did not come volunteered to go up to mr s and m her that the company were waiting for her she has gone down to central said when he returned breathless with the haste he had used she thought that was the place where we were to go on board all right there is a good breeze and we can run round there in fifteen minutes replied cast off fi om the and hoisted the but she may get tired of waiting said she must have been there half an hour now there is on the wharf he will run over and tell her to wait till welcome suggested was a good fellow and readily promised to do this favor especially as he was invited to join the party the flag stood out of the dock and as the wind was west he was obliged to stand over towards s in order to get a which would carry him clear thb flag ob of the high wall that protected the from this course carried him close to the which still lay at anchor in the bay as the flag passed her saw dock put off fix m her in a boat and pull towards s point there was plenty of wind though it was not heavy enough to make the proposed trip uncomfortable and the flag soon disappeared beyond the high wall who had been to see was a good boy and as he had been invited to go with the party he thought it proper on his way to run home and tell his mother that he was going when he reached central where he expected to find she was not there the fair lady fi om the city was very fond of the salt water as we have already more than hinted and she was especially delighted with sailing with childish impatience she had hastened to the wharf at which she had understood the party was to half an hour before the appointed time she had nearly exhausted her patience when she heard the clock strike four the flag i thb young of cape ann was not at the wharf and was not to be seen inside of the then she inquired of a man who was packing fish where she was he had just seen the flag at old pier and he told her so satisfied that some mistake had been made she hastened to the wharf indicated and reached the head of the pier just in time to see the boat standing over towards s wharf believing that she could hail her from s point she ran with all her might and did not stop to breathe till she stood on the jagged rocks which formed the but the flag had gone about on the other tack and was now half way over to the great had missed by going to his before he delivered his message as reached the rocks on s dock landed from his boat and making his way up to the place where she stood immediately recognized her ah miss said he o mr dock i am so tired and so disappointed gasped she exhausted with running why what is the matter miss the flag explained what the matter was o well if that is all miss i can soon make it all right replied dock there was something about the of the that the little maiden did not like he was an evil looking man and though he had rendered her father and herself a great service she did not feel like trusting him and she instinctively shrank from what can you do for me she asked timidly get into my boat and i will pull off and put you on board of the y flag answered dock but you can t catch her she will come about in a moment and stand over this way again i think i will wait here then added she for she had not the courage to go in a boat with such an evil man and the instinct of self preservation seemed to require her to refuse the instinct which heaven gives to the virtuous and the innocent dock tried to persuade her but she was timidly firm and to go i won t hurt you said he rather rudely the new york c k and r l f d i r ii i m i j ll iii l s h i j c im the young of cape ann i i will wait here mr dock i think you won t said he suddenly laying hold of lier and taking her up in his arms like a child tried to scream but her voice failed her she attempted to escape hut a powerful man and held her as easily as he would have held a baby and bore her down the rocks towards his boat this was part of his little plan tub flag ob chapter the evil man was with ten or at the of the evil man she found it impossible to struggle or even to utter a scream the rocks were rough and the passage to the water difficult and dangerous but dock his way in safety over the slippery to the boat in the stem sheets of which he deposited liis burden don t be frightened miss said he in tones as soothing as his rough nature could command i won t hurt you if you keep still and behave yourself let me go do mr dock pleaded she when she could find voice for utterance keep still where you be and i won t hurt you replied dock as he hauled in the painter and pushed off the boat the young op cape ann what are you going | 36 |
and sighed for the pure fresh air of the open deck by this time the men had removed the stops from the and the sail was hoisted the canvas was thus removed from a in the deck and the sun shed his rays down into the gloomy cabin removing some of its sombre aspect but revealing more clearly the and disorder of the place then the poor girl sick at heart and made nearly so at a less poetical organ by the vile of her floating tomb heard the rattling of the chain cable as the anchor was hoisted she looked up the companion way and saw the fly up on its stay and the vessel swing round to her course the the over and she the young of cape ann heard waves rippling under the counter the fl in motion and a few minutes would decide dock intended to put her on board the flag or not it was a of anxiety to her v she could not think of any reason why dock should wish to keep her on board of his vessel she could not see what he was to gain by it but pure innocent maiden she had no suspicion of the wickedness which in some men s hearts she had read but never realized some will sell their souls for the gold which in the using she could not believe that dock meant any harm to her or even that he meant to detain her on board beyond a few hours the rose and fell on the long as she sped on her way whither knew not though she still hoped that she should be delivered over to the charge of the gallant in whom she had almost as much confidence as in her own for his mild eye his gentle bearing and his noble conduct invited her admiration and assured her she trust him the flag ob the moments were long and heavy to heir she at her watch and found that was five o clock she could not tell which way the vessel w sailing nor where she was dock did not come near her again she occasionally heard his voice over her head as he stood at the and gave his orders to the men on the she wanted to go on deck but she dared not do so for she feared the act would bring the fi owns and the abuse of the evil man upon her the main cabin of the had four only two of which appeared to be used by the men the other two being occupied as places for had already discovered two doors at the after part of the cabin she ventured to open one of these and found a state room in which was one of the stern windows of the vessel eagerly she looked out upon the heaving sea to obtain some intelligence which would indicate the fate in store for her and hope almost deserted her sinking heart when she found that the was headed from the land at least two miles off she could see the high wall or which protected old pier the young of cape ann off in direction she could see light had pointed out to her when she was sailing him on saturday afternoon she knew that the flag in going to island the destination of the re party must pass very near to this light house it was absolutely certain therefore that dock did not mean to keep his promise she threw herself on a bench in the little which was hardly high enough to permit her to stand up and wept as though her heart would break the tears which had refused to flow before came freely now then she knelt down and said all the prayers she had ever learned from her mother s lips they afforded her some comfort but the was so big and black with that no peace came even from prayer though her heart was strengthened by her while she was still gazing at the distant land she heard the step of dock on the cabin ladder fearing that he would abuse her for to enter the state room she hastily returned to the cabin closing the door behind her the flag or o mr dock cried she as he down upon the cabin floor well what s the matter now he will yon you are going to do witli me pleaded the poor girl if it makes any to you i will fm going to make some money out of you if you will put me on shore again my father will give you all the money you want sobbed i know he will but not yet sneered dock do put me on shore i will give you my watch if you will let me see it she gave him the watch and chain ill see about it he replied putting the watch into his pocket the little plan appeared thus far to be a success the young op cape ann chapter the flag goes to sea isn t she a nice boat exclaimed as the flag bounded over the long waves that rolled in from the open sea perfectly splendid replied she is a good sea boat isn t she asked the more practical she is the best sea boat on the cape after what she went through in the off brace s the other day i am satisfied that she will stand anything replied with enthusiasm i shouldn t be afraid to cross the atlantic in this boat cross the atlantic ejaculated john i mean so added quietly she like a lady in a heavy sea she don t stick her nose into it like a pig but she over the waves and don t make any about it either i don t the flag or suppose she would be very comfortable to moss the ocean | 36 |
in but so far as the safety is i would just as do it as not i shouldn t want to go with you said i t wa tt have you replied rather i don t like to have girls round when it blows hard would like to have round whether it blows or not i don t think i should continued when girls get wet and they feel mean and want to go ashore wouldn t if you were in the boat interposed she thinks you are the greatest man in the world except her is a nice little girl and she didn t make any fuss about it even when she got earned off by the sea the other day but i don t believe in any girls going on the water in rough weather it isn t the place for them women can t vote and they ought to stay at home when it blows hard besides tliey are all the time getting men get too replied the young of cape ann knew that some men did get but he had not much respect for such men and he the argument to go against him for he had come to some rather attention at the entrance to boat c v was good for any problem in sailing a boat and the flag was run safely through the to the two which yawned like the half closed jaws of some gigantic monster at the entrance to the dock she isn t here shouted fi the end of central wharf as the boat approached where is she demanded a man says he told her you were at old pier and she has gone over there to find you run over and tell her we are here said vexed at the delay hastened away to execute his commission while ran the flag into the dock and her at the steps on central wharf in een minutes the messenger returned having been unable to find i don t understand it said who would as j thb flag ob soon have thought of going to s island without the boat as without nor i either replied she wasn t on the pier or anywhere round there it was t the whole party should land and go in search of in half an hour one of them reported that he had met a boy who had seen going out towards s point it s after five o clock now and it s no use to think of going down to s island to night said quite as much disappointed as any of his party when he had reached this prudent conclusion we must put it off till to morrow but if you hke i will take you round to s point and see if we can find of course live boys and girls could not decline this invitation and the flag cast off from the steps and ran out of the dock when she had passed the saw the standing off to the east and though he wondered where she was going in that direction he did not suspect that was an involuntary passenger on of her ran the boat in as near to the young of cape ann s beach as the depth of water would permit then rounded s point and skirted back beach till he came to old pier having obtained a full view of the shore for half a without discovering i can t think where she is said and he made fast the painter to the pier we must give up the trip for to day but if you will all be here at four o clock to morrow we will go then with blank the disappointed party reluctantly landed for it was only a partial compensation to know that the excursion would take place the next day after up the in which the materials for the feast had been placed landed him self for though it was of no consequence now that the trip had been postponed where was he was curious to know what had become of her attended by his party he went up to mr s mrs was very much surprised to learn that had not seen her daughter who had not been home since she left to take the excursion and his companions volunteered to continue the ch for as her mother appeared to be anxious the flag or about her though no one suspected that any harm had her at seven o clock when mr returned from boston had not been found and anxiety had given place alarm in the mind of her fond and devoted mother the search was no longer left to the girls and boys but the and all the available men and women were inquiring at the houses and examining all of the out of the way places in the town at nine o clock the searching investigation assured the father and mother that she was not in the town it was feared that she had fallen into the water or over some rocky cliff and it was believed that her lifeless form would be found if found at all in the water or beneath some jagged steep the people of the town warm hearted and tender to those in sorrow and ing were full of sympathy for s father and mother whose cup of seemed to be full to the brim and everything was done which the power of man could accomplish to find the lost one the young of cape ann the meeting between dock and had taken place on the extremity of s point behind the rocks where no one on the shore side could see them and no person appeared to have noticed the maiden in the boat as her conveyed her to the at nine o clock in the evening after the village and its surroundings had | 36 |
been thoroughly searched went down to old pier where his boat lay intending to run along the shore in her with a faint hope of obtaining some tidings of the lost one gracious exclaimed as he stepped upon the half deck of the flag this was called forth by the thought which suddenly flashed upon him that he had seen the go to sea about the time so strangely sat down in the standing room to gather up his ideas that s so said he bringing his fist down with tremendous energy upon the half deck i ll bet my life this is some of dock s doings what did he mean by the little plan he wanted me to help him about that s what s the matter the flag or suddenly the young jumped up as though he had been hai cast loose his sails hoisted them and off from the pier the wind was still west and blowing a six knot breeze running out of the dock he headed the flag to the east the direction in which the had departed and seated himself at the for a further consideration of the circumstances of the extraordinary occasion he recalled all that he could remember of what dock had said about his little plan he had been satisfied from tlie beginning that the of the intended to a large sum of money from the father of but he had never suspected that he meant to do so by to such a desperate scheme as the of the little maiden i ll follow him to the end of the earth and i ll find him too said out loud as the flag dashed along on her course through the gloom of the night i wish i had spent some of my money in buying a revolver for i shall want it now and i d shoot him this just as quick as i would a the young of cape ann dead cat i wonder where he s gone to that s what i d like to know just now if dock isn t a fool then the fools are all dead he ll get his neck stretched or spend some of his life in a cage for this job there were a compass and a lantern on board of the flag the former having been left in her by mr to be used in case of fog while the latter had been procured that day by to enable him to read in the after dark he was so familiar with the coast that he did not need the compass at present but he placed it on the seat under the and lighted the lantern to enable him to see its face but where had dock gone with his fair prisoner this was the all question to it was impossible to answer it the villain bed been stupid enough to mention that he had a little plan but he had not been fool enough to tell what it was the had gone to the north east that was all the adventurous young had to guide him and for several hours he stood on in that direction tub flag or was not in the science of but he had some valuable information on the subject entirely practical in its character he made the proper allowance for the of the compass which he had learned from the of a the was an old bowed craft that could not make more than four knots in a breeze and was confident that the flag small as she was comparatively would her if he could only get on the right course he was pretty sure that he could overtake her when well off the land the of the flag on cold ham cakes and he was satisfied that he had undertaken a big job but he was determined to j ut it through the had four hours the start of him but the sail boat was new and clean and the chances were in her favor about two hours out from land the flag ran close to a large laden with lumber hailed her and was informed by the man at the that she had passed close to an old with a great square patch in her just at dusk the young of cape ann that s the exclaimed the delighted of the flag as he filled away again and all night long he stood on his course to the north east the next morning not only but and the flag were missing the flag ob chapter xix dock s letter s watch was a beautiful little gold one given to her by her father though she valued it very highly both as a gift and for its own sake she hardly thought of her loss when dock very coolly put the watch and chain into his pocket it was worth as much as the flag had cost but no earthly goods seemed to have any value at all to her then her terrible situation was all she could think of and she feared she should never again see her father and mother the evil man was a constant terror to her she w is afraid of him and his ugly eye looked to her like the eye of a demon she was love and purity and truth he was all that is gross and vile and v you will put me on shore mr dock won t the young op cape ann j you i will not ask you for my watch if you will said you needn t be at all alarmed miss won t hurt a hair of your head nor let any one else do so you are just as safe here as you would be in your father s house though i suppose it isn t quite so comfortable a place replied dock who might | 36 |
have felt some remorse at the grief and pain he had caused in the heart of the poor girl what have you done this for mr dock are you sailing away with me from my parents won t you please to inform me perhaps if you will tell me what you want i can help you to get it perhaps you can replied dock musing but we won t talk about that to night won t you tell me where you are going pleaded i hardly know myself but don t go to being frightened for i tell you again no one shall hurt you there is one of those little state rooms that you can have all to yourself you may go in there and lock yourself in but you haven t had any supper the flag or o i don t want any supper if you only tell me mr dock what you mean to do with me that is all i will ask i guess we won t talk about that to night send a man down to get some supper for you and we will talk over all these things to morrow could not induce the evil man to disclose his plans to her and she gave up the point in despair but his solemn assurance that she should not be was some comfort to her though she felt that she could not trust him in his rude manner he had attempted to be kind to her he was not a nor a for his language was as respectful as his natural would allow him to use she sat down in the gloom of the dirty cabin to think of the grief and anxiety which awaited her parents when her absence should be discovered she thought her mother might suppose she had gone to s island in the flag and she might not be missed till a late hour in the evening she concluded that had made the sion without the young of cape ann her for he would not wish to disappoint the rest of the party she wept when she thought of her mother the fond and devoted one who seemed to live only for her she would think that her daughter was drowned for no one could possibly suspect that she had been carried off by the evil man by him who had saved her father s life poor was as sad and miserable as she could be and the long gloomy night before her looked like an age of sorrow and dock went on deck and presently one of the two men who formed the crew of the came down into the cabin and made a fire in the little or cooking stove which was fastened to the floor in one corner of the dingy den can you tell me where we are going asked of this man i can t miss i don t know anything about it replied the sailor i wash my hands of this business don t you know what mr dock is going to do with me the flag or i have no miss but he says he ain t going to hurt you you see we sailors have to mind tlie n and we don t know about his business but i ll this to you miss he shan t do you no hurt and me is agreed on this point my father and mother will be terribly when i don t come home sighed i shouldn t wonder if they was but i don t see as we can do anything about it we ll see that you ain t hurt and if you ll keep still we ll find out what can be done for you thank you sobbed don t cry miss may be we shall be able to do for you before morning if you will we ll keep a and see now miss what can you eat for your supper we haven t got much but i ll do the best i can for you i ll a for you or give you some tea and toast i don t wish for anything replied but dove the man who did the cooking spoke so kindly to her and pressed her so hard that she finally consented to take some tea and toast which the young op cape ann he prepared for her with much difficulty and rather to please dove than hei she partook though very of the food and then went to her state room the door behind her dock and his men took their by turns but nothing was said about when they went on deck dove and made an emphatic protest against the high crime which dock was and in which they had been compelled to take a part dove you never saw a thousand dollars in all your life said the nor you neither i don t ask either of you to do or say anything but i will give you a dollars apiece to keep your places in the vessel for three or four days more or may be a week yes and i will give you the vessel besides the men were tempted by this magnificent offer as they regarded it dock then assured them that should be treated like a lady and not a hair of her head and that she should be restored to her parents within three or four days they agreed to let him know decision in the and the flag ob dock wont down into the cabin again taking the lantern down from the beam on which it hung lie placed it upon the table a bottle of ink a pen and some paper from his state room he wrote for about two hours and then after going on deck he turned in perhaps slept a little she could not tell in the morning whether she had | 36 |
and reasoning balanced a great many and finally the young op cape ann reached a conclusion which satisfied himself and gave him the nerve and the courage to to the end in his purpose after all that dock had darkly hinted about his little plan the marine philosopher at the of the flag was assured that he had intending to a large sum of money from the for her safe return this was the first point settled knew that dock had formerly been the captain of a between ports the and the cities of boston and new york the had gone off headed to the north east and the information he had obtained fi om the of the lumber vessel indicated that she was still sailing in that direction dock would not be likely to make a port near the cape to which the excitement attending the absence of might extend it was more probable that he would proceed to some more distant harbor his knowledge of the coast at the mouth of the would induce him to go there this was the second point settled flag ob the was an old tub and though she was a vessel of sixty tons was confident that the flag would her in an ordinary sea with anything less than a gale of wind blowing though she was a new boat she had already made a reputation as a t having actually run fifteen miles in an hour and ten minutes which is very remarkable sailing for a boat of her size and of course it was accomplished under the most favorable circumstances did not make his calculations without knowing what he was about the had four hours the start of him but she could not be as the wind had blown more than twenty miles ahead of him the flag was making seven knots while the could not be making more than four or five expected to see the old in the morning and to be well up with her by the time she made the coast of but even it he did not see her he was determined to continue on his course for he could land at some place and obtain the ship news to guide him the young op cape ann before daybreak the of the flag could not help thinking how comfortable it would be if he could turn in and sleep a few hours for he fearfully and his eyes were heavy but he took a lunch drank some and walked briskly up and down the standing room a few times which had the effect to wake him up the boat went along at a lively pace over the great as dry and comfortable as a lady s parlor a little spray broke on the half deck at times but not a drop soiled the sunday clothes of for he had dressed himself in his best in honor of the party he was to convey to s island the wind was the beam and the sails hardly needed any attention he had only to watch the compass and keep the boat headed north east by north which he had heard was the proper point for a vessel bound to bay at daylight the flag seemed to be alone on the vast ocean she was out of sight of land and no other sail was to be seen was wide awake now and it was no longer difficult for him to keep his eyes open it was grand sublime the thb flag ob waste of waters around him rolling and beating like the pulse of the infinite s was not a rude coarse nature upon which a prospect so sublime could produce no impression he was moved awed by it and by the fact that he was at least fifty miles from the shore he thought of him who spread out this desert of waters and his prayer was more real and earnest than ever before the mission in which he was engaged was in harmony with these lofty reflections and no childish fear moved him to look back from the pose to which he had nobly devoted himself the sun rose bright and beautiful from his ocean bed and was almost inspired by the grandeur of the scene rendered ten times more sublime by the circumstances of his situation as the wai m rays of the sun poured down upon him at a later hour the wind hauled a little more to the northward and considerably but not so that the flag could not carry her and was disappointed but not discouraged because nothing was to be seen of the the captain crew and all hands to break the young of cape ann fast when the sun had the decks of the boat the were still supplied with cold ham bread cheese and cake and the meal was while was thus engaged he caught sight of a distant sail so distant that he could hardly make it out it was on his weather beam down with only the upper part of her sails in sight the young watched her with deep interest and when he had finished his breakfast he took fi om the a spy glass which he had borrowed of mr to enable to look at distant objects during the trip to s island and examined the stranger but she was too fer off for him to make her out by this time two were in sight to of him but both of them were bound to the southward as watched the distant sail till it became evident to him that she was going to the northward he altered his se so as to approach near enough to her in a short time to make her out he was tolerably confident after he had studied the situation that this vessel was the and he began thb flag ob to be somewhat excited at the | 36 |
prospect an hour later he discerned through the spy glass the great square patch on the and his belief was folly confirmed dock had kept a point nearer to the westward th an who in a few hours more would have passed the and left her behind him decided that it would not be prudent for him to exhibit the flag to dock so he just barely kept the s sails in sight keeping abreast and a little ahead of her till he sighted the land in the middle of the afternoon the young was now worked up to a tremendous of enthusiasm he was so excited that he forgot all about his dinner till his abused stomach for attention for three hours the islands of bay surrounded him and was compelled to get nearer to the chase the ran into harbor lying to while dock and went ashore in the boat had kept at a distance intending to wait till the vessel and then to board her after dark with the assistance of some officers to be obtained in the town he ran into the bay the young of cape ann as far as s point but as we have in the last chapter the remained only a short time in the harbor when saw her coming down the bay he stood off and sheltered his boat fi om the observation of those on board the by running her behind owl s head until she had passed when he followed her again at a safe distance as the chase was now headed to the north east was sure that she intended to make another harbor it was nearly when she came to anchor in the lonely bay at deer isle as the swung round at her surveyed the harbor which dock had chosen there was not a house in sight and the knew nothing whatever of the geography of the place as he saw none he concluded there were no inhabitants near the place and that the of the gi had chosen his with reference to this fact did not know the name of the town at which dock had landed he could only see that it was a large place but he rightly ed that the had gone ashore there to make his the flag ob demand upon mr through the post office the bold young was troubled by the and was at a loss what to do he could not hope to obtain any help from the shore and he was hardly able to do battle with the three men on the deck of the he could not anchor outside of the bay the water was so deep and he was aid the might change her position in the night if he remained out of sight of her as he reflected and felt that the chances were now against him he became desperate and under this impulse he stood boldly into the lonely bay direct for the chase without showing his face or answering the hail of dock he ran the flag alongside the and made fast her painter to the fore with the short heavily boat hook of the little craft in his hand he leaped upon the deck of the is that you x demanded dock almost by the appearance of the youth at this time the young of cape ann i ll bet it s me i answered nearly choked by his deep emotion how came you here continued dock who seemed disposed to adopt a course i came after and i m going to have her too said decidedly she isn t here o mr dock do let me go with him interposed whose head appeared at the companion way as she climbed the steep steps that lie s nailed said moving towards the villain go below again added dock sternly don t mind him replied what are you going to do about it demanded dock roused to anger by the conduct of the young here dove you and pitch this fellow into his boat and i will take care of the girl i washed my hands of this business in the beginning and i won t have anything to do with it replied dove nor i neither added the flag or i sneered dock as he rushed towards at this moment sprang to the deck and her movement attracted the attention of dock who fearful that his would escape turned with the intention of driving her back into the cabin let her alone shouted angrily as he followed dock up to the companion way and seized him by the arm to prevent him fi om pushing down the ladder dock turned upon him again and attempted to lay his heavy hand upon him but suddenly raised the iron shod end of the boat hook and brought it down with such force upon the head of the evil man that he sank senseless upon the deck the new york a i l ox and n thk of cape ann chapter xxi the flag comes to anchor what have you done exclaimed as filled with fear and horror she saw the form of dock di op heavily upon the deck of the i don t know i ve done my duty i hope replied puffing under the excitement and the exertion of the moment i hope i haven t killed him but i can t help it if i have o i hope not i added by this time and dove the two of the had come aft and they commenced an examination into the condition of dock you hit him a hai d knock said dove but he isn t dead he s only and he ll come out of it pretty soon then i ll be going for i don t want to have any j the flag or more trouble with him come get your and come with me he | 36 |
won t die will he asked she glancing with a shudder at the stout frame of dock extended on the deck bless you miss he will be as well as ever in an hour or two answered dove you needn t yourself about him i m very glad it s no worse come have you anything with you nothing but my shawl and she went down into the cabin for it where you goin asked dove if i don t tell you you won t know replied the young see here you don t think and me had anything to do with this thing do you well i don t know that you did but i think if it had been my case the old would have found her way back to before this time you don t understand it added an anxious look captain dock always has his own way you know thb young op cape ann so he does when he can but he didn t have it just now answered looking down at the insensible form why don t you take care of him and do something for him we are goin to but i want to know whether you think dove and me was mixed up in this business i don t know anything about it but i think you might have prevented it if you had been a mind to tain t so and we don t want you to go to us for what we didn t have to do with we re hands aboard this vessel and we have to do just what the cap n tells us to do you know that just as well as i do i haven t anything to say about it i don t believe you would have done such a mean thing yourself either one of you added but you ain t a goin to tell the folks down to that we helped cap n dock do this thing be you continued beginning to be a little excited at the loss of reputation which such a report would involve the flag or m tell them just what you say that you hadn t anything to do with the affair and that you only obeyed your captain well i m satisfied with that said dove as handed in to the flag we told cap n dock we wouldn t have anything to do with the off yes he really did and mr dove was very kind to me and told me that he and the other man wouldn t let mr dock hurt me interposed who was disposed to put a very charitable upon the action and upon the of the two for she did not know that they had consented to receive a thousand dollars apiece for standing by the vessel till the little plan was fully executed fearful that the two men in self defence might attempt to prevent his departure did not express his mind as fully as he would have done under different he followed into the boat and hoisted the i say you don t think of taking the girl back to in that boat do you asked the young op cape ann i should feel safer in her than i should in old replied the young it s rather to go off a hundred and fifty in an open boat like that added the seaman i don t think so answered as he off why don t you go and see to your captain now dove is out for him well good by but don t be hard on us when you get back to fu tell the folks just what you say a ad they may judge for themselves good by and the flag began to gather and bear them away from the ran up the trimmed the sails and seated himself at the o i m so happy exclaimed as the flag dashed out of the lonely bay you can t tell how much i have suffered since i went on that vessel i i know you must have had a very bad time and you have followed me all the way the flag oe yes i sailed all last night and all today following the i thought dock would run into some place where there were people and i intended to get some help and get you away from him i owe you ever so much for what you have done and fm sure i don t know what would have happened if you hadn t come as you did did my fe ther send you he does not even know where i am for after i got the idea into my head that dock was carrying you off i didn t dare to go back to for fear i shouldn t overtake the told everything that had happened from the time he went to old pier to take his party on d up to the moment when he had the with the boat hook in his hand the poor wept bitterly when she thought what her father and mother had suffered and were still suffering on account of her absence when assured her they would soon be in she dried her eyes and told her brave companion the history of her and of her stay on board the by the time these interesting the young op cape ann stories were finished it was quite dark and proposed that they should have some supper he lighted his lantern and placed cold ham bread and cake on the seat with instead of tea under the hopeful promises of the future regained her appetite and ate heartily much to the satisfaction of the who fully sustained his own reputation as a good on the present occasion i don t know that you will like to go so far in an open boat i | 36 |
suppose it is nearly a hundred and miles across to right over the open sea and out of sight of land said after he had cleared away the remains of the supper and put the boat in order for her night voyage there is no other way to go is there asked rather appalled at the prospect of such a why yes i can put you on shore and you can go by the railroad or the to boston there is a big town up here somewhere the put in there on her way up i haven t got any map or t and fm sure i don t know where the flag or we are only that we are on the coast of and near the mouth of the i river all i know is that i must stand about south west to bring me back to when i get a sight of the land over on the other side i shall know where we are but are you not afraid to go right out to sea in an open boat asked not a bit of it i shall feel just as safe as i should on shore replied well if you are not afraid i m not said she with emphasis you say we are somewhere near the mouth of the river i have been to and with father we returned home we went to in a and then to boston by railroad i suppose we are too late for any tonight for i know those that go to boston pass the cape about two or three o clock in the morning but we don t know when anything added i don t know that i could find the town where we put in this afternoon but i think i could if i the young op cape ann landed you there to night i don t see how you could get to boston before to morrow night but the train from would leave us at and we would take the cars there for perhaps the train you would go on would not connect with one for dear me fm sure i don t know what to do k the wind holds good i expect to be in to morrow afternoon for know i must be there on thursday at the trial i thought you would go with me by the or the railroad said i couldn t leave my boat i wouldn t go without you added she decidedly i must take my boat home then i shall go with you it may come on to blow suggested the prudent but it will be as safe for me as it is for you the boat is safe as long as she is well handled vm i don t think there is a bit of danger at this the flag ob season of the year i shouldn t want to go across there in the fall or winter though i shouldn t be aid to do it then but it wouldn t be comfortable it would be too cold and wet i shall go with you any way i can make you up a nice little bed in the cabin there and you can sleep all added delighted with the of his fair companion i think i could sleep anywhere to night for i believe i hardly closed my eyes last night but what are you going to do o i must keep awake and steer the boat but you didn t sleep any last night well i will sleep enough when i get home to make it up but i m afraid the wind is going to die out added who had been fearing this for the last hour for the breeze had subsided almost to a calm wliat will you do then said with a long which suggested that it was for her wait till the breeze comes let me make up the young of cape ann your bed for you now and you can lie down for i am sure you are very sleepy i am indeed s services unfortunately were no longer needed at the for the wind had entirely subsided and the hung idly from the he arranged the best bed the material at his command would permit and lay down upon it after she had reverently repeated her prayers to which listened in the true spirit of devotion he drew the slide over the companion way and partly closed the doors so that she would not be by the of the the flag appeared to rest motionless on the water for there was not a breath of air her was annoyed and impatient he wanted to be dashing over the waves towards with the message of gladness to the distracted parents of his passenger and it was intensely provoking to have the wind die out at such a time worse than this he found that the tide was coming in and that the flag was drifting up the bay this would not do he was going ahead backwards drifting upon an the flag or island to the northward of him he was obliged to let go the anchor to check this tendency the boat had come to a dead stand and as there was nothing better that he could do he his sails fastened the lantern to the stay stretched himself on one of the seats and went to sleep thb young of cape chapter xxii homeward bound it was about eleven o clock at night when the wind died out and the tide turned so that the flag could make no progress on her voyage to cape ann undoubtedly it was best that it should be so that the elements should so far against him as to prevent him fi om going to sea for was not in condition to stand it another night at the the delay afforded him | 36 |
the sleep and the rest he needed so much it was five o clock in the morning when the young the sun had risen and was shining brightly on the silver waters and a gentle breeze fi om the westward the surface of the bay sprang up with a start his thought was that he was wasting precious time that he had slept longer than he should have done the flag or without a moment of delay he hoisted the and was going forward to get up the anchor when lie discovered a sail moving out from behind the island under whose lee the boat was a second glance revealed to him the great square patch on the of the and assured him that dock had come to his senses and was in pursuit of him the noise he made in the had awakened and she came out of the where are we have we got almost to we have been at anchor all night there comes the and we haven t a moment to spare replied sharply o that s terrible added she glancing at the old vessel which was now within a few rods of the boat what shall we do don t be alarmed i can keep out of his way added as he the cable and threw the rope overboard for he could not spare the precious moments which would be required to weigh the anchor the young of cape ann stop there fail field shouted dock from of the o gasped when she heard the tones of her s voice don t be frightened interposed the gallant young in soothing tones he shall not have you again hoisted the quicker than the of the flag was ever hoisted before put the down the other way that s right and the flag began to gather just as dock who had gone out on the of the was attempting with a long boat hook to to the stay of the sail boat all right said with a feeling of intense as he the and ran to the the was di and as the came up into the wind the flag passed out of the reach of the evil man gathered up his trimmed his head sail and the boat went off on her course to the southward of the island leaving the flag or the to wear round and renew the chase it was evident that the had the breeze at an early hour in the morning and started in pursuit of and if the young had slept five minutes more his little craft would have been captured by the villain i never was so in my life exclaimed with a long breath i was sure that we were lost but he may catch us yet not he said confidently the old could no more catch us than a could catch a streak of lightning you are as safe now as you would be in the lor of your father s house i can t think what made me sleep so long poor fellow i suppose you were tired out as i was replied full of sympathy for her protector and i was tired but i didn t mean to sleep more than a couple of hours i am glad you did sleep though i supposed when i up th it we had been sailing all explained the situation so that his fellow the young of cape ann could understand it both of them watched the all the time for it was plain that dock had not yet abandoned his little plan the men on board of her were setting a to increase her speed but did not borrow any trouble on this account as long as there as any wind at all he was sure that he could show dock the name on the n of his boat all day long if the had been even a fair it would have been otherwise and would have been compelled to resort to other than his heels to avoid capture the flag gained on the until they were about a quarter of a mile apart and then began to feel some assurance that she would not again fall into the of the evil man the wind was very light and neither craft was making more than four knots an hour i don t like to ask you to be ship s steward but i think it is breakfast time and i don t like to leave the even for a minute said when he felt sure that with careful management he could keep out of the s way the flag or o i should like something to do exclaimed springing to her feet should you well then you may out the breakfast it s just the same as we had for supper and as we shall have for dinner you will find it in that lo j er continued pointing to the place where he had deposited the ship s provisions fm sure it s good enough if i had thought of having a lady passenger i might have provided better for her why it s as good as you have yourself and i m sure i don t want anything better wished he had a cup of tea or coffee for her and for himself too for that matter but there was still plenty of cold water and on board and the cake was not half used arranged the provision on one of the seats as and neatly as the material would permit and the captain crew and passengers all at one table the keeping his place at the with an eye on the all the time the relative positions of the flag and the the young of cape ann were not materially changed during the four miles an hour to one as impatient as was very slow progress and to make this he had | 36 |
hands of the young all right said in cheerful tones as the flag went off on her course o i am so glad ejaculated she joining him in the standing room i think dock persuaded to come out here on a peaceful mission he meant to play off a trick on me and get us aboard the but he offered to give you five thousand dollars if you would help him well i wouldn t do it if he would give me e thousand million dollars said laughing but we have got a breeze now and i don t care whether school keeps or not it was now almost dark the weather had been cloudy during the latter part of the day and the breeze that had sprung up came from the southward to there was a dirty look all round the horizon and he realized that he should have his hands full the flag ob before morning he did not express his fears to in full not wishing to her hoping she would go to sleep and not know anything about the storm when it came but he had confidence in the sea going qualities of the y flag and was quite satisfied that she could if well handled weather any gale that ever blew he had tested her and believed in her the darkness settled upon the ocean and upon the little craft dock had returned to the which could not now be seen fi the flag the wind continued to and the white caps on the dark waves could be seen in the gloom of the cloudy night i think you had better turn in said turn in go to bed i mean don t you think we are going to have a storm it looks like rain certainly and it may blow pretty hard do you think there is any danger not a bit if i did think so i should the young of cape ann make for the nearest land we are much safer out here than we should be in among those islands how black and gloomy it looks all around it it always looks so in a cloudy night on the water now turn in she complied rather because wished it than because she wanted to do so she lay down upon the bed her had made for her the night before covered her with the old sail and propped the table board before the front part of the berth it up with a part of the covering so that she could not roll out when the boat pitched violently as the knew she would before morning he then returned to the lashed his lantern to the seat and carefully secured the compass in anticipation of the rough time he expected heard no more of he had closed the slide and the double doors of the but there was a little blind in each of the latter which in the fresh breeze would admit a sufficient supply of air his fair charge was safe and comfortable and the flag ob turned his whole attention to the boat within an hour after he had completed his preparations it was blowing decidedly fresh but the flag still under all sail was going at a fierce rate through the water and not laboring very heavily she was or nearly so and her judged that she was making about eight knots an hour a rate which was entirely to him at midnight it blew a summer gale had the and put two in his but the flag behaved admirably and still held her course at two o clock in the morning by s time which was all guess work and might have varied two hours it rained in torrents but the gale had subsided in a measure and one had been turned out of the it was all well on board though was to the skin as long as the boat went ahead at a good round rate he did not care for anything else it seemed hardly possible that could sleep through the whole of it for the flag in the heavy seas seemed almost to stand up straight at times the waves broke in the op cape ann heavy volumes on the half deck over her head and the air was filled with terrific if she was awake she said nothing at daylight on thursday morning the gale had into a fi breeze but it had hauled to the westward so that could not lay his course he had turned out his in the and hoisted the the sea had gone down consider and there was every prospect of a pleasant day at seven o clock judged by the height of the sun the boat was running in towards white island light on the of had turned out and declared that she never slept better in her life and that the flag was a perfect love of a boat the court was to come in at ten o clock and was still twenty miles from his destination but he had run in shore far enough to get a and was sure that he could fetch inside of on the home tack brought out the provisions and all hands on board as they hoped for the last time on that the flag ob chapter the return of the flag the excitement which followed the disappearance of had only partially subsided on thursday when mr the and others assembled at the office of squire for the of the examination of it was a mere form for the was not in town and of course the trial could not proceed the two gentlemen who had given for the appearance of were not in a very pleasant frame of mind for the young man had neither been seen nor heard of since monday night without the current of our story long enough to | 36 |
detail all the efforts which had been used to find the search had been as thorough as wealth and energy could make it all the of cape ann the towns on the coast from boston to had been visited all the shores had been examined all the dragged and all the out of the way places sailors and had been employed and during tuesday and wednesday there was not an idle person within ten miles of and the of them au was mr the the absence of was not discovered till tuesday and even then it was supposed that he had gone after dog fish as usual in his boat but in the evening when he did not return and had been heard of him it was believed that something unusual had occurred to him mr thought it very singular that should thus absent himself at a time when s parents were in such a state of suspense by wednesday noon when s absence was continued mr began to be hopeful that his ward had actually departed never more to return it was not consistent with his ideas to believe anything good of and by this time he had fully satisfied himself that the boy had run away thb flag ob that he feared to face the results of the some thought the young had ventured too fa r out to sea and that the flag had been and sunk carrying the bold youth down with her and others that he had sold the boat in some port not yet visited and left for parts unknown mr did not care which was true if one of them could only be fully established the was apt to be a fast what he wished to believe he generally succeeded in making out to be true on wednesday afternoon he was pretty well satisfied that not come back to again with this belief and confidence he once more drew the two hundred and fifty dollars the identical bills paid to by mr from their hiding place and put them in his pocket cunning and men often themselves and it would have been better for him though worse for the ends of truth and justice if he had permitted the money to remain in its hiding place he went to that afternoon to see a man who had applied to him the ob cape ann for a loan of five hundred at an rate of interest he passed the bills with an equal amount from his own funds to this person with the understanding that the money was to be expended in boston the next day tlie desire to obtain the extra and interest had tempted him to use the bills which actually belonged to before it was prudent as use this word to do so but the bills would go off to boston and would soon be scattered and all traces of them lost mr really believed that he was shrewd and that it would not be possible for the bank notes to appear against him he rubbed his hands with delight when ke had finished the business and did not even grudge the thirty cents he had expended in which was more extraordinary than any other part of the transaction mr had some views of his own iti regard to the disappearance of and the continued absence of mr had more confidence in him than in any other person because he had been so energetic in the search and because thk flag or from the be he had spoken words of hope to the distracted parents when s grumbled mr declared that the boy had not run away he was certain that he would come back and mr assured the that whether came back or not he would pay the if it should be mr you don t know as well as i do said the i have had some dealings with him and i know him through and through you may take my word for it he hasn t run away and more than that i ll be willing to give all the money i ve paid for dog fish in two years if that boy isn t on cap n dock s track do you think so asked mr gathering fresh hope from the suggestion i know it i can t prove it of course but it s sort of burnt into me that he knows more about at this minute than any of the rest of us i hope so we found out yesterday this conversation was the young op cape ann on wednesday that the went off on monday night but was with me as late as nine o clock i don t know exactly how it s coming about but you may mark my words that s on the track now mr could only hope that was in position to assist his daughter if she were still living but as it had been ascertained that the went out of the bay between four and five o clock while had been with him as late as nine he could not fully adopt the theory of the there was a great deal of interest manifested in the examination on thursday people were curious to know what would be done and whether the would be could not appear and people desired to know what would be said so they assembled to the utmost capacity of the room in the squire s office and twice as many more gathered ai the door in the street mr was there prepared with able counsel to argue for a and to pay every dollar of expense that had been or mi be incurred mr the flag ob was there convinced that had run away or been drowned was there again imposing upon his brother in law the cruel necessity of another twenty five cents | 36 |
for a from the under side of the round mr was not there yet he had gone to the post office but presently he appeared with a letter in his hand for mr which he had observed through the glass window of the office he gave it to the merchant and entered into conversation with the counsel for the squire said he was ready to proceed with the business of the court and would call up the e of continued from last thursday mr stated that the was not present i he wouldn t be posed mr that boy has run away and i he would all the time he s a bad boy but i hope them that trusted him won t lose by it do you know where he is mr asked the justice do i no i don t know about him the new york tj r as l x and r l the op ann he s hardly been near my house he stole the money mr who had been employed as counsel for rose to state the case and ask for a further for a few days he was confident that the would appear in due time and that he had no intention to the operation of the law merciful heaven exclaimed mr suddenly rising from his chair with the letter he had just received in his hand and his whole frame quivering with emotion have you any intelligence from the asked squire no sir but i have from my daughter but then as he thought of the condition of secrecy imposed upon him by dock he hastily folded up the letter and thrust it into his pocket the letter was that which dock had written on board the and at what was twenty or fifty thousand dollars to the devoted father i ed with the loss of his daughter he was ready to give all the wretch asked to her the flag ob where is she demanded the justice and those in the room forgot all about for the moment in their absorbing interest in the fate of she is alive and says she is well beyond this i am not permitted to say replied mr as he moved towards the door intent upon raising the money and hastening to the place indicated in the letter for the recovery of his daughter he found he could not go to boston till three o clock in the afternoon and as his name and credit were good enough in to enable him to raise the required sum there he determined to borrow the money and proceed with his wife to the cape ann one of was present he was the president of the bank and promptly offered to supply the though he was rather curious to know to what use the money was to be applied but mr kept his own counsel fearful that dock if betrayed would his vengeance on his darling child as nothing could be done the merchant decide d to remain at the office until s case was disposed of for that day squire continued his remarks urging his the young op cape ann reasons for a of the examination while he was thus engaged a man with more enthusiasm than discretion rushed into the room the flag is coming i shouted he at the top of his lungs where is she asked mr she passed point half an hour ago and is headed towards old pier now is in her continued mr yes and there is a girl with him a girl a girl a dozen years old and we all reckon it s the one that was lost replied the messenger been looking at em through my glass the court without any whatever and everybody rushed down to old pier including the justice the the president of the bank ministers and mr who was at the justice s room hastened to his house as fast as his legs would carry him to inform mrs that the flag was in sight the flag ob with a girl on board who was supposed to be the anxious mother joined the crowd of people that down to old pier which now seemed to have half the population of the town gathered upon it the report was correct the flag was coming and by the time mi s reached the and the crowd had opened for her so that she could join her husband on the edge of the pier the boat was within distance sat at the his bosom bounding with emotions such as he had never before sat opposite to him even more agitated than he she recognized her father and mother on the wharf and waved her handkerchief to them it is she i it is she exclaimed the delighted father and a thrill of joy flew through the hearts of the multitude a cheer rose on the air when it was certain that the girl was men swung their hats and women their and the wave of rapture in the hearts of the multitude was thb g op cape ann than the swell of the sea beneath them waved his hat as he rail the flag into the dock the and the happiest fellow that ever handled a or a the flag ob chapter xxv thb result of the examination cheer after cheer rent the air from the multitude on the pier as the flag entered the dock and sweeping round in a circle came up to the stone steps where mr leaped on board how are you exclaimed the grasping the hand of the young o fm all right replied the blushing of the flag and miss let me hand her up to her father and mother continued mr taking the little maiden by the arm we are so thankful you are safe o i am so happy replied trembling with emotion the cheers were continued | 36 |
by the excited crowd the yo ng of cape as the kind hearted officer conducted to the bow of the boat and then up the steps though she was clasped in her father s arms before she could reach the pier my child cried mrs as her husband handed to her open arms it was a touching scene and many others besides the father and mother wept for joy as mrs pressed the lost one to her bosom and thanked the good father from the deepest depths of her heart for restoring her child while these events were on the let go his and then quietly seated himself at the stem of the boat where he had sat most of the time for nearly three days his eyes were deeply sunk in his head and he was pale and haggard he had slept but six hours during the whole and was worn out with watching care and anxiety his mission seemed to be ended and now he was hardly able to hold up his head thi ee cheers for field shouted the enthusiastic cape ann on the pier the cheers were given with a hearty good will the flag or as was handed into a which one of the crowd pressed upon the parents where is asked mr who for the moment had gotten the brave of his daughter as the torrent of parental emotions flowed he is in the boat replied mr rushing down the steps again to the flag come you are wanted on shore he added fm tired mr replied and i guess m stay here till some of the folks have gone off no mr wants to see you and besides the court is waiting for you i thought the court down here added with a faint smile i see squire and others on the wharf i ll my and and go with you in a minute we want to hear your you must have had a hard time of it for it blew like sixty here last night it blew some where i was not permitted to secure his sails for thb young op cape ann that office was taken from him by some and mr conducted him to the vehicle in which mrs and were seated the happy father his hand as he approached and hurried him into the in which he seated himself and drove off towards mr s house it had already been from s brief statement that the flag had actually sailed three hundred miles over the open ocean and had been to the mouth of the some of the crowd lingered to gaze upon her and express their admiration of her good behavior and the skill and daring of the youth who had her through the night and the darkness and the storm on her errand of mercy the boat was entitled to a portion of the credit and she was warmly praised mr was almost as proud and happy as though he had been on the for he had built the boat and she was a credit to his skill don t tell me stole that money after this said he when the boat had been duly commended the flag ob as the people walked back to the office of squire to hear the rest of the examination mr drove up the street and the carriage was followed by a portion of the crowd anxious to learn the particulars of the of the flag i don t know what would have become of me ther if it hadn t been for said some of the people supposed had run away but mr was quite sure that he would return uncle thought i had run away i suppose added rather he was sure of it poor child i what a hard time you have had said mrs as she drew close to her side indeed i have not mother replied the little wanderer at least not since i left dock s vessel but you have been in an open boat all the time i slept in the little cabin all and didn t the young of cape ann wake up once though told me this morning he had had a gale of wind you must have had a hard time of it added mr well i am rather tired but i shall be as good as new after i have made up my sleep the vehicle stopped at mr s house and the party went in mi and others soon arrived between and the story of the was soon told mrs wept afresh as she listened to the through which her darling daughter had passed and both father and mother wanted to in their admiration for his noble daring his skill energy and we must go to squire s office now if you feel able interposed mr when the story was finished not till he has had some said mrs decidedly the poor fellow has been up all night and i suppose he hasn t had even a cup of coffee to day the court is waiting the flag or let it wait added if squire can t stop for the poor boy to drink a cup of coffee he isn t fit to be a judge the breakfast was all ready and the sat down at the hospitable board mr went to the magistrate s which was crowded with people and told them the story to which he had just listened they were all willing to wait for as long as he wished and when he with mr every man in the room insisted upon taking him by the hand every one except mr uncle felt cheap he would have sold himself out for sixpence was a lion a hero people would mob the justice if he attempted to bind him over for the case was lost so far as was concerned and the guardian was even prepared | 36 |
to follow the popular current it was hardly safe for him to do otherwise for the people might take it into their heads to pull his old buildings down if he in his ward but mr field realized that he had made two hundred and fifty had the young of cape ann stolen the money he still believed this to be the truth and he had obtained it he had paid it away the money had gone to boston and there was no longer any danger that it would be found upon his person or his premises the case was opened again the witnesses as before but dock was not present and mr did not venture to repeat his belief that had stolen the money mr as before said he had received the bills for the boat but could not state positively that the bills identified by were the ones paid to liim mr was called and swore that he had given two hundred and fifty dollars to which the boy persisted in regarding as a loan could you identify the bills you paid to fan field asked squire who acted as counsel for the i could replied mr taking a book fi om his pocket it is my custom to note down the number and description of all bank bills larger than which into my possession the or will you be kind enough to look at these bills added squire handing him three bank notes mr took the bills and compared their description with the before him they are the bills i paid to said he i checked them off of my book after i entered the train that morning you are entirely sure it ib impossible that i should be mistaken that will do step down if you please mr call captain the witness indicated was conducted to the table from an adjoining room the crowd opened for him and when he appeared mr turned pale and trembled in every joint of his the captain was sworn and took the stand captain do you know these bills continued squire i do replied the witness after deliberately examining them state what you know about them they were paid to me by mr field lie the young op e ann lent me five hundred dollars yesterday and these bills were part of the money tain t so interrupted the miserable guardian of silence said the justice i tell you had them bills for more n two months and i didn t steal em persisted mr desperately silence sir or i ll commit you for contempt added squire mr fail field subsided but the cold sweat stood on his forehead and liis heart was almost in his mouth go on captain said the counsel for the before mr was out of sight mr came up and wanted to see the money paid to me i showed it to him mr looked at and looked at mr both of them smiled the had kept one eye on the all the time and when he went to had followed and watched him mr field had reckoned without the flag or lis host as bad men are apt to do s absence had given him confidence to dispose of the bills and while the ward had served by his mission to the he had served himself it seems to me this is a clear case said squire after all the evidence including the s had been heard paid this money to mr and the young man that these bills identified by mr are the identical ones with which he paid for the boat these game bills are now paid by mr field to captain did mr field get them of course when mr him to look at them he the stolen bills for these and it follows as the day follows the night that mr stole them fi om his brother in law himself i didn t steal em no thing shouted mr field perhaps you will tell where you did get them added squire i found em in the gasped the guardian desperately the young op cape ann can you inform the court how they came in the chimney em there answered mr so confused and by the unexpected revelations that his cunning him and he told what he believed to be the truth mr was put upon the stand again and actually told the whole truth actually confessed that he had changed the bills why did you change them asked tlie justice did you wish to have your ward convicted not why then fm that boy s and i can t do with him he fit me t other day like a and what has that to do with it demanded the justice impatiently tell the truth or you shall be for you re all down on me now but i mean to tell the truth as i did stole that money and hid it in the i this the flag or now ef i hadn t changed the bills the boy d got ofl and all that money away on a boat the bills was found in the i wanted it to look as ef took the money he stole to buy the boat and hid what mr gin him in s as i fixed things got his money back and i got what mr paid to keep for him for fm his it did not yet appear who had stolen the it lay between and his uncle there was not now a of evidence to prove that was guilty and he was accordingly discharged much to the satisfaction of the spectators who believed that mr was the thief nothing could be proved but it was supposed that the would be arrested in a day or two after the lawyers had compared notes left the office and was cheered by the crowd on the | 36 |
street he went up to see and her mother again promising to stay with mr over night mr and went back to the old house and spent the rest of the day in the young op cape ann talking about the robbery they could make nothing of it would not admit that stole his money while his brother in law insisted upon his opinion they became quite excited over the question and the discussion was continued till a late hour in the evening when retired sake what s the matter exclaimed mrs fail field in the night being awakened by a noise in s chamber robbers ain t it gasped the i for sake up and find out seems as ef the rest of that s down mr fail field partially dressed himself and went to s room he was terribly fi but his money was as dear as his life and he entered the room with a light in his hand on the hearth with his head up the chimney stood in his night dress eyes were open but he looked confused and stupid the flag or chapter xxvi conclusion creation what on are you in there demanded mr surprised rather than alarmed at the situation of his guest made no reply what is it for pity s sake tell me called mrs field who had stationed herself at the foot of the stairs to listen come up here wife what s the matter continued mrs who had been partially assured by the voice and the tones of her husband answered mr field astonished that his brother in law did not speak goodness he ain t sick is he said the wife as she went up the stairs there he is he seems to be goin up r y ve p t t t the advice of his wife but s e e o ea hen a of the bricks inside of the i king for something ey d to make him stoop an to be conscious t t he lad d continued h s efforts lt so violent that he awoke the last start a long g r i v x the flag ob a brick which had fortunately descended to the hearth without him he rubbed his eyes as he came to himself and then yawned what you in here demanded mr fail field i don t know where am i replied the sleep stoop down and out you were goin up i s obeyed and bent his head enough to enable him to pass out into the chamber sake ejaculated his sister what do you want what are you doing here asked apparently more astonished than any one else at the awkwardness of the situation what are you added mrs i m not doing anything at least i don t know anything about it continued with a look of blank amazement well into bed again you ll your death o cold round with on but your night clothes thb of cape ann was quite now but it was found that his hands were covered with and after washing them he retired again what was you in the asked mr i don t know you are at your old tricks again added mrs when you was a young man you used to up in your sleep a most every night and we used to be scared a most to death for fear would happen to you i know you got up one night and hunted all over the house for a half dollar you had lost i s pose you was about it can t you tell what you was a on asked mr rubbed his eyes and thought a moment a it comes to me now said he i was dreaming of that i lost it seemed to me just a i p somewhere and was to look for it u i vow r el you put that m the yourself jest where found it the flag or his sister a flood of light suddenly bursting in upon her i shouldn t wonder but i didn t know i got up in my sleep any of late years replied with a look as he thought of the mischief which his involuntary act had caused you ain t to blame of course i t seen much of you i was and i never thought of s ch a thing as your up in your sleep now days i remember now that my hands were covered with in the morning after i slept with but i didn t think anything of it i supposed i got it on somewhere round the stove added yes and i found the sheets too but s into the dirt so deep that it didn t strike me as anything strange said his sister i m very sorry for the trouble i ve caused but i didn t mean to do it of course you couldn t help it one thing is now that didn t steal that money i s pose he didn t but i guess it ain t best the young op cape ann to say anything about this matter said mr fail field not say anything about it exclaimed rising up in the bed tain t best is it i think it is we ll tell the truth at any rate was an honest man and he was not willing that even a suspicion should any longer rest upon while he had the means of him i don t know how it ll work to tell on t said mr fail field i don t care how it works no has been done to any one yet you changed the bills in the hands of mr that was wrong but i was just as as i could be thai stole that | 36 |
and mr appointed the guardian of the groaned when he was compelled to give up the property of his late ward it was like taking out his teeth especially as mr inquired very closely into every and refused to pay some bills for board and clothing but the business was happily finished and was duly in his new home at mr s house dock when he found he could not overtake the flag put back to a port in where he sold his vessel and paid off his men it was several weeks before he ventured to appear on cape ann again but even that time was too soon for he was arrested tried and to the state prison for a term long enough to give him ample opportunity for repentance and mr has paid over the twenty two thousand dollars to s guardian mr has received the money for the flag and the young is no longer obliged to catch dog the flag fish to obtain a comfortable living and a good the to s island came off as arranged and the party had a splendid time and though and made fun at the expense of and the latter seemed to enjoy it quite as much as her companions mr purposes to erect a summer residence at for declares that she must go there every season as long as she lives last spring spent a foi in boston and he was dressed so nicely and looked so manly besides being so brave noble and good that was proud to go with him to the and lectures and withal he invariably created quite a sensation when he was introduced knowing people declare that he will eventually possess all mr s large property for still thinks there is no young man like and takes the greatest delight in telling about the flag the young of cape ann popular and books for old and published by washington i and i ni hy i on s hooks each in a m in h or f young america abroad outward bound or afloat army and navy stories a library for young and old in six l tt ao vol thi boy or tom in the army t tho or hi the or the r of an army t n a m soldier boy tho yankee or tho of n lu m to the sailor boy or of a m l a m n ih to the young lieutenant old or k the yankee the ro ui tn the and may bo obtained in in or bu ht t stories uniform with library for people six mo m per vol humble or tho mission of in and out or the t of richard grant watch and or tho young work and win or on a hope and or funny among the haste waste or tho young of handsomely illustrated and complete in itself or in in boxes famous boat series library for young people handsomely six volumes in neat box per volume fl ia the boat club or the of all or life on the now or never or the adventures of bright try again ui the and of harry west poor and proud or the fortunes of by little or tho of tho p story books six volumes new by in neat box cloth per volume little young i i and lee story books companions to the above six volumes new by in neat b a cloth per ac christmas uncle bon party the party the gold the do the above two series are also published in twelve volumes under the stories they are divided for of both and or can be had twelve volumes in a neat box the way of the world by william t s magazine our boys and girls weekly fully illustrated per number cents per year lee and s play and study series for boys and girls by mrs four illustrated with little l neat box per volume the play and study jack the chimney s these two popular series are in entirely new style bound in rich fancy and pot up in neat box ned the or street scenes in boston by rev henry p m p old merry for young merry hearts boards little stones by may now six volumes mo handsomely illustrated in a neat box i er ft little little s sister little s little i s cousin grace little s story book little a patriotism at home or the young by l h author of with four illustrations original designs by one volume mo rosy diamond story books for girls a companion set to story books finely illustrated designs by and others six volumes bound in colored in neat box per volume the great rosy diamond or the fairy spectacles violet a fairy story or the little woman the children little blossom s story books for boys and girls finely illustrated designs by and others six volumes square in neat l ox worth not wealth life the charm waiter ton holidays at chestnut hill stories twelve volumes rev editor of the well spring illustrated mo bound in high colors and put np in neat box per volume uncle henry s stories dog stories stories for my teachers i lie s welcome to school aunt s stories mother s stories s stories the good scholar the reward of merit i same series is also divided into and stories of six y each orders should the number of volumes required shady stories six volumes by rev editor of the well illustrated mo hound in colors and put up in a neat box to match the stories i volume my teacher s the scholar s welcome going to school the good scholar the reward of merit stories six volumes by v editor of the well spring illustrated s iv und ill high colors and put up in a neat box per volume editor of the | 36 |
well spring illustrated s iv und ill high colors and put up in a neat box per volume uncle henry s stories dog stories stories for aunt s stories w stories s stories the pilot or to the family with numerous i mo nights t muslin with eight page illustrations the popular edition formerly by co amateur for parlor evening and school by m baker mo lee and s glimpses of history by george m boards the heavenly father lectures on modern by late professor of philosophy in the university of translated from the french by henry m a in a mo volume home life what it is and what it needs by j f w ware mo cloth red edges sides or young by e two volumes mo historical sketch of the old sixth regiment of during its three in and containing the history of the several companies previous to and tiie and military record of each man connected with the regiment during the war by john w illustrated by photographs mo hospital life in the army of the by william mo the irish ninth in and battle by m h late captain in the ninth illustrated mo doth sold by in trust or dr s household by miss one volume mo by miss author of in trust some of the thoughts of joseph with a notice by g h mo tinted paper cloth life of according to his original by mo in one volume small till and only copies printed the little a of by s in press the life and works of translated from the german of by e p d two volumes crown little brother and other stories by manual of the evidences of christianity for classes and private by rev o d d mo or prison by c a c late medical in the army ir th maps and cuts one volume mo of by rev j d of temple boston with portrait one volume l iso neighbors wives by j t i mo cloth m lee and s twice taken a tale of the british by charles w il a ten months in by captain john u talks on women s topics by june one out tops a thousand a year by mrs m one mo three years in the army of the by henry k mass one m thomas a tragedy and other poems h ft a view at the foundations or first causes of c by rev w m mo cloth the white mountain guide book by samuel c l why not a book for every woman by h b h d mo cloth paper s latin de do two two volumes de de two et per vol l io french written as pronounced a manual of french with the french written in characters by with additions by wm d one volume mo first lessons in reading a new method of teaching the reading of english by which the ear is to the sounds of words and the eye to tlie signs used for these sounds in the established by editor of s dictionary and william a editor of s v mo boards to the above in preparation designed to accompany the first lessons in reading od a new method and a to the same by richard und william a price of the series six on stiff l board any two thus mounted single not mounted these last be sent by mail to any address on receipt of tne price they will be found very convenient for upon the walls of the school room a manual of english and a of the language with a of the english and and designed as a work cf reference general use and as a text in schools by richard t a m and wm a a m a convenient manual for consultation u w book part first bv mo boards the and reader by j c boards lee and s a trip to the or western islands by i oe f mo ti s essays with by n press new edition this edition wiu contain a preface notes and index by f f heard esq of the boston bar it will be printed ib tlie very best style by messrs j son of cambridge and will be the finest edition ever published in this country the blade and the ear thoughts for a young man by a b mo red edges sides plain the college the market and the court or relation to education employment and by mrs gap or whether it paid a novel by virginia f towns nd one volume mo s american text book of letters with a r m of the by n j from march to november by adam f tj and by john mm three mo cloth the examination of the philosophy of sir william by john two volumes mo cloth vol the positive philosophy of by john mill one volume mo cloth elements of i containing an explanation of he principles cf the science and a of the terms employed an essay upon the of coat in the united states by william h vo cloth essays philosophical and by james tinted paper facts about as an article of fuel by t h mo first historical of christianity by a translated by e p of university mo first years in europe by g h author f scenes and thoughts in europe the etc vol mo fi the gold hunter s adventures or life in by w h a returned by the a yankee s adventures during ms visit to by w h author of the gold hunter s or lift in one vol handsomely c m his providence by rev w m u mi i a lee and s nights i mo illustrated the adventures of a german toy a charming lor by p with three library an attractive series for young | 36 |
which have preceded it the book contains an outline sketch of the history of each of the countries visited a brief statement of its principal features a description of its form of government and the note worthy peculiarities of its manners and customs as paris is france the greater portion of the time of the young was devoted to sight seeing in the gay capital though m con and were visited the tour in included several of the lakes sion the and none of these places are described only their peculiar features being mentioned so far as the work claims to be descriptive and historical the greatest care has been taken to secure entire accuracy the story of the of the a considerable portion of the volume and if it o preface in another form the but never worn out that the way of the is hard and the moral episode that it is to fight the devil with his own weapons it will only accomplish what the writer intended the first series of america abroad of which the present volume is the last but one has been received with a degree of favor so far beyond the author s expectations that he is encouraged to in his original purpose of including all the countries of europe in his plan though for the present it is more than ever incumbent upon him to acknowledge his sense of grateful obligation for the kindness of his young friends as well as of their parents and and the of the press for the generous welcome and the unexpected favor accorded to these volumes square mass november contents pa ob i whistling for a ii ii the burning steamer iii the rescued passengers landing the v the bag of gold vi the little villain vii cabin and viii something about the geography and institutions of france an of the history of france x the knights op the golden at work xi the capture of the xii a few hours in xiii the knights at sea palaces in paris contents chapter page xv rides and walks about paris xvi the of the xvii the at court xviii the way of the xix a visit to and xx a run through palace and cottage palace and cottage young america in france and chapter i whistling for a is lazy work said captain paul x o the to the vice principal as he paced the deck rather impatiently for a young man in his dignified position yes but it will be than this before it is any replied mr afraid we shall not see to morrow added the young commander probably not for if i am not mistaken in the indications we shall have a head wind before night well i would rather beat dead to all night than roll about in one of these stupid added the captain i hate so does every genuine salt water sailor but we have no influence with the clerk of the weather and we must take things as they come calm as well as storm palace and cottage or i suppose we must yawned captain as the began to shake for the want of a breeze to fill by tlie way captain don t you think it s rather for a commander to complain or at the weather i know it is but i never at anything but do you expect to up a breeze paul of course not the rule is to whistle for a breeze then follow the rule but i don t believe in it don t believe in whistling for a breeze exclaimed the vice principal laughing and with apparent astonishment i certainly do not replied paul though i remember being out with an ancient at who when the wind died out as we were going through a narrow place against the tide began to whistle as though the safety of his venerable depended upon the vigor of his didn t the wind come asked mr i believe it did after we had drifted back half a mile laughed paul exactly so the breeze came that is all i want to prove if you only whistle long enough tis sure to bring the wind but what has the whistling to do with it demanded paul i don t know i can t explain the process by which the wind is started i only know young america in france and that if you keep whistling a breeze is sure to come sooner or later i never knew it to fail added mr seriously shall i set the watch on deck to whistling sir asked paul if you please you command this vessel answered the vice principal gravely do ou really think sir that we can whistle up a breeze do you really think you can up a breeze no sir i do not pretend that i can i only mean to say that if you whistle long enough a breeze will come and it is a great deal better to spend the time in whistling than in grumbling i think i will not any more sir said paul accepting the good natured rebuke as kindly as it was given better whistle but sailors are mr old sailors before the mast have a constitutional right to but it does not become an officer replied the vice principal as he went back to the to attend to his classes which he had left for a few moments at recess paul was full of life and spirit he was impatient of delay and had the american anxiety ever to be going ahead even when he was in no hurry to reach his destination the breeze certainly did not come for his grumbling on the contrary it died out entirely and the rose and fell idly on the long her sails flapping and beating as if they too were growling at the to which the vessel | 36 |
on the main sheet port the port sir replied the petty officer in charge of the wheel that will do all added when z l palace and cottage or the and had been hauled as flat as the course these two sails caught the gentle breeze and the began to ripple slowly through the water slack the weather and haul on the continued the officer haul in the fore sheet a pull on the flying sheet the officers at their stations repeated the orders each to the hands in his charge as it related to his duty all called when the sails indicated were flat enough to draw so much for whistling said paul for the breeze seemed to bring a new vitality to his frame i am glad you acknowledge the of the means captain i am willing to grant that it is better to whistle than to especially when the fellows whistle as well as ours do but i am afraid you have the matter added the vice principal as a smart flaw suddenly the vessel till the water up through her holes i hope not replied paul the night js clear these west winds are very unsteady and you may have whistled up more wind than we want we can take care of it if we have laughed paul the is good against almost any south west flaw er she gets her bearings i don t see any signs of bad weather sir added paul more anxiously young america in france and no i don t think we shall see any very heavy weather to night but it may blow pretty hard before morning replied mr the wind very rapidly and the whistling appeared to have done its perfect work as the suggested the of the breeze appeared to have been for it was soon necessary to take in the gallant sail and a little later the main for the almost buried herself in the thus relieved she sped through the water at the rate of ten knots an hour then to avoid running away from the young america whose best point in sailing was not upon the wind it became necessary to lower the and take in the under this easy sail she went along very comfortably at ten o clock paul went below and turned in having a good conscience and no immediate hope of seeing miss grace he dropped asleep without any needless delay at eight bells or midnight the watch was relieved and the first lieutenant reported to the captain that the young america was three miles ahead direct mr to set the said he turning over and going to sleep again for were so frequent that they hardly disturbed him the wind was still fresh and and under the additional sail the often over until one to such might have found a good excuse for rolling out of the berth on the floor of course captain paul was too dignified to do such an absurd thing and the uneasy palace and cottage or motion of the as she rolled and pitched head to the sea did not even awake him from his peaceful at six bells in the morning there was a lively excitement among the quarter watch in charge of tjie vessel the second lieutenant and the second master who had the deck held a consultation together while the hands on duty climbed upon the and gazed eagerly at the object which had attracted their attention it was a bright light to the north west of the vessel which had just up with startling brilliancy what is it asked anxiously i don t know would you report it tp the captain replied i should do so if i were in your place i think it must be a vessel on fire i can t think of anything else which would make such a light you may inform the captain if you please added as he raised his spy glass to examine more carefully the bright light went down into the cabin and knocked at the door of the captain s state room come in replied paul and entered we have just discovered a bright light bearing north west and mr directed me to report to you sir said what is it i don t know sir but i think it is a vessel on fire paul jumped out of his berth where is the ship he asked young america in france and she is about two miles to the of us we have been beating hei two to one for the last three hours i will be on deck in a moment replied paul as he began very hastily to dress himself shall we change her course no but call the first part of the port watch went on deck where paul soon appeared how long since you discovered the light mr he asked of the officer of the deck only a minute or two before i reported to you put her head for the light stand by sheets and called the second lieutenant ah ready sir ease off the fore and main sheets let out the sheet continued the officer of the deck set the sail added the captain after he had examined the light which was at least ten miles distant having the wind free now the began to tear through the water at a rate highly creditable to her reputation as a fast the fore was shaken out home and hoisted up but even then paul was not satisfied and ordered the fore sail and main to be set he felt that he was justified in crowding on all her would bear and even in the lighter ones for a fire at sea is one of the most terrible of at that moment scores of men women and children might be struggling for life with the rude waves and the existence of a score who could endure | 36 |
for another palace and cottage or hour might depend the brief moments he should gain by pressing the vessel for half an hour the sped furiously on her errand of mercy the young america had also crowded on all sail and was bearing down upon the burning vessel the her in speed under her heavy press of canvas hardly ten minutes had elapsed since the light was discovered and from a little flame no bigger than a man s hand it had now become a broad sheet of glaring fire the waters were illuminated for miles around and the scene terrible as it was had an element of which filled the ship s company with awe in half an hour the had approached near enough to enable the young commander to make out the burning vessel she was a large steamer her was still standing and from it poured forth a dense volume of smoke and flame a closer scrutiny assured him that her wheels were still working the fire had apparently broken out near the stern and her head had been turned up to the wind so the flames could be confined to that part of the vessel it was evident that she was in the hands of a brave and skilful man who was doing all that human arm could for the preservation of her passengers there will be a terrible loss of life i fear said with a shudder to the first lieutenant i saw a small vessel near her just now replied so did i but she cannot do much she is only a fishing boat where is mr asked paul who had been so little accustomed to rely upon others young america in france and that it had not yet ed to him he had a superior on board he has not been on deck replied i suppose he does not know anything about it keep her steady as she is added paul as he hastened below to the apartment of the professors where he knocked at the door who s there called mr captain sir replied paul i wish to see you sir i will be out in a moment the captain sat down in the cabin to await the appearance of the vice principal who soon opened the door of his room what s the matter paul demanded mr assured by this summons that some unusual event had occurred there s a steamer on fire within three miles of us replied paul on fire exclaimed mr startled by the intelligence for his long experience at sea enabled him fully to appreciate the nature of the calamity yes sir i was called more than half an hour why didn t you call me i was so busy sir that i did not think of you replied paul honestly but i have done everything i could and i hope i have done it right no doubt you have do you make out the steamer inquired the vice principal as he hurried on the rest of his clothing she is a large steamer and seems to be very well palace and cottage or handled the fire is aft and they keep her head up to the wind is there any other vessel at hand the young america is a couple of miles of us and i made out a small fishing boat near the burning vessel what s the matter demanded professor a steamer replied mr as he hastened to the deck with paul i have crowded on all sail and we were making twelve knots just now sir said the captain can i do anything more nothing more can be done till we come up with the burning vessel replied the vice principal as he anxiously surveyed the exciting scene a gun now broke upon the ears of the appalled and it was followed at intervals by others and its dull heavy sound seemed to be in harmony with the catastrophe it proclaimed to all within hearing miles away on the fire lighted ocean were other vessels hastening to the scene of peril guided by the noble instinct of the seaman who no danger in the service of the suffering and dying upon his chosen element only a mile of white glaring with the reflection of the lay between the and the burning steamer and still the gallant leaped fiercely over or impatiently cut her way through the angry waves towards the of peril in the angry waters without the aid of the glass could now be seen men and women clinging to various objects for support shrieks and groans young america in france and could be heard above the dashing waves and the crew of the were by the scene which a closer inspection revealed paul felt that his blood was almost frozen in his veins and he prayed that god would spare the poor wretches who were struggling with the fire and the waters before him though the almost flew on her course her pace was all too for him he was impatient i to have the work of mercy begin call all hands mr said he pipe to muster and see that the boats are ready for duty with officers detailed for each all hands on deck the who had been expecting the order for some time strange as it may seem nearly the whole of the watch were asleep below the forbade any one on duty to go below without permission and the startling news of the hour had not been communicated to the even the officer of the watch below had not been disturbed there had been no unusual noise on deck the of or setting sail with whatever of feet and rattling ropes on the deck attended them had become too familiar to rouse the there was many a cry of terror and many a shout of astonishment when the watch tumbled up the and discovered the appalling | 36 |
display the crew were to muster and every one took his station ready to do his duty to the in the water and on the burning paul in the tones he could command addressed a few stirring words to the ship s company them to palace and cottage or obey orders promptly and strictly and to expose themselves to the perils of tlie fire or the water there is a high sea running and the service upon which you go is dangerous he added you have distinguished yourselves before by brave and noble conduct and i hope you will do it again remember that the honor of your ship is in your keeping be firm and steady but don t be rash clear away the boats mr one another all the boats were called away and the four officers who had been detailed to go with them took their stations near the to the preparations for lowering the and carpenter the boats and and reported to the first lieutenant that they were ready for use the flames were now making fearful progress upon the devoted steamer her smoke suddenly went by the board and her wheels ceased to turn two boats which had been the on one side could not be reached on account of the fires when her was stopped she came about and the fire made quick work of her then the passengers and crew dropped into the water and the waves were alive with them as the came up into the w to lower her boats the and the three were lowered one after another into tlie water and the gallant young pulled for the scene of danger young america in france and chapter ii thb burning steamer during the stay of the academy at two twelve oar boats had been added to the former of the young america though the four boats with which she crossed the ocean would accommodate all hands on an emergency several considerations induced the principal to increase the number a collision or any other calamity at sea which would render it necessary to resort to the boats destroy or carry away one or more of them but independent of the perils of the sea exercise at the oars was good for the students and in some instances the could ascend rivers or visit points where the depth of water did not permit the passage of the ship more conveniently in the boats than by public the two had been built in liverpool to the order of mr they were light for their size but very strong and were provided with air which made them life boats after the ship was clear of the of holland the first business of the officers was to re arrange the boats in order to test the of new details and to prepare for any emergency an hour had been taken from the palace and cottage or studies during the calm and devoted to practice at the oars unlike the other boats these were double that is the two hands who pulled opposite oars sat on the same an arrangement admitted by their greater width the addition of these two required that the boats should receive new names thus far the had been merely an ornamental personage he had occasionally been called the but his position was one of honor rather than usefulness in order to add to the glory of his office one of the new boats was appropriated to his use and the s he was to go on shore or visit other vessels in state and a twelve oar was necessary to support his dignity the other of the new boats was called the first the captain s remained the same as before the professors was the second and the two four oar boats were the third and fourth the order of the knights of the golden was still in active existence on board of the ship it was a rebellious band whose only object was to do a big thing in the way of mischief its affairs with the experience of several failures and were singularly well managed all the clap trap of signs and other machinery had been abandoned as dangerous and no member was permitted to speak of the affairs of the order in the ence of those who did not belong to it and were the in the enterprise they had already planned a e from to which would occupy about ten days during young america in france and which period the knights were promised the best time that ever was known or could even be imagined the members of the order had not much confidence in their leaders was a and had always contrived to be in trouble half his time they could not depend upon his management for however and bold he was he had no talent for mischief he was clumsy in his plans was positively stupid and did not pretend to do anything more than follow the lead of others was relied upon as a but he was not the fellow they needed for such a tremendous operation as the capture of the in the face of all the difficulties which surrounded it those who had been members of the old chain league which had boldly the capture of the ship herself during her passage across the atlantic sighed for such a leader as or but both of these now seemed to be beyond their reach the former was one of the ch s and the latter was second master of the almost every member of the order thought he could manage its affairs better than any other one and this is very apt to be the case in such they deferred to such as and but not to each other however and had the affair in their own hands and it was not easy to the power from their grasp without breaking up | 36 |
control them for he had an influence which none of the present members of the order possessed he was a genius did not condescend to explain to his the means by which he expected to induce such an important personage as to join the order he only talked mysteriously of certain resources he had which would accomplish the purpose without any danger of exposure he had a hearty contempt for what he called the pretensions of the though in fact they made no pretensions at all he did not understand or appreciate simple goodness he was f that class who believe that if a person the church or otherwise to be a good man he does it from some sinister motive palace and cottage or he could not see how goodness was its own reward and how religion its followers by its very possession if he could offer sufficient to or even to the most upright of the officers he was confident he would sell out to the powers of evil without a blush a boy has reached a very dangerous state of mind when he can cherish a feeling of contempt for good people and for goodness itself it is one of the worst phases of boy character what is that light demanded little suddenly as the fire of the burning steamer flashed across the waters it s a vessel on fire i on deck he shouted in the replied one of the crew vessel on fire on the lee bow added little so sharp and prompt that he did not afford his companion in the top an opportunity to say a word the intelligence was communicated to the officer of the deck who after examining the light sent the on duty to report to captain haven when the commander of the ship came on deck he ordered her to be headed for the burning vessel mr was of the fact all sail was crowded on and the ship flew through the water only less rapidly than the which however was neat er to the steamer when the alarm was given the principal approved of all that had been done when he came on deck and manifested the interest in the fate of the unfortunate people on board the burning vessel for an hour the young america continued on her young america in france and course all hands had been called the boats away and the officers detailed to command as she approached the scene of the disaster the courses were hauled up the main backed and the ship was to one after another the boats were lowered with the on board of them was of the s in which also little pulled the stroke oar it was in command of mr the second lieutenant who was a better scholar than officer the s boats had for some time been engaged in the humane labor of the of the burning steamer but there was still more labor of the same kind to be performed the devoted vessel was now completely wrapped in flames and there was no longer standing room for a single person on her decks all her passengers and crew had taken to the waves for safety the ship to on the weather side of the wreck while the had gone to the of it the fishing vessel for such it proved to be was about picking up here and there a person no other craft was near enough to render any assistance though the light of the fire revealed several in the distance which were bearing down upon the wreck the ten boats of the therefore were with the exception of the fishing the only ones engaged in the benevolent labor the s pulled directly for th wreck the cheered on and in their work bv the voice of they pulled a splendid stroke and were kept well in hand by their skilful palace and cottage op mr stood up in the stem sheets as well as ne could in the high sea which was running on the for persons in the water they could hear shouts and cries coming up from the angry steady as she is said the officer of tlie boat there is a man on a ahead of us steady repeated way enough added the officer as the approached the unfortunate person in bows stand by to help the man said and the two placed themselves in the fore sheets you are running wide of him back water continued as he saw that tlie boat would shoot ahead of its object stood up in his place and examined the situation of the sufferer the was darting past him the oars were just over his head and to back water at that moment would be to knock the man from his support bank toss oars shouted the sharply port oars back water steady but strong the effect of this was to swing the round so that her stern came up to the to which the man in tke water was clinging save me gasped the drowning man over whom the waters occasionally swept with all their fury and he was almost exhausted stand by here and help pull him in said to the little was one of the first to obey this order he young america in france and sprang to the and seized the man by one arm while had the other at that instant the heavily and instead of pulling ihe sufferer in little was thrown out the let go in season to save himself a gust of wind carried the boat aw ay the instant the hold upon the man was released let fall bank shouted promptly back on the pull on the port oars this action turned the so that her head came round to the to which little was clinging as the bow up to him he seized it and leaped into the fore | 36 |
sheets before any one could render him any assistance at the same time a huge tossed the boat forward so that it struck heavily against the the fainting dying sufferer had not strength enough left to resist the shock he lost his grasp upon the slippery timber and sank down into the stormy waves never again to rise where is the man called to little who had sat down upon the grating in the fore sheets i don t know i had enough to do to take care of myself replied little puffing with the exertion to which he had been subjected he was there a minute ago little glanced behind him into the water and gave something like a shudder perhaps both the cold and the fate of his late companion on the were enough to make him shudder he is gone said coming forward and glancing at the as it rolled on the waves he was nearly dead when we reached him give way palace and cottage or again there are others who need our help more than he does poor man stern all shouted and his tones were rather unsteady for he was thinking of the unfortunate person who had just disappeared beneath the waves hold water give way he added when the was clear of the log these movements did not take place in the quiet of a room on shore but upon the bosom of the heaving ocean the sea itself and roared the oars made much noise and the officers shouted their orders in the tones so as to be heard above the din the scene was intensely exciting and those in the could neither see nor hear what on the a moment before the unfortunate man went down little himself did not know in precisely what manner he had been thrown out of the boat being short in stature he had reached down so far that only his legs remained in the boat the sufferer had grasped his arm with the of a drowning man and it was no of the lad that he could not recover his balance when the boat he clung to the as he went over indeed with anything at hand capable of floating a boy it would have been quite impossible to drown him for however his support rolled over he was enough to keep on the right side of it save me whispered the exhausted sufferer as he saw the borne away from him hold on tight and you are safe replied little get hold of the boat when it comes up again young america in france and i can t groaned the man in broken english i have the gold in one hand the gold give it to me and i will throw it into the boat as it comes up the wretch clung to his money even while he seemed to have but a moment s lease of life he had one arm over the and with that hand clutched a bag of gold which he had brought with him from the burning vessel had seized his arm but instead of making an effort to assist in saving himself the man had clung to the gold in clinging to that his arm encircled the so that the could not lift him out of the water as he would have done if the object of his labors had not been thus the sufferer gave the bag of gold to little who had placed himself of the just as the came up dropping the treasure upon the bow grating he leaped into the boat much exhausted by the labor and excitement through which he had passed at the same time the came forward again but little was sitting on the bag of gold when the struck the the latter rolled over deprived of his support the poor man had no power to make another effort and went down little remained in the bow getting his wind again as the boat went on her way in search of others who needed assistance the bag was heavy and it had cost him no little effort to save it we must do him the justice to say that he had no evil intentions either in regard to the man or the treasure he had done his best to save both and his shudder was occasioned by the thought that a human being had at that instant palace and cottage or gone from life to eternity tlie wretch had his life for his gold the gold had been saved but the life had been lost are you hurt little called the officer in charge to him no sir i am only tired out but he had recovered his breath and was shivering with cold he had regained his strength and he felt that the exercise at the oar would do him good he was about to rise and go aft to take his place when he thought of the bag at such a time and in the midst of such a scene the gold for which men sell their souls seemed to be of little value what should he do with it it was no time to talk about it then he dropped the heavy bag in the pocket of his it weighed eight or nine pounds and he was obliged to hold up the side of his coat with one hand as he crept between the to his seat stood up on the stern sheets looking all around in search of those who needed help though the ocean was lighted up by the flames of the burning steamer it was not easy to find them for the boat sank down into the of each succeeding and they could only be discovered as they were lifted on the of the waves i see one shouted he furiously where away asked standing up in his place broad on the port bow | 36 |
he has sunk down into the of the sea now be more careful this time don t run into him obey my orders as i give them replied sharply young america in france and help help came in the tones of a female from the direction the officer had indicated it s a woman exclaimed don t run into her then repeated way enough hold water added you are not within five rods of her yet give way again and steer a little wide of her take the lines mr continued i will go forward myself and use the boat hook went forward the officer making no objection thinking perhaps that he was more likely to make a mistake than the way enough hold water i cried when the which he had wide of the object was coming up alongside of the woman he intended when abreast of her to pull the port oars so as to throw the boat up without the danger of the woman with the bow for he believed that the man had been lost in this manner but he was too late the bow of the struck a long to which the person was clinging at least ten feet from her repeating the very thing which the had done the of the boat slid upwards on the lifting the bow so that the water poured in over the stern was quick and striking the point of the boat hook into the stick he pushed the clear of it but the mischief had been done the threw the woman from the and she was struggling in the waves while the boat was receding from her the sight filled the gallant with dismay it seemed as though another life was about to be palace and cottage or to the of the boat kicking off his shoes and throwing off his jacket and coat he leaped into the tide as he saw the struggling female rise shrieking upon the crest of a wave not twenty feet from him but apparently in the act of sinking beneath the waters it was rash but it was noble young america in france and chapter iii the rescued passengers by the time the young america reached the scene of disaster the boats of the had returned to the loaded with persons from the burning steamer who had taken to the water to escape the fire captain gave them a hearty welcome and used every effort to make them comfortable the boats were sent away a second time just as the ship came up to take part in the humane work the steamer was from london bound for all the passengers knew of the fire was that an explosion had taken place in the hold which was immediately followed by the bursting out of the flames so fiercely as to defy all efforts to subdue them the s four boats again pulled towards the steamer separating as they left the vessel so as to give to each a wider field of labor some of the passengers were floating on life or clinging to barrels doors and other articles which had been thrown overboard to sustain them it was painfully evident that many of them had gone down never to rise again and in spite of the excitement of the occasion to the young there was a terrible sadness about it which they could not escape palace and cottage or it was awful to feel that they were in the midst of the harvest of death and that many were sinking to their last sleep in spite of all their exertions to save them in the pulled close up to the ill fated steamer whose decks were now in a light blaze from stem to stern no person could be seen on any part of the wreck and indeed it would have been impossible for a person to live there a single instant but several were clinging to the and other available portions of the they were taken into the which soon had as many as she could safely carry in the heavy sea pull for the said to his when he had taken in the last person he could find on the wreck help help came up from the uneasy ahead of them steady way enough i shouted the active as he sprang into the bow of the for unlike in the he placed himself where he could see the person he was to save and of the two boat loads he had picked up he had drawn in nearly every one with his own hands assisted by the stout way enough repeated the hold water i called steady now one stroke ahead thus carefully he avoided running into the objects of his exertions or striking with the bow of the boat the to which they were clinging there was no in the as in the s young america in france and where poor had been driven to desperation by the of his officer help gasped a man in the water who was holding on to a plank and supporting a woman stand by here said as he grasped the arm of the helpless woman give me a hand at it interposed a stout man who had just been taken in from the of the steamer the poor woman was quickly hauled into the she was completely exhausted and utterly unable to help herself her companion was then taken in and ordered the to give way again for the my daughter my daughter exclaimed the man who had just been saved as he gazed eagerly around him on the fire lighted waves where is she asked i do not know she cannot be far from this spot mr ejaculated the stout man who had aided in the rescue of the man and woman o captain i have lost my daughter groaned the unfortunate gentleman is this mr of asked yes save | 36 |
pocket of his jacket he tenderly wiped the water from her face and smoothed back the long hair from her brow she was not unconscious but her strength was exhausted by the fearful struggle through which she had passed she shivered with the cold and the wrapped her up in his jacket placing her in a posture in the bottom of the boat having done this kindness to the poor girl he went aft and took his place at the ropes palace and cottage or is she dead asked no she will do very well i think replied his teeth chattering with the cold it was very rash for you to do what you did added the officer of the boat the girl would have been drowned if i had not done it she was the second person we had knocked off a by our and i was ashamed of it you did not obey my orders answered i intended to do my duty so did i replied rather sharply there might have been a dispute if another sufferer had not been discovered at that moment he was picked up and proved to be a of the steamer who had clung to a tub for support this was the last person saved by the and when the signal appeared the boats returned to the ship not a moment too soon for the wind was now blowing a gale and it was with the greatest difficulty that the boats were hoisted up to the those from the ship had saved only twelve persons while those from the had brought in nearly sixty the young lady rescued by the was borne to the main cabin where a good fire had been made in the stove in anticipation of the sufferings of the dr the surgeon immediately attended to her case and she was made as comfortable as the resources of the ship would permit where are my father and mother asked she as soon as she was carried into the cabin i hope they are saved replied the doctor tenderly young america in france and we were separated by a great wave and i am afraid they are lost she added with a wail of agony hope for the best have i not seen you before inquired dr as he gazed earnestly into the face of the patient yes i am miss but my father and mother i have no doubt they are saved where are they they are not on board of this ship certainly replied the doctor much embarrassed by the grief and terror of the poor girl it was the fair grace whom had rescued from certain death but it is not surprising that her had not at first recognized her so changed was her appearance under the pressure of this terrible calamity she did not seem to realize tliat she was in the company of friends she looked bewildered and hardly noticed anything around her my my mother was her oft repeated cry do not despair miss grace said the kind doctor i f el almost certain that your father and mother were saved i fear they are lost poor mother the is close by the ship and they may be on board of her added the doctor can t you ascertain o find them if you can pleaded the poor girl the wind is blowing a gale now and the boats were only recalled to keep them from being palace and cottage or answered dr it would be impossible to send a boat to the now where is captain asked she perhaps with a feeling that so devoted a friend could aid her in this extremity he is still in the she was nearer to the steamer when the fire was discovered and sailing faster than the ship had her boats out half an hour before us i feel confident that your parents were saved either by her or by the fishing vessel o if i only knew it how happy i should be cried grace clasping her hands a state room was prepared for the forlorn girl and the doctor insisted that she should remove her wet clothing and go to bed she cared not for herself and it required a great deal of persuasion to induce her to do so the doctor buried her in blankets after she had retired and physically she was soon made comfortable but for her suspense in regard to her father and mother there was no present remedy the day dawned cold and stormy upon the little still lying to near the scene of disaster other vessels had come up but the work was all done and they went on their way the steamer had burned to tlie water s edge and in the heavy sea had gone down the little fishing vessel was still rolling and on the angry waves but as soon as it was light enough to see a signal of distress was discovered at her mast head under and courses with all hands at their stations the ship wore round and stood for the vessel peaks the young america in france and who had a voice like a bull was sent into the weather main to hail her as the young america passed to stand by and sheets shouted the first lieutenant as the ship approached the all ready to up the courses all ready sir reported officers let go and sheets up shouted peaks through a speaking trumpet on board the ship came hoarsely back the matter i have more than i can carry responded the of the as the young america swept on out of hearing that s bad said mr anxiously as he glanced at the raging sea which was rapidly increasing in fury she is very much sir added the and she will lose some of her people overboard in this gale it will blow heavier before it is over and what | 36 |
we do must be done quickly continued the principal i think the will make tolerably good weather of it sir who is of the sir pass the for the of the s touched his cap to the principal who simply made some inquiries in regard to his b af s crew palace and cottage or send the to the relief of the said mr to the captain the order was given in due form through the first lieutenant and the s crew were away at once taking their places in the boat at the mr made some complaint against for not obeying his orders added captain haven to the principal i heard s story and i am satisfied though he did not say so that was replied mr all the space in the boat will be required for the passengers and no other officer than the need be sent the ship wore round again and to under the lee of the taking advantage of a favorable moment the was dropped into the water and the twelve gave way with a will the oars bent under vigorous strokes and when the boat came up under the lee of the she was half full of water handled the and the crew had so much confidence in him that all orders were promptly obeyed the boat was quickly out by the boys who used their caps for the purpose in the absence of a sufficient number of tin dishes a rope from the had been made fast to the fore of the which was swayed round under the main boom of the vessel twelve men most of them from the steamer dropped from this assisted by the foot rope into the boat the declared that he could away the rest of his passengers and the was cast young america in france and are you all boys asked one of the passengers who sat near the yes sir we belong to the academy ship young america replied i saw her at i was the mate of the steamer we can relieve your crew at the oars if you like this is no boys play added the man wiping the spray from his face we are used to it if you will let two or three of your men out the boat i will be obliged to you said as a sea broke over the quarter and left the water six inches deep the bottom of the the mate complied and the men kept her tolerably free of water during the rest of the passage the boat came up under the lee of the ship and the twelve men were hoisted on deck in the falls were on to the and she was hauled up with the crew still in her was congratulated by the principal and the first lieutenant upon the able manner in which he had discharged his difficult task and the mate was warm in his praise of the good conduct of the crew of the s are there any ladies on board of that fishing vessel asked the doctor when the mate was invited to the main cabin half a dozen of them sir replied he do you know mrs i do sir but she is not on board of the the doctor shook his head one of the chances of the safety of grace s parents was gone they might e on board of the but there was no op and cottage or to communicate with her while the gale lasted do you know anything in regard to the fate of mr or mrs inquired dr i do not i left them on board the steamer replied the man did you indeed said the doctor rather sharply it was not my fault that i left before the passengers interposed the mate tell you how it was the before we had given up all hope of putting out the fire attempted to escape in one of the boats tl y stove it in the heavy sea they then attempted to lower another and the captain sent me to drive them back i leaped into the boat among the and had kicked one of them out when the beggars let go the falls and down we went the boat was and clinging to it bottom up we were carried away from the ship by the waves so you see it was not my fault that i left so soon i see it was not one of the men who was brought to the after i was says he saw the captain a and letting mr and his wife down upon it had you only two boats we had four but the other two were hauled in board and the fire finished them before we could get them out it was the night i ever saw i hope i never shall see the like again how many passengers were saved by the inquired mr who had just entered the cabin about thirty i should say young in france and how many persons had you on board of the steamer i don t exactly know there were two belonging to the ship and i think we had r many as eighty passengers one hundred and twenty two persons added the principal with a heavy sigh and only about forty of them accounted for i don t know how many the has saved p do you mean the asked the mate i do the of this ship well sir she had out four boats and her people worked hard she has picked up a great many of them i am glad to hear it where is the ship bound sir inquired the mate to but i will make a port as soon as possible and land these unfortunate people replied the principal you can make easiest sir but it is a dangerous harbor to enter without a pilot i know the way in sir | 36 |
his soul and the movements of his arm indicated the of his spirits three rousing cheers came from tlie crew of the for those who had heard paul describe the signal which would indicate that grace was saved had communicated it to the others and when it was made all of them understood it miss grace had been on board the so much that she was a universal favorite and not only the young commander but all the ship s company were deeply interested in her fate paul waited in the only long enough to see mr rush down the companion way and he was satisfied with the joy he had to those anxious hearts dr had also hastened below to his patient with the tidings of her parents safety in anticipation of his visit to the ship paul had required the acting of the to make out a list of all the passengers saved by that vessel he gave the paper on which the names were written to mr who handed it to the directing him to read it to the unfortunate passengers captain reported in full t h the principal and was warmly commended for the conduct of himself and his crew during the exciting scenes of the morning the was immediately sent back to the with a list of the passengers saved by the ship to some these lists carried joy to others woe and bitterness of spirit though no complete report of those on board of the had yet been received some names had been reported on board of young america in france and the ship by the sailors brought off in the and these were added to the list sent to the mr had the second intending to go on shore and give information of the disaster which would be immediately to london and to induce the authorities to send a steamer to the assistance of the fishing as soon as he had gone paul was invited to the main cabin by dr o captain exclaimed grace as he entered i am so glad to see you lam just as glad to see you said paul taking her offered hand she was wrapped up in a great coat belonging to the doctor and paul was so light hearted in view of her safety that he could not help laughing and now for the first time since she had been brought on board she thought what a singular figure she presented to the tidy young her father and mother were safe and she could now think of herself she blushed as she glanced at the great shaggy coat which enveloped her delicate frame your father and mother have suffered most terribly in their anxiety about you added paul as he pressed the fair hand he held pressed it as he had never dared to do before o how anxious i have been for them she replied smiling may i not see them very soon miss grace i hope your mother is exceedingly nervous but i trust the good news will make her better she will be well now i know what a terrible night it was and or it must have been awful to you in the midst of the fire and the waters shall never forget it as long as i live and i shall thank my heavenly father every day that he saved us all but how happened you to be on board of this steamer asked paul who knew that first class passengers seldom went to by this conveyance my father was acquainted with captain poor man i wonder whether he was saved he is on board of the i am very glad for no man could have been more kind to us than he was he invited us to go with him and as my mother wanted to see something of holland we accepted the invitation i really think that what you wrote in your letters about holland made my mother desire to see something of the country we were going to and and then to and up the expecting to be in paris in about ten days but i suppose that plan is all spoiled now for we have lost our baggage though we have more clothing at our friends near london how thankful we ought to be that our lives were spared and how strange it was that you should be sailing so near us when the fire broke out i hope you will still go to paris said paul i don t know that my mother will dare to go upon the water again you can cross the straits of in less than two hours and you can choose a pleasant day for the passage i really hope we shall see you in paris young america in france and perhaps you will but you don t ask me captain how i was saved do you know that i came very near being lost i think all did but i came nearer to it than others i believe it was awful captain i am ready to believe that for i saw enough of it to convince me though i did not go out in the boats to pick up the captain and father made a for us after all the boats were lost but the waves broke it up and i was carried away from father and mother i clung to a log of wood every instant expecting to be thrown off and drowned how i prayed to god for help i then i saw a boat coming towards me and i screamed as loud as i could the boat came up but it ran against the log and shook me off the cold heavy waters swept over me and i gave myself up for lost my senses seemed to leave me but i was conscious of struggling with all my might against the waves then some one | 36 |
caught hold of me and i was t ken into the boat i did not know how i had been saved till dr told me but one of these brave fellows jumped overboard and held me up or i should certainly have gone down who was he asked paul warmly interested in this narrative mr he leaped into the water at the peril of his own life and saved me o captain you cannot tell how grateful i am to him i exclaimed grace with the utmost enthusiasm s palace and cottage or yes and do you know when i was told some one had jumped into the sea after me i thought it must have been you paul wished it had been he but was very grateful to for the noble service he had rendered you must excuse me now miss i must go on board and attend to my duties interposed paul thinking his must have returned from the by this time may i not go with him asked grace appealing to the doctor who had been an interested listener to the conversation i want to see my father and mother do you feel able to go i never felt better in my life i am quite well now then you may go all the clothing she had worn when rescued from the water had been dried and though she was hardly in condition to go into a drawing room her garments with the addition of the surgeon s great coat were sufficient to keep her comfortable the stairs had by this time been so that the female passengers could get into the boats without difficulty and grace was handed into the by her devoted friend the pulled to the and when the ship s company discovered that miss was a passenger they her she was assisted on board and immediately conducted to the cabin by the captain under the exciting news of the safety of her daughter mrs had for the first time left young america in france and j her berth as grace entered the cabin she clasped her to her heart and mother and daughter wept in each other s embrace each had a story to tell of the experience of the dreadful occasion and all devoutly thanked him who over the stormy sea for the lives which had been saved at the custom house on shore mr reported the calamity and handed in a list of the names a steamer was immediately despatched to the aid of the and preparations made for the reception of those on board the the whole town was soon informed of the disaster and the benevolent inhabitants threw open doors for the as soon as the principal returned all the boats of the ship and her were lowered and conveyed the passengers to the shore with the exception of the who had decided to remain in the for the present they were landed in a sort of procession by the boats and never were sailors of their achievements on the main than were the young of the academy they were regarded with wonder and astonishment by the crowds of people who had gathered on the wharf to witness the of the the order and discipline of the boats the tidy and trim appearance of the officers were warmly praised they were with many a cheer and kindly invited to the houses of the people but the order had been given that no one should leave the boats every possible kindness and care was bestowed by the people upon the unfortunate passengers and mr palace and cottage or was satisfied that he had committed them to worthy hands but the students were not satisfied with what they had done many of the poor people had lost all they had in the world by the catastrophe and had not even clothes enough to keep them comfortable the good of were already collecting money and clothing to supply their needs and the boys when they heard of this movement were anxious to take part in it by the law of god the more we do for our fellow beings the more we love them and desire to serve them it was promptly that the five hundred and four or about pounds sterling the balance of the fund raised for the benefit of captain after the wreck of the should be devoted to the wants of the the principal was very happy to encourage this benevolent spirit in his pupils and adding ten pounds to the amount sent a committee consisting of flag officer the two captains and the of the fund on shore in the s to tender the money to the chief officer of the customs who was foremost in the good work by this time the gale which w as from the southward had subsided the clouds had rolled away and the sun came out as if to smile upon the generous deeds of that day the with the american flag at the stern and the flag officer s at the bow pulled from the ship to the and then to the shore the officers the committee were dressed in their best and when they landed they produced a decided sensation they young america in france and walked up to the custom house and discharged their duty with becoming and dignity making an impression which was in the highest degree flattering to the young gentlemen just at sunset the fishing by the steamer sent out after her entered the harbor the and the first of the ship were sent to land her passengers again friends found friends among the last company of the and alas others found them not for many were in the deep bosom of the ocean buried the whole truth was known now ninety two had been saved and about thirty had been lost the mission which had brought the into the port | 36 |
of was accomplished and before it was fairly dark the ship and her were standing out of the harbor under all sail the usual routine on board the vessels was restored the sickening details of death and disaster had become in a measure familiar to the students and it almost seemed as if nothing had happened though all were conscious of possessing an increased experience of the perils and of human life in the cabin of the all was not as it had been before for the occupied the state room of the professors they had to a great degree recovered from the effects of the disaster and were quite cheerful at mr had to his friend near london directing him to forward all their clothing to where its arrival would free them from the imprisonment to which they were doomed for the present palace and cottage or while at anchor in harbor boats had been constantly passing between the ship and her and at the request of mrs had visited her in th cabin of the she expressed her gratitude to him with enthusiasm in which her husband and daughter heartily joined i wonder that you dared to leap into the water in the dark and in the heavy sea said grace i feel almost as much at home in the water as i do on the land replied delighted with the generous warmth of the fair grace the fire made light enough to enable me to see you did you know it was i who fell from the log or whatever it was how should i my father and mother were picked up near the steamer but i did not see them they were taken up by one of the s boats and you know on board of the ship we were not even aware that they had been saved fm sure i shall always remember you added grace i dare say if i had known it was you who had fallen from the i should have been all the more willing to go in after you said thanks you are very kind laughed grace paul who was present thought so too and again wished that he had himself been favored with the blessed opportunity vouchsafed to the of the s young america in france and i only tried to do my duty continued in your case it was the second time that our boat had run into a and knocked a person from his support i was vexed and desperate and i was determined not to let another be sacrificed to the clumsy handling of the boat whose fault was it asked paul i don t know that it was any one s fault not see the to which the persons were clinging we all did the best we knew how but mistakes will happen who was the officer of the asked the captain mr the second lieutenant paul asked no more questions for this answer seemed to explain the whole matter turned to leave and again grace and her parents expressed their obligations to him paul could not find any fault with the fair girl when she extended her hand at parting to the gallant and said several very pretty things to him but he had a faint suspicion that she was slightly the matter it was certainly quite unnecessary that she should give him her hand more than once a favor which she did not extend to him except upon extraordinary occasions and it was equally needless for to say that he should have been all the more willing to jump into the sea if he had known grace was the person in peril but these were only flashes of thought which the captain as soon as he was conscious of their existence that night after the ship was in the and palace and cottage or had laid her course for the straits of was not a little surprised at being summoned to the main cabin into the presence of the principal of course the students while not employed had talked of little except the burning of the steamer since the tragic event occurred every incident and every detail of the rescue of the passengers had been thoroughly discussed and nothing had been so much talked about as the conduct of in charge of the especially in comparison with that of its the lieutenant s action had been freely and some of these remarks had been in the excitement to the ears of the subject of them though in the main a very good fellow was not above the weakness of human infirmity though it did not appear that had made any direct charge against him he suspected that the had come from him he was vexed and angry was just then the lion of the while all had done well no one except the of the had particularly distinguished himself his name and praise were on the lips of every generous perhaps was disturbed by a feeling of envy or jealousy but be this as it may he the whole weight of his indignation upon for the disagreeable remarks in regard to himself which were through the ship i hear that you are talking about me said he to the supposed whom he called into the waist for the purpose of expressing his mind as freely as the occasion seemed to require young america in and i haven t said a word against you replied the quietly yes you have the fellows are full of it didn t you say that i was no more fit to command a boat than i was an army most decidedly i did not what did you say then demanded the indignant lieutenant the most that i remember to have said was that our boat was very unfortunate in running into the on which that man was floating well whose fault was it i don t know | 36 |
that it was any one s fault i do it was your fault when i ordered you to back water you tossed the oars the oars were right over the man s head if we had backed they would have sent him to the bottom you always know better than your officers if you had obeyed your superior in the boat that man would not have been lost i don t think it was my fault you mean b hat it was my fault i didn t say so replied who was by this time satisfied that it was useless to argue the point that is what you mean and what you have been saying to all the fellows then you left your place and went into the bow of the giving me the lines a piece of impudence which i should have resented at any other time i should not have done it at any other time mr you actually took command of the boat and winked me out of sight palace and cottage or i did not intend any perhaps you didn t and i should not have thought anything of it if it hadn t been for the stories which have been told since replied you may be a bigger man than i am but it don t become you to ay so the lieutenant turned on his heel and left very much annoyed by the sharp words of his superior during the interview he had done nothing to justify the speech of the officer he s a said little stepping up to him after hearing a portion of the conversation he is very unfair answered more in grief than in anger he came within one of using me up and i don t feel much obliged to him we shouldn t have saved any one if it hadn t been for you when you took the command out of his hands and managed the boat yourself did you think i took the command away from him i did and all the fellows so and were glad you did was more annoyed than before as little desired he should be he had not intended to his superior though perhaps he had spoken in the excitement of the moment for this offence he was summoned into the presence of the principal had complained of him to the captain it was hard after he had done so well to be accused or even suspected of to his officer and the old adam of his nature prompted him to resent this treatment young america in france and chapter v the bag of gold was the lion of the day but it made very little difference what the thought of him if he had failed to secure the approbation of the principal and the officers the fact that he had been called to the bar after what had passed between himself and to answer to charges indicated that he had incurred the displeasure of mr the complaint against him had at least been heard and notice enough taken of it to call him up he was a young man and he had been struggling for months to overcome the evil in his nature he had been tempted on every hand but thus far he had conquered the very efforts he made to live a good and true life rendered him sensitive to every besides striving to keep his conduct above reproach morally he was also struggling to attain a high position in the ship he had studied very hard and been exceedingly careful in the discharge of all his routine duties so that during the two months of the present term which had elapsed not a single mark for bad conduct and hardly a failure in the lessons had been noted against his name this was his record and anything better was scarcely possible now he was palace and cottage or to be charged with of orders he was willing to acknowledge that he was and guilty he had in the enthusiasm of his humane labors asked to take the and had gone into the fore sheets without orders the better to do the work for which the had been sent out if was troubled and embarrassed the principal was more so the second lieutenant had made a formal complaint to the officer which had been reported to the captain and by him referred to the highest authority on board it was patent to mr and to the officers that was not equal to the position to which he had been assigned in the ordinary routine of the ship he was faithful and capable but when left to his own resources he lacked energy and judgment he was a particular friend of captain haven who had ordered him to the satisfied that the skill of the would the deficiency of the officer it was evident that somebody had been making trouble in the ship but the boys were so ready to talk and to that the special agency of little had not been noticed for it was true that he had been very industrious in stirring up strife the rogue had directed the thoughts of his until poor was under a heavy cloud at the same time was and it was generally understood through the vessel that if the had not taken the command out of the hands of the second lieutenant miss grace would certainly have been drowned by s the complaint which the second lieutenant felt young america in france and obliged to make in self defence had come to the principal and he was compelled to notice it little had actually forced the case into the cabin where he had from the first intended it should go it would be very hard to censure but if an inferior were permitted to take the command away from his officer all discipline would soon be at an | 36 |
end but the principal received the alleged with a pleasant smile and the case did not look at all desperate i find there is some misunderstanding between you and the second the principal began stating the question as mildly as possible i am very sorry for it answered so am i for your conduct had been so noble that i was pained to hear any complaint against you i don t think there is any just ground for a complaint against me sir you are reported in the first place to have spoken very of the conduct of your officer in the added the principal it is not true sir i have not uttered a word against him replied indignantly i do think the boat was handled in a very manner but i have been careful not to say so entertaining this opinion may you not have said something which indicated your views i have not said anything about mr or the handling of the boat on board the ship i did say in the cabin of the that i was vexed and desperate because we had twice run into a and knocked a person into the water but i added that it was not any one s fault if any one has palace and cottage or heard me say a word either way i should like to see him i am satisfied on that point said the principal says you took the command of the out of his hands i did ask him to take the ropes and he did so i also went forward to haul in the person with the boat hook if he had ordered me not to do so i should have obeyed i was only working to save the life of the girl i know very well that you had no intention to do anything wrong added the principal kindly if mr had gone into the bow of the boat as the other officers did he would have seen where to go and what to do as he did not do this i did it myself i meant no or and i have told him so i am satisfied you did not i was excited and perhaps i spoke than i should i am willing to i have already explained continued struggling to retain his self possession though he was very indignant at the charges i will send for mr said the principal the second lieutenant was called he came in riding a high horse the of the had taken the command had gone to the bow of the boat and given his directions to his officer he had actually ordered him to take the ropes if officers were to be treated in this manner he did not wish to have a command mr said the principal rather disgusted by young america in france and the strong expressions of that officer did it occur to you that the command had been taken from you at the time you it was done no sir it was not a time to think of anything but the poor people who were drowning around us i did not wish to say much to after what he had done in the water but i did tell him that he had not obeyed my orders and i think that was the reason why the man was lost and why miss grace was thrown from the it is not necessary to follow this discussion through all its details both the lieutenant and the had endeavored to do their duty but it happened then as it often does in the world that the superior in ability occupied the inferior position in rank the zeal of to save the lives of the in the water had surprised him into doing what he would not have done in a less trying position the principal endeavored to patch up a peace which the lieutenant was unwilling to accept unless it involved a censure of his inferior you have certainly the routine of your duty said mr very gently you have exceeded the letter of your duty while you have faithful to the spirit of it and i you on all the charges you may go the touched his cap and retired he was not satisfied even with this mild decision mr i do not like the spirit you exhibit in this unpleasant affair added the principal turning to the lieutenant when had gone almost every fellow in the ship says that i am to o palace and cottage or blame for the loss of that man my orders were not obeyed and i am sure it was not my fault replied somewhat by the decision given to the i do not know whether it was your fault or not probably it will never be known in this world but i do think the boat was so do i sir and because the did not obey my orders on the contrary i think after all i have heard that if he had obeyed your orders not only the man but also miss would have been lost instead of going into the fore sheets as you ought to have done and as did when you neglected to do so you drove your boat blindly forward then you think i am to blame sir replied the astonished i do but you did the best you knew how and i do not hold you responsible then i suppose i don t know anything added the lieutenant bitterly and that knows everything we are all liable to and we ought to be satisfied if we get the credit of our good intentions you should not have made this complaint but all the students were talking about me it does not appear that has your conduct in any manner whatever have been made upon your action appear to come from the crew of the i noticed that all the | 36 |
officers of the boats went into the bows where they could see not only the persons in the water but the objects to young america in france and which they were clinging and it does not appear that any mistakes were made by them i cannot and do not wish to control the opinions of the students if they think you made a blunder you must stand or fall by your own conduct you must be judged by your own action i am not informed that any have insulted you or spoken to you if they have that is a matter for discipline but not their opinion of your conduct you may go left tlie cabin more dissatisfied than when he had entered it if others had a right to their opinions so had he and he still believed that s of his orders had produced all the mischief he was not without a reasonable share of self esteem which would not permit him to condemn his own conduct in a matter which was at least open to doubt both and were dissatisfied though neither of them had been actually blamed for his conduct it was one of those instances where a christian spirit and a christian humility would have healed the wound it was the trial which the young man had experienced since he turned over the new leaf he had been guilty of of orders and his new born at the decision if he had heard what the principal said to after he left the cabin he would have considered himself fully justified but strict discipline would not permit the seaman to listen to the censure of the officer would inform all the other officers of the decision of the principal its tendency would be to prejudice them against him and to induce them to palace and cottage or display their authority more than they would otherwise do they would be likely to bully him in self defence he had been highly honored before this complaint was made by being sent without an officer to the relief of the fishing vessel in a heavy sea and a gale of wind but he felt that he could not thus be distinguished again he could not help feeling that he had fallen into for two months he had been struggling for a position in the cabin the prize was almost within his grasp another month of effort would bring the success he though he realized that his present unhappy frame of mind would lead him into trouble he found it hard to rise above it for an hour he the deck in the waist thinking of his great sorrow as he regarded it the ship s company would soon be talking about what he had been instead of what he was thousands of people in like manner out of the abundance of their own imagination make themselves miserable i should like to see him my orders and take the command out of my hands said a voice as a couple of passed him and could not help believing that the remark was intended for his own ears the speaker was the fourth lieutenant and the words were addressed to who had doubtless been telling his to him i did not want to make a row there when men and women were dying around us replied the as the couple paused at the foot of the young america in france and mr said stepping up to the two officers and respectfully touching his cap i did not intend to take the command of the or to your orders if i did anything wrong i beg your pardon if you did sneered who was from a deeper wound than the when you acknowledge that you did do wrong it will be time enough to accept your apology i say i did not intend to be i asked you to take the ropes and you did not object when i went forward you did not object it was no time then to have a row witb a added the second lieutenant contemptuously when you have acknowledged that you did wrong and that your of orders made the mischief in the i shall be happy to accept your apology until then you will not address me except in the line of your duty s self respect as well as his opinion of the facts would not permit him to make this humiliating acknowledgment he touched his cap again and retired in silence the officers moved on and a laugh from both of them did not escape the ear of the sensitive sufferer he felt that he had made all the in his power for his he had been he could do no more i say the are rough on you said little who had been watching his victim as he intended he should be and as he already regarded him during the entire evening palace and cottage or they are indeed replied sadly let them say what they please every fellow in the ship except the in the bin believes in you continued the little villain i am much obliged to them for their good opinion but did not feel much comforted by it instead of to the second lieutenant i should give him a when i caught him in the right place i shall not do anything of that kind mr said i had been guilty of of orders and i am willing to for it but i am not exactly ready to be kicked for it you won t make anything by trying to keep on the right side of such fellows i ll tell you what it is your old friends were your best friends what old friends and the rest of them they are willing to stand by you now and do so to the end what are you driving at little demanded suddenly and sharply of his companion | 36 |
for the lamb was shrewd enough to see that the little rascal meant something by his persistent flattery and by his allusion to former associates whom he had in a measure discarded i don t mean anything in particular only i hate to see a good fellow like you imposed upon by such as replied little not thrown ofl his guard by the sudden charge of the other it made me mad to hear you to that i did it to show that i had no ill will against him young america in france and o get out tell that to the do you mean to say you love him for you to the first lieutenant perhaps he thought it was his duty to do so replied very doubtfully perhaps he did and then again perhaps he didn t sneered little will fall overboard one of these days if he does i shall be willing to go in after him do you mean so i do replied struggling to keep the christian spirit alive in his heart little was disgusted would not be likely to join the knights of the golden while he cherished such sentiments as these but the gallant conduct of the as manifested in saving the passengers of the steamer and his handling of the in the gale had increased his popularity among the crew and rendered him all the more desirable as the leader of the the was satisfied that the time had not yet come for making a convert of him to the philosophy of the knights yet he expected it to come in due time went below with a faint suspicion that little was up to some mischief and was to whip him in to take part in it he was glad that he had not encouraged any such approaches for he was still firm in his purpose to be true and faithful though the path just then did not seem so easy and pleasant as before it was hard to be suspected when he had only tried to do his duty was still pacing the deck indeed he had been palace and cottage or impatiently waiting for some time to have leave the deck he wished to speak with little in private still under the censure of the principal he was anxious to gather some testimony to prove that the and not himself had been to blame for the loss of the man from the little said he in gracious and tones for he knew how to obtain the right kind of testimony the little villain turned and touched his cap i suppose you have not forgotten how you went overboard this morning i think not don t you remember also that just before you went over i gave an order to the to back water yes sir i remember it distinctly for it occurred to me at the time that you ought to have said stern all instead of back water never mind the words i used what followed what did the do then he ordered the bank to toss oars answered little promptly exactly so did he do so immediately well i think it was pretty soon pretty soon the boat would go twenty feet in half a second i know he stood up and looked ahead before he gave the order just so and if he had repeated the order the instant i gave it we should have backed clear of the man young america in france and perhaps we should replied little coolly you know we should i suppose we should then answered the rogue then the boat swung round and you and got hold of the man i know that part of the story very well when the boat i held on to him and let go precisely so and if had not let go you would have hauled the man in i don t blame him for not holding on it was not his fault added little dropping his voice down to a whisper i suppose he told you why he let go no didn t he though no then i guess i won t say anything about it it will only make trouble and get me into a scrape said the little in the same low tone what do you mean never mind it now yes but i shall mind it now i don t like to say anything is a good friend of mine and i wouldn t do him any harm for all the world answered the prudent villain who it need hardly be said was preparing for s admission to the order of the knights of the golden what do you mean demanded his curiosity raised to the highest pitch palace and cottage or i thought you knew all about it or i wouldn t have said a word all about what didn tell you though not a word i had much rather you would not ask me any questions is a friend of mine i don t care if he is he is no friend of mine and if there is anything wrong about this business i want to know it i did not say there was anything wrong about it protested little mildly as though he intended after proper persuasion to let tlie whole truth come out you implied it i did not intend to imply it for if has not said anything about it yet he will do so when he gets ready perhaps he will but if you don t tell me what you mean i will report the matter to the principal before i turn in don t do that pleaded little as naturally as though he had been in earnest are you going to speak or not you won t say anything about it will you i make no promises o come don t be hard on a fellow you will get me | 36 |
into a scrape i am an officer and i tell you to speak if don t say anything by the time we get to i will tell you all about it that won t do now or never to me young america in france and very likely has told the principal all about it i will go and ask him whether he has or not said taking a step towards the companion way don t do that begged little i think he mu t have mentioned the matter to you only you don t know what i mean tell me what you mean i shall understand you then didn t he say anything to you about a bag of gold whispered the rogue a bag of gold exclaimed opening his eyes that s what s the matter he didn t say a word to me about it and i m sure he did not to the principal what about it the man that was lost off the plank had a bag of gold in his hand do you mean so demanded the astonished officer i know it he told me so while we were on the together in the water when got hold of him the man gave him the bag of gold and that was what made him let go to put the money behind the back board i suppose for i didn t see anything of it the man was a i think from his talk though he spoke bad english he was groaning about his money while we hung to the did he tell you he gave it to asked eagerly well he did not know s name and i and cottage or suppose he had never been introduced to him he told me he gave it in is this so little do you think i would lie about it demanded little with proper indignation knew that he would lie in some cases but it was too monstrous to suppose he would utter a deliberate falsehood in a matter of so much importance besides he was very willing to believe the story it s a strange mused perhaps it is but you have it for just what it is worth how much was in the bag i don t know the did not tell me now what are you going to do about it mr i shall do what i think proper replied i will think the matter over and decide upon my action to night i was a fool to say anything about it i have got myself into a sweet scrape will kill me for blowing on him on the one hand and i shall be blamed for not telling of it before on the other it does not much matter what says or does after this if you are blamed for not speaking about the gold before you can say you supposed had told the officers all about it i suppose i can sighed little who appeared to be very much dissatisfied with himself it is a plain case enough intended to keep this money now it can be sent to the of the man who was lost young america in france and little thought it was not likely to be sent to them and he went below with the feeling that there would soon be the row that ever was as he would have expressed it and that the lion of that day would be in the the next day palace and cottage or chapter vi the little villain in less than half an hour had told the story of the bag of gold to his friend the captain the lieutenant was excited not only had a large majority of the students condemned his management of the but the principal had told him he had the was a lion and he the lieutenant in command of the was a donkey had done everything he had done nothing was a hero he was a public sentiment on board of the ship was giving him a bad name all this was a mistake in his opinion he was willing to acknowledge that the boat had been badly managed but who was a very capable fellow he would not deny and was popular with the students had his officer s commands which fully and satisfactorily explained the whole matter it was stupid the part of the ship s company not to see it his friend the captain who had never been especially fond of could see it the fourth lieutenant who was a fellow of excellent judgment and could see it at least neither of these officers had made any comments upon his conduct young america in france and the revelation of little would turn the tables it would convince all the fair minded fellows that instead of being zealous to save the lives of the passengers of the steamer had actually been his nest with a bag of gold torn from the hands of a german instead of in the man he had hauled in the money and let the man go if he had held on to the man instead of the gold little would not have been dragged overboard and the german would have been saved it was a plain case in his excited state of mind and his jealousy of would not permit him to entertain a doubt in regard to the guilt of the captain haven listened attentively to the story as it was related by if it had not been dark on deck when the conversation took place the lieutenant might have seen the incredulous smile upon the face of his superior while the captain lacked entire confidence in being unable wholly to forget his former record he was not prejudiced against him he gave him credit for trying to do well and believed that he had actually but was too fresh a convert to be | 36 |
entirely what do you think of all this captain asked who was surprised that the commander did not join with him in the conduct of i think it is a silly story there is not one word of truth in it replied captain haven if you have any regard for or your reputation you will not mention it to any one was confounded by this honest and decided palace and cottage or opinion it seemed just as though his friend the captain had gone over to the enemy little told me the story and says it is all true stammered taken all by the decision little would rather lie than tell the truth added the captain there is nothing improbable in the story it is all improbable and would have been from the lips of any fellow but is especially so from those of little was it strange that the man tried to save his gold persisted no is it improbable that a man under such circumstances should have a bag of gold no what is there improbable about the story then it is improbable that should have taken it and said nothing about it replied the captain impatiently i think that is the most probable part of the story he wanted the money any fellow would want it if he could get it i don t think he meant to drown the man for the sake of the gold or anything of that sort the german handed him the bag and he could not do less than take it but where were you all this time didn t you see anything of the operation i was looking out for the boat and it is not strange in the of the moment that i saw nothing of it don t say anything more about it laughed the captain young america in france and but i believe the story strange as you think it is where is the money now asked captain haven i don t know i suppose has concealed it somewhere if you tell this story it will hurt you more than it will it may of course be true but i do not believe it you have complained of the of the s and this story started by you will look like persecution like an intention to injure if you demand it i must report the matter to the principal i am willing to do what you think is best then keep still and let keep the money and enjoy the reputation of being a just now is on the top of the wave he has behaved nobly so far as miss is concerned you cannot deny it i don t wish to deny it and you are under a cloud perhaps i am but you know it was not my fault orders and we will not open that question the principal has settled it i will keep an eye on and you can do the same by and by when we go to paris he will be flush with his gold if there is any truth in this story but the bag of gold is somewhere in the ship if we can find that it will be proof enough keep an eye on him and if we can find it we will palace and cottage or do so don t say anything more about it do your duty faithfully treat as handsomely as you know how and if there is anything wrong it will come out in due time was not pleased with this slow method of dealing with the exciting question but he ha so much confidence in captain haven s judgment that he could not well disregard his advice he was so eager to that he could not help believing the strange story as it was his watch below he went to his state room and turned in the matter still vexed him and he could not sleep he had hardly closed his eyes when he was called to take his place as officer of the deck little was in his quarter watch the young rascal was in the with he was telling in his mysterious manner what progress he had made in ringing in as a member of the order declaring that he was sure to have him when the word was passed for the story to report to the officer of the deck little did you invent the you told me this evening said sternly no sir i only told you the truth protested little have you said anything to your not a word and i don t intend to do so don t do it i believe there is not a word of truth in the story where is the bag of gold now that s than i know i suppose has it away where he can find it when we go on shore young america in france and can i don t know you can his berth when he is on deck suggested i haven t anything against and i don t want to expose him added the innocent little you have made a charge and now you must prove it keep your eye on and you may be able to do so if you have up this i will report you to the principal i have already told the captain and he don t believe the story have you though i have he wants the proof and you must find it or he will have you in the before you are a week older return to your duty little did not like the idea of being committed to the himself he hoped to see there disgusted with the life of a lamb and desperate enough to join the knights what did he want of you asked when the little villain returned to the where he was on the he wanted to ask me if he might join | 36 |
had seen the captain ar d himself enter the and taking the alarm he had removed the bag to some other hiding place it is possible that has removed the bag said the principal know he has i persisted i saw it with my own eyes only a little while ago in this very place so did i added the captain as he was in the room when we entered he cannot have carried it far it is either on his person now or concealed in some other place within the apartment suggested mr this proposition was self evident and was readily accepted by the two officers i have no doubt it is hidden in this room added it must be responded the captain mr you will stand in the and keep your eyes on while we search the room continued the principal the gold was not in the mess room as the reader knows and no amount of tumbling over the and the could bring it to light the search was as thorough as though the salvation of the ship depended upon its are you entirely satisfied that the money is not here now captain haven asked the principal they had every hole and corner in the i palace and cottage or mess room and also in the one on the other side of the i am sir then there is only one other alternative that it is concealed upon his person i don t exactly see how that can be since the bag must have weighed eight or ten pounds and he could hardly carry it in one of the pockets of his jacket or trousers i should prefer to find the bag before any charge is made added the principal thoughtfully if you have seen and handled the bag of course there can be no mistake certainly not sir direct to report to me in the main cabin said mr as he left the mess room attended by captain haven see that he comes without delay and that he has no opportunity to dispose of the bag was willing enough to deliver this order but though he was by a bad spirit it is only justice to him to add that he believed with all his might was guilty you will report immediately to mr in the main cabin said he to the unhappy victim of the conspiracy what is it now asked who was confident the worst charge that could be up against him was the neglect to keep his berth in proper order and he was prepared to submit meekly to the black mark which had been the chief of bis existence for two months young america in france and lo i am not permitted to say replied i will report to the principal immediately added with dignity as he closed his book without an instant s delay if you please bowed and walked towards the cabin door closely attended by the second lieutenant who could not be blamed for his duty to the letter of his instructions the little villain who had been the author of all this mischief kept himself at a respectful distance but he was a close observer of all that in half an hour more or less would be in the the member of the order of the golden would be in condition to be approached the shame and degradation of the ship s prison would him he would fall a victim to the clever trick and be a warning to all the crew not to set up for saints how could so small a boy be so great a villain i such things are mysteries had been thinking reading his bible praying since the night before he was still determined to be gentle and to forgive his enemies even and conquer them by the mighty power of love in this frame of mind he entered the main cabin to be for the disorder in his i palace and cottage or chapter vn cabin and mr often pointed with pride and pleasure to as an of the results of his system of instruction and discipline he was obliged to write hundreds of letters in reply to inquiries from anxious fathers and mothers and for the last two months had been his model student many distinguished men americans as well as foreigners visited the and were full of questions in regard to the system he pointed to and others as individual examples while the perfect discipline of the ship s company exhibited the general effect a majority of these students had been sent to the academy because they were in ordinary institutions had apparently fallen and the principal was almost as sad as he would have been if the had been his own son he had felt a interest in him and had observed with the deepest solicitude the struggles of the student to be true and faithful he had not failed to encourage him while the had made him his pet and watched his upward progress with a zeal upon young america in france and i the principal was sad and tried to find some way to escape the conclusion which had been forced upon him the story which captain haven had related to him was monstrous it appeared that instead of the fact that a large sum of money had fallen into his hands had appropriated it to his own use had concealed it and really intended to rob the of the drowned man of their inheritance the gold had come into his possession without the knowledge of his it had tempted him and had over his principle over his sense of honesty and justice it was the old story and the student had been wrecked as of thousands of others are in the great world i think you must know why i have sent for you said the principal yes sir i do replied the i hope | 36 |
you will be able to explain your conduct i can only say that i left my berth in good order the last time i was in the mess room i may have been careless but i will try to do better in future mr looked at him with a keen glance of inquiry there was nothing in the face of the which enlightened him for what do you suppose i sent for you he asked because the in my berth was not in good order replied glancing involuntarily at that was not the reason i sent for you i wish it were nothing more serious than that drew a long sigh as his heart seemed to no and cottage or rise up into his throat he tried to think of something else which could be charged upon him but the confusion of the moment did not enable him to recall the events of the past and he waited to hear the complaint can you think of no other charge which might be preferred against you continued the principal i cannot sir i have not intended to do anything wrong have you any secret which you have tried to conceal from your any secret replied the puzzled by the question while you were engaged in the passengers of the steamer did any event occur which you have tried to keep to yourself no sir answered very promptly i to mr for my of orders and assured him i intended no did you indeed i was not aware of it added mr glancing at the might also have said that his apology was not accepted but he preferred to suffer himself rather than place his officer in a disagreeable position this was his interpretation of the divine command love your enemies which he had more than learned by heart mr derived some hope from the replies and from the manner of there was nothing in his words or his looks to indicate guilt the principal then questioned him very particularly in regard to conduct when the attempt was made to save the man on the and the detailed his own actions young america in france and ill i took hold of the man s arm and tried to pull him into the boat i got hold of him near the shoulder said but the man did not seem to help me any i tried to bring his hand up so that he could grasp the of the but he either could not or would not lift it then the boat in the sea and i lost my hold i was obliged to let go or be thrown overboard as little was didn t the man give you something before you let go asked mr coming nearer to the point than he had before give me something repeated the he gave me a hard pull and had nearly my arms off that s all he gave me i don t know what you are driving at sir didn t the man hand you something which he was anxious to save no sir he did not i don t know what you mean continued glancing first at the captain and then at mr i see that i am charged with something i have not the least idea what it is the man in the water gave me nothing and i don t know that he gave anything to anybody i did not see him do so have you any money about you no sir replied promptly as he involuntarily turned out his trousers pockets and then those in his jacket have you at any time since the burning of the steamer had in your possession a bag of gold no sir have you seen one palace and cottage or no sir then the case was tried in due form the charge was repeated by the principal and for the first time little appeared as the chief actor in the tragedy he was sent for and told the same story he had related to the man on the informed him that he had given his bag of gold to some one in the boat and that was the reason it appeared why had failed to haul him in little declared that he knew nothing at all about the matter except what the man had told him he had been directed to search for the bag he had done so and found it under the unlike many forward witnesses he did not presume to know too much what he knew he was sure of and he had no theories or to introduce captain haven and had both seen the bag of gold and examined its contents so that his testimony was fully confirmed it is not necessary to say that was at first appalled and confused by the of the charge in which so far as he was concerned there was not one word of truth but conscious of his innocence he soon recovered his self possession he did not attempt to stand upon the he was all submission which made it the more difficult for the principal to resort to vigorous measures the looked and acted like a truthful boy and in spite of the evidence mr was incredulous there is something in innocence which all proof and seems to assert itself in spite of all testimony against it little was questioned over and over again what he knew he knew and what he did not know he young america in france and ii would not say anything about the meagre naked fact that the man told him he had handed the bag of gold to the person in the boat who attempted to pull him in and the equally bare fact that he had found the bag in the space under berth d were all he knew beyond these he would not go he had not seen do anything strange on board he had | 36 |
not heard him say anything and little were required to leave the cabin but to be within call are you satisfied captain haven asked the principal no sir i am not replied the commander frankly mr i don t see what has become of the bag but all except that seems to be plain enough answered the lieutenant the matter down to its basis the charge rests only upon the evidence of little added mr his testimony is confirmed by yours so far as the bag of gold is concerned that the money was found under s berth does not prove that he placed it there i am confident the bag of gold is on board of the ship all else is in the dark one word more i believe is as innocent of the charge as i am captain haven you will pipe to muster mr send to me in a moment the s whistle sounded through the ship and all hands repaired to their stations reported in the cabin but was required to remain there all the palace and cottage or officers the the and the surgeon without being informed of the charge against the were required to search the for a bag of gold every was turned out all the was taken from the and every ture crack and corner every article of clothing and even every pot and pan in the kitchen was examined of course the bag was not found then every officer and seaman was searched and after the crew had been ordered into the the deck and all its were even the fire engine was examined but the professors who performed this part of the search were not even aware that the plates covering the top of the through which the rods passed could be removed little had an awful fit of trembling when from the he looked down upon this operation on the engine but the agony was soon over and no discovery was made the search created a tremendous sensation among the students and vainly they asked each other for information in regard to it little for his own sake said nothing and the two officers had been instructed to keep their own counsel when the examination was concluded the ship s company were dismissed and returned to their duties on deck and in the of all who were observing these movements none were more perplexed than the officers who were in the secret it was singular that the bag had not been found mr to the cabin where the was impatiently waiting to hear the result of the charge young america in france and ii you know all the testimony in this case can you say anything to relieve yourself or explain the matter said the principal i cannot sir i know no more about it than any one else have you had any difficulty with little not a sir he to be one of my best friends now i do remember that he said something to me about my old friends and i suspected for a moment that he was trying to draw me into some mischief the principal inquired very particularly into the circumstances of this interview but nothing definite could be from it he was not willing to believe that was guilty and he dismissed him until further inquiry should more evidence the intended victim of the conspiracy strange as it may perhaps seem was much less disturbed by the charge preferred against him than he had been on the night before that complaint had a foundation this one had none he was rather amused than concerned by it though he was exceedingly anxious to get at the root of the whole matter the captain had seen the bag of gold so that there was a root to it somewhere he had no suspicion of the infamous of little and was more willing to believe that the young villain was playing some practical joke than that he was seeking to injure him at eight bells in the evening the lights on cape la h ve at the mouth of the were in sight and a french pilot tlie ship soon after though the vessel was actually in charge of a quarter watch il palace and cottage or all hands were on deck those who were to go on duty at ten o clock seldom turned in on these short passages for they had six hours below in good weather after twelve the ship s company had hoped to approach their destination by daylight but as the head wind during the day deprived them of this pleasure they made the most of the night the coming on board of a pilot is always an interesting event the usual surprise of men of his calling at finding a ship worked by a company of boys was duly and properly manifested and the boys enjoyed his astonishment he talked a english for has an immense trade with the united states and a large portion of his business was with american ships while so many of the students were amusing themselves witli the pilot and little were perched upon the fore whither they had gone to finish a conversation begun upon deck the had taken the earliest opportunity to approach the little villain for information on the subject which interested him so deeply what ma e you say the man gave me that bag of money asked as he met little in the waist what made me replied little lightly do you know why the called his son no i do not well de reason why i calls my son is because is his name and the reason why i said the man gave you the bag was because he did that s all nonsense little young america in france and perhaps it is but didn t the captain see the bag didn t he open it and look the gold | 36 |
i don t know anything about it except what the man told me if he lied to me it is not my fault do you think it would be my fault if he lied to me certainly not i should say not added little triumphantly as though that settled the question forever but the man did not give me the gold protested i don t know anything about that i tell you don t i keep saying so if the man lied to me that was not my fault as you have yourself acknowledged if he didn t give it to you he must have given it to and between you and me after treatment of you i think he is mean enough to do such a thing was standing up in the at the time and the man could not have given the bag to him and i am sure he did not give it to me o dry up i you are a good fellow and i know it if the rest of the fellows don t you were smart when you hid that bag after the went for the principal i didn t hide it replied what s the use of taking the trouble to deny it to me it s honor bright between us and i would be before i would say anything about it didn t i see you go into our mess room two minutes after and the captain went out i might have watched you if i had been mean enough to do so and seen where you put the il palace and cottage or fm sorry you didn t i wouldn t do such a thing i m not one of the only the would get a fellow into a scrape i say i will go with you and help you out you don t fe what you are saying don t i you will believe it yourself by the time you are put in the if you don t now little proceeded to the testimony again and not being as impartial as the principal it is almost a wonder he did not convince that he had concealed the bag i see just what you are up to added the you are going to quit when we get to and have a good time with that money i should like to go with you if i had the have it as you please replied who found it useless to deny anything won t you take me with you i will when i go that s right i thought you would get tired of those suppose i am tired of them what then added wishing to draw out his companion go on shore travel on your own account and liave a good time you know how to do it better than any fellow in the is there any little party getting up for such an excursion which i could join perhaps there is i didn t say there was replied little who was burning to gather in his suspected young america in france and ii how are they going asked taking the fact for granted you must ask them i don t know anything about it laughed little i had an idea you were getting up a party yourself by your laying in the funds to pay the expenses no but if there is anything of the kind going on i should like to know it for the first time since he had any principles to lean upon was embarrassed by them three months ago he would not have to worm himself into the confidence of any for the purpose of discovering his plans and intentions he wished to do so in the present instance but his conscience at the thought of a lie either spoken or acted what little had said to him the day before as well as what he hinted now assured that some mischief in the shape of a expedition was it did not appear in what manner the bag of gold was connected with it but there was evidently some connection between them what do you want to know for asked little if the plan suits me i might want to join after what has happened replied sorely tempted to deceive the rogue at his side the officers are all down upon me as you have seen and now i am charged with this money i wouldn t stand it would you really like to join a party asked the little villain eagerly i don t know yet till i hear what the party is and where they are going answered and this answer almost choked him for he realized that it was i palace and cottage or not in accordance with the hi h standard he had set up for his guidance one of those twelve oar would be just the thing for such an excursion suggested little we can go up the and land where we please what do you think of it is that the idea that s the idea the crew of the s are all first rate fellows and you are the best one in the crowd how is it to be managed asked just as soon as we get to the boat will be sent off for if we all understand each other all we have to do is to pull up the river and let them wait till we get back chuckled little will the s crew all go asked i will see that it is all right with them you are the of the s and without you we couldn t do a single thing added little apparently with a generous burst of confidence we can talk it over after we get into the boat suggested but suppose there should be an officer with us if there is we shall put him on shore at some convenient | 36 |
that could be seen of the wind came from the north west and the vessels were sheltered by the from which projects cape la h ve so that the was tolerably smooth and the motion not uncomfortable the on the cape are erected upon a high rocky cliff three hundred feet above the level of the sea and its scenery was very attractive to the who had so long been looking out upon the low lands of holland and the rocks on the cape were the favorite resort of de st author of paul and virginia who was born at the at its mouth is about four miles wide the rises and falls twenty feet on an average and the current is very rapid the entrance to the river is by sand bars piled up by the swift flow of the waters but most of them are above the tide phenomenon which in the and some other rivers called the bore may be observed in the of the the wave palace and cottage or sometimes four feet high in the spring tides rushes furiously up the river and vessels not properly prepared to meet it are liable to be by its violence the harbor in front of the city is a small the mouth of which is protected by or extending from the opposite shores towards each other so as to leave only a narrow passage for vessels at low tide the water nearly all runs out of this basin where at high tide float in eighteen or twenty feet of water in the deepest parts from this harbor called the port open the immense which receive all the shipping as at liverpool and other places the french in their efforts to with the english have a great deal of attention to the subject of and to the improvement and safety of their at all the principal ports of the empire a system of has been established by which vessels coming in are of the depth of in the channels between the of there is hardly water enough at low tide to float a jolly boat and the depth is precisely indicated to the approaching vessels by this marine the apparatus consists of a mast with a yard across it upon which black balls are hoisted one ball at the of the mast and yard a depth of ten feet between the each ball under this one and on the mast an additional depth of three and a quarter feet each ball hoisted above the first adds six and a half feet to the depth indicated by the single one each ball on the left yard arm an extra depth of ten young america in france and inches on the right twenty inches sometimes certain signal flags are used to convey the same idea when the state of the sea is such as to render it dangerous for vessels to enter the port a red flag is hoisted instead of the balls the system of and on the french coast is similar to that adopted by england and the united states but it is more comprehensive in entering a harbor all red are to be left on the hand and the black ones on the port below the level of high water are painted white and each one has its number and the name of the rock or which it marks painted upon it the of were the especial care of the first napoleon and have been greatly improved and enlarged by his the largest of them contains an area of fourteen or fifteen acres the for vessels within them are very strict no fires or lights are allowed on board and it is even forbidden to smoke on a ship s deck mr was not willing to dock the two vessels of the for this step involved the necessity of boarding all hands on shore and it would be impossible to keep up the discipline under such circumstances it was his intention lo lie in the as long as the weather permitted or until the students started for paris and then go into the leaving the forward officers to attend to the business it was saturday now and he expected to leave monday afternoon early in the morning mr was landed the the baggage of his family which had been hurried forward by his friends in palace and cottage or london had already arrived it was passed through the custom house and taken on board the ladies of the party were thus able for the first time to appear on deck immediately after breakfast the signal all hands attend lecture appeared on board of the ship mr s family wished to be present at this exercise for they were deeply interested in the routine of the academy places were assigned to them in the captain s and they were warmly welcomed on board of the ship by the principal grace had entirely recovered from the effects of the disaster and looked like a new being she inquired for as soon as she went on board and again poured forth her thanks for the important service he had rendered to her mr i desire your in carrying out a little plan of mine to express my gratitude to the brave fellows who have done so much for me and mine said mr as the students were into the to hear the lecture on france i think it is hardly necessary to express your gratitude any further than you have done so but i shall be happy to aid you i intend to give a dinner to all hands on board of the this afternoon if practicable and another to the crew of the which saved grace on monday added mr i will consent but i must name two conditions that you give them no wine or money laughed the principal young america in france a i will agree to | 36 |
give them no wine or anything stronger than coffee in regard to the money i will do that through you or with your knowledge and consent money is really the root of all evil with our students when their pockets are full we cannot so easily control them they run away or otherwise break through our wholesome discipline and wine was not made for boys you may be assured i will not any of your rules mr i shall take the liberty to invite all the officers and crew of the as soon as they return to their vessel will you do me the favor to invite the officers and the crew of the for monday i will with pleasure replied mr as he conducted his guests to the mr the consent of the principal had ordered the entertainment for the at the hotel de while he was on shore he was a very wealthy man as he was a very liberal one he was deeply impressed with his obligations to the and the dinners to which he had invited those who had been directly in saving the lives of his family were only the beginning of what he intended to do and of what so far as the circumstances would permit he did do on the in the hung a large map of france and before it stood mr the in geography and history he was involuntarily rubbing his hands for this gentleman was now in his element like many other teachers he took palace nd cottage or greater pleasure in talking to the whole school than in the dry details of single classes young gentlemen he began taking up his france is a great country and so has been its history that the brief period allotted to tliis lecture will only permit me to over the subject in the most unsatisfactory manner in shape france is an irregular whose five sides are bounded as follows on the north east by and the german provinces of and on the east by the german province of by and the kingdom of italy on the south by the sea and spain on the west by the bay of and on the by the atlantic ocean and the english channel the distance from its most northern to its most southern point is six hundred miles from its most eastern to its most western point it is five hundred and eighty two miles though between the bay of and the italian frontier the distance is only three hundred and sixty miles it has a coast line of one thousand five hundred and thirty miles it has an area of two hundred thousand square miles it is larger than the ten eastern and middle states of our own country united add and the area of the eleven states would about equal that of france the four states of and have also about the same territory as france its population that of the united states by about seven millions france has every variety of surface from the low and land of the west to the re young america in france and i i of the east and south most of it presents about the same physical features as new england the country being by frequent its highest mountains are on the eastern and southern borders the between france and spain are a of the mountains this range extends through europe being connected with the by the c te d or and chains on the east are the into a great many minor as the the and the the highest peak of the in france is about eleven thousand feet until the recent of the italian provinces of and nice mount was the highest mountain in france but now in the highest in europe lies within its limits its height is fifteen thousand seven hundred and fifty feet i hope you will see it let me call your attention for a moment to the interior mountain of france added the professor pointing to them on the the and c te d or divide the country into two unequal parts and form the water shed between the atlantic and the sea from the branch out the mountains which extends north west in the centre of france among these mountains rise the principal rivers the the the and the the france from germany on the east the and rise in this country and flow into and germany the five hundred and thirty four miles long rises ace and cottage or m in and flows into the in passing through the mountains it into a deep chasm and at low water from view but when the river is high the water flows over the rocks the place is called the du it is three hundred and sixty miles and is connected with the and by so that boats on one of these rivers can make their way to either of the others and may be transported from paris to or from to the about five hundred miles long rises in the mountains and is for small craft for three hundred and fifty miles the six hundred and forty miles in length rises on the spanish side of the and is for boats about four hundred miles the three hundred and eighty four miles long also rises in spain and is to about a hundred and y miles from the sea all these rivers are noted for the beauty of their scenery and the lovely which border them the of them is very much interrupted by the near its head waters is sometimes high and dry and at others so that on account of its furious current it is great have been made to improve these rivers by and but in the american sense of the word they can hardly be considered with this meagre view of the face of the country let us glance at its political divisions and | 36 |
i equal under a bad one it might be the worst it is possible to conceive of as in all are and the roman and jews are assisted with money by the government for the support of the clergy before the revolution the catholic church in france held one third of the landed property the government took possession of its real estate and the money now paid for the maintenance of religion seems to be a for the former of the church of the population of france thirty five and a half millions are roman one and a half millions are and one hundred and fifty six thousand are jews the receive from the government ten million dollars a year the three hundred thousand dollars and the jews in their proportion besides these sums each has its own private resources and the total of the catholic church is estimated at twenty million dollars the catholic church in france has seventeen and sixty seven the of paris has a salary of ten thousand dollars the other four thousand and the three thousand dollars six of these are also and in virtue of this office receive an additional of two thousand dollars besides being ex with a further salary of six thousand dollars other catholic clergy including and or receive from five dollars down to one hundred and eighty dollars a year and cottage or great improvement has been made in the french system of education within the last generation it is under the charge of the minister of public instruction who makes an annual report of its condition and progress in there are about one hundred and ninety pupils in the public schools for every thousand of the population in france in there were fifty nine to a thousand in hundred and sixteen to a thousand in thirty per cent of the or soldiers could not read but the intelligence of the people in different of france as much as in different parts of the united states in fourteen of the eighty nine only seven per cent of the could not read in thirteen others fifty eight per cent could not read and other vary between these the highest and the lowest france is divided into sixteen districts each having its academy or university in which the higher branches of learning are pursued including law and medicine in there were eighty two thousand for instruction equivalent to the high grammar and schools of the large towns of the united states which instructed two million six hundred thousand children these are supported by the but are not entirely free only one third being admitted without charge and two thirds paying small normal schools for the preparation of teachers are provided in nearly all the the average annual salary of female teachers in france is one hundred and thirty dollars they do not board at th grand hotel young america in france and france is noted for its institutions of learning among the most celebrated of which is the school at paris where naval military and civil are educated there are many for the special instruction of students in the practical particularly those relating to the various of the mines forests and similar topics what is the french academy asked i see it mentioned on the title page of all the french it was established in by cardinal for the care of the french language it was composed of forty members who met three times a week in the palace of the to the use of words after fifty years of debate it completed in the dictionary of the french language which has been the basis of all issued it has been and revived several times and now exists under the title of de france it five each of which has in its charge one or more branches of art science and letters it has two hundred and seventeen members each of whom receives a salary of three hundred dollars and seven it has also certain members who are not paid and over two hundred who assist in collecting valuable information l composed of forty members has the care of the french language and all that relates to grammar poetry and the it gives a prize of two thousand dollars every year to palace and cottage or the author of the best work on public morals and another of the same sum to the person of the laboring classes who is to have performed the most virtuous action every other year it makes a present of three hundred dollars to some genius who deserves such encouragement des et with forty members itself to the study of laws history monuments and ancient documents it gives for the best essays on the topics within its control des has sixty five members and has the natural in its care it gives for papers on and kindred and one to the best scholar in the school u des arts has the fine arts in its keeping and gives for the best painting design and musical composition des morals et to moral and general philosophy political economy law and history and gives one prize every year for the best production relating to its branches once in five years the the government prize of two thousand dollars for the most useful invention which has appeared within that period it will thus be seen that this grand institution and noble deeds and useful inventions as well as art science and literature the army of france on the peace footing is com young america and i i posed of four hundred and four thousand men on the war footing seven hundred and fifty thousand men the soldiers are drawn by and are liable to be at the age of twenty one one hundred and sixty thousand men are every year of whom one half serve for five years in the regular army and four years | 36 |
in the army of reserve the other half serve five years in the army of reserve and four in the national the latter of which can be called into actual service only by special law or the decree of the emperor a man may escape service by paying five hundred dollars to the government for a substitute the french navy contains three hundred and vessels afloat or in process of building including and despatch boats but not more than one third of this number are effective sea going war vessels the approaches of the french coast are guarded by twenty seven and three hundred and forty four the navy is composed of about fifty thousand officers and and every man between twenty and forty years of age with a few exceptions is liable to be into its service young gentlemen as i am not half done you may take a recess of fifteen minutes added mr as he folded up his papers and retired from his the students went on deck but in a quarter of an hour were back again palace and cottage or chapter ix an op the history of france tn order to give you an idea of the productive x industry of france young gentlemen i will mention a few of the articles in the order of their importance continued the professor as he resumed his place first silk goods second third fourth fancy goods including toys gloves wood work c fifth linen goods sixth dressed skins seventh cotton goods and eighth and other spirits its principal are corn and flour raw cotton raw wool and lumber who is the present emperor asked mr with sudden energy as if he were as glad to escape dry details as his pupils napoleon iii shouted the crowd of students who is he the nephew of his uncle who was his uncle laughed the professor napoleon napoleon i who was napoleon ii since the present emperor is napoleon iii napoleon s son the king of rome or duke de as he was called in replied paul he died when he was young america in france and ty one his father in his favor in but as the never admitted his title of napoleon ii he did not assume it when the present emperor was recognized by the of europe no objection was made to his title napoleon i had four brothers joseph king of and of spain louis king of holland king of and who declined the throne of italy the first emperor you know married the widow of who had two children and louis king of holland married and the present emperor is their son he was born in paris in and led an life he was educated principally in and has been concerned in several he had been a great favorite with his imperial uncle as a child and the emperor setting aside the natural descent had named his brother louis as his successor the death of his elder brother in and of the duke de in made him heir to the throne of napoleon i this fact stimulated his ambition and fired his soul with a desire to win the imperial honors he used every effort to the french people and wrote books to the necessity of the empire but not satisfied with this slow process of spreading his ideas he sought to them by a revolution for attempting to get up a rebellion in at he was sent an exile to america but he returned to europe in less than a year in he made another effort to create an at palace and or for which he was condemned to perpetual imprisonment after a confinement of six years he escaped from the fortress of ham and resided in england until the revolution of when he hastened to paris again to seek his destiny he was chosen a to the national assembly and then elected president of the republic his government was republican but he was steadily at work to carry out his personal schemes he began to exercise his power rather and some differences between the president and the which soon grew into a ensued suddenly on the night of december paris was declared to be in a state of siege by the president the assembly was dissolved and nearly two hundred of the members arrested the leading ones being taken from their beds and hurried to prison people who were disposed to defend them were shot down by the soldiers this was the d at the same time a decree universal was and louis himself to the for ten years he had the good fortune to be elected which was not very strange under the circumstances but the dignity of prince president did not satisfy him and he still bent himself steadily to the purpose of the empire he won over a number of to accomplish his purpose and then the called upon him to assume the title of emperor which however he was not willing to do until the people had again gone through the formality of an election by a vote of nearly eight millions for america in france and x him to about two hundred thousand against him he was chosen hereditary emperor on the ist of december he accepted the imperial dignity and assumed the title of napoleon iii emperor of the french he married de they have only one child napoleon louis who is the prince imperial born in the emperor has two cousins at court the princess daughter of and prince napoleon joseph son of who married daughter of victor ii king of italy he has been and visited the united states a few years ago napoleon hi has a larger civil list or income than any other monarch in europe he has an annual from the government of five million dollars besides which he receives the income of the crown to three | 36 |
millions more he also has the free use of several palaces and forests which are kept in good condition at the expense of the nation but though his total are about eight million dollars his expenses exceed his income and he is in debt to the extent of twenty millions of dollars if the emperor should die his son would succeed him with the as if the event should occur before the prince imperial is old enough to ascend the throne if his majesty should die without a male child living the throne passes into the family of his uncle in which prince napoleon becomes the sovereign if living if not his palace and or oldest son napoleon and then his second son louis there are therefore four persons living who are in the direct line of succession three of whom are now small children napoleon s brother first married miss a lady but the emperor compelled him to cast her off he afterwards married of who is the mother of the prince napoleon the first wife has a son napoleon now living i believe in for the very interesting story of this family i refer you to the new american in the of both vessels of the i have time and you have patience for only a very brief sketch of the history of france to the the country was known as or which it is still called in poetry the whose latin name was the or were a of german who the decline of the roman empire gathered in vast numbers in and the present name of france is derived from them their leader was who was succeeded by from whom the first line of french kings were kings but the period of history in with his who conquered the country drove out the and marrying a christian princess established christianity in his he made paris his capital and introduced the law females from the throne which to this day his were weak men and in d h mayor of the young america in and i palace obtained tbe control of the government though not of the crown his son known as charles who won immense renown and popularity by his over the that invaded france from spain succeeded him and ruled both t ie nation and the king s son shut up the last of the in a and took the title of king being only four and a half feet in height he was called le pope confirmed his title and he was the first of the kings had two sons and the former of whom succeeded to the throne and became the illustrious the sovereign of his age he carried on a merciless war with the barbarous for thirty two years and finally compelled them to embrace christianity conquered the greater part of italy and the north eastern portion of spain his not only included france and these but the whole of germany what is now and or he his realm the new empire of the west and elevated france above the highest power and civilization of his time this great king was succeeded by his son louis who a weak and useless reign divided the realm among his sons they immediately began to quarrel about their inheritance france in a bloody war which was finally settled on the plains of where one hundred thousand men are said to have perished including most of the ancient nobility the empire was then divided among the palace and cottage or rival brothers charles the bald received the western part of france italy and some of the southern sections of france while germany was to louis while the kings were quarrelling for the the power of the was greatly increased the and counts proclaimed their rights and to be hereditary and charles the bald admitted their claim then was established what is known in history as the system in the from who had before made into the country and burned paris established themselves on the west coast in that part which from them has since been called they were and robbers and being very troublesome were o depart they soon returned and charles the simple to the the country they occupied to them at this time the most powerful nobleman in france secured the control of the government and on the death of louis v seized upon the crown in being the first of the race of kings he was a skilful ruler and considerably enlarged his by conquest and his held the throne for nearly four hundred and years during this period had become a powerful and william the conqueror invaded england from his domain and conquered it the first second and third to the holy land took place in which many french as well as knights engaged and hundreds of thousands of the and their followers perished young america in france and i by disease and in battle louis ix commonly called st louis was one of the most eminent who sat upon the throne he engaged in two and proved himself to be both a saint and a hero he died on one of these ill fated charles the fair was the last king of the direct line he was the last of the three sons of philip the fair all of whom died without male children arid the crown upon philip vi of his cousin german philip the fair besides the three sons who reigned in succession had a daughter who was married to edward ii of england and her son came to the british throne as edward iii whom you will remember as the father of edward the black prince on the death of s third brother charles iv the fair of france philip of was recognized and supported as king but s son edward iii was a nearer relative and claimed the throne in right of his mother making war upon france | 36 |
in order to obtain it this was the beginning of those frequent between the two nations edward invaded france fought the great battle of in in which he defeated the french during the reign of philip vi was to france by its last count on condition that the king s oldest son should be the had also been from the successor of william the conqueror in p l p hm and added to the domain philip vi was followed by son john ii who was entirely at the battle of by the english under the black prince and taken to london palace and cottage or as a prisoner where he died charles v his successor improved the condition of the country and drove the english from nearly all their possessions in france he was a good man a wise und was the founder of the royal at paris now the largest in the world which he commenced with about nine hundred volumes and as this was before the invention of it was the largest collection of books his son charles vi was a weak ruler and during his reign henry v of england invaded the country and defeated the french in the battle of in by the treaty of edward was to succeed to the throne of france after the death of henry but both of them died soon after the arrangement was completed son of claimed the throne though henry vi the infant king of england was also proclaimed sovereign of france under the of his uncle the english laid siege to the capital of the old province of that name it is nearly in the centre of france seventy five miles from paris the situation of the country was desperate and the nation seemed to be on the point of falling into the hands of england when of arc or the maid of appeared and pretended to be inspired to overthrow the national enemy and conduct charles to to his she was a simple country girl twenty seven years old but her zeal and energy roused the people she represented the national spirit and the soldiers with a fury which enabled them to beat the she was dressed like a man fully armed and rode a horse young america in france and into actually compelling the english to raise the siege and depart she afterwards fell into the hands of the enemy and was burned alive at for her example had fired the national spirit and the people the english from all their possessions in france except charles obeying the command of the maid of proceeded to then in possession of the enemy captured it and was crowned there louis xi his successor was a king and a bad man though the pope gave him the title of most christian which has since been to the of the french kings charles viii was a mild and polite king he conquered but lost it he had no son and was followed by louis xii duke of who derived his right to the throne from charles v the wise he was a good man popular with his subjects but unfortunate in his projects he retained the ministers of his in power though they had treated him badly declaring that it was unworthy of the king of france to punish them for injuries done to the duke of the et and de eminent of that day figured in this reign his nephew francis l duke of me followed him he was fond of war panting for glory and was a rival with charles v of spain for the vacant throne of the emperor of germany he was not successful and the two became bitter enemies francis first attacked the kingdom of and won and lost it in a short time francis quarrelled a and or with the duke of high of france who in revenge went over to his enemy charles v and when the french king marched into italy he was defeated by taken prisoner and sent to where he was detained until he had submitted to disgraceful terms of peace neither of them kept his promises and a long period of war ensued francis struggled to retain his possessions in italy but the emperor s power was too great for him during this reign occurred the which excited the fears of all the catholic rulers who soon made tremendous efforts to the francis left his kingdom in a flourishing condition though he was always engaged in war the thirteen years of the reign of his son henry ii were also filled up with wars with charles v and philip ii of spain he recovered from the english and the of the or which induced the civil wars that shook the nation for the next thirty years his son francis ii who was the first husband of mary queen of next ascended the throne but lived only one year after his accession and was succeeded by charles ix ten years old his mother de a wicked woman reigned as for him the religion had by this time become widely spread and some of the most distinguished of the realm professed it among them the celebrated prince of and admiral at the head of the were the duke of guise and the cardinal of who were brothers and influential men in the government young america in france and they were cruel and to the who engaged in a conspiracy to destroy them but were discovered and twelve hundred men of the faith were sacrificed civil war followed and the under q nd and were defeated several times by the in an with liberty of conscience was granted to the persecuted but only to them to their destruction on the occasion of the marriage of henry of who was of the religion to the king s sister and other influential were induced to visit paris a few days later on | 36 |
the morning of st s day an of the was commenced the admiral was among the first to fall and the number has been estimated at from twenty five thousand to seventy thousand the began at paris but extended through france henry of was thrown into prison but afterwards escaped the instead of the strengthened them and they became a powerful party with henry and at its head when charles was succeeded by his brother henry iii the latter found it best to grant them some privileges which the catholic party and they formed a league again to destroy the the king finally joined it and took the field against the but the duke of guise his authority henry caused him and his brother the cardinal of to be this deed a rebellion against him and he was himself murdered by a palace and cottage or henry iii had no children and the throne passed in to a new line of kings the first of which was henry iv the king of who however his faith after having fought its battles bravely in order to obtain the throne he was a of the of from whom the name of this line of is derived and which exists at tl present time he was the first of the royal of france but the catholic league under the duke of one of the declared the cardinal of to be king under the title of charles x henry defeated the army of the league in the famous battle of in his subjects refusing to acknowledge a king he was by the pope and embraced the catholic religion but to the by whose arms he had won the throne by the of he granted all their rights and privileges as subjects and made them eligible to all offices of honor and profit he did a good work for france in developing its resources but having formed an scheme against the other powers of europe with the aid of the duke of his famous minister he was in just as he was about to take the field to carry out his ambitious project mary de his widow ruled as for her son louis xiii who was only nine years of age the kingdom was soon in disorder from which it was relieved by cardinal who became prime minister when the king was of age his chief purpose wa to subdue the nobility the young america in france and and restrain the power of he persecuted the drove them into rebellion and they attempted to establish an independent state with for its capital the cardinal laid siege to that city which after a stubborn resistance of a year during which fifteen thousand perished was obliged to yield and the power and influence of the in france was lost in spite of his deceit and severity raised the nation to the highest degree of power and glory he was the real ruler of the country and louis xiii hardly appears to be recognized louis xiv succeeded his father at the age of five years under the of his mother anne of who made cardinal an artful italian the chief minister of state at the death of the cardinal louis himself at the age of twenty two took the reins of government into his own hands he became a powerful sovereign and greatly extended the limits of france he was in his policy and united the other states of europe against him his treasury was drained and the league to him soon involved him in by which he lost nearly all he had won in this war occurred the great battle of in in which the english duke of was engaged the peace of closed the conflict louis the of in and hunted the out of france he reigned seventy two years the next king was louis xv great of his who succeeded at the age of six with the duke of as during his reign and b or occurred the war of the succession and the french and indian war in america louis died in after a reign of and tyranny which lasted fifty nine years and was followed by his louis xvi a monarch of good character but lacking decision his situation was a very trying one the treasury had been by the wars of his and the of the nation were almost hopelessly embarrassed the people had been trodden down until they had become turbulent and desperate and the king stood between them and the nobility the former demanding reform and the latter crying out against it the war of the american revolution took place at this period and france assisted the young republic struggling for its life on the return of the french who had been in america they brought with them something of the spirit of the people whose cause they had which added to the flame of discontent the of the united states was before them the government was the taxes were the nobility were at greater power the clergy and other privileged classes were from taxes and the wide spread of influential men which encouraged great latitude of thought and expression all these things combined to produce the french revolution the king and some of his ministers were disposed to grant but he was too slow and uncertain he called together the a body selected by himself after all attempts to the had failed but they him no relief young america in france and l j the states general were called together but the nobility and clergy were in the majority the of the people with such of the privileged orders as would join them took affairs into their own hands and declared themselves to be the power of the land under the title of the national assembly of this body the brilliant and eloquent was the popular leader it assumed the sovereign power and not only the nobility | 36 |
and clergy but the king himself were deprived of their authority the dismissal of a minister from office by louis lighted the fire of active rebellion the or state prison was torn down by the people of furious men and women committed upon property and violence was the order of the day the fled the army with the people and the royal family was driven from to paris by the mob but were protected by who commanded the national guard the national assembly which now held its in paris nearly stripped the crown of its power all the privileges of the clergy and established religious liberty and the freedom of the press the property of the church suppressed and divided france into in the midst of these louis and his family attempted to escape but were captured and brought back to paris from the frontier the national assembly finally completed a constitution which the king accepted and dissolved in a year later another body called the national assembled and its first act was to palace and cottage or the and declare france a republic the king was at their bar and to death he was executed on the in january for no crime of his own and his death will ever be a reproach to the nation then came the days of the french revolution the was divided into two parties the first and more violent one the mountain party on account of their high seats in the hall was under the lead of and the other more moderate called the because their leaders came from the department of the was led by and the former obtained the and resorted to the most they condemned and executed louis s widow in the most barbarous manner the were brought to the and the dominant party indulged in the most bloody and abominable the christian religion was suppressed liberty equality and reason were to be the only french the churches were sunday was and a making every tenth day a day of rest was established new parties arose with in one and in the other and as each came into power it the other died on the to which he had brought so many others the clubs of the most violent tendencies were suppressed in four different had been framed by the last the power was in three the first of whom was napoleon this remarkable man had already in a america in france and great measure achieved his military reputation he had rapidly worked his way up to the rank of general in the army of france in the course of the national it had in i by its of power incurred the displeasure of the who turned their fury upon it the had five regular troops and after one general had failed napoleon was as their leader the people advanced thirty thousand in number towards the pouring in a fire of to which the young general replied with of which he had an abundant supply in less than an hour by his decision energy and skilful he achieved a complete victory for the in he was appointed to the of the army of italy and conquered the country the attempted to check his victorious career but he repeatedly defeated them in some of the most brilliant on record and finally compelled to submit to hard terms as the price of peace in the treaty of his return to paris was a procession and he was received with the most unbounded enthusiasm the french revolution was regarded with alarm by the powers of europe and they combined to repress the disorder it occasioned the sovereigns trembled for the of their own and hastened to defend them by attacking france had been subdued and silenced italy was a french province and during the absence of napoleon the then the authority under the had created the army of england o palace and cottage or ing to and conquer england the command of this force was given to the young but he had a project of his own which he persuaded his to substitute for the uncertain scheme they had devised this was the conquest of egypt and the east with his fleet and army he crossed the on the way ascended the took defeated the in the battle of the and attempted to carry his into where he was checked at acre by the english in the mean time had almost the french fleet in the tremendous naval engagement at the plan was a failure though napoleon it so that it did not look so bad to the french privately returning to france he was elected first from this point his history becomes that of the french nation he was the idol of the army and in its strength he was strong enough to do as he pleased he the council and formed a new constitution another of the european powers was formed against france but napoleon defeated the at in compelling them to make peace with him and in the course of two years he made terms with most of the other powers in he was made for life and devoted his attention to civil affairs the laws restoring the catholic religion and developing the and commercial resources of the country he displayed splendid abilities as a ruler and raised france to the highest degree of power and influence in he was proclaimed hereditary young america in france and l l emperor and was crowned december a day for which his nephew has manifested a partiality in the following year he went to and was king of italy the peace was of brief duration the powers of europe by england formed a third against napoleon and he defeated and captured the army at and achieved his memorable victory over the combined and at where three were present but just before this last event lord won the great naval | 36 |
victory of in which the english admiral was killed by the peace of again submitted to humiliating conditions the king of having incurred the displeasure of the emperor napoleon him and made his brother joseph king of and placed his brother louis on the throne of holland he also formed of several of the german states the of the of which he was chosen protector and made kings of the of and this increased power and influence caused a fourth in which england russia and joined against him and was followed by the battles of and and napoleon having taken and concluded the peace of was deprived of a portion of her territory by this treaty which was erected into the kingdom of and the emperor s brother was placed on the throne napoleon was greatly elated by his marvellous ii l and or and was disposed to be the of all europe by his movements he drove the royal family of to and took possession of the country having a difficulty with the pope he a portion of his territory to italy and occupied rome in he sent his brother in law general to and then proclaimed his brother joseph king of spain giving the vacant throne of the spanish people to this arrangement rose in arms against the and were assisted by england with men and money the war as it is called in which the duke of distinguished himself raged for five years in another war with ensued in which napoleon after several entered and afterwards utterly the at by the treaty of francis i of lost considerable territory and promised his daughter maria in marriage to napoleon who was from and married her a new difficulty with alexander of russia led the emperor to the of the former with an immense army of over four hundred thousand men napoleon defeated the at and obtained the advantage over them at but his enemy burned and he was compelled to retire amid the of a russian winter in which the greater part of his army was lost napoleon returned in disguise to paris deeply by his failure the next year he raised another army to break up the fifth and most powerful but his star had begun to he was young america in france and defeated at was more successful at and but was completely in the awful battle of where four hundred thousand men were engaged napoleon escaped and went back to paris whither his followed him his case was hopeless the people and even many of his own turned against him and he in favor of his son the emperor was sent to the isle of with a salary of one million two hundred thousand dollars there to live in state as a prisoner when louis xvi was he left a son the louis joseph eight years old he was sent to prison and kept there till he died two years after his father his remains were privately buried and all traces of his grave though his death was by four four members of the committee of safety and twenty officials of the prison several persons have claimed to be the and among them the rev in the united states as the last king therefore had no male heir napoleon was succeeded by louis xviii brother of louis xvi the deceased supplying the wanting ten months later napoleon encouraged by the of france escaped from and returning to his capital louis fled amid the storm of applause that greeted the emperor but the gathered an immense army and moved towards paris again napoleon with two hundred and fifty thousand men hastened to his old enemies on the field he entered defeated at and despatched to the english under at who palace and cottage or however was and fell back upon where the decisive battle was fought it was a momentous conflict the destiny of france and the peace of europe the french were partially successful at first but the day ended in their utter and total napoleon hastened back to paris which was in the hands of the and the fallen chief again after a reign of just one hundred days he attempted to escape to the united states but finding it impossible he gave himself up to the captain of an english war ship he trusted to the of england and was sent to st a prisoner where he died louis xviii returned to his throne france was reduced in limits heavily for the expenses of the war and compelled to maintain a large force of allied troops upon her frontier for three years the king was liberal in his views but between the two violent parties his situation was a one he was succeeded by his brother in who reigned as charles x he was not so liberal as his and when he attempted to the chamber of suppress the newspapers and alter the election law the people rose up against him and after a revolution of three days the king s troops were overpowered the liberal assembled declared the throne vacant and invited louis duke of to accept it charles x fled and the new monarch was crowned he was a man of decided ability though he did not carry out the principles of the men who elected him his measures were arbitrary and he was not a popular america in france and sovereign during his reign was completely and el brought to paris a prisoner in people were discontented under the heavy taxes imposed upon them and the oppression of the government reform were held all over the country for counsel and agitation one was appointed to be held in paris on sunday february the police were directed to the meeting the friends of reform postponed the banquet for two days when vast crowds assembled which soon came into collision with the troops of whom eighty thousand had been hurried into the | 36 |
city the soon became general and the national guard refused to act or joined the people who had erected numerous in the streets louis attempted to the tumult by but it was too late and in favor of his he fled with his family to england a government was formed and louis napoleon was afterwards elected president the subsequent history of france i have already related to you in speaking of the pi emperor some of the students yawned heavily but to most of them the narrative long and as it was had been full of interest for in a few days they were to behold the locality of some of these stirring events palace and cottage or chapter x the knights of the golden at work t i hat was a tremendous long said x lieutenant to captain as the professor finished his extended remarks rather long but i think we need not complain if mr does not replied paul he has taken a great deal of pains to gather up his facts and descriptions and to arrange them in a connected narrative for my part france already has a greater interest to me for what he has said though i don t care much about hearing the names of the kings before the time of louis xvi how did you like the lecture miss asked as the two officers approached her seat very much indeed think you students are remarkably fortunate in having such a preparation for seeing the countries you are to visit replied grace now when you go to paris you will know what everything means exactly so added mr when i first visited st in paris and was told when and by whom it was built i felt no interest at all for i had forgotten all about st louis now you have been told all about the geography history and young america in france and i of the country when you enter the place de la you will know where you are this review is a capital thing for you i think it is sir replied paul as tlie party went on deck the s boats returned with her crew to the an early dinner or rather lunch was and all hands in both vessels went on shore to see the city which however has no particular attractions to the who has seen the of liverpool it has a population of seventy five thousand and is mostly of modern construction the students examined the walked upon the north jet e which is the principal public visited the splendid hotel de or city hall and its beautiful garden and took an outside view of the house in which de st was tom our time has come said little as he met the chief of the knights of the golden on the jet e we must go it this very night or never everything is fixed for us so i was thinking replied have you heard the programme for to night i was told that the coast would be clear on board of the mr gives a big dinner at the hotel de to night to all on board the and there will be no one in her except the and the cook the head steward and the and carpenter will be there won t they asked with interest palace and cottage or you keep your ears closed i think mr insisted that every man and boy on board should attend his party they say he is going to have a band of music and it will be the biggest time ever heard of he is going to do the same thing for the crew of the s on monday but i reckon i shall not wait for that here comes we must whisper the thing round and be ready to start to night we shall never have such another chance what s up asked as he joined the interesting couple he was told what was up and he also was ready to strike when the iron was hot how about that bag inquired who alone had been made the of the villain in regard to the gold dry up muttered little you were not to mention that to any fellow what bag demanded never mind that now when we get off i will tell you all about it we have no time to talk about it now have you heard anything concerning the arrangements for to night for the said little turning away the attention of his companions from the topic i have only heard that the boats of the ship are to bring off the after they get through with their that s so we are to take the s boats back and them up then at nine o clock we are to come ashore and take the fellows off in four of young in france and our boats added little who had carefully all the arrangements then all we have to do is to drop on board of the up anchor in the dark and go to sea said the thing won t do itself i can tell you objected how shall we get all the knights into the same boat how shall we get rid of the officers what s to prevent the other boats from the ship coming between us and our game sure enough exclaimed who was not brilliant at what s to prevent it replied little quietly the new knight the new knight s the term i used who is he bob do you mean to say that you have been talking to that lamb about our affairs demanded angrily i didn t say it and don t mean to say it answered little who in coolness self possession and dignity as well as in the cunning art of was vastly more than the equal of the acknowledged leader of the order i think i know what | 36 |
i am about a good deal better than some of the rest of you you are all ready to go tom but if you don t have some one to lay out the work for you you couldn t do a thing that s so i don t ask any place or power for myself but i don t want to see the thing as it was at when you were going off so finely palace and cottage or do you mean to say that was my fault demanded i don t care whose fault it was the affair was a failure you were going into your boat while was in his berth below don t fight about it interposed i don t want to fight and don t intend to do so continued little but i want this business better managed than it was before you snapped at me because i said something to you don t know what you had no right to speak to him without letting some of us know it persisted all right i m under censure and i submit said little you are the chief go ahead and put the thing through you needn t get mad about it i don t intend to get mad tell me what to do and i ll do it the coast will be clear to night if you let this chance slip by you will never go take my word for that i don t see how we are to get the knights on board of the added after he had considered the matter a little do you know what boats are to be sent for the s fellows i don t replied as little did not afford the information do you monkey i do i have a friend at court who tells me what i want to know s said no matter who it is i got the order just as it was given by the captain to the first lieutenant young america in france and i i what boats are they the s the first the professors and the second i don t see that this arrangement will help our plan any the knights are scattered in all these boats you are a louis xiii and you need a laughed little you have the problem all you have to do is to solve it given thirty knights of the golden in four boats to get them all into the same boat when only eight of them are to be found in any single boat i did not intend to do the thing in this way replied vexed at the of his companion did you intend to do the thing in any way mr commander of the order of course i did all right then we will obey orders as knights sir tom what is your plan if you don t object to stating it i don t object to stating it though i have not fully made it up yet added of course such an affair as this can t be carried out without a great deal of contrivance you can t tell beforehand how things are going to be and what you do is liable to go wrong we know all that interposed little impatiently but in this case we do know how things are going to be the will be left to night with no one on board of her but the cook and two i was going to tell you my plan but if you don t want to hear it i don t care about telling it replied rather palace and cottage or let us know what it is said we are going to paris monday i believe monday night added little who seemed to know everybody s plans just so and the darker the better one of these railway carriages here has about four which seat six or eight each we must contrive it so as to have all the knights get into the last carriage by hurrying up a little we can easily manage that but if we happen to get two or three other fellows in it won t much matter we can give them the slip what do you think of that plan asked who seemed to think he had invented a big idea i don t see through it yet answered little too coldly to please the commander of the expedition don t you well you are not so sharp as i thought you were sneered i see what you mean plainly enough but i want to hear the whole plan before i give an opinion what do i mean inquired the leader in you intend to the car and be left behind of course what in the station no after you get a mile or two out of the city i should do it when we are in some lonely place on the road then we can just make our way back to go on board the and put to sea without any delay that s what you mean but there are some trifling obstacles suggested little in the first place we shall all be locked into the young america in france and locked in what do we care for that isn t there a window big enough for a man to get out to say nothing of a boy added contemptuously when we were going from to i got out of the window on one side went over the top of the carriage and came in again at the window on the other side just for the fun of it there may be no difficulty about that but if the last carriage should be a mail car or something of that sort no matter if it is we can break up the train and when it stops all we have to do is to get out and make tracks for all right grant | 36 |
that you get clear of the train and find your way back to this city what then you know what then as well as i can tell you we will take the and be off we should be out of sight of land before morning and then they couldn t find us any more than they could a needle in a hay do you know what they are going to do with the two vessels while we are in paris and asked they are going to put them into the dock there i may be lame replied candidly but i don t think they will dock the vessels till the next day perhaps they won t but if you have any you will see they are very likely to do so and then what becomes of your little plan i shall be of course unless we can get the out of the dock the forward officers will live on shore palace and cottage or they will take their meals on shore but sleep on board and be in our way at the very time we want to go the tide will be high at about five on monday and in my opinion the vessels will be then before we start for paris if they are of course our chances are small you don t like my way now tell us what yours is growled you snapped me before i had time to say anything about it you are the commander and all we have to do is to obey your orders when you give them you are a good fellow monkey added stepping down from the high horse all the fellows know that without being told and you find it out when you get into a tight place answered little modestly but let us know what your plan is it can t be carried out without les so it is no use to talk do you mean to tell us will agree to anything that isn t pious yes i do o get out out of the knights no but has fallen from grace he is ready to go in with any fellows for a good time he finds he don t get any credit for being a lamb i have had a talk with him since we came ashore i saw you were pretty thick with him if i was he don t know any more about the young america in france and knights than i did before i joined answered little significantly i don t understand you monkey then don t snuff at me till you do understand is of our boat and if he is a lamb he isn t a baby he knows what he is about and i ll bet my eyes you couldn t go off in any boat with him in it unless he consented will he consent he has consented you don t mean so i if i didn t i shouldn t say so protested little you see i him we are up to one thing but he thinks we are up to another tell us what you mean in plain english if you haven t blown upon us it is all right perhaps i don t know enough not to blow on you if you think so you had better strip off my spurs we know you are all right monkey interposed let us know what you have done now you are decent i will tell you all about it replied the little villain complacently we want but he was careful not to say to the commander of the knights what he wanted of him by slow degrees i led the lamb to believe that the crew of the s were going off without asking leave the officers have made complaints against him and he has been charged with something which has not come out yet that s what s the matter is disgusted and dissatisfied and he is willing to go on a in the are you sure he isn t you palace and cottage or t he is an old rogue and i don t believe he has lost his tact since he became pious i know what i m about was all the reply the little would condescend to make to this implied upon his own cunning he has consented to go and i rather think he will like the better than the he will be as willing to be hung for an old sheep as for a lamb no matter for that after he gets us off in the boat i don t care whether he or not he can do as he pleases he has promised to fill up the with the fellows i send into her but he won t let thirty of us get into her that we must up so as to make it come out right if you will leave the affair to me i will promise to have all the knights on board of the replied little confidently i don t ask to be captain or anything of that sort that s fair what do you say it is for you and to decide you are the leaders i ll let you know in half an hour or so added who wished to communicate the situation to his associate in authority the commander of the knights of the golden for this was the position to which had been assigned had a long consultation with who without talent for anything in particular except making was regarded as the second in rank always growled and of course he did so when informed that was to have a part in the programme for in his estimation the student young america in france and was a traitor who had deserted our fellows and gone over to the enemy but when it was shown that the only practicable scheme which had yet been | 36 |
devised could be carried out only with his assistance he assented to the proposition as he would have done to anything after he had gone through the formality of growling at it little therefore was immediately of the acquiescence of the high and mighty second in command and directed to carry out his arrangements to suit himself but remember that when the knights are safely on board of the you are to be the same as the rest of the fellows added careful to guard against any oh the part of the little villain i don t want any office you needn t be afraid of me answered little meekly i am willing to do the work and let you bear off all the honors o we don t mean to you monkey or anything of that sort protested if you do a good thing for the order you shall not lose anything by it we shall want a second lieutenant as soon as we get off i don t ask for anything i go for the good of the whole and not for myself like some of the rest of the do you mean me monkey demanded the commander i don t mean anybody shut up now interposed if you are going to be each other in way we shall be in a row all the time and i would rather not go palace and cottage or we will be good friends monkey added till we get on board the we will said little we shall have time enough to fight it out there we won t fight anywhere now what are we to do demanded tell every knight to be in the waist close together when the boats are away that s all i want you to do answered the self possessed little villain complacently they separated and before the students had returned on board the each of the knights had been instructed to be at the appointed place and to be prepared to go on board of the they had been too well in keeping the mysteries of the order to upon the exciting to be in possession of the and free from the of discipline formed a brilliant prospect it would be ten times more agreeable than going to paris tied to the skirts of the professors coats but they expected to visit the great city in their own time freedom from restraint was their ideal of perfect bliss but the fancy was never to be realized and their hopes were to be rudely at five o clock the ship s boats left the the s boats were by the crew not at the oars and pulled off to the in charge of the second lieutenant they were hoisted up to the and everything left in good order the and first from the ship conveyed these hands to the young america three hours must before it would be time for young america in france and the boats to go on shore and bring off the s people the knights were highly excited but they were extremely cautious all of them who had any or other articles which they wished to take with them concealed them in their clothing or placed them where they would be available when needed little was a great wire and he worked hard the problem he had volunteered to solve was a difficult one and if the circumstances had not singularly favored him the promise he had made to get the knights on board of the must have failed towards night the weather which had been pleasant came up thick and misty with a fresh breeze from the channel which drifted in dense clouds of fog at dark it was hardly possible to see a ship s length ahead it was chilly and uncomfortable and most of the students retreated from the cold on deck to the and the cabin they had been walking all the afternoon on shore and with their sea legs on which makes it all the more those who were not excited by the prospects of the stolen expedition were tired out not a few of this class grumbled at the idea of being obliged to pull a boat to the in the heavy sea the dark night and the cold wind little heard these complaints and hastened to profit by them when the boats were merely engaged in ship s service and not in the regular routine of discipline any member of a crew with the consent of the officer in charge had the privilege of a substitute this had been the rule ever since the ship went into commission and was intended not l o palace and cottage or only to relieve an who wished to be excused but to afford opportunities to cultivate good feeling among the students by allowing and encouraging one to do a kindness to another on all occasions of or ceremony every one of the crew was required to be on his unless excused for good reasons by the captain in the s eight of the twelve were knights and when the chilly shrugged their shoulders and did not care to pull a mile on such a night four members of the order very quietly at the suggestion of little offered to take their places the was then properly and nearly one half of the were provided with a passage to the an examination of the station bills posted up in the showed that four of the eight oars in the second were pulled by members of the order this boat was therefore selected to take part in the secret service no one wanted to pull to the and back that night and little while he lay on two apparently asleep filled the places with whatever the knights thought they kept to themselves but the rest of the crew believed that the era of good feeling had been for never before | 36 |
had fellows been so kind and obliging to their as on that cold dark evening twenty one of the knights had thus been provided for but as another boat could not be taken without exposing the whole scheme to defeat it required sharp wits to dispose of the other nine members of young america in france and l l the secret organization as it was always that no knight should be deserted by the others while ke was true to the common interests it was necessary that not a single one should be left behind in view of this difficulty little concluded to wake up and go on deck those who were provided with places in the boats very naturally kept themselves comfortable in the while those who had not been so cared for were as naturally nervous and fearful of being left in the ship while the glorious enterprise was in progress they followed the little villain on deck to inquire of him what they were to do the anchor watch on the struck seven bells in half an hour more the boats would be sent away it was necessary to act promptly and little in the course of the remaining period of directed the last nine to go down the ladder and themselves away in the of the and second in the deep darkness that prevailed they were not likely to be seen and as only knights were to go in these boats they would not be exposed the little villain was satisfied then that he should be able to keep his promise he whispered the arrangement to several of the crew in each of the two boats and the programme was soon understood by all the only circumstance was the fact that the second was to be by the second lieutenant but was to go as substitute for the and he was to dispose of the officer as well as he could at eight bells the several boats were away the first in charge of the first lieutenant went away first she was followed by palace and cottage or the professors and the second mr expecting the s crew would attempt to run away had instructed each of the officers of the other boats to pull up to the and bring back the if she attempted to go up the river according to the programme indicated by little to the went last and the principal was confident that the bag of gold would soon be found young america in france and chapter xi the capture of the mr himself had contributed more than any one else to the success of the little villain s plan in his anxiety to discover the truth in regard to the mysterious bag of gold he had permitted rather than directed to fall in with the plan of the his understanding of the matter was that the crew of the s were to run away little was one of the leading spirits of the enterprise and the gold was intended to pay the expenses of the expedition instead of passing between the into the harbor the would continue on her way up the this was the programme as communicated o by little but none knew better than mr the character of the s captain haven proposed to detain the as soon as the crew were seated on the and have them searched but the principal decided that it would be safer to permit the to carry their plan a little farther it was possible that the scheme had been postponed or some other method adopted to execute it for the could not well and cottage or help if the boat therefore went into the harbor nothing was to be said or done for then the presumption would be that the gold was not on board on tlie contrary if the passed the and continued up the river it would indicate that the really intended to run away and that the gold was on board the first lieutenant had been placed in command of the first with instructions for the occasion in the second and in the professors were to with him though the crew of these boats knew nothing of the officers directions agreeably to the programme which had been carefully arranged by the and the chief ers the s had been sent off last and detained long enough to permit the other boats to reach the in advance of her each and was provided with a lantern and a boat compass in charge of the to whom the course had been given the fog was very dense and the position of the boats could only be known by the sound of the oars the first without waiting for the others pulled up to the on each of which was a light for tlie guidance of vessels the professors followed her and reaching the soon after communicated with the first lieutenant who stationed her just beyond tlie in the thick fog while he placed his own boat farther out though neither boat could see the other they were within hail each pulling an occasional stroke to prevent being ci out by the rapid tide the second with young ami in france and was expected next and she was to be stationed outside of the first lieutenant s boat so that he could give his orders conveniently to both of his companions who was an old salt having been in tlie ship a year and a half was fro of the second his station was behind the back board with the compass and lantern on the grating at his feet the boat cast off and in a moment the ship disappeared in the thick fog gradually so as not to excite the suspicion of changed the course of the boat till he had headed her towards the instead of the which were in the opposite direction if the second lieutenant had | 36 |
you asked little in a low tone as soon as the boat was out of hail of the ship for he had decided to be polite instead of violent what money asked the rather to encourage the little villain to talk than to obtain information that bag of gold replied little his oar and taking a seat on the cushions near the i haven t it we can t go without that added little earnestly we must have money certainly j e must responded the willing to give the rogue all the rope he needed between you and me i know where it is added little of course he did and actually trembled with delight when he saw the scheme working so well as he believed little had said enough already to condemn him and the was satisfied that the gold was in the where is it asked with an eagerness which he had no occasion to assume ril tell you but i can t stop to explain the whole thing now my honor i you had the palace and cottage or bag or i shouldn t have said so come np here and take my oar added little calling to one of his associates under the middle board the knight thus addressed crawled out from under the and took his place at the stroke oar what does that mean asked astonished at this addition to his crew five more of our fellows wanted to go with us and themselves in the bottom of the boat answered little you may come out fellows it is all right now the found he had gone into the business deeper than he intended but he was not appalled only surprised at the increase of his crew now where is the money he inquired nervously when the had disposed of themselves in various parts of the do you know in the yes well he has it in his charge replied little as though he was giving his interested companion the most important and valuable information in the world which in the estimation of the it actually was but is on shore with the rest of his crew he is but the gold is not where is it then on board of the and before we go up the river we must pay her a visit we shall have a bully time do you know where she lays certainly i do v replied who was not young america in france and i i exactly satisfied with the intelligence he received isn t the gold in the no sir said little decidedly i supposed it was you were mistaken i know exactly where it is concealed on board of the where asked no you don t exclaimed the little villain who ever ready to play a trick was always on the for one i shall not give you any chance to back out you agreed to go with us i am with you then steer for the and we will get the money the was in doubt and while he was thinking of the matter little whistled as as though he had no interest in his decision you must say quick said he after a pause if you don t want to go with us i am willing to give it up but i am afraid we shall never see the gold again if we don t get it to night how came by it asked i ll explain that after we get the money it would not make a delay of more than ten or fifteen minutes to visit the and decided to let the rogue have his own way he was on the right track to obtain the bag which possibly was on board of the and the other boats would wait at the for him the put the about and little felt that he had won the victory we are all in the same boat can t you tell me now how happens to have this bag of gold palace and cottage or asked you see it is a matter of more consequence to me than to any other fellow for i have been accused of concealing it what difference does it make to you now if you are going in with us demanded little i am curious to know how i got mixed up in the scrape when i didn t know anything at all about the matter explained but you asked me a soon as we got off from the ship if i had the gold that was only to open the subject i knew you hadn t it then but how came it aboard the ship yesterday handed it to who hid it under your berth do you know anything about the bag demanded suddenly i do replied the addressed do you added to the stroke what bag asked no he knows nothing about it interposed little no one but does i think this matter is a good deal mixed said the ril tell you about it since you are so suspicious i m not suspicious i m only curious to know how the thing was charged upon me i didn t know myself till we went ashore to day continued the ever ready little liar the on the told me he gave the bag to the man in boat i suppose he meant i didn t know then that any other boat than ours had been young america in france and i near him but it appears that the s first had tried to haul him in and the money was handed to her took care of it for him but after th in the ship yesterday he gave it back little did not care whether hip companion believed this story or not if he would only keep still ten minutes more unfortunately the did keep still he wa intent upon finding th bag of gold and | 36 |
d i it best even if the money was then in the to give the all the rope he wanted satisfied he would hang himself in the end with some the was found in the thick fog and the fastened to her stairs with his boat hook keep still fellows said little to the crew come and i will show you exactly where the gold is and you may put your own hands upon it for i would rather have you keep it and be than any other fellow that was exactly what wanted if he could get his hands upon the treasure he would be satisfied and he was willing to any risk for that purpose he leaped out of the boat and ran up the steps to the deck don t move till i tell you said little in a low tone as he followed the now where is it asked impatiently the best place to hide anything is in the most exposed position replied little do you know where hid the bag on board of the ship after he found the officers had seen it palace and cottage or no in mr s state room replied little has done about the same thing here for he has concealed the bag in the vice principal s room did not care a straw for these revelations he only wanted the bag of gold and he did not pause to whatever may have seemed doubtful to him in the statements little led him into the cabin of the and paused before the door of the professors apartment it was locked but the key was in the door you know how your berth is situated this one is just like it said little opening the door go in raise up the and under the forward part you will find the bag i will hold your lantern for you the little villain began to be somewhat nervous for he heard the second alongside with some loud talking and he was afraid would take the alarm but the latter was too eager to obtain the evidence of his own innocence to even for an instant the search for the treasure he entered the room little stepped back and hastily closed and locked the door the was a prisoner and as the door opened inward he was not likely to get out in season to defeat the enterprise if he did at all little rushed on deck with the lantern in his hand and called to those in the boats to come on board the knights intensely excited and perhaps surprised at the success so far of the wild scheme hastened on board young america in france and i i have kept my promise the knights are all here said little where s demanded locked up in the professors state room but you had better be in a hurry clear away the and the added he had been prudent enough to station his men beforehand and in a few minutes the was shaking in the fresh breeze a line was made fast to the cable at one end while the other was attached to the what am i to do asked who had come on deck and was with astonishment not to say alarm the proceedings of the lawless students will you join us s a seaman asked sharply what are you going to do asked rather timidly we are going on a in the will you go or not short stories i would rather not added the second lieutenant who however did not see how he was to avoid going then you need not get into the or the are you going to turn me adrift alone in a boat demanded who did not consider such a prospect very encouraging where are you going to the north coast of ireland replied intending by this answer which might be reported to the principal to deceive him in regard to his destination palace and cottage or i don t want to go and i don t want to be turned adrift added where is locked up in the professors state room is he going with you i don t know yet but i have no time to talk we are going to sea at once choose quick we shall the anchor with the then i will stay in her well behave yourself or you will get a broken head said sharply was faithful enough but he could do nothing alone he went over the side into the to which the line from the cable had been fastened to prevent it from drifting to sea for the did not wish to have the second lieutenant s life sacrificed by their the was set and the hands stood at the cable and at the the cook and the two had made their appearance on deck but they did not offer to interfere with the one of them had asked what was going on and had been informed that they were only to change the of the vessel but was not a waiter and he was not disposed to submit to his imprisonment he had used his voice and applied his heels to the door but as yet he was secure when everything was ready to let go the cable wanted to know what was to be done with him if you let him out he will break about a dozen of our heads to begin with suggested he won t break mine replied a great stout fellow who had a taste for fighting but being young america in france and one of the received at liverpool he had never had a chance to measure muscle with let him out if he don t behave himself i will undertake to handle him let him out little you h ve the key added we don t want him with us if he does not join he will join by | 36 |
and by if you only let him stay suggested little who did not wish to spare him bring him on deck at any rate said the acting captain little attended by went into the cabin and unlocked the door of the state room did you find it asked the little villain as he threw open the door who now understood how thoroughly he had been stepped out into the cabin his first impulse was to at little and tear him in pieces but he had learned to conquer such temptations and he stood gazing at the rogue did you find the bag repeated little but he was prudent enough to keep under the lee of his stout companion you have deceived me said sharply sold you a fact laughed little as he took the bag of gold from his jacket pocket and dropped it heavily upon the table there is the gold and you need not trouble yourself to look after it any more if you believed anything i said you were a bigger fool than i took you to be little put the bag in his pocket again and was careful to keep between himself and his victim palace and cottage or i did not think so small a boy could be so big a scoundrel replied with dignity thank you i intend to keep up my reputation if i deceived you did me the same favor you didn t intend to go in with us no i did not well i forgive you i wanted to know who had the bag of gold you know now bring him up shouted at the head of the companion way don t fool there all night what are you going to do asked we are going on a in the shall we have the honor of your company where are you going to the north coast of ireland replied little as instructed by are you really going to run away with the vessel asked appalled in his turn by the boldness of the scheme bring him up come on deck and i will introduce you to captain added little they went up the steps and put the question to him whether or not he wished to join the vessel as a common sailor he was ashamed to go back to the ship after being so by remaining he might create a diversion in favor of law and order and perhaps with the aid of the cook and whom he saw on deck save and bring back the i will go with you said he firmly young america in france and i let go the cable shouted run up the the cable ran out and sank to the bottom but the line held the to which the second had been made fast and afforded the means of recovering the anchor and chain the went up and in the gloom and fog the stood off to the westward on her t palace and cottage or xii a few hour in h the first and the professors waited very patiently off the at the entrance of the harbor of the second which was to form part of the cutting out fleet had not appeared the first lieutenant became very anxious for the result for the programme seemed to have somewhere it was not possible that either boat had lost its way for tliey had and the were experienced in managing the boats by night and in the fog after waiting half an hour he sent the back to the ship to ascertain what had become of the other boats on its arrival mr was more astonished than had been when the officer informed him that the two boats had not been near the the second left the ship soon after you did mr said the principal the followed ten minutes later i don t understand it sir replied the third lieutenant my boat was within distance of the lights and the was outside of me within call i am quite sure neither of them can have gone up the river young america in france and i possibly they have lost their way in the fog or been drifted off by the strong tide though i do not see how either of these things could have happened mr did not give expression to his worst fears he suspected that the party instead of going up the river as they had declared to they intended to do had altered their plans and pulled over to on the opposite shore or made a landing in the vicinity of cape la h ve he had not the remotest idea of the real truth the were still on shore probably waiting at the landing for the boats and it was necessary to provide first for their return for the tide would soon leave them where they could not be reached by the boats the of the third and fourth were away and the four boats were directed to bring off the ship s company of the wherever the had gone it was obviously too late to their passage up the river the principal judged from the absence of the second that zealous to ha d detected the movements of the and followed her the three boats pulled to the and the first lieutenant gave him the principal s orders as to him through the captain led the way into the harbor and found the the pier where they had been waiting over an hour as the night was chilly and damp they were not very comfortable and were in a hurry to return to their snug quarters in the at the h de i europe they had enjoyed a splendid entertainment at which all the of the french palace and cottage or had been set before them while a band of music played inspiring airs mr had made a pleasant speech to them to which captain the | 36 |
officers and the professors had responded in fitting terms it was an occasion to be remembered for it had been heartily enjoyed the embarked in the boats and many of them were thankful for an opportunity to stir their blood at the oars the little fleet passed the ship her on the way to inform those on board that nothing had been seen of the missing captain was directed to send out all his boats in search of them in the first led the line was in the bow looking out for the which it was not easy to find in the dense fog young america shouted a voice from the depths of the fog and darkness ahead of the some one the ship mr said where away dead ahead sir young america repeated the voice ay ay shouted in reply the head boat of the line guided by the voice rapidly approached the and second to the s anchor where poor chilled by the night air was waiting for the return of the impatient at the delay he was trying to hail the ship boat he called as the first emerged from the fog so that he obtained a faint view of it young america in france and in the boat i replied who is it replied the second lieutenant what are you doing here asked as the on to the where s the where is she repeated leaping into the she has gone to sea you don t mean so exclaimed the first lieutenant of the it s a fact she has been gone for two hours i should think it was only one which the officer s impatience had extended into two this was startling information and captain who was also in the was utterly confounded by it told his story very briefly and paul ordered a crew into the second to pull her back to the ship leaving the to the anchor officers and were appalled at the daring of the and opinions were freely expressed that the would be on the rocks or before morning the boats returned to the ship with the intelligence which was soon communicated to the whole ship s company the principal was sick at heart and feared that he had made a fatal mistake mr and were invited to the main cabin where the lieutenant highly excited by the event related his experience after leaving the ship who was the leader of this insane enterprise asked mr with an apparent calmness which his feelings and little seemed to be the chief ones replied palace and cottage or was concerned in it i don t know sir but he has gone with them did you see him no sir but i heard his voice on deck after they sent me into the what did he say he said he would go with them then he had not been concerned in getting up the project i don t know sir i asked for and told me he was locked up in the professors that shows that he was not one of the original party added mr who derived much satisfaction from the fact do you know where they are going to the north coast of ireland replied did they say so said so the second lieutenant was dismissed and mr had an anxious consultation with mr what do you think of it asked the principal it is a mere lark that cannot amount to much probably the will be back in two or three days replied the vice principal i am afraid they will wreck the vessel and lose their lives i don t think so if they had pluck enough to run away with her there are brains enough among them to handle her is a and is equal to the command of either vessel young america in france and but appears to be a prisoner or at least not one of the party and probably has no control over them in my opinion he will soon have control over them they will not stay at sea long and as soon as they put into port we shall hear of them but it was finally decided not to let the affair take its own course and mr mr and the forward officers of the were sent on shore in the professors two were to be employed to search for the which were to leave as soon as the tide would permit them to go out of the harbor one with mr and the carpenter on board to identify the was to go to the northward and the other with mr as for the was to go to the westward the crew of the ship were to muster and the names of the thirty were discovered by calling the roll the s hands were in their vacant places and the officers were in the cabin in an hour after the return of the boats all was as quiet as usual on board but it is doubtful whether the principal slept much that night the next day was sunday before it was fairly daylight the had gone out the fog having lifted so as to render the search more hopeful mr and his family spent the day on board of course they were very much surprised and grieved to learn of the mischief which had been accomplished and doubtless concluded that it was not always plain sailing for the principal and or the of the knights changed the plans which had been arranged the majority of the s not present to be the entertainment for them was with and mr was permitted to propose his second move on monday morning the crew were to muster and the liberal gentleman invited all hands to be his guests for three weeks in paris and in he had already sent forward an agent to provide for them in paris three cheers for mr i called | 36 |
one of the enthusiastic students and they were given with unusual zeal the principal attempted to with his guest declaring that he intended to take the students to paris and but mr insisted that he should never forgive himself if he did not do all he the crew of the had saved the lives of his family and he was anxious to testify his gratitude though he could never discharge the obligation possibly he was not familiar enough with the plans of the principal to understand and appreciate them and desired to entertain the students on a scale during the than he supposed the resources or the discipline of the academy would permit mr was of course very anxious and troubled about the but having done all he could to them he was not disposed to the opportunities for instruction and amusement which were presented to the faithful ones there would be no loss of time so far as the studies were concerned young america in france and as the morning brought no tidings of the it was evident that she had not struck upon any of the rocks or near the mouth of the the were all good whatever else they were and as they were abundantly supplied with all the for the vessel in safety there was really but little danger that they would wreck the mr and the vice principal had reasoned that ship s duty would soon disgust the and they would make a port to enjoy themselves in a manner more to their taste keeping watch taking in and setting sail were an old story to them and they would seek enjoyment of a different kind on shore mr had consulted with the custom house officers at and taken such measures as would cause the arrest of the and the of the vessel when she made a french port mr therefore expected to hear from them at or within two or three days the principal who as a naval officer had for months after a suspected vessel knew how uncertain were the chances of either of the two finding the but he hoped she would be found and brought back he felt sure the would not attempt to cross the ocean for the vessel was not watered or for a long voyage mr was energetic and skilful and the chances of the making a long were very small the vice principal was directed when the was recovered to keep her present crew close prisoners on board and compel o palace and cottage or them to work up their studies in which most of them were deficient while their visited paris and having disposed of this unpleasant business as satisfactorily as the circumstances would admit the principal gave his whole attention to the proposed excursion assured that in a few days the wild of the would end in grief and sadness to them at half past ten a small steamer conveyed the students of the ship to the shore each of them was dressed in his best clothes and carried his jacket and little bag they marched to the railroad station w here they took their seats in the carriages which are constructed similar to those used on english some of them have seats upon the top with a covering to protect the passengers from the sun and the rain thus forming a kind of two story car the occupied a in one of the first class carriages in which paul and dr were invited to take seats this arrangement was a very pleasant one to tlie young captain f and seated opposite his fair companion at the window of the he was not likely to devote his usual attention to the scenery on the way i am so sorry mr is not here said grace as the train started i am so grateful to him and i had promised myself a t deal of pleasure in his society during this trip it is very unfortunate for him replied paul i never was so amazed in my life as when father came to the hotel and told us that some of the students had run away with the the d ar little ship i love her almost as well as my own young america in france and home added she warmly but i thought all your students were such good boys that they never did anything wrong i mean with only two or three exceptions like mr i am sorry they are not all as good as you supposed almost all of them are good hearted fellows but a little wild answered paul generously they are full of spirit and fond of adventure i sometimes wish mr would take the to africa or asia and let us hunt lions and and go among tlie natives certainly he will never do that probably not at least not until we have spent a year or more in the waters of europe but i think we shall go to to and egypt if you do you must tell me all about them in your letters i may not be with the ship so long i expect to in the fall but will write you all about the and i think he would be very glad to do so added paul i dare say he can write much better letters than i can i don t think they could be any better captain do you think mr is concerned in that wicked trip i do not think so answered paul very promptly why didn t they put him in the boat with then inquired grace i don t know but it is certain that they locked him into a state room and that proves he was not one of the party i think he to induce them to come back if he can h io palace and cottage or o i hope so it would break my heart to | 36 |
think he had done anything wrong he is so brave and noble and self sacrificing he is a good fellow replied paul with perhaps a little less enthusiasm than usual when he spoke of a deserving you think he went with the for the good of the vessel asked grace i think so at any rate i shall be very much disappointed if it appears that he is really an actor in this mischief he means well now and and what inquired grace when paul suddenly suspended his remark and i hope he will do as well as he means added the captain paul was about to say that had once been a very bad boy but when it occurred to him how mean it was to tell even the truth about the student he checked himself if grace thought more of than he desired her to think she must de him if he said anything to the prejudice of her absent friend he honestly and sincerely believed that was now one of the best young men in the and ought to be judged by what he was rather than by what he had been i am sure when he comes back he will be a greater hero than when he went added grace with enthusiasm i am almost certain he will find some way to overcome his companions and bring the back to i hope he will the conversation continued as the train sped on its young america in france and way along the slope of the hill it was a new to paul and he was interested in its scenery though his attention was equally divided between the landscape and the interior of the car which had an attraction of its own this must be said paul consulting his guide book as the train passed through a small place it is interposed dr it used to be on the bank of the but now the current has thrown the sands up before it so that the river is two miles distant henry v of england and captured the place in it resisted for forty days but when it surrendered the king his feet and legs and marched to the church to return thanks for his victory he then collected the people eight thousand in number robbed them of everything they had except the clothing they wore banished them and called in english to take their places how very strange it is that a king who took the trouble to say his prayers should commit such a wicked act and forget that the poor people he drove away were the children of the god to whom he prayed commented grace it was more than four hundred years ago when kings had singular views in regard to their subjects on the route paul looked with interest at the homes of the poorer classes of people which were mostly of wood very small and very neat the train stopped at have you heard of the king of miss asked the doctor i never did was he the king of this village replied grace palace and cottage or i suppose so though it is difficult to tell now what he was king of this town is celebrated in france for the title of le d but the students of antiquity have been puzzled to learn its origin the story is that lord of offended king son of banished from his presence the noble endeavored to make his peace with his by throwing himself upon his knees at the feet of the king while he was at prayers in the church on good friday trusting that the of the place and the of the day of pardon for sin would move to forgive him when the king he drew his sword and killed the offending subject on the spot but he repented of his crime and as an to created his kings of though it does not appear that any particular were ever assigned to them after the train passed there was certainly variety enough to amuse and astonish the students now the carriages were hurled through long where the cold damp air chilled and the darkness was deep and black and then were carried over high bridges commanding a wide prospect of the country the of has twenty seven arches the highest of which is one hundred and eight feet while the length of the structure is over twenty two hundred feet the distance from to is fifty five miles and the arrived at one clock at the old city where they were to remain long enough to view the ancient cathedral and the quaint which line some of its streets a lunch had been ordered at the grand hotel young america in france and d the house seemed to be a part of the old city for it contained all the elements of an ancient castle great doors floors of the same material till they were as smooth as a mirror walls and other indications of the time at the station in there was a ox which like most of its kind in the larger towns of france was very inviting but mr took the party to the hotel rather to show its quaint apartments than because he could not provide for them elsewhere after the lunch the principal features of which were soup and cold chicken the students were permitted in charge of the professors to visit the objects of interest in the hotel mr had occupied a short time in stating a few interesting facts in regard to the city contains eight cities having a population of over one hundred thousand in paris had one million eight hundred thousand inhabitants and ranks next to london has three hundred and thousand three hundred thousand and have each between one and two hundred thousand fifteen other cities have from fifty to one hundred thousand people is on the one | 36 |
hundred and three miles from by water it was the ancient capital of and in historic monuments of the middle ages it is now the chief town of the department of the and is largely engaged in cotton the students first visited the cathedral of n palace and cottage or dame in the choir of which a small in the pavement marks the spot where the heart of richard de lion and the remains of several of his family were buried but the chief object of interest to the is the church of st which the cathedral in size and is one of the most beautiful specimens of architecture in the world it was commenced in and finished at the end of the next century the interior is nearly four hundred and fifty feet long but in spite of its great size it has a very light and graceful aspect the stone is richly carved and while the building is ornamented its style is pure this is the tomb of the of the church said mr as he pointed to it in one of the it is said that he murdered one of his because the young man surpassed him in the construction of one of the windows though he was executed for his crime the of st in gratitude for his skilful services buried him within the edifice in the museum of the students saw some rare among them were the door of the house in in which the great french poet was born and many old documents on which were of kings and other persons famous in history william the conqueror who could not write made his mark but henry i and richard i their the most remarkable object was the heart of richard de lion which is now contained in a glass box there can be but little of the of this young america in france and though it seemed almost that this member could be the s me that beat in the iron frame of the lion hearted as he in the holy land with and the in the place de la their attention was called to a very insufficient monument to the memory of of arc in this square she was burned as a and her ashes were collected by the and cast into the she was treated with the greatest cruelty and injustice by the bishop who was her judge a pretended priest was sent to her cell and under the guise of friendship obtained her secrets though the english condemned her her own countrymen were her on the return to the station they visited the hotel du where there is a number of marble representing the interview between henry viii of england and francis i of france near which is called the field of the cloth of gold from a of golden cloth in which the meeting took place near the station they halted at the building which st an ancient worthy who like st george of england conquered a which was a very troublesome monster in the vicinity of the only person willing to attend him on his perilous expedition was a condemned criminal who was released for the purpose but the behaved better than was anticipated and when the saint made the sign of the cross he gave up the conflict and was quietly led into the town by his ghostly conqueror until the french revolution the chapter of the cathedral was l palace and cottage or entitled to claim on day the pardon of one criminal however great his crime in grateful remembrance of the companion of st taking places in the express train for paris the party arrived at the gay capital in two and a half hours though the distance is eighty six miles the road for nearly the whole distance is on the banks of the through a beautiful country passing over high bridges and through long the bags and baggage of the students and other persons of the company were examined by the custom house officers in the station both for the which the duties on imported articles and the which certain local or taxes on goods brought into the city the officers were very civil but very business like in their manners in charge of mr s agent the walked to the du where had been secured for them young america in france and i chapter xiii the knights at sea the darkness was deep and the fog dense when the in charge of her reckless sailed out of the though the crew had been and stationed there was no little confusion on board for the situation was novel and strange captain as we must call him as he was of the distinction was nervous and anxious doubtless he felt that he had taken a big job upon his hands and to command he felt ill at ease he was really the only one of the who was competent to the vessel and the entire responsibility rested upon himself while the crew were the he had gone into the cabin and examined the the wind was north west by the dog on the quarter which was about the compass course he intended to run he went over his calculations several times in order to make no mistake and having done so he felt considerable confidence in them returning to the deck he the of the cable and the was soon under way with her aboard if was nervous before he was still more so now for the fog was so thick that palace and cottage or the could not see the length of the vessel ahead and many craft w re in the keep her south west said he to the hand in charge of the wheel sou west sir repeated the so naturally and respectfully as almost to assure the new commander that all was going well bring up the fog horns continued | 36 |
lay out on the and keep a sharp look out for vessels in our track ay ay sir replied the crew forward and soon the fog horns were sounding their gloomy strains don t blow all the time you cried the bewildered captain don t you know any better than that sound the horns and then listen presently a was heard dead ahead and the shouted furiously to announce the fact listened and heard the hail himself it came from some lying in the track of the and only a short distance ahead i see her the or we shall be into her keep her as she is said quietly to the captain but she is dead ahead replied with his heart in his mouth if you put the a you will run into her added steady as she is said to the hard a j roared again young america in france and shut up your head i see her answered but at the same time he his muscles to receive the shock of a collision the tide which was running out furiously swept the clear of a large which was in the though with only a few feet to spare that was a close said breathing easier when the peril was passed it was not so close as it would have been if you had attempted to go to of her replied in a kind of mournful tone which showed how little heart he had in the present working of the there is another vessel lying under her lee why don t you mind what i say demanded rushing aft from the disgusted because his advice or rather order had not been i am the captain replied angrily go forward to your duty you came within six inches of running into that if you don t mind what the says what s the use of having one if i had minded what you said we should have run into the there is another vessel to of her which would have prevented us from giving her a wide berth and the tide would have crowded us upon her continued savagely for he felt the necessity at this early stage of the expedition of defending himself am i right you are replied the who whatever his of the did not care to have palace and cottage or the sunk in a collision or run ashore on a sand bar go forward to your duty ordered the captain sternly when i want any of advice i will ask for it i you needn t put on any airs here growled the discontented tar as he went forward another vessel was reported ahead and the as narrowly as before escaped running into her but this was the last one and the vessel was clear of the grounds when she had passed her the wind was fresh and being against the flow of the tide it created a heavy chop sea in which the pitched and plunged in a manner very trying to the nerves even of the experienced on board of her they were in constant dread of a collision or of striking on one of the sand bars which lie at the mouth of the but had carefully studied his and made due allowance for the swift tide which however was in favor of the he caused the lead to be frequently used and as the depths obtained with the figures on the he gradually acquired more confidence in his knowledge the log line was run out every half hour to make sure of the distance sailed the crew had been stationed merely to enable the to get the vessel out of the harbor the difficult problem of selecting the officers had not yet been settled for the leaders had purposely reserved it till after the heavy work was accomplished that the disgust and dissatisfaction of ambitious might not defeat the enterprise its young america in france and was commenced but as soon as the vessel was in blue water this exciting topic was brought up for discussion of the whole number on board not less than two thirds regarded themselves as competent for high positions and felt that they had a claim for places in the cabin was commenced on a large scale but no one seemed to have any decided strength it had been understood that and were to have the two highest offices for each of the other three next to them there were half a dozen little was really the most influential personage on board with the exception of it was generally acknowledged that by his skilful management he had achieved the success of the expedition so far he had done all the work but like richard in the play he pretended to have no claim or desire for an office he and had already determined to and put in his place not doubting that the latter would accept the high position but early in the evening it was decided to the election of officers till the next day as the night the fog and the necessity of giving the attention to the working of the vessel made it inconvenient to settle the important matter the crew were equally divided into two watches and and appointed by to serve as officers of the deck fro each of whom was to his everything went well for the was under easy sail and the crew were generally disposed to do their duty the watch on deck blew the fog horns at intervals of five minutes palace and cottage or being on the tack according to the english orders on the port tack a bell is rung instead of using the horn was too much excited to go below even after he had resigned the deck to the crew while attending to their duty were still busy discussing the claims of the various for office little had been appointed | 36 |
second officer of the watch by who was smart enough in this instance to him in order to secure his influence the little villain was quietly at work for and earnestly his efforts but it required a great deal of argument and persuasion to from his position in the regards of the ship s company little seemed to be disinterested and proclaimed himself to be so his influence was strong but the were not prepared to pledge themselves to vote for him after the vessel had run fifteen miles by dead reckoning she was put on the port tack and the bell instead of the horn was sounded every five minutes the was set and the tide helping her the made ten knots an hour at midnight the wind died out and all sail was set but it soon up again from the south west blowing away the fog and making a fair wind the tide had turned and the chop sea subsided was relieved and took his place keep her north west said to the new officer of the deck and look out for lights on the weather bow young america in france and all right replied everything is going first rate with us that fog was a capital idea and just fitted our case we are doing tip top added with a for after the hard work he had done on shore and during the evening he was very much fatigued i am going to turn in now keep your eyes wide open and don t let the watch go to sleep well i think i know my duty replied rather sharply i know you do but a caution will do no harm for all the fellows are tired and sleepy added the captain as he went below who had satisfied himself that the was in no present danger of being wrecked had gone below when the went in stays and was headed away from the coast the cook and had been to him to ask what they should do he had told them to turn in and keep quiet when went below no one was up except who sat at the cabin table reading his bible and little had taken possession of the professors state room and the watch occupied the in the well everything goes first rate said as he entered the cabin the way of the is hard replied the former don t preach added the captain his shoulders like the he had seen at have you considered the end of this affair asked gently as he closed the book on the table palace and cottage or the end of it is a good time and if we don t have that it won t be our fault are you really going to the north coast of ireland not a bit of it laughed where are you going up the do you mean so certainly i do but you are very sure to be captured before many days don t you believe it we have got a fair start and the young america won t be likely to catch us the young america exclaimed you are not so simple as to suppose mr will pursue you in the ship why not asked rather anxiously for he had not thought of any other pursuit he is not so simple as you are do you mean to insult me certainly not i only meant to say that he would not be so foolish as to chase you in the ship i have no doubt that by this time several are on your track this was rather a startling suggestion the idea of such a pursuit had not been considered you may be sure also that some one in eveiy port in france is ready to seize the as soon as her anchor touches the bottom continued earnestly i shall not anchor in any port of france till we are ready to abandon the vessel i fancy i can keep out of the reach of all young america in france and but you are sure to get into trouble before you see the end of the affair let me advise you as a friend to go about and return to i will to do the best i can with mr to induce him to let you off easily added do you think i m such a as to back out now demanded with the utmost contempt in his tones and his looks no sir you have mistaken your man i wouldn t go back if would agree not to say a word about it listen to reason you have about thirty of the most fellows in the with you if the principal finds it hard to manage them what do you expect to do with them they are all good fellows every one of them and they will do the right thing don t trouble your head about them now you have shown your colors i should like to know what you intend to do replied i don t know what i shall do do you mean to join us or not certainly not replied decidedly for after his former experience in with evil associates he found it best to do his duty and let the consequences take care of themselves well you needn t be so about it what did you come with us for if you don t mean to join i gave you a chance to go into the with was not prepared to answer this question though he believed that he could give a good reason for his conduct by this time you have the name on board of the palace and cottage or ship of having joined our party and you may as well be hanged for an old sheep as a lamb added who was not without hope that his influential might change his mind i prefer to be hanged for a | 36 |
lamb replied i hope you will think better of it by morning and be ready to go back make yourself easy on that point we intend to have the out whatever happens i m going to turn in where shall i sleep asked es anywhere you please the are not assigned yet let me tell you one thing old fellow if you attempt to play any of your pious games on board this vessel i ll turn you adrift in one of the boats i don t understand what you mean if you try to get up a or to turn the fellows against me it will be all day with you answered as he entered paul s what the captain possibly suspected had already engaged the attention of indeed he had remained on board when he might perhaps have saved his reputation by going into the in order to use his influence and his exertions for the safety and the restoration of the he had already hinted his intention to the cook and when he advised them to submit for the present to the new order of things he felt morally certain that the elements of the party would soon break out in opposition to the leaders and he was willing to wait until a divided house should the success of any young america in france and plan he might form for the of the he selected one of the in the cabin for his own use and turned in fatigued enough to sleep even under the present exciting circumstances the morning of sunday dawned bright and beautiful upon the waters the watch was called at eight bells and having had only four hours sleep the below were not very willing to be turned out in fact quite a number of them were dragged out of their by the port watch who had still worse having had nothing more than a cat nap before twelve the change was made at last but no such grumbling growling and fighting had ever been seen before in either vessel at this time the was off point de well in the s was certainly justified by the result and when the fact was announced to him he turned out to examine his the vessel was very nearly on the red ink hue he had drawn on the to indicate the course of the pleased with the result he turned in again to finish bis night s rest breakfast was served at seven and at eight bells according to the sea routine of the to the two watches the watch turned in as soon as they had disposed of their meal and found it to the crew and elect tho officers it was decided to keep watch and watch till everybody had slept as much as he desired the still made her ten knots an hour carrying all sail in the lively breeze but everything was dull and heavy on board the crew were sleepy and stupid and only the most necessary work was done palace and cottage or at eight bells in the afternoon watch the crew appeared to have slept as much as they could conveniently and nearly all of them gathered on deck they had begun to for the settlement of the exciting question in regard to the choice of officers concluded that the time to had come and he called all hands for the purpose they assembled on the quarter deck so that the at the wheel could take part in the proceedings and stepped upon the high threshold of the companion way to make a speech fellows we have been in the habit of doing our work in an orderly manner and having everything in ship shape style i hope we shall do so now on this he began we are in for a good time and it will be our own fault if we don t have it that s so shouted one of the crew we must keep good order and have fair play for every fellow continued the captain each one must do his share of the work and what s this to do with the election of officers demanded a rude fellow perhaps nothing replied the captain if you elect officers you must obey them or we shall all go to the bottom together let s vote growled the rude tar who evidently hail no taste for speeches this is a republican government and we must all obey the will of the majority i hope there won t be any growling about the result of the election we can t all be officers and those who are not elected must submit to those who are that s fair play young america in france and fair for the officers the fair for all how many officers shall we have we must settle that first i am ready to hear any motion i don t think there ought to be many of them at least not cabin officers for we have not any too many to handle the vessel in heavy weather i move there be a captain and a first second third and fourth officer said second the motion roared the rude fellow the motion was put and carried without the captain was then to a committee to receive and count the who was the heaviest fellow and the biggest in the crowd was made bring in your for captain continued who knowing that he was the only among the knights was entirely confident of his own election the were prepared and dropped into a travelling bag held by as soon as all had the committee went down into the cabin to count the they were absent but a few moments attention to the report of the committee called captain who regarded the vote for commander as a mere formality whole number of thirty said reading from a little slip of paper necessary to a | 36 |
choice sixteen little has two thomas has eleven robert has seventeen and is elected what exclaimed aghast at the result of the palace and cottage robert seventeen shouted that s what s the matter i protest against this election said fiercely no you don t roared brown the didn t you say just now that the fellows must stand by the vote but is not even a knight of the golden replied he isn t one of our fellows no matter for that growled brown three cheers for captain brown and three or four others gave the cheers i will not submit to this election it is an insult to me if the fellows don t like me let them say so continued who was actually beginning to realize in his vanity that the way of the is hard they have said so replied the can t you understand the vote the fellows like you well enough interposed little but they prefer to have for captain they mean to elect you first officer i decline to serve as first officer and i decline to have him serve as first officer said stepping forward and shaking his head like a defeated bully the fellows promised to choose captain and me first lieutenant i haven t anything more to say fellows you can run the vessel to suit yourselves added walking away utterly disgusted with the proceedings captain has been fairly elected persisted little lifting his body upon the companion way in an attitude which threatened a speech stick young america in france and to the vote fellows the majority must rule if won t be first officer let him go into the and do his duty before the mast i will not do duty any way if i am to be insulted in this manner said walking up to the speaker just now you talked the other side of your mouth you believed in good order and doing things up believe in it now so do added who had for and if a fellow won t do his duty i go for making him do it bully for you shouted brown where is asked little in the cabin shall go below and inform him of his election if you agree say so continued little briskly ay ay replied those who had for went down into the cabin was lying in his berth reading a good book and of the honor which had been conferred upon him bob called what is wanted inquired the reader i have the honor to inform you that you have been elected captain of the and that the ship s company wish to see you on deck what do you mean by that demanded the astonished explained and exhibited the paper on which the vote was recorded do you regard me as belonging to your party asked quietly palace and cottage or we have not so regarded you but we hope you will join us now come on deck and speak for yourself the unfortunate of the greatness thrust upon him consented to go on deck where he was formally introduced to the ship s company as tain i will accept on one condition said the captain elect what is it demanded half a dozen of the that the come about and return to where i will do my best to induce mr to forgive you for what you have done no no shouted a score at once i believe mr would think of my request if i inform him of the circumstances added no no shouted the we are in for a good time and we are going to have it will you join the knights of the golden or not demanded one of the party i do not know what you mean answered i will explain it volunteered little taking the commander elect aside for the purpose as briefly as possible the little scoundrel related the history of the order and its object the organization was the of the chain league which had invented and he felt that his past sins were rising up in judgment against him as he listened to the story but his former only made him the more to be now young america in france and i will not join it replied the student don t be in a hurry to decide now think of it pleaded little all the fellows wanted you and that is the reason i got you to come you deceived me little you told me the party was going up the in the that was a of course laughed little all i wanted was to make you come where is the bag of gold i have it all safe all i wanted was to know what had become of it and explained his own position so that even the little rogue could not him i will have nothing to do with this scrape the fellows will ship you in one of the boats if you don t let them do so i will not join o come be a good fellow you are ruined already on board of the ship and you might as well have a good time no told the plainly that he would take no part with them that s enough snapped little we may as well vote again this time i shall go in for i decline said the captain fro sullenly for he was still under the insult bring in your fellows called little regardless of the words of this time the vote was unanimous and palace and cottage or after some yielded and was restored to his position and his temper at the same time after two was elected first officer after a great deal of and many fruitless the remaining were filled by of one or two and little and were elected second third and fourth officers there was a great deal of grumbling at the choice | 36 |
but the finally submitted and there was a better prospect of peace young america in france and chapter xiv palaces in paris the grand h du where the were to remain during their stay in paris is in the de opposite the which is connected with the palace of the there is no direct entrance from the street as in american hotels but the students marched through an into a court surrounded by the four wings of the building which is over with glass opening out of this court are the various offices and other business apartments of the establishment a broad and elegant staircase leads from one end to the portions used by guests the carriage of the traveller is driven into this court and he is received by the clerk who the rooms and who a small office next to that of the as the prices for rooms are different the several floors he is permitted to choose which he will have a servant shows him his apartment and his baggage is sent up on an a small blank called is given to the stranger which he is required to fill out with his full name age quality or profession place of birth habitual residence last residence de and the date and hour of his arrival most of this information and cottage or is for the benefit of the police who know all about every person who comes into paris and every one who leaves it if his are at all suspicious he is dogged in all his movements by government the hotel du has above five hundred besides private and the public apartments it is kept on a grand scale and essentially from english and especially from american hotels this establishment has been surpassed by one more recently erected which was at first called the grand hotel de la but as the name upon that of another public house it is now called simply the grand hotel it contains upwards of seven hundred sleeping rooms and is built and furnished in the most elegant style the came up from the station in a carriage and had gone to their rooms when the students arrived the latter were to be disposed of two in an apartment and captain had decided to occupy the same room they were conducted to no on the third floor which with the fourth in the united states this is not bad said paul when the servant had left them not at all for a sky parlor replied as he went to the window which opened like a couple of double doors we are opposite the on tlie de i like to know where i am so do i the de st is on the opposite side of the hotel and one end of it faces the place du royal now where s ihe young america in france and i have it all here replied the spreading out a map of paris on the table there is nothing but the between us and the river which runs parallel to the de now let s see if we follow this street to the west we shall pass the palace and garden of the and come to the place de la beyond this is the sees i know where i am now paris is a big city laughed paul puzzled by the complicated map before him i don t think we can understand it just yet we can get a leading idea i always want to have one avenue as a guide here is the de beginning at the place de la and ending at the gardens of the or continued by the avenue des es to tlie arc de about three miles and a half the was satisfied with the idea he had drawn from the map and the young officers turned their attention to the immediate surroundings in the room hung a framed containing a of the hotel prices with such information in regard to the establishment as it was needful for the guest to possess the price of this apartment written in ink was five and fifty a day and service or servants one and there were several or offices in the house at wliich the s were to be left each in charge of a servant who attended to the wants of the guests in his division the room was furnished for a hotel the carpet was of fine quality the bed was adorned with an elaborate wrought muslin half concealed the windows and on a marble man palace and cottage or rested an immense mirror and a marble clock and the chairs and were with velvet the students with their quarters went down stairs to the reading room where the party were to for dinner it was an elegant apartment and like the spacious dining room adjoining it was a copy of one of the principal halls of the palace of from the reading room opens the where and are served to order when the guest seats himself at a a card is brought to him on which he writes his name the number of his room and the articles he desires these cards are sent to the office and the traveller s bill is made from them so that there can be no dispute a fixed price per day is never charged and the guest is required to pay only for what he orders the bill is made out the for each day the charge for room and service being repeated for each new date the prices are tolerably reasonable though the everlasting is a the first charge is two for two candles which must be paid for though the guest remain but one night some travellers put them in their trunks and require the waiter to remove those provided at the next place at which he stops if you have a bath you arc charged for a piece of | 36 |
two fifty the silver are the half the the two piece and the five piece the gold are the napoleon or piece the half napoleon or ten and the quarter napoleon or five piece forty pieces are also in use and other gold are occasionally seen the copper are the sou and pieces you constantly hear of but never see them the sou is five the bank of france issues notes of one hundred two hundred five hundred and one thousand which are legal tender throughout the empire the french use a system of and measures of weight the is the which is fifteen and four the young america in france and or a thousand g is equal to about two and a quarter pounds in measures the is the and is found by taking one part of the of the earth s on a or the distance from the pole to the it is equal to thirty nine and inches or three and a quarter feet is near enough for rough calculations mr took his seat and mr rose by permission of the principal he invited the party to visit the de v a is a very delightful affair to boys and they promptly applauded the brief speech of their liberal friend the party formed a procession in the court yard of the hotel a lieutenant of police a very trim looking personage wearing a a long coat and a thin sword which mysteriously depended from his side for he wore no belt was in waiting with four of the dashing looking to escort the party for mr had influential friends in paris who had secured government assistance to enable the visitors to see the city without annoyance the in ranks four deep passed out of the court into the de at the head of the procession walked the with one of the captains on each side of him the lieutenant of on the left of them of course such a display of blue cloth shoulder and arm bands made a sensation and the paused to look at it the four de the column and kept the way clear for it for a long distance on the de the side and cottage or walk is covered by the buildings which it and form a long on the opposite side of the street were the beautiful gardens of the brilliantly lighted with gas the fountains sparkling in its glare at the end of the gardens as it was too early for the performance the procession crossed the street into the place de la it is a magnificent square perhaps the in the world in the centre of which is the of presented to the government by the of egypt and brought from on each side of it is an elaborate fountain young gentlemen said mr as the students gathered around him in this square formerly called the place louis stood the statue of louis xv which was pulled down and melted into cannon by a decree of the national here also near the was placed the on which louis was here too perished his queen his sister madame elizabeth madame and many others here was raised the statue of liberty and the square was then the place de la revolution after the restoration it was proposed to erect a fountain on the spot where the king was executed but declared that all the water in the world could not wash away the blood which had been shed there in it received its present name which however has been changed for brief periods several times the march was resumed and the procession passed into the avenue des es on each side of young america in france and which the grounds are laid out in walks and grass plots a certain portion of it is devoted to out door shows such as one usually sees around a in a country town in the united states as punch and weighing apparatus and organs the students entered the which is a large circular building three or four thousand people the audience was composed of people of all nations and some of the students were rather surprised to find themselves near a group of in white garments and the performance was rather inferior in skill and daring to those seen in our country and the great american rider who three horses won the most applause of the three two were americans who though they could not speak a word of french won the of the evening by their grotesque and there was a of home about the scene when they got off the venerable joke did you never see a horse s tail before no i always saw it behind the looked blank did not see the point but the boys for old acquaintance sake applauded heartily when they heard the at the close of the performance the students were conducted to a of which there were two or three in the vicinity of the the audience sit at little tables in the open air at which such as coffee cakes and are sold no fee being charged for admission in front of them is of little covered stage painted and flashing with light upon which comic songs dances and other light performances take place the palace or cottage or students were treated to cake and by mr still under the guidance of the police they were led to the which is a beautiful garden similar to the in london it contains numerous walks with lights arranged and the effect is suggestive of though an admission fee is charged the are a prominent element in the entertainment in one part of the garden there was a large of fanciful architecture adorned with paint and gilt in which a large consisting of not less than forty pieces music for the multitude around this was enclosed a circle for dancing but before the commenced | 36 |
mr was careful to withdraw his students there were thousands of people in the place apparently as respectable as any in the city while a strong force of was scattered through the premises to preserve order leaving this gay scene the students returned to the h du weary enough to retire at seven o clock the next morning all hands were in the court yard of the hotel and marched to the or central market which covers several acres of ground they consist of a series of sheds or under one glass roof with stands for fish flesh and fowl for eggs butter cheese and vegetables under the market are immense for the of produce from which extend e to the several railway stations the students gazed with interest at the busy scene and many young america in and observed with critical attention the articles exposed for sale which however did not materially differ from those seen in the at home the beef and mutton were very nicely prepared for market and the was exceedingly white and plump but it is blown up to give it this inviting appearance one stall was a cold stand where baked boiled roast meat and other food which had already seen service on the table were arranged with skill and taste to tempt the of the poorer classes the vast heap of cooked provisions gathered from the tables of the rich had evidently been over so as to make huge dishes of similar material parts of and from different sources had been united so as to form consistent whole ones and wings breast bones and second joints of chickens which had never looked each other in the face still less were parts of the same body were so arranged on plates that they seemed to have been recently cut from the same adjoining this immense establishment was the au b or corn market a vast circular building with a curious roof of iron and copper which will hold thirty thousand of grain after a glance into this structure the company visited the church of st and were then conducted to a of a kind peculiar to france long tables were spread on which were placed only cups and ith a little roll at each the boys stood up around the table and presently the each with two long handled coffee pots in his hands s palace and cottage or filled the cups with equal parts of coffee and boiled milk au the simple roll without butter and the coffee form the early or first breakfast of the frenchman at eleven or twelve o clock he takes his second breakfast which among the wealthy is elaborate enough for an american dinner after this simple meal the students proceeded to the royal which is a continuous line of buildings around a central court laid out as a garden in which the boys were drawn up to hear the history of the palace the lower part of the building is cut up into minute stores occupied by in fancy goods and similar wares while at the north end are the celebrated the fr and v ry the royal was commenced by cardinal in and was by him to louis xiii said professor it was presented to the duke of by louis xiv from whom it descended to so called because he opposed the government and the cause of the people who was the father of louis he was a reckless and man and to raise money converted the lower part of the palace into shops as you now see it in this garden and other mob addressed the multitude in and here was given the signal for the destruction of the on this occasion were blended the old french colors white and the red and blue of paris which form the so celebrated in the history of france was a member of the young america in france and and for the execution of his cousin louis xvi but he soon incurred the hostility of the lawless leaders was tried on frivolous charges and perished himself on the after his death the royal was sold to different persons at but was finally purchased by the family when the occupied paris in it contained many gambling houses where and others lost immense sums of money in it was purchased by the people but when the present emperor came into power he gave it to his uncle and at his death the state apartments opposite the were appropriated to his son prince napoleon one of the bands of the army plays on certain in the garden the vast number of chairs which you see are let at one sou for a common and two for an arm chair on such occasions the party passed under the arches in the front of the palace to the place du royal crossed the street and through an arch entered the place du the open space between the and the which have been connected by wings called the new by napoleon iii the square therefore is enclosed by buildings it contains a arch erected by the first emperor the is the older palace it was a hunting seat in the time of the kings and its name is supposed to have been derived from the wolves in the vicinity francis i commenced the edifice which has been in process of and improvement down to the present time it now con palace and cottage or no less than fifteen different of painting relics of the kings of france and many other the students passed through its long halls whose floors polished as smooth as glass render walking a tiresome and difficult labor it must be confessed that they gazed with singular indifference upon the works of da and other old masters and even the of the virgin by which brought from spain purchased for one hundred and twenty three thousand dollars | 36 |
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