The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1888-09-14

west TO meet. I brought the schooner north
northeast by my compass, and watched her
behavior ~anxiously. The swell was on the
quarter, and the wind and sea o triie abaft
the Iarboard beam; she leaned q little TO the
weight Of her clothes, but was surprisingly
stiff considering how light she was. Wilkin-
son and the negro came and stood by my
side. The sea broke heavily from the weather
bow, and the water roared white under the
lee bends and spread astern In a broad wake
of foam. The whaler did not brace his yards
up till after we had started, and now hung a
pale, faint mass in the windy darkness on the
Quarter. A t~incture Of rusty red lowered,
like smoke colored by the furnace that pro-
duces IL, in the west, but the night had drawn
down quick and dark; the washing noise Of
the water was sharp, the wind piercingly
| cold; each sweep OF the schooner's masts to
| windward vas followed by a dull roaring of
Tho blSA rushing out Of the hollows Of the
canvas, and she swung to the seas with wild
yaws, but with regularity sufficient to prove
the strict government Of the helm.
But IL was being at sea, homeward bound,
tool There was no wish of mine, e~ngendered
by my hideous loneliness o the ice, by my
abhorred association with the Frenchman,
that I could not refer to as, down to this mo-
ment, gratifed. My heart bounded; my spirits
could not have been higher had this ocean
been the Thames, and yonder dark flowing
hills Of water the banks Of Firth and the
Gravesend shore.
I turned to the three men. my lads" said
I, 'syou prove yourselves fine bold fellows
by thus volunteering. Do not fear; IL God
guides US home-to my home, I mean-you
shall find q handsome account in this bust
ness"
"Six more chaps would have jined had tn
ole man bin willin'," said Wilkinson. ''But
best as 1t is, master, though she's a trifle
short handed
"Why, yes" said I, 'but being fore and
aft, you knowi It isn't as If we'd got courses
to hand and topsails to reef"
GAY ay, dat's de troof," cried Billy Pitt.
I tort o. dat. Fore an aft makes de differ
ence. Don't guess / should hab volunteer
had she been a brig"
"There are four of u.s." said I. "You're
my chief mate, Wilkinson. Choose your
watch"
"J choose Cromwell" said he; che was in
my watch aboard the whaler."
Every well" ! exclaimed; and this being
settled, and both negroes declaring them
selves good cooks, we arranged that they
should alternately have the dressing of our
~victuals; that Wilkinson should have the
cabin next mine, and the negroes the one in
which the Frenchman had slept, one taking
the others place as he was relieved.
I asked Wilkinson what he thought Of the
schooner. He answered that he was watch
ing her.
"There's nothin' to find fault with YETI
said he; ''she's a whale at rolling, sartinly.
I guess she walks, though. / reckon she's
had enough of the sea, like me, and's got the
scent O. the land in her nose. I guess old
Noah wasn't far off when her lines was laid.
Mebbe his sons had the building of her.
There's something scriptural in her cut. How
ODDS she, masterr
"Fifty years q more" said I.
"Dere's muffin partickler in dat" cried
Cromwell. ~ knows a vessel dat am 1O4
years old, s'elp me as I stand.
81 don't know how the whaler's heading"
said I, but this schooner's a canoe if we
aren't dropping heri"
Indeed she was scarce visible astern-mere
windy flicker, lowering upon the pale flash
ings Of the foam. It might be perhaps that
the whaler was making a more northerly
course than we, n under very snug canvas,
ehouSh "a "oS snug ChOu6h W., Dut Dc IulS
as it may, I was nightly pleased with the
slipping qualities Of the schooner. l never
could nave dreamed that so odd and ugly a
figure Of a ship would show such heels. But
I think this: we are too prone to view the
~handiwork of our sires with contempt. Idonot
know but that their ships were as fast as ours.
They made many good passages. They might
have proved themselves feeter ~navigators
had they had the sextant n thermometer to
help them along. Fifty years hence, perhaps,
mankind will be laughing at our crudities-
we, by Heaven, who flatter ourselves that the
art of shipbuilding and navigation will never
be carried higher than the pitch to which we
have raised theml =
Cromwell being at the tiller, I told Billy
Pitt to go below and get supper, instructing
him what to dress and how much to mix for
a bowl-for, as you know, there was nothing
but spirits and wine to season our repasts
with. I saw Cromwell grin widely into the
pinnacle candle flame when he heard me talk
of ham, tongue, sweetmeats, marmalade, and
the like for supper, together with q can Of hot
claret, and knowing sailors nature middling
we'll, I did not doubt that the fare of the
schooner would bring the three men more
into love with the adventure than even the
reward that was to follow it.
To ha Continual