JACK TIER;

OR

THE FLORIDA REEF. 

BY THE AUTHOR OF"THE PILOT, " "RED ROVER, " "TWO ADMIRALS, " "WING ANDWING, " "MILES WALLINGFORD, " ETC. 

PREFACE. 

This work has already appeared in Graham's Magazine, under the titleof "Rose Budd. " The change of name is solely the act of the author, and arises from a conviction that the appellation given in thispublication is more appropriate than the one laid aside. Thenecessity of writing to a name, instead of getting it from theincidents of the book itself, has been the cause of this departurefrom the ordinary rules. 

When this book was commenced, it was generally supposed that theMexican war would end, after a few months of hostilities. Such wasnever the opinion of the writer. He has ever looked forward to aprotracted struggle; and, now that Congress has begun to interfere, sees as little probability of its termination, as on the day itcommenced. Whence honourable gentlemen have derived their notions ofthe constitution, when they advance the doctrine that Congress is anAmerican Aulic council, empowered to encumber the movements ofarmies, and, as old Blucher expressed it in reference to thediplomacy of Europe, "to spoil with the pen the work achieved by thesword, " it is difficult to say more than this, that they do not getthem from the constitution itself. It has generally been supposedthat the present executive was created in order to avoid the veryevils of a distracted and divided council, which this newconstruction has a direct tendency to revive. But a presidentialelection has ever proved, and probably will ever prove, strongerthan any written fundamental law. 

We have had occasion to refer often to Mexico in these pages. It hasbeen our aim to do so in a kind spirit; for, while we have neverdoubted that the factions which have possessed themselves of thegovernment in that country have done us great wrong, wrong thatwould have justified a much earlier appeal to arms, we have alwaysregarded the class of Mexicans who alone can properly be termed the`people, ' as mild, amiable, and disposed to be on friendly termswith us. Providence, however, directs all to the completion of itsown wise ends. If the crust which has so long encircled that nation, enclosing it in bigotry and ignorance, shall now be irretrievablybroken, letting in light, even Mexico herself may have causehereafter to rejoice in her present disasters. It was in this waythat Italy has been, in a manner, regenerated; the conquests of theFrench carrying in their train the means and agencies which have, atlength, aroused that glorious portion of the earth to some of itsancient spirit. Mexico, in certain senses, is the Italy of thiscontinent; and war, however ruthless and much to be deplored, mayyet confer on her the inestimable blessings of real liberty, and areligion released from "feux d'artifice, " as well as all otherartifices. 

A word on the facts of our legend. The attentive observer of men andthings has many occasions to note the manner in which ordinarylookers on deceive themselves, as well as others. The species oftreason portrayed in these pages is no uncommon occurrence; and itwill often be found that the traitor is the loudest in hisprotestations of patriotism. It is a pretty safe rule to suspect theman of hypocrisy who makes a parade of his religion, and thepartisan of corruption and selfishness, who is clamorous about therights of the people. Captain Spike was altogether above the firstvice; though fairly on level, as respects the second, with diverspatriots who live by their deity. 

CHAPTER I. 

Pros. 

 Why, that's my spirit!But was not this nigh shore?

Ariel. 

 Close by, my master. 

Pros. 

 But are they, Ariel, safe?

Ariel. 

 Not a hair perished:

Tempest. 

"D'ye here there, Mr. Mulford?" called out Capt. Stephen Spike, ofthe half-rigged, brigantine Swash, or Molly Swash, as was herregistered name, to his mate--"we shall be dropping out as soon asthe tide makes, and I intend to get through the Gate, at least, onthe next flood. Waiting for a wind in port is lubberly seamanship, for he that wants one should go outside and look for it. "

This call was uttered from a wharf of the renowned city ofManhattan, to one who was in the trunk-cabin of a clipper-lookingcraft, of the name mentioned, and on the deck of which not a soulwas visible. Nor was the wharf, though one of those wooden piersthat line the arm of the sea that is called the East River, such aspot as ordinarily presents itself to the mind of the reader, orlistener, when an allusion is made to a wharf of that town which itis the fashion of the times to call the Commercial Emporium ofAmerica--as if there might very well be an emporium of any othercharacter. The wharf in question had not a single vessel of any sortlying at, or indeed very near it, with the exception of the MollySwash. As it actually stood on the eastern side of the town, it isscarcely necessary to say that such a wharf could only be found highup, and at a considerable distance from the usual haunts ofcommerce. The brig lay more than a mile above the Hook (Corlaer's, of course, is meant--not Sandy Hook) and quite near to the old AlmsHouse--far above the ship-yards, in fact. It was a solitary placefor a vessel, in the midst of a crowd. The grum top-chain voice ofCaptain Spike had nothing there to mingle with, or interrupt itsharsh tones, and it instantly brought on deck Harry Mulford, themate in question, apparently eager to receive his orders. 

"Did you hail, Captain Spike?" called out the mate, a tight, well-grown, straight-built, handsome sailor-lad of two orthree-and-twenty--one full of health, strength and manliness. 

"Hail! If you call straining a man's throat until he's hoarse, hailing, I believe I did. I flatter myself, there is not a man northof Hatteras that can make himself heard further in gale of wind thana certain gentleman who is to be found within a foot of the spotwhere I stand. Yet, sir, I've been hailing the Swash these fiveminutes, and thankful am I to find some one at last who is on boardto answer me. "

"What are your orders, Capt. Spike?"

"To see all clear for a start as soon as the flood makes. I shall gothrough the Gate on the next young flood, and I hope you'll have allthe hands aboard in time. I see two or three of them up at thatDutch beer-house, this moment, and can tell'em; in plain language, if they come here with their beer aboard them, they'll have to goashore again. "

"You have an uncommonly sober crew, Capt. Spike, " answered the youngman, with great calmness. "During the whole time I have been withthem, I have not seen a man among them the least in the wind. "

"Well, I hope it will turn out that I've an uncommonly sober mate inthe bargain. Drunkenness I abominate, Mr. Mulford, and I can tellyou, short metre, that I will not stand it. "

"May I inquire if you ever saw me, the least in the world, under theinfluence of liquor, Capt. Spike?" demanded the mate, rather thanasked, with a very fixed meaning in his manner. 

"I keep no log-book of trifles, Mr. Mulford, and cannot say. No manis the worse for bowsing out his jib when off duty, though adrunkard's a thing I despise. Well, well--remember, sir, that theMolly Swash casts off on the young flood, and that Rose Budd and thegood lady, her aunt, take passage in her, this v'y'ge. "

"Is it possible that you have persuaded them into that, at last!"exclaimed the handsome mate. 

"Persuaded! It takes no great persuasion, sir, to get the ladies totry their luck in that brig. Lady Washington herself, if she wasalive and disposed to a sea-v'y'ge, might be glad of the chance. We've a ladies' cabin, you know, and it's suitable that it shouldhave some one to occupy it. Old Mrs. Budd is a sensible woman, andtakes time by the forelock. Rose is ailin'--pulmonary they call it, I believe, and her aunt wishes to try the sea for herconstitution--"

"Rose Budd has no more of a pulmonary constitution than I havemyself, " interrupted the mate. 

"Well, that's as people fancy. You must know, Mr. Mulford, they'vegot all sorts of diseases now-a-days, and all sorts of cures for'em. One sort of a cure for consumption is what they tarm theHyder-Ally--"

"I think you must mean hydropathy, sir--"

"Well it's something of the sort, no matter what--but cold water isat the bottom of it, and they do say it's a good remedy. Now Rose'saunt thinks if cold water is what is wanted, there is no place whereit can be so plenty as out on the ocean. Sea-air is good, too, andby taking a v'y'ge her niece will get both requisites together, andcheap. "

"Does Rose Budd think herself consumptive, Capt. Spike?" askedMulford, with interest. 

"Not she--you know it will never do to alarm a pulmonary, so Mrs. Budd has held her tongue carefully on the subject before the youngwoman. Rose fancies that her aunt is out of sorts, and that thev'y'ge is tried on her account--but the aunt, the cunning thing, knows all about it. "

Mulford almost nauseated the expression of his commander'scountenance while Spike uttered the last words. At no time was thatcountenance very inviting, the features being coarse and vulgar, while the color of the entire face was of an ambiguous red, in whichliquor and the seasons would seem to be blended in very equalquantities. Such a countenance, lighted up by a gleam of successfulmanagement, not to say with hopes and wishes that it will hardly doto dwell on, could not but be revolting to a youth of HarryMulford's generous feelings, and most of all to one who entertainedthe sentiments which he was quite conscious of entertaining for RoseBudd. The young man made no reply, but turned his face toward thewater, in order to conceal the expression of disgust that he wassensible must be strongly depicted on it. 

The river, as the well-known arm of the sea in which the Swash waslying is erroneously termed, was just at that moment unusually clearof craft, and not a sail, larger than that of a boat, was to be seenbetween the end of Blackwell's Island and Corlaer's Hook, a distanceof about a league. This stagnation in the movement of the port, atthat particular point, was owing to the state of wind and tide. Ofthe first, there was little more than a southerly air, while thelast was about two-thirds ebb. Nearly everything that was expectedon that tide, coast-wise, and by the way of the Sound, had alreadyarrived, and nothing could go eastward, with that light breeze andunder canvas, until the flood made. Of course it was different withthe steamers, who were paddling about like so many ducks, steeringin all directions, though mostly crossing and re-crossing at theferries. Just as Mulford turned away from his commander, however, alarge vessel of that class shoved her bows into the view, doublingthe Hook, and going eastward. The first glance at this vesselsufficed to drive even Rose Budd momentarily out of the minds ofboth master and mate, and to give a new current to their thoughts. Spike had been on the point of walking up the wharf, but he now sofar changed his purpose as actually to jump on board of the brig andspring up alongside of his mate, on the taffrail, in order to get abetter look at the steamer. Mulford, who loathed so much in hiscommander, was actually glad of this, Spike's rare merit as a seamanforming a sort of attraction that held him, as it might be againsthis own will, bound to his service. 

"What will they do next, Harry?" exclaimed the master, his mannerand voice actually humanized, in air and sound at least, by thisunexpected view of something new in his calling--"What will they donext?"

"I see no wheels, sir, nor any movement in the water astern, as ifshe were a propeller, " returned the young man. 

"She's an out-of-the-way sort of a hussy! She's a man-of-war, too--one of Uncle Sam's new efforts. "

"That can hardly be, sir. Uncle Sam has but three steamers, of anysize or force, now the Missouri is burned; and yonder is one ofthem, lying at the Navy Yard, while another is, or was lately, laidup at Boston. The third is in the Gulf. This must be an entirely newvessel, if she belong to Uncle Sam. "

"New! She's as new as a Governor, and they tell me they've got sonow that they choose five or six of them, up at Albany, every fall. That craft is sea-going, Mr. Mulford, as any one can tell at aglance. She's none of your passenger-hoys. "

"That's plain enough, sir--and she's armed. Perhaps she's English, and they've brought her here into this open spot to try some newmachinery. Ay, ay! she's about to set her ensign to the navy men atthe yard, and we shall see to whom she belongs. "

A long, low, expressive whistle from Spike succeeded this remark, the colours of the steamer going up to the end of a gaff on thesternmost of her schooner-rigged masts, just as Mulford ceasedspeaking. There was just air enough, aided by the steamer's motion, to open the bunting, and let the spectators see the design. Therewere the stars and stripes, as usual, but the last ranperpendicularly, instead of in a horizontal direction. 

"Revenue, by George!" exclaimed the master, as soon as his breathwas exhausted in the whistle. "Who would have believed they couldscrew themselves up to doing such a thing in that bloody service?"

"I now remember to have heard that Uncle Sam was building some largesteamers for the revenue service, and, if I mistake not, with somenew invention to get along with, that is neither wheel norpropeller. This must be one of these new craft, brought out here, into open water, just to try her, sir. "

"You're right, sir, you're right. As to the natur' of the beast, yousee her buntin', and no honest man can want more. If there'sanything I do hate, it is that flag, with its unnat'ral stripes, upand down, instead of running in the true old way. I have heard alawyer say, that the revenue flag of this country isonconstitutional, and that a vessel carrying it on the high seasmight be sent in for piracy. "

Although Harry Mulford was neither Puffendorf, nor Grotius, he hadtoo much common sense, and too little prejudice in favour of evenhis own vocation, to swallow such a theory, had fifty Cherry Streetlawyers sworn to its justice. A smile crossed his fine, firm-lookingmouth, and something very like a reflection of that smile, if smilescan be reflected in one's own countenance, gleamed in his fine, large, dark eye. 

"It would be somewhat singular, Capt, Spike, " he said, "if a vesselbelonging to any nation should be seized as a pirate. The fact thatshe is national in character would clear her. "

"Then let her carry a national flag, and be d--d to her, " answeredSpike fiercely. "I can show you law for what I say, Mr. Mulford. TheAmerican flag has its stripes fore and aft by law, and this chapcarries his stripes parpendic'lar. If I commanded a cruiser, andfell in with one of these up and down gentry, blast me if I wouldn'tjust send him into port, and try the question in the oldAlms-House. "

Mulford probably did not think it worth while to argue the point anyfurther, understanding the dogmatism and stolidity of his commandertoo well to deem it necessary. He preferred to turn to theconsideration of the qualities of the steamer in sight, a subject onwhich, as seamen, they might better sympathize. 

"That's a droll-looking revenue cutter, after all, Capt. Spike, " hesaid--"a craft better fitted to go in a fleet, as a look-out vessel, than to chase a smuggler in-shore. "

"And no goer in the bargain! I do not see how she gets along, forshe keeps all snug under water; but, unless she can travel fasterthan she does just now, the Molly Swash would soon lend her theMother Carey's Chickens of her own wake to amuse her. "

"She has the tide against her, just here, sir; no doubt she would dobetter in still water. "

Spike muttered something between his teeth, and jumped down on deck, seemingly dismissing the subject of the revenue entirely from hismind. His old, coarse, authoritative manner returned, and he againspoke to his mate about Rose Budd, her aunt, the "ladies' cabin, "the "young flood, " and "casting off, " as soon as the last made. Mulford listened respectfully, though with a manifest distaste forthe instructions he was receiving. He knew his man, and a feeling ofdark distrust came over him, as he listened to his orders concerningthe famous accommodations he intended to give to Rose Budd and that"capital old lady, her aunt;" his opinion of "the immense deal ofgood sea-air and a v'y'ge would do Rose, " and how "comfortable theyboth would be on board the Molly Swash. "

"I honour and respect, Mrs. Budd, as my captain's lady, you see, Mr. Mulford, and intend to treat her accordin'ly. She knows it--and Roseknows it--and they both declare they'd rather sail with me, sincesail they must, than with any other ship-master out of America. "

"You sailed once with Capt. Budd yourself, I think I have heard yousay, sir?"

"The old fellow brought me up. I was with him from my tenth to mytwentieth year, and then broke adrift to see fashions. We all dothat, you know, Mr. Mulford, when we are young and ambitious, and myturn came as well as another's. "

"Capt. Budd must have been a good deal older than his wife, sir, ifyou sailed with him when a boy, " Mulford observed a little drily. 

"Yes; I own to forty-eight, though no one would think me more thanfive or six-and-thirty, to look at me. There was a great differencebetween old Dick Budd and his wife, as you say, he being aboutfifty, when he married, and she less than twenty. Fifty is a goodage for matrimony, in a man, Mulford; as is twenty in a youngwoman. "

"Rose Budd is not yet nineteen, I have heard her say, " returned themate, with emphasis. 

"Youngish, I will own, but that's a fault a liberal-minded man canoverlook. Every day, too, will lessen it. Well, look to the cabins, and see all clear for a start. Josh will be down presently with acart-load of stores, and you'll take 'em aboard without delay. "

As Spike uttered this order, his foot was on the plank-sheer of thebulwarks, in the act of passing to the wharf again. On reaching theshore, he turned and looked intently at the revenue steamer, and hislips moved, as if he were secretly uttering maledictions on her. Wesay maledictions, as the expression of his fierce ill-favouredcountenance too plainly showed that they could not be blessings. Asfor Mulford, there was still something on his mind, and he followedto the gangway ladder and ascended it, waiting for a moment when themind of his commander might be less occupied to speak. Theopportunity soon occurred, Spike having satisfied himself with thesecond look at the steamer. 

"I hope you don't mean to sail again without a second mate, Capt. Spike?" he said. 

"I do though, I can tell you. I hate Dickies--they are always in theway, and the captain has to keep just as much of a watch with one aswithout one. "

"That will depend on his quality. You and I have both been Dickiesin our time, sir; and my time was not long ago. "

"Ay--ay--I know all about it--but you didn't stick to it long enoughto get spoiled. I would have no man aboard the Swash who made morethan two v'y'ges as second officer. As I want no spies aboard mycraft, I'll try it once more without a Dicky. "

Saying this in a sufficiently positive manner, Capt. Stephen Spikerolled up the wharf, much as a ship goes off before the wind, nowinclining to the right, and then again to the left. The gait of theman would have proclaimed him a sea-dog, to any one acquainted withthat animal, as far as he could be seen. The short squab figure, thearms bent nearly at right angles at the elbow, and working like twofins with each roll of the body, the stumpy, solid legs, with thefeet looking in the line of his course and kept wide apart, wouldall have contributed to the making up of such an opinion. Accustomedas he was to this beautiful sight, Harry Mulford kept his eyesriveted on the retiring person of his commander, until itdisappeared behind a pile of lumber, waddling always in thedirection of the more thickly peopled parts of the town. Then heturned and gazed at the steamer, which, by this time, had fairlypassed the brig, and seemed to be actually bound through the Gate. That steamer was certainly a noble-looking craft, but our young manfancied she struggled along through the water heavily. She might bequick at need, but she did not promise as much by her present rateof moving. Still, she was a noble-looking craft, and, as Mulforddescended to the deck again, he almost regretted he did not belongto her; or, at least, to anything but the Molly Swash. 

Two hours produced a sensible change in and around that brigantine. Her people had all come back to duty, and what was very remarkableamong seafaring folk, sober to a man. But, as has been said, Spikewas a temperance man, as respects all under his orders at least, ifnot strictly so in practice himself. The crew of the Swash was largefor a half-rigged brig of only two hundred tons, but, as her sparswere very square, and all her gear as well as her mould seemedconstructed for speed, it was probable more hands than common werenecessary to work her with facility and expedition. After all, therewere not many persons to be enumerated among the "people of theMolly Swash, " as they called themselves; not more than a dozen, including those aft, as well as those forward. A peculiar feature ofthis crew, however, was the circumstance that they were allmiddle-aged men, with the exception of the mate, and allthorough-bred sea-dogs. Even Josh, the cabin-boy, as he was called, was an old, wrinkled, gray-headed negro, of near sixty. If the crewwanted a little in the elasticity of youth, it possessed thesteadiness and experience of their time of life, every man appearingto know exactly what to do, and when to do it. This, indeed, composed their great merit; an advantage that Spike well knew how toappreciate. 

The stores had been brought alongside of the brig in a cart, andwere already showed in their places. Josh had brushed and swept, until the ladies' cabin could be made no neater. This ladies' cabinwas a small apartment beneath a trunk, which was, ingeniouslyenough, separated from the main cabin by pantries and double doors. The arrangement was unusual, and Spike had several times hinted thatthere was a history connected with that cabin; though what thehistory was Mulford never could induce him to relate. The latterknew that the brig had been used for a forced trade on the SpanishMain, and had heard something of her deeds in bringing off specie, and proscribed persons, at different epochs in the revolutions ofthat part of the world, and he had always understood that herpresent commander and owner had sailed in her, as mate, for manyyears before he had risen to his present station. Now, all wasregular in the way of records, bills of sale, and other documents;Stephen Spike appearing in both the capacities just named. Theregister proved that the brig had been built as far back as the lastEnglish war, as a private cruiser, but recent and extensive repairshad made her "better than new, " as her owner insisted, and there wasno question as to her sea-worthiness. It is true the insuranceoffices blew upon her, and would have nothing to do with a craftthat had seen her two score years and ten; but this gave none whobelonged to her any concern, inasmuch as they could scarcely havebeen underwritten in their trade, let the age of the vessel be whatit might. It was enough for them that the brig was safe andexceedingly fast, insurances never saving the lives of the people, whatever else might be their advantages. With Mulford it was anadditional recommendation, that the Swash was usually thought to beof uncommonly just proportions. 

By half-past two, P. M. , everything was ready for getting thebrigantine under way. Her fore-topsail--or foretawsail as Spikecalled it--was loose, the fasts were singled, and a spring had beencarried to a post in the wharf, that was well forward of thestarboard bow, and the brig's head turned to the southwest, or downthe stream, and consequently facing the young flood. Nothing seemedto connect the vessel with the land but a broad gangway plank, towhich Mulford had attached life-lines, with more care than it isusual to meet with on board of vessels employed in short voyages. The men stood about the decks with their arms thrust into the bosomsof their shirts, and the whole picture was one of silent, andpossibly of somewhat uneasy expectation. Nothing was said, however;Mulford walking the quarter-deck alone, occasionally looking up thestill little tenanted streets of that quarter of the suburbs, as ifto search for a carriage. As for the revenue-steamer, she had longbefore gone through the southern passage of Blackwell's, steeringfor the Gate. 

"Dat's dem, Mr. Mulford, " Josh at length cried, from the look-out hehad taken in a stern-port, where he could see over the low bulwarksof the vessel. "Yes, dat's dem, sir. I know dat old gray horse datcarries his head so low and sorrowful like, as a horse has a rightto do dat has to drag a cab about this big town. My eye! what ahorse it is, sir!"

Josh was right, not only as to the gray horse that carried his head"sorrowful like, " but as to the cab and its contents. The vehiclewas soon on the wharf, and in its door soon appeared the short, sturdy figure of Capt. Spike, backing out, much as a bear descends atree. On top of the vehicle were several light articles of femaleappliances, in the shape of bandboxes, bags, &c. , the trunks havingpreviously arrived in a cart. Well might that over-driven gray horseappear sorrowful, and travel with a lowered head. The cab, when itgave up its contents, discovered a load of no less than four personsbesides the driver, all of weight, and of dimensions in proportion, with the exception of the pretty and youthful Rose Budd. Even shewas plump, and of a well-rounded person; though still light andslender. But her aunt was a fair picture of a ship-master's widow;solid, comfortable and buxom. Neither was she old, nor ugly. On thecontrary, her years did not exceed forty, and being well preserved, in consequence of never having been a mother, she might even havepassed for thirty-five. The great objection to her appearance wasthe somewhat indefinite character of her shape, which seemed toblend too many of its charms into one. The fourth person, in thefare, was Biddy Noon, the Irish servant and factotum of Mrs. Budd, who was a pock-marked, red-faced, and red-armed single woman, abouther mistress's own age and weight, though less stout to the eye. 

Of Rose we shall not stop to say much here. Her deep-blue eye, whichwas equally spirited and gentle, if one can use such contradictoryterms, seemed alive with interest and curiosity, running over thebrig, the wharf, the arm of the sea, the two islands, and all nearher, including the Alms-House, with such a devouring rapidity asmight be expected in a town-bred girl, who was setting out on hertravels for the first time. Let us be understood; we say town-bred, because such was the fact; for Rose Budd had been both born andeducated in Manhattan, though we are far from wishing to beunderstood that she was either very well-born, or highly educated. Her station in life may be inferred from that of her aunt, and hereducation from her station. Of the two, the last was, perhaps, atrifle the highest. 

We have said that the fine blue eye of Rose passed swiftly over thevarious objects near her, as she alighted from the cab, and itnaturally took in the form of Harry Mulford, as he stood in thegangway, offering his arm to aid her aunt and herself in passing thebrig's side. A smile of recognition was exchanged between the youngpeople, as their eyes met, and the colour, which formed so bright acharm in Rose's sweet face, deepened, in a way to prove that thatcolour spoke with a tongue and eloquence of its own. Nor wasMulford's cheek mute on the occasion, though he helped thehesitating, half-doubting, half-bold girl along the plank with asteady hand and rigid muscles. As for the aunt, as a captain'swidow, she had not felt it necessary to betray any extraordinaryemotions in ascending the plank, unless, indeed, it might be thoseof delight on finding her foot once more on the deck of a vessel!

Something of the same feeling governed Biddy, too, for, as Mulfordcivilly extended his hand to her also, she exclaimed--"No fear ofme, Mr. Mate--I came from Ireland by wather, and knows all aboutships and brigs, I do. If you could have seen the times we had, andthe saas we crossed, you'd not think it nadeful to say much to thelikes iv me. "

Spike had tact enough to understand he would be out of his elementin assisting females along that plank, and he was busy in sendingwhat he called "the old lady's dunnage" on board, and in dischargingthe cabman. As soon as this was done, he sprang into themain-channels, and thence vid the bulwarks, on deck, ordering theplank to be hauled aboard. A solitary labourer was paid a quarter tothrow off the fasts from the ring-bolts and posts, and everythingwas instantly in motion to cast the brig loose. Work went on as ifthe vessel were in haste, and it consequently went on with activity. Spike bestirred himself, giving his orders in a way to denote he hadbeen long accustomed to exercise authority on the deck of a vessel, and knew his calling to its minuti‘. The only ostensible differencebetween his deportment to-day and on any ordinary occasion, perhaps, was in the circumstance that he now seemed anxious to get clear ofthe wharf, and that in a way which might have attracted notice inany suspicious and attentive observer. It is possible that such aone was not very distant, and that Spike was aware of his presence, for a respectable-looking, well-dressed, middle-aged man had comedown one of the adjacent streets, to a spot within a hundred yardsof the wharf, and stood silently watching the movements of the brig, as he leaned against a fence. The want of houses in that quarterenabled any person to see this stranger from the deck of the Swash, but no one on board her seemed to regard him at all, unless it mightbe the master. 

"Come, bear a hand, my hearty, and toss that bow-fast clear, " criedthe captain, whose impatience to be off seemed to increase as thetime to do so approached nearer and nearer. "Off with it, at once, and let her go. "

The man on the wharf threw the turns of the hawser clear of thepost, and the Swash was released forward. A smaller line, for aspring, had been run some distance along the wharves, ahead of thevessel, and brought in aft. Her people clapped on this, and gave wayto their craft, which, being comparatively light, was easily moved, and was very manageable. As this was done, the distant spectator whohad been leaning on the fence moved toward the wharf with a step alittle quicker than common. Almost at the same instant, a short, stout, sailor-like looking little person, waddled down the neareststreet, seeming to be in somewhat of a hurry, and presently hejoined the other stranger, and appeared to enter into conversationwith him; pointing toward the Swash as he did so. All this time, both continued to advance toward the wharf. 

In the meanwhile, Spike and his people were not idle. The tide didnot run very strong near the wharves and in the sort of a bight inwhich the vessel had lain; but, such as it was, it soon took thebrig on her inner bow, and began to cast her head off shore. Thepeople at the spring pulled away with all their force, and gotsufficient motion on their vessel to overcome the tide, and to givethe rudder an influence. The latter was put hard a-starboard, andhelped to cast the brig's head to the southward. 

Down to this moment, the only sail that was loose on board the Swashwas the fore-topsail, as mentioned. This still hung in the gear, buta hand had been sent aloft to overhaul the buntlines and clewlines, and men were also at the sheets. In a minute the sail was ready forhoisting. The Swash carried a wapper of a fore-and-aft mainsail, and, what is more, it was fitted with a standing gaff, forappearance in port. At sea, Spike knew better than to trust to thisarrangement; but in fine weather, and close in with the land, hefound it convenient to have this sail haul out and brail like aship's spanker. As the gaff was now aloft, it was only necessary tolet go the brails to loosen this broad sheet of canvas, and to clapon the out-hauler, to set it. This was probably the reason why thebrig was so unceremoniously cast into the stream, without showingmore of her cloth. The jib and flying-jibs, however, did at thatmoment drop beneath their booms, ready for hoisting. 

Such was the state of things as the two strangers came first uponthe wharf. Spike was on the taffrail, overhauling the main-sheet, and Mulford was near him, casting the foretopsail braces from thepins, preparatory to clapping on the halyards. 

"I say, Mr. Mulford, " asked the captain, "did you ever see either ofthem chaps afore? These jokers on the wharf, I mean. "

"Not to my recollection, sir, " answered the mate, looking over thetaffrail to examine the parties. "The little one is a burster! Thefunniest-looking little fat old fellow I've seen in many a day. "

"Ay, ay, them fat little bursters, as you call 'em, are sometimesfull of the devil. I do n't like either of the chaps, and am rightglad we are well cast, before they got here. "

"I do not think either would be likely to do us much harm, Capt. Spike. "

"There's no knowing sir. The biggest fellow looks as if he might lugout a silver oar at any moment. "

"I believe the silver oar is no longer used, in this country atleast, " answered Mulford, smiling. "And if it were, what have we tofear from it? I fancy the brig has paid her reckoning. "

"She do n't owe a cent, nor ever shall for twenty-four hours afterthe bill is made out, while I own her. They call me ready-moneyStephen, round among the ship-chandlers and caulkers. But I do n'tlike them chaps, and what I do n't relish I never swallow, youknow. "

"They 'll hardly try to get aboard us, sir; you see we are quiteclear of the wharf, and the mainsail will take now, if we set it. "

Spike ordered the mate to clap on the outhauler, and spread thatbroad sheet of canvas at once to the little breeze there was. Thiswas almost immediately done, when the sail filled, and began to befelt on the movement of the vessel. Still, that movement was veryslow, the wind being so light, and the vis inertioe of so large abody remaining to be overcome. The brig receded from the wharf, almost in a line at right angles to its face, inch by inch, as itmight be, dropping slowly up with the tide at the same time. Mulfordnow passed forward to set the jibs, and to get the topsail on thecraft, leaving Spike on the taffrail, keenly eyeing the strangers, who, by this time, had got down nearly to the end of the wharf, atthe berth so lately occupied by the Swash. That the captain wasuneasy was evident enough, that feeling being exhibited in hiscountenance, blended with a malignant ferocity. 

"Has that brig any pilot?" asked the larger and better-looking ofthe two strangers. 

"What's that to you, friend?" demanded Spike, in return. "Have you aHell-Gate branch?"

"I may have one, or I may not. It is not usual for so large a craftto run the Gate without a pilot. "

"Oh! my gentleman's below, brushing up his logarithms. We shall havehim on deck to take his departure before long, when I'll let himknow your kind inquiries after his health. "

The man on the wharf seemed to be familiar with this sort ofsea-wit, and he made no answer, but continued that close scrutiny ofthe brig, by turning his eyes in all directions, now looking below, and now aloft, which had in truth occasioned Spike's principal causefor uneasiness. 

"Is not that Capt. Stephen Spike, of the brigantine Molly Swash?"called out the little, dumpling-looking person, in a cracked, dwarfish sort of a voice, that was admirably adapted to hisappearance. Our captain fairly started; turned full toward thespeaker; regarded him intently for a moment; and gulped the words hewas about to utter, like one confounded. As he gazed, however, atlittle dumpy, examining his bow-legs, red broad cheeks, and coarsesnub nose, he seemed to regain his self-command, as if satisfied thedead had not really returned to life. 

"Are you acquainted with the gentleman you have named?" he asked, byway of answer. "You speak of him like one who ought to know him. "

"A body is apt to know a shipmate. Stephen Spike and I sailedtogether twenty years since, and I hope to live to sail with himagain. "

"You sail with Stephen Spike? when and where, may I ask, and in whatv'y'ge, pray?"

"The last time was twenty years since. Have you forgotten littleJack Tier, Capt. Spike?"

Spike looked astonished, and well he might, for he had supposed Jackto be dead fully fifteen years. Time and hard service had greatlyaltered him, but the general resemblance in figure, stature, andwaddle, certainly remained. Notwithstanding, the Jack Tier thatSpike remembered was quite a different person from this Jack Tier. That Jack had worn his intensely black hair clubbed and curled, whereas this Jack had cut his locks into short bristles, which timehad turned into an intense gray. That Jack was short and thick, buthe was flat and square; whereas this Jack was just as short, a gooddeal thicker, and as round as a dumpling. In one thing, however, thelikeness still remained perfect. Both Jacks chewed tobacco, to adegree that became a distinct feature in their appearance. 

Spike had many reasons for wishing Jack Tier were not resuscitatedin this extraordinary manner, and some for being glad to see him. The fellow had once been largely in his confidence, and knew morethan was quite safe for any one to remember but himself, while hemight be of great use to him in his future, operations. It is alwaysconvenient to have one at your elbow who thoroughly understands you, and Spike would have lowered a boat and sent it to the wharf tobring Jack off, were it not for the gentleman who was so inquisitiveabout pilots. Under the circumstances, he determined to forego theadvantages of Jack's presence, reserving the right to hunt him up onhis return. 

The reader will readily enough comprehend, that the Molly Swash wasnot absolutely standing still while the dialogue related was goingon, and the thoughts we have recorded were passing through hermaster's mind. On the contrary, she was not only in motion, but thatmotion was gradually increasing, and by the time all was said thathas been related, it had become necessary for those who spoke toraise their voices to an inconvenient pitch in order to be heard. This circumstance alone would soon have put an end to theconversation, had not Spike's pausing to reflect brought about thesame result, as mentioned. 

In the mean time, Mulford had got the canvas spread. Forward, theSwash showed all the cloth of a full-rigged brig, even to royals andflying jib; while aft, her mast was the raking, tall, naked pole ofan American schooner. There was a taunt topmast, too, to which agaff-topsail was set, and the gear proved that she could also show, at need, a staysail in this part of her, if necessary. As the Gatewas before them, however, the people had set none but the plain, manageable canvas. 

The Molly Swash kept close on a wind, luffing athwar the broad reachshe was in, until far enough to weather Blackwell's, when she edgedoff to her course, and went through the southern passage. Althoughthe wind remained light, and a little baffling, the brig was soeasily impelled, and was so very handy, that there was no difficultyin keeping her perfectly in command. The tide, too, was fastincreasing in strength and volocity, and the movement from thiscause alone was getting to be sufficiently rapid. 

As for the passengers, of whom we have lost sight in order to getthe brig under way, they were now on deck again. At first, they hadall gone below, under the care of Josh, a somewhat rough groom ofthe chambers, to take possession of their apartment, a sufficientlyneat, and exceedingly comfortable cabin, supplied with everythingthat could be wanted at sea, and, what was more, lined on two of itssides with state-rooms. It is true, all these apartments were small, and the state-rooms were very low, but no fault could be found withtheir neatness and general arrangements, when it was recollectedthat one was on board a vessel. 

"Here ebbery t'ing heart can wish, " said Josh, exultingly, who, being an old-school black, did not disdain to use some of theold-school dialect of his caste. "Yes, ladies, ebbery t'ing. LetCap'n Spike alone for dat! He won'erful at accommodation! Not abed-bug aft--know better dan come here; jest like de people, in datrespects, and keep deir place forrard. You nebber see a pig come onde quarter-deck, nudder. "

"You must maintain excellent discipline, Josh, " cried Rose, in oneof the sweetest voices in the world, which was easily attuned tomerriment--"and we are delighted to learn what you tell us. How doyou manage to keep up these distinctions, and make such creaturesknow their places so well?"

"Nuttin easier, if you begin right, miss. As for de pig, I teach demwid scaldin' water. Wheneber I sees a pig come aft, I gets a littlewater from de copper, and just scald him wid it. You can't t'ink, miss, how dat mend his manners, and make him squeel fuss, and t'inkarter. In dat fashion I soon get de ole ones in good trainin', andden I has no more trouble with dem as comes fresh aboard; for de olehog tell de young one, and 'em won'erful cunnin', and know how totake care of 'emself. "

Rose Budd's sweet eyes were full of fun and expectation, and shecould no more repress her laugh than youth and spirits can always bediscreet. 

"Yes, with the pigs, " she cried, "that might do very well; but howis it with those--other creatures?"

"Rosy, dear, " interrupted the aunt, "I wish you would say no moreabout such shocking things. It's enough for us that Capt. Spike hasordered them all to stay forward among the men, which is always doneon board well disciplined vessels. I've heard your uncle say, ahundred times, that the quarter-deck was sacred, and that might beenough to keep such animals off it. "

It was barely necessary to look at Mrs. Budd in the face to get avery accurate general notion of her character. She was one of thoseinane, uncultivated beings who seem to be protected by a benevolentProvidence in their pilgrimage on earth, for they do not seem topossess the power to protect themselves. Her very countenanceexpressed imbecility and mental dependence, credulity and a love ofgossip. Notwithstanding these radical weaknesses, the good woman hadsome of the better instincts of her sex, and was never guilty ofanything that could properly convey reproach. 

She was no monitress for Rose, however, the niece much oftenerinfluencing the aunt, than the aunt influencing the niece. Thelatter had been fortunate in having had an excellent instructress, who, though incapable of teaching her much in the way ofaccomplishments, had imparted a great deal that was respectable anduseful. Rose had character, and strong character, too, as the courseof our narrative will show; but her worthy aunt was a pure pictureof as much mental imbecility as at all comported with the privilegesof self-government. 

The conversation about "those other creatures" was effectuallychecked by Mrs. Budd's horror of the "animals, " and Josh was calledon deck so shortly after as to prevent its being renewed. Thefemales staid below a few minutes, to take possession, and then theyre-appeared on deck, to gaze at the horrors of the Hell Gatepassage. Rose was all eyes, wonder and admiration of everything shesaw. This was actually the first time she had ever been on thewater, in any sort of craft, though born and brought up in sight ofone of the most thronged havens in the world. But there must be abeginning to everything, and this was Rose Budd's beginning on thewater. It is true the brigantine was a very beautiful, as well as anexceedingly swift vessel; but all this was lost on Rose, who wouldhave admired a horse-jockey bound to the West Indies, in this theincipient state of her nautical knowledge. Perhaps the exquisiteneatness that Mulford maintained about everything that came underhis care, and that included everything on deck, or above-board, andabout which neatness Spike occasionally muttered an oath, as so muchsenseless trouble, contributed somewhat to Rose's pleasure; but heradmiration would scarcely have been less with anything that hadsails, and seemed to move through the water with a power approachingthat of volition. 

It was very different with Mrs. Budd, She, good woman, had actuallymade one voyage with her late husband, and she fancied that she knewall about a vessel. It was her delight to talk on nautical subjects, and never did she really feel her great superiority over her niece, so very unequivocally, as when the subject of the ocean wasintroduced, about which she did know something, and touching whichRose was profoundly ignorant, or as ignorant as a girl of livelyimagination could remain with the information gleaned from others. 

"I am not surprised you are astonished at the sight of the vessel, Rosy, " observed the self-complacent aunt at one of her niece'sexclamations of admiration. "A vessel is a very wonderful thing, andwe are told what extr'orny beings they are that `go down to the seain ships. ' But you are to know this is not a ship at all, but only ahalf-jigger rigged, which is altogether a different thing. "

"Was my uncle's vessel, The Rose In Bloom, then, very different fromthe Swash?"

"Very different indeed, child! Why, The Rose In Bloom was afull-jiggered ship, and had twelve masts--and this is only ahalf-jiggered brig, and has but two masts. See, you may countthem--one--two!"

Harry Mulford was coiling away a top-gallant-brace, directly infront of Mrs. Budd and Rose, and, at hearing this account of thewonderful equipment of The Rose In Bloom, he suddenly looked up, with a lurking expression about his eye that the niece very wellcomprehended, while he exclaimed, without much reflection, under theimpulse of surprise--"Twelve masts! Did I understand you to say, ma'am, that Capt. Budd's ship had twelve masts?"

"Yes, sir, twelve! and I can tell you all their names, for I learntthem by heart--it appearing to me proper that a ship-master's wifeshould know the names of all the masts in her husband's vessel. Doyou wish to hear their names, Mr. Mulford?"

Harry Mulford would have enjoyed this conversation to the top of hisbent, had it not been for Rose. She well knew her aunt's generalweakness of intellect, and especially its weakness on thisparticular subject, but she would suffer no one to manifest contemptfor either, if in her power to prevent it. It is seldom one soyoung, so mirthful, so ingenuous and innocent in the expression ofher countenance, assumed so significant and rebuking a frown as didpretty Rose Budd when she heard the mate's involuntary exclamationabout the "twelve masts. " Harry, who was not easily checked by hisequals, or any of his own sex, submitted to that rebuking frown withthe meekness of a child, and stammered out, in answer to thewell-meaning, but weak-minded widow's question--"If you please, Mrs. Budd--just as you please, ma'am--only twelve is a good manymasts--" Rose frowned again--"that is--more than I'm used toseeing--that's all. "

"I dare say, Mr. Mulford--for you sail in only a half-jigger; butCapt. Budd always sailed in a full-jigger--and his full-jiggeredship had just twelve masts, and, to prove it to you, I'll give youthe names--first then, there were the fore, main, and mizen masts--"

"Yes--yes--ma'am, " stammered Harry, who wished the twelve masts andThe Rose In Bloom at the bottom of the ocean, since her owner'sniece still continued to look coldly displeased--"that's right, Ican swear!"

"Very true, sir, and you'll find I am right as to all the rest. Then, there were the fore, main, and mizen top-masts--they make six, if I can count, Mr. Mulford?"

"Ah!" exclaimed the mate, laughing, in spite of Rose's frowns, asthe manner in which the old sea-dog had quizzed his wife becameapparent to him. "I see how it is--you are quite right, ma'am--Idare say The Rose In Bloom had all these masts, and some to spare. "

"Yes, sir--I knew you would be satisfied. The fore, main and mizentop-gallant-masts make nine--and the fore, main and mizen royalsmake just twelve. Oh, I'm never wrong in anything about a vessel, especially if she is a full-jiggered ship. "

Mulford had some difficulty in restraining his smiles each time thefull-jigger was mentioned, but Rose's expression of countenance kepthim in excellent order--and she, innocent creature, saw nothingridiculous in the term, though the twelve masts had given her alittle alarm. Delighted that the old lady had got through herenumeration of the spars with so much success, Rose cried, in theexuberance of her spirits--"Well, aunty, for my part, I find ahalf-jigger vessel, so very, very beautiful, that I do not know howI should behave were I to go on board a full-jigger. "

Mulford turned abruptly away, the circumstance of Rose's makingherself ridiculous giving him sudden pain, though he could havelaughed at her aunt by the hour. 

"Ah, my dear, that is on account of your youth and inexperience--butyou will learn better in time. I was just so, myself, when I was ofyour age, and thought the fore-rafters were as handsome as thesquared-jiggers, but soon after I married Capt. Budd I felt thenecessity of knowing more than I did about ships, and I got him toteach me. He did n't like the business, at first, and pretended Iwould never learn; but, at last, it came all at once like, and thenhe used to be delighted to hear me `talk ship, ' as he called it. I've known him laugh, with his cronies, as if ready to die, at myexpertness in sea-terms, for half an hour together--and then hewould swear--that was the worst fault your uncle had, Rosy--he wouldswear, sometimes, in a way that frightened me, I do declare!"

"But he never swore at you, aunty?"

"I can't say that he did exactly do that, but he would swear allround me, even if he did n't actually touch me, when things wentwrong--but it would have done your heart good to hear him laugh! hehad a most excellent heart, just like your own, Rosy dear; but, forthat matter, all the Budds have excellent hearts, and one of thecommonest ways your uncle had of showing it was to laugh, particularly when we were together and talking. Oh, he used todelight in hearing me converse, especially about vessels, and neverfailed to get me at it when he had company. I see his good-natured, excellent-hearted countenance at this moment, with the tears runningdown his fat, manly cheeks, as he shook his very sides withlaughter. I may live a hundred years, Rosy, before I meet again withyour uncle's equal. "

This was a subject that invariably silenced Rose. She remembered heruncle, herself, and remembered his affectionate manner of laughingat her aunt, and she always wished the latter to get through hereulogiums on her married happiness, as soon as possible, wheneverthe subject was introduced. 

All this time the Molly Swash kept in motion. Spike never took apilot when he could avoid it, and his mind was too much occupiedwith his duty, in that critical navigation, to share at all in theconversation of his passengers, though he did endeavour to makehimself agreeable to Rose, by an occasional remark, when afavourable opportunity offered. 

As soon as he had worked his brig over into the south or weatherpassage of Blackwell's, however, there remained little for him todo, until she had drifted through it, a distance of a mile or more;and this gave him leisure to do the honours. He pointed out thecastellated edifice on Blackwell's as the new penitentiary, and thehamlet of villas, on the other shore, as Ravenswood, though there isneither wood nor ravens to authorize the name. But the "Sunswick, "which satisfied the Delafields and Gibbses of the olden, time, andwhich distinguished their lofty halls and broad lawns, was notelegant enough for the cockney tastes of these latter days, so"wood" must be made to usurp the place of cherries and apples, and"ravens" that of gulls, in order to satisfy its cravings. But allthis was lost on Spike. He remembered the shore as it had beentwenty years before, and he saw what it was now, but little did hecare for the change. On the whole, he rather preferred the GrecianTemples, over which the ravens would have been compelled to fly, hadthere been any ravens in that neighbourhood, to the old-fashionedand highly respectable residence that once alone occupied the spot. The point he did understand, however, and on the merits of which hehad something to say, was a little farther ahead. That, too, hadbeen re-christened--the Hallet's Cove of the mariner being convertedinto Astoria--not that bloody-minded place at the mouth of theOregon, which has come so near bringing us to blows with our"ancestors in England, " as the worthy denizens of that quarterchoose to consider themselves still, if one can judge by theirlanguage. This Astoria was a very different place, and is one of themany suburban villages that are shooting up, like mushrooms in anight, around the great Commercial Emporium. This spot Spikeunderstood perfectly, and it was not likely that he should pass itwithout communicating a portion of his knowledge to Rose. 

"There, Miss Rose, " he said, with a didactic sort of air, pointingwith his short, thick finger at the little bay which was justopening to their view; "there's as neat a cove as a craft need bringup in. That used to be a capital place to lie in, to wait for a windto pass the Gate; but it has got to be most too public for my taste. I'm rural, I tell Mulford, and love to get in out-of-the-way berthswith my brig, where she can see salt-meadows, and smell the clover. You never catch me down in any of the crowded slips, around themarkets, or anywhere in that part of the town, for I do love countryair. That's Hallet's Cove, Miss Rose, and a pretty anchorage itwould be for us, if the wind and tide didn't sarve to take usthrough the Gate. "

"Are we near the Gate, Capt. Spike?" asked Rose, the fine bloom onher cheek lessening a little, under the apprehension that formidablename is apt to awaken in the breasts of the inexperienced. 

"Half a mile, or so. It begins just at the other end of this islandon our larboard hand, and will be all over in about another halfmile, or so. It's no such bad place, a'ter all, is Hell-Gate, tothem that's used to it. I call myself a pilot in Hell-Gate, though Ihave no branch. "

"I wish, Capt. Spike, I could teach you to give that place itsproper and polite name. We call it Whirl-Gate altogether now, " saidthe relict. 

"Well, that's new to me, " cried Spike. "I have heard somechicken-mouthed folk say Hurl-Gate, but this is the first time Iever heard it called Whirl-Gate--they'll get it to Whirligig-Gatenext. I do n't think that my old commander, Capt. Budd, called thepassage anything but honest up and down Hell-Gate. "

"That he did--that he did--and all my arguments and reading couldnot teach him any better. I proved to him that it was Whirl-Gate, asany one can see that it ought to be. It is full of whirlpools, theysay, and that shows what Nature meant the name to be. "

"But, aunty, " put in Rose, half reluctantly, half anxious to speak, "what has gate to do with whirlpools? You will remember it is calleda gate--the gate to that wicked place I suppose is meant. "

"Rose, you amaze me! How can you, a young woman of only nineteen, stand up for so vulgar a name as Hell-Gate!"

"Do you think it as vulgar as Hurl-Gate, aunty?" To me it alwaysseems the most vulgar to be straining at gnats. "

"Yes, " said Spike sentimentally, "I'm quite of Miss Rose's way ofthinking--straining at gnats is very ill-manners, especially attable. I once knew a man who strained in this way, until I thoughthe would have choked, though it was with a fly to be sure; but gnatsare nothing but small flies, you know, Miss Rose. Yes, I'm quite ofyour way of thinking, Miss Rose; it is very vulgar to be strainingat gnats and flies, more particularly at table. But you'll find noflies or gnats aboard here, to be straining at, or brushing away, orto annoy you. Stand by there, my hearties, and see all clear to runthrough Hell-Gate. Do n't let me catch you straining at anything, though it should be the fin of a whale!"

The people forward looked at each other, as they listened to thisnovel admonition, though they called out the customary "ay, ay, sir, " as they went to the sheets, braces and bowlines. To them thepassage of no Hell-Gate conveyed the idea of any particular terror, and with the one they were about to enter, they were much toofamiliar to care anything about it. 

The brig was now floating fast, with the tide, up abreast of theeast end of Blackwell's, and in two or three more minutes she wouldbe fairly in the Gate. Spike was aft, where he could command a viewof everything forward, and Mulford stood on the quarter-deck, tolook after the head-braces. An old and trustworthy seaman, who actedas a sort of boatswain, had the charge on the forecastle, and was totend the sheets and tack. His name was Rove. 

"See all clear, " called out Spike. "D'ye hear there, for'ard! Ishall make a half-board in the Gate, if the wind favour us, and thetide prove strong enough to hawse us to wind'ard sufficiently toclear the Pot--so mind your--"

The captain breaking off in the middle of this harangue, Mulfordturned his head, in order to see what might be the matter. There wasSpike, levelling a spy-glass at a boat that was pulling swiftly outof the north channel, and shooting like an arrow directly athwartthe brig's bows into the main passage of the Gate. He stepped to thecaptain's elbow. 

"Just take a look at them chaps, Mr. Mulford, " said Spike, handinghis mate the glass. 

"They seem in a hurry, " answered Harry, as he adjusted the glass tohis eye, "and will go through the Gate in less time than it willtake to mention the circumstance. "

"What do you make of them, sir?"

"The little man who called himself Jack Tier is in the stern-sheetsof the boat, for one, " answered Mulford. 

"And the other, Harry--what do you make of the other?"

"It seems to be the chap who hailed to know if we had a pilot. Hemeans to board us at Riker's Island, and make us pay pilotage, whether we want his services or not. "

"Blast him and his pilotage too! Give me the glass"--taking anotherlong look at the boat, which by this time was glancing, rather thanpulling, nearly at right angles across his bows. "I want no suchpilot aboard here, Mr. Mulford. Take another look at him--here, youcan see him, away on our weather bow, already. "

Mulford did take another look at him, and this time his examinationwas longer and more scrutinizing than before. 

"It is not easy to cover him with the glass, " observed the youngman--"the boat seems fairly to fly. "

"We're forereaching too near the Hog's Back, Capt. Spike, " roaredthe boatswain, from forward. 

"Ready about--hard a lee, " shouted Spike. "Let all fly, for'ard--help her round, boys, all you can, and wait for no orders!Bestir yourselves--bestir yourselves. "

It was time the crew should be in earnest. While Spike's attentionhad been thus diverted by the boat, the brig had got into thestrongest of the current, which, by setting her fast to windward, had trebled the power of the air, and this was shooting her overtoward one of the greatest dangers of the passage on a flood tide. As everybody bestirred themselves, however, she was got round andfilled on the opposite tack, just in time to clear the rocks. Spikebreathed again, but his head was still full of the boat. The dangerhe had just escaped as Scylla met him as Charybdis. The boatswainagain roared to go about. The order was given as the vessel began topitch in a heavy swell. At the next instant she rolled until thewater came on deck, whirled with her stern down the tide, and herbows rose as if she were about to leap out of water. The Swash hadhit the Pot Rock. 

CHAPTER II. 

"Watch. If we know him to be a thief, shall we not lay hands onhim?

Dogb. Truly, by your office, you may; but I think they that touchpitch will be defiled; the most peaceable way for you, if you do takea thief, is, to let him show himself what he is, and steal out of yourcompany. "

Much Ado About Nothing. 

We left the brigantine of Capt. Spike in a very critical situation, and the master himself in great confusion of mind. 

A thorough seaman, this accident would never have happened, but forthe sudden appearance of the boat and its passengers; one of whomappeared to be a source of great uneasiness to him. As might beexpected, the circumstance of striking a place as dangerous as thePot Rock in Hell-Gate, produced a great sensation on board thevessel. This sensation betrayed itself in various ways, andaccording to the characters, habits, and native firmness of theparties. As for the ship-master's relict, she seized hold of themain-mast, and screamed so loud and perseveringly, as to cause thesensation to extend itself into the adjacent and thriving village ofAstoria, where it was distinctly heard by divers of those who dweltnear the water. Biddy Noon had her share in this clamour, lying downon the deck in order to prevent rolling over, and possibly to screammore at her leisure, while Rose had sufficient self-command to besilent, though her cheeks lost their colour. 

Nor was there anything extraordinary in females betraying thisalarm, when one remembers the somewhat astounding signs of danger bywhich these persons were surrounded. There is always somethingimposing in the swift movement of a considerable body of water. Whenthis movement is aided by whirlpools and the other similaraccessories of an interrupted current, it frequently becomesstartling, more especially to those who happen to be on the elementitself. This is peculiarly the case with the Pot Rock, where, notonly does the water roll and roar as if agitated by a mighty wind, but where it even breaks, the foam seeming to glance up stream, inthe rapid succession of wave to wave. Had the Swash remained in herterrific berth more than a second or two, she would have proved whatis termed a "total loss;" but she did not. Happily, the Pot Rocklies so low that it is not apt to fetch up anything of a lightdraught of water, and the brigantine's fore-foot had just settled onits summit, long enough to cause the vessel to whirl round and makeher obeisance to the place, when a succeeding swell lifted herclear, and away she went down stream, rolling as if scudding in agale, and, for a moment, under no command whatever. There layanother danger ahead, or it would be better to say astern, for thebrig was drifting stern foremost; and that was in an eddy under abluff, which bluff lies at an angle in the reach, where it is nouncommon thing for craft to be cast ashore, after they have passedall the more imposing and more visible dangers above. It was inescaping this danger, and in recovering the command of his vessel, that Spike now manifested the sort of stuff of which he was reallymade, in emergencies of this sort. The yards were all sharp up whenthe accident occurred, and springing to the lee braces, just as aman winks when his eye is menaced, he seized the weather fore-bracewith his own hands, and began to round in the yard, shouting out tothe man at the wheel to "port his helm" at the same time. Some ofthe people flew to his assistance, and the yards were not onlysquared, but braced a little up on the other tack, in much less timethan we have taken to relate the evolution. Mulford attended to themain-sheet, and succeeded in getting the boom out in the rightdirection. Although the wind was in truth very light, the velocityof the drift filled the canvas, and taking the arrow-like current onher lee bow, the Swash, like a frantic steed that is alarmed withthe wreck made by his own madness, came under command, and sheeredout into the stream again, where she could drift clear of theapprehended danger astern. 

"Sound the pumps!" called out Spike to Mulford, the instant he sawhe had regained his seat in the saddle. Harry sprang amidships toobey, and the eye of every mariner in that vessel was on the youngman, as, in the midst of a death-like silence, he performed thisall-important duty. It was like the physician's feeling the pulse ofhis patient before he pronounces on the degree of his danger. 

"Well, sir?" cried out Spike, impatiently, as the rod reappeared. 

"All right, sir, " answered Harry, cheerfully--"the well is nearlyempty. "

"Hold on a moment longer, and give the water time to find its wayamidships, if there be any. "

The mate remained perched up on the pump, in order to comply, whileSpike and his people, who now breathed more freely again, improvedthe leisure to brace up and haul aft, to the new course. 

"Biddy, " said Mrs. Budd considerately, during this pause in theincidents, "you need n't scream any longer. The danger seems to bepast, and you may get up off the deck now. See, I have let go of themast. The pumps have been sounded, and are found tight. "

Biddy, like an obedient and respectful servant, did as directed, quite satisfied if the pumps were tight. It was some little time, tobe sure, before she was perfectly certain whether she were alive ornot--but, once certain of this circumstance, her alarm very sensiblyabated, and she became reasonable. As for Mulford, he dropped thesounding rod again, and had the same cheering report to make. 

"The brig is as tight as a bottle, sir. "

"So much the better, " answered Spike. "I never had such a whirl inher before in my life, and I thought she was going to stop and passthe night there. That's the very spot on which `The Hussar' frigatewas wrecked. "

"So I have heard, sir. But she drew so much water that she hit slapagainst the rock, and started a butt. We merely touched on its topwith our fore-foot, and slid off. "

This was the simple explanation of the Swash's escape, and, everybody being now well assured that no harm had been done, thingsfell into their old and regular train again. As for Spike, hisgallantry, notwithstanding, was upset for some hours, and gladenough was he when he saw all three of his passengers quit the deckto go below. Mrs. Budd's spirits had been so much agitated that shetold Rose she would go down into the cabin and rest a few minutes onits sofa. We say sofa, for that article of furniture, now-a-days, isfar more common in vessels than it was thirty years ago in thedwellings of the country. 

"There, Mulford, " growled Spike, pointing ahead of the brig, to anobject on the water that was about half a mile ahead of them, "there's that bloody boat--d'ye see? I should like of all things togive it the slip. There's a chap in that boat I do n't like. "

"I do n't see how that can be very well done, sir, unless we anchor, repass the Gate at the turn of the tide, and go to sea by the way ofSandy Hook. "

"That will never do. I've no wish to be parading the brig before thetown. You see, Mulford, nothing can be more innocent and proper thanthe Molly Swash, as you know from having sailed in her these twelvemonths. You'll give her that character, I'll be sworn?"

"I know no harm of her, Capt. Spike, and hope I never shall. "

"No, sir--you know no harm of her, nor does any one else. A nursinginfant is not more innocent than the Molly Swash, or could have aclearer character if nothing but truth was said of her. But theworld is so much given to lying, that one of the old saints, of whomwe read in the good book, such as Calvin and John Rogers, would bevilified if he lived in these times. Then, it must be owned, Mr. Mulford, whatever may be the raal innocence of the brig, she has amost desperate wicked look. "

"Why, yes, sir--it must be owned she is what we sailors call awicked-looking craft. But some of Uncle Sam's cruisers have thatappearance, also. "

"I know it--I know it, sir, and think nothing of looks myself. Menare often deceived in me, by my looks, which have none of yourlong-shore softness about 'em, perhaps; but my mother used to say Iwas one of the most tender-hearted boys she had ever heard spokenof--like one of the babes in the woods, as it might be. But mankindgo so much by appearances that I do n't like to trust the brig toomuch afore their eyes. Now, should we be seen in the lower bay, waiting for a wind, or for the ebb tide to make, to carry us overthe bar, ten to one but some philotropic or other would be off witha complaint to the District Attorney that we looked like a slaver, and have us all fetched up to be tried for our lives as pirates. No, no--I like to keep the brig in out-of-the-way places, where she cangive no offence to your 'tropics, whether they be philos, or of anyother sort. "

"Well, sir, we are to the eastward of the Gate, and all's safe. Thatboat cannot bring us up. "

"You forget, Mr. Mulford, the revenue-craft that steamed up, on theebb. That vessel must be off Sands' Point by this time, and she mayhear something to our disparagement from the feller in the boat, andtake it into her smoky head to walk us back to town. I wish we werewell to the eastward of that steamer! But there's no use inlamentations. If there is really any danger, it's some distanceahead yet, thank Heaven!"

"You have no fears of the man who calls himself Jack Tier, Capt. Spike?"

"None in the world. That feller, as I remember him, was a littlebustlin' chap that I kept in the cabin, as a sort of steward's mate. There was neither good nor harm in him, to the best of myrecollection. But Josh can tell us all about him--just give Josh acall. "

The best thing in the known history of Spike was the fact that hissteward had sailed with him for more than twenty years. Where he hadpicked up Josh no one could say, but Josh and himself, and neitherchose to be very communicative on the subject. But Josh hadcertainly been with him as long as he had sailed the Swash, and thatwas from a time actually anterior to the birth of Mulford. The matesoon had the negro in the council. 

"I say, Josh, " asked Spike, "do you happen to remember such a handaboard here as one Jack Tier?"

"Lor' bless you, yes sir--'members he as well as I do the pea soupthat was burnt, and which you t'rowed all over him, to scald him forpunishment. "

"I've had to do that so often, to one careless fellow or other, thatthe circumstance does n't recall the man. I remember him--but not asclear as I could wish. How long did he sail with us?"

"Sebberal v'y'ge, sir, and got left ashore down on the main, onenight, when'e boat were obliged to shove off in a hurry. Yes, 'members little Jack, right well I does. "

"Did you see the man that spoke us from the wharf, and hailed forthis very Jack Tier?"

"I see'd a man, sir, dat was won'erful Jack Tier built like, sir, but I did n't hear the conwersation, habbin' the ladies to 'tend to. But Jack was oncommon short in his floor timbers, sir, and had nolength of keel at all. His beam was won'erful for his length, altogedder--what you call jolly-boat, or bum-boat build, and wasonly good afore'e wind, Cap'n Spike. "

"Was he good for anything aboard ship, Josh? Worth heaving-to for, should he try to get aboard of us again?"

"Why, sir, can't say much for him in dat fashion. Jack was handy inthe cabin, and capital feller to carry soup from the gally, aft. Yousee, sir, he was so low-rigged that the brig's lurchin' and pitchin'could n't get him off his pins, and he stood up like a church in theheaviest wea'der. Yes, sir, Jack was right good for dat. "

Spike mused a moment--then he rolled the tobacco over in his mouth, and added, in the way a man speaks when his mind is made up--"Ayay! I see into the fellow. He'll make a handy lady's maid, and wewant such a chap just now. It's better to have an old friend aboard, than to be pickin' up strangers, 'long shore. So, should this JackTier come off to us, from any of the islands or points ahead, Mr. Mulford, you'll round to and take him aboard. As for the steamer, ifshe will only pass out into the Sound where there's room, it shallgo hard with us but I get to the eastward of her, without speaking. On the other hand, should she anchor this side of the fort, I'll notattempt to pass her. There is deep water inside of most of theislands, I know, and we'll try and dodge her in that way, if nobetter offer. I've no more reason than another craft to fear agovernment vessel, but the sight of one of them makes meoncomfortable; that's all. "

Mulford shrugged his shoulders and remained silent, perceiving thathis commander was not disposed to pursue the subject any further. Inthe mean time, the brig had passed beyond the influence of thebluff, and was beginning to feel a stronger breeze, that was comingdown the wide opening of Flushing Bay. As the tide still continuedstrong in her favour, and her motion through the water was gettingto be four or five knots, there was every prospect of her soonreaching Whitestone, the point where the tides meet, and where itwould become necessary to anchor; unless, indeed, the wind, whichwas now getting to the southward and eastward, should come roundmore to the south. All this Spike and his mate discussed together, while the people were clearing the decks, and making thepreparations that are customary on board a vessel before she getsinto rough water. 

By this time it was ascertained that the brig had received no damageby her salute of the Pot Rock, and every trace of uneasiness on thataccount was removed. But Spike kept harping on the boat, and "thepilot-looking chap who was in her. " As they passed Riker's Island, all hands expected a boat would put off with a pilot, or to demandpilotage; but none came, and the Swash now seemed released from allher present dangers, unless some might still be connected with therevenue steamer. To retard her advance, however, the wind came out asmart working breeze from the southward and eastward, compelling herto make "long legs and short ones" on her way towards Whitestone. 

"This is beating the wind, Rosy dear, " said Mrs. Budd, complacently, she and her niece having returned to the deck a few minutes afterthis change had taken place. "Your respected uncle did a great dealof this in his time, and was very successful in it. I have heard himsay, that in one of his voyages between Liverpool and New York, hebeat the wind by a whole fortnight, everybody talking of it in theinsurance offices, as if it was a miracle. "

"Ay, ay, Madam Budd, " put in Spike, "I'll answer for that. They'redesperate talkers in and about them there insurance offices in Wallstreet. Great gossips be they, and they think they know everything. Now just because this brig is a little old or so, and was built fora privateer in the last war, they'd refuse to rate her as even B, No. 2, and my blessing on 'em. "

"Yes, B, No. 2, that's just what your dear uncle used to call me, Rosy--his charming B, No. 2, or Betsy, No. 2; particularly when hewas in a loving mood. Captain Spike, did you ever beat the wind in along voyage?"

"I can't say I ever did, Mrs. Budd, " answered Spike, looking grimlyaround, to ascertain if any one dared to smile at his passenger'smistake; "especially for so long a pull as from New York toLiverpool. "

"Then your uncle used to boast of the Rose In Bloom's wearing andattacking. She would attack anything that came in her way, no matterwho, and as for wearing, I think he once told me she would wear justwhat she had a mind to, like any human being. "

Rose was a little mystified, but she looked vexed at the same time, as if she distrusted all was not right. 

"I remember all my sea education, " continued the unsuspecting widow, "as if it had been learnt yesterday. Beating the wind and attackingship, my poor Mr. Budd used to say, were nice manoeuvres, andrequired most of his tactics, especially in heavy weather. Did youknow, Rosy dear, that sailors weigh the weather, and know when it isheavy and when it is light?"

"I did not, aunt; nor do I understand now how it can very well bedone. "

"Oh! child, before you have been at sea a week, you will learn somany things that are new, and get so many ideas of which you neverhad any notion before, that you'll not be the same person. Mycaptain had an instrument he called a thermometer, and with that heused to weigh the weather, and then he would write down in thelog-book `today, heavy weather, or to-morrow, light weather, ' justas it happened, and that helped him mightily along in his voyages. "

"Mrs. Budd has merely mistaken the name of the instrument--the`barometer' is what she wished to say, " put in Mulford, opportunely. 

Rose looked grateful, as well as relieved. Though profoundlyignorant on these subjects herself, she had always suspected heraunt's knowledge. It was, consequently, grateful to her to ascertainthat, in this instance, the old lady's mistake had been so trifling. 

"Well, it may have been the barometer, for I know he had them both, "resumed the aunt. "Barometer, or thermometer, it do n't make anygreat difference; or quadrant, or sextant. They are all instruments, and sometimes he used one, and sometimes another. Sailors take onboard the sun, too, and have an instrument for that, as well as oneto weigh the weather with. Sometimes they take on board the stars, and the moon, and `fill their ships with the heavenly bodies, ' asI've heard my dear husband say, again and again! But the mostcurious thing at sea, as all sailors tell me, is crossing the line, and I do hope we shall cross the line, Rosy, that you and I may seeit. "

"What is the line, aunty, and how do vessels cross it. "

"The line, my dear, is a place in the ocean where the earth isdivided into two parts, one part being called the North Pole, andthe other part the South Pole. Neptune lives near this line, and heallows no vessel to go out of one pole into the other, withoutpaying it a visit. Never! never!--he would as soon think of livingon dry land as think of letting even a canoe pass, without visitingit. "

"Do you suppose there is such a being, really, as Neptune, aunty?"

"To be sure I do; he is king of the sea. Why should n't there be?The sea must have a king, as well as the land. "

"The sea may be a republic, aunty, like this country; then, no kingis necessary. I have always supposed Neptune to be an imaginarybeing. "

"Oh that's impossible--the sea is no republic; there are but tworepublics, America and Texas. I've heard that the sea is a highway, it is true--the `highway of nations, ' I believe it is called, andthat must mean something particular. But my poor Mr. Budd alwaystold me that Neptune was king of the seas, and he was always soaccurate, you might depend on everything he said. Why, he called hislast Newfoundland dog Neptune; and do you think, Rosy, that yourdear uncle would call his dog after an imaginary being?--and he aman to beat the wind, and attack ship, and take the sun, moon andstars aboard! No, no, child; fanciful folk may see imaginary beings, but solid folk see solid beings. "

Even Spike was dumfounded at this, and there is no knowing what hemight have said, had not an old sea-dog, who had just come out ofthe fore-topmast cross-trees, come aft, and, hitching up histrowsers with one hand while he touched his hat with the other, saidwith immoveable gravity, "The revenue-steamer has brought up just under the fort, Capt. Spike. "

"How do you know that, Bill?" demanded the captain, with a rapiditythat showed how completely Mrs. Budd and all her absurdities weremomentarily forgotten. 

"I was up on the fore-topgallant yard, sir, a bit ago, just to lookto the strap of the jewel-block, which wants some sarvice on it, andI see'd her over the land, blowin' off steam and takin' in herkites. Afore I got out of the cross-trees, she was head to windunder bare-poles, and if she had n't anchored, she was about to doso. I'm sartin 't was she, sir, and that she was about to bring up. "

Spike gave a long, low whistle, after his fashion, and he walkedaway from the females, with the air of a man who wanted room tothink in. Half a minute later, he called out--"Stand by to shortensail, boys. Man fore-clew-garnets, flying jib down haul, topgallantsheets, and gaff-topsail gear. In with 'em all, my lads--in witheverything, with a will. "

An order to deal with the canvas in any way, on board ship, immediately commands the whole attention of all whose duty it is toattend to such matters, and there was an end of all discourse whilethe Swash was shortening sail. Everybody understood, too, that itwas to gain time, and prevent the brig from reaching Throg's Necksooner than was desirable. 

"Keep the brig off, " called out Spike, "and let her ware--we're toobusy to tack just now. "

The man at the wheel knew very well what was wanted, and he put hishelm up, instead of putting it down, as he might have done withoutthis injunction. As this change brought the brig before the wind, and Spike was in no hurry to luff up on the other tack, the Swashsoon ran over a mile of the distance she had already made, puttingher back that much on her way to the Neck. It is out of our power tosay what the people of the different craft in sight thought of allthis, but an opportunity soon offered of putting them on a wrongscent. A large coasting schooner, carrying everything that woulddraw on a wind, came sweeping under the stern of the Swash, andhailed. 

"Has anything happened, on board that brig?" demanded her master. 

"Man overboard, " answered Spike--"you hav'nt seen his hat, haveyou?"

"No--no, " came back, just as the schooner, in her onward course, swept beyond the reach of the voice. Her people collected together, and one or two ran up the rigging a short distance, stretching theirnecks, on the look-out for the "poor fellow, " but they were sooncalled down to "'bout ship. " In less than five minutes, anothervessel, a rakish coasting sloop, came within hail. 

"Did n't that brig strike the Pot Rock, in passing the Gate?"demanded her captain. 

"Ay, ay!--and a devil of a rap she got, too. "

This satisfied him; there being nothing remarkable in a vessel'sacting strangely that had hit the Pot Rock in passing Hell Gate. 

"I think we may get in our mainsail on the strength of this, Mr. Mulford, " said Spike. "There can be nothing oncommon in a craft'sshortening sail, that has a man overboard, and which has hit the PotRock. I wonder I never thought of all this before. "

`Here is a skiff trying to get alongside of us, Capt. Spike, " calledout the boatswain. 

"Skiff be d--d! I want no skiff here. "

"The man that called himself Jack Tier is in her, sir. "

"The d--l he is!" cried Spike, springing over to the opposite sideof the deck to take a look for himself. To his infinite satisfactionhe perceived that Tier was alone in the skiff, with the exception ofa negro, who pulled its sculls, and that this was a very differentboat from that which had glanced through Hell Gate, like an arrowdarting from its bow. 

"Luff, and shake your topsail, " called out Spike. "Get a rope thereto throw to this skiff. "

The orders were obeyed, and Jack Tier, with his clothes-bag, wassoon on the deck of the Swash. As for the skiff and the negro, theywere cast adrift the instant the latter had received his quarter. The meeting between Spike and his quondam steward's mate was alittle remarkable. Each stood looking intently at the other, as ifto note the changes which time had made. We cannot say that Spike'shard, red, selfish countenance betrayed any great feeling, thoughsuch was not the case with Jack Tier's. The last, a lymphatic, puffysort of a person at the best, seemed really a little touched, and heeither actually brushed a tear from his eye, or he affected so todo. 

"So, you are my old shipmate, Jack Tier, are ye?" exclaimed Spike, in a half-patronizing, half-hesitating way--"and you want to try theold craft ag'in. Give us a leaf of your log, and let me know whereyou have been this many a day, and what you have been about? Keepthe brig off, Mr. Mulford. We are in no particular hurry to reachThrog's, you'll remember, sir. "

Tier gave an account of his proceedings, which could have nointerest with the reader. His narrative was anything but very clear, and it was delivered in a cracked, octave sort of a voice, such aslittle dapper people not unfrequently enjoy--tones between those ofa man and a boy. The substance of the whole story was this. Tier hadbeen left ashore, as sometimes happens to sailors, and, by necessaryconnection, was left to shift for himself. After making some vainendeavours to rejoin his brig, he had shipped in one vessel afteranother, until he accidentally found himself in the port of NewYork, at the same time as the Swash. He know'd he never should betruly happy ag'in until he could once more get aboard the old hussy, and had hurried up to the wharf, where he understood the brig waslying. As he came in sight, he saw she was about to cast off, and, dropping his clothes-bag, he had made the best of his way to thewharf, where the conversation passed that has been related. 

"The gentleman on the wharf was about to take boat, to go throughthe Gate, " concluded Tier, "and so I begs a passage of him. He wasgood-natured enough to wait until I could find my bag, and as soona'terwards as the men could get their grog we shoved off. The Mollywas just getting in behind Blackwell's as we left the wharf, and, having four good oars, and the shortest road, we come out into theGate just ahead on you. My eye! what a place that is to go throughin a boat, and on a strong flood! The gentleman, who watched thebrig as a cat watches a mouse, says you struck on the Pot, as hecalled it, but I says `no, ' for the Molly Swash was never know'd tohit rock or shoal in my time aboard her. "

"And where did you quit that gentleman, and what has become of him?"asked Spike. 

"He put me ashore on that point above us, where I see'd a niggerwith his skiff, who I thought would be willin' to 'arn his quarterby giving me a cast alongside. So here I am, and a long pull I'vehad to get here. "

As this was said, Jack removed his hat and wiped his brow with ahandkerchief, which, if it had never seen better days, had doubtlessbeen cleaner. After this, he looked about him, with an air notentirely free from exultation. 

This conversation had taken place in the gangway, a somewhat publicplace, and Spike beckoned to his recruit to walk aft, where he mightbe questioned without being overheard. 

"What became of the gentleman in the boat, as you call him?"demanded Spike. 

"He pulled ahead, seeming to be in a hurry. "

"Do you know who he was?"

"Not a bit of it. I never saw the man before, and he did n't tell mehis business, sir. "

"Had he anything like a silver oar about him. "

"I saw nothing of the sort, Capt. Spike, and knows nothingconsarning him. "

"What sort of a boat was he in, and where did he get it?"

"Well, as to the boat, sir, I can say a word, seein' it was so muchto my mind, and pulled so wonderful smart. It was a light ship'syawl, with four oars, and came round the Hook just a'ter you had gotthe brig's head round to the eastward. You must have seen it, Ishould think, though it kept close in with the wharves, as if itwished to be snug. "

"Then the gentleman, as you call him, expected that very boat tocome and take him off?"

"I suppose so, sir, because it did come and take him off. That's allI knows about it. "

"Had you no jaw with the gentleman? You was n't mnm the whole timeyou was in the boat with him?"

"Not a bit of it, sir. Silence and I does n't agree together long, and so we talked most of the time. "

"And what did the stranger say of the brig?"

"Lord, sir, he catechised me like as if I had been a child atSunday-school. He asked me how long I had sailed in her; what portswe'd visited, and what trade we'd been in. You can't think the sightof questions he put, and how cur'ous he was for the answers. "

"And what did you tell him in your answers? You said nothin' aboutour call down on the Spanish Main, the time you were left ashore, Ihope, Jack?"

"Not I, sir. I played him off surprisin'ly. He got nothin' to countupon out of me. Though I do owe the Molly Swash a grudge, I'm notgoin' to betray her. "

"You owe the Molly Swash a grudge! Have I taken an enemy on boardher, then?"

Jack started, and seemed sorry he had said so much; while Spike eyedhim keenly. But the answer set all right. It was not given, however, without a moment for recollection. 

"Oh, you knows what I mean, sir. I owe the old hussy a grudge forhaving desarted me like; but it's only a love quarrel atween us. Theold Molly will never come to harm by my means. "

"I hope not, Jack. The man that wrongs the craft he sails in cannever be a true-hearted sailor. Stick by your ship in all weathersis my rule, and a good rule it is to go by. But what did you tellthe stranger?"

"Oh! I told him I'd been six v'y'ges in the brig. The first was toMadagascar--"

"The d--l you did? Was he soft enough to believe that?"

"That's more than I knows, sir. I can only tell you what I said; Ido n't pretend to know how much he believed. "

"Heave ahead--what next?"

"Then I told him we went to Kamschatka for gold dust and ivory. "

"Whe-e-ew! What did the man say to that?"

"Why, he smiled a bit, and a'ter that he seemed more cur'ous thanever to hear all about it. I told him my third v'y'ge was to Canton, with a cargo of broom-corn, where we took in salmon and dun-fish forhome. A'ter that we went to Norway with ice, and brought back silksand money. Our next run was to the Havana, with salt and 'nips--"

"'Nips! what the devil be they?"

"Turnips, you knows, sir. We always calls 'em 'nips in cargo. At theHavana I told him we took in leather and jerked beef, and came home. Oh! he got nothin' from me, Capt. Spike, that'll ever do the brig amorsel of harm!"

"I am glad of that, Jack. You must know enough of the seas tounderstand that a close mouth is sometimes better for a vessel thana clean bill of health. Was there nothing said about therevenue-steamer?"

"Now you name her, sir, I believe there was--ay, ay, sir, thegentleman did say, if the steamer fetched up to the westward of thefort, that he should overhaul her without difficulty, on this flood. 

"That'll do, Jack; that'll do, my honest fellow. Go below, and tellJosh to take you into the cabin again, as steward's mate. You'rerather too Dutch built, in your old age, to do much aloft. "

One can hardly say whether Jack received this remark ascomplimentary, or not. He looked a little glum, for a man may be asround as a barrel, and wish to be thought genteel and slender; buthe went below, in quest of Josh, without making any reply. 

The succeeding movements of Spike appeared to be much influenced bywhat he had just heard. He kept the brig under short canvas for neartwo hours, sheering about in the same place, taking care to telleverything which spoke him that he had lost a man overboard. In thisway, not only the tide, but the day itself, was nearly spent. Aboutthe time the former began to lose its strength, however, thefore-course and the main-sail were got on the brigantine, with theintention of working her up toward Whitestone, where the tides meet, and near which the revenue-steamer was known to be anchored. We saynear, though it was, in fact, a mile or two more to the eastward, and close to the extremity of the Point. 

Notwithstanding these demonstrations of a wish to work to windward, Spike was really in no hurry. He had made up his mind to pass thesteamer in the dark, if possible, and the night promised to favourhim; but, in order to do this, it might be necessary not to come insight of her at all; or, at least, not until the obscurity should insome measure conceal his rig and character. In consequence of thisplan, the Swash made no great progress, even after she had got sailon her, on her old course. The wind lessened, too, after the sunwent down, though it still hung to the eastward, or nearly ahead. Asthe tide gradually lost its force, moreover, the set to windwardbecame less and less, until it finally disappeared altogether. 

There is necessarily a short reach in this passage, where it isalways slack water, so far as current is concerned. This isprecisely where the tides meet, or, as has been intimated, atWhitestone, which is somewhat more than a mile to the westward ofThrogmorton's Neck, near the point of which stands Fort Schuyler, one of the works recently erected for the defence of New York. Offthe pitch of the point, nearly mid-channel, had the steameranchored, a fact of which Spike had made certain, by going alofthimself, and reconnoitering her over the land, before it had got tobe too dark to do so. He entertained no manner of doubt that thisvessel was in waiting for him, and he well knew there was goodreason for it; but he would not return and attempt the passage tosea by way of Sandy Hook. His manner of regarding the whole matterwas cool and judicious. The distance to the Hook was too great to bemade in such short nights ere the return of day, and he had nomanner of doubt he was watched for in that direction, as well as inthis. Then he was particularly unwilling to show his craft at all infront of the town, even in the night. Moreover, he had ways of hisown for effecting his purposes, and this was the very spot and timeto put them in execution. 

While these things were floating in his mind, Mrs. Budd and herhandsome niece were making preparations for passing the night, aidedby Biddy Noon. The old lady was factotum, or factota, as it might bemost classical to call her, though we are entirely withoutauthorities on the subject, and was just as self-complacent andambitious of seawomanship below decks, as she had been above board. The effect, however, gave Spike great satisfaction, since it kepther out of sight, and left him more at liberty to carry out his ownplans. About nine, however, the good woman came on deck, intendingto take a look at the weather, like a skilful marineress as she was, before she turned in. Not a little was she astonished at what shethen and there beheld, as she whispered to Rose and Biddy, both ofwhom stuck close to her side, feeling the want of good pilotage, nodoubt, in strange waters. 

The Molly Swash was still under her canvas, though very littlesufficed for her present purposes. She was directly off Whitestone, and was making easy stretches across the passage, or river, as it iscalled, having nothing set but her huge fore-and-aft mainsail andthe jib. Under this sail she worked like a top, and Spike sometimesfancied she travelled too fast for his purposes, the night airhaving thickened the canvas as usual, until it "held the wind as abottle holds water. " There was nothing in this, however, to attractthe particular attention of the ship-master's widow, a sail, more orless, being connected with observation much too critical for herschooling, nice as the last had been. She was surprised to find themen stripping the brig forward, and converting her into a schooner. Nor was this done in a loose and slovenly manner, under favour ofthe obscurity. On the contrary, it was so well executed that itmight have deceived even a seaman under a noon-day sun, provided thevessel were a mile or two distant. The manner in which themetamorphosis was made was as follows: the studding-sail booms hadbeen taken off the topsail-yard, in order to shorten it to the eye, and the yard itself was swayed up about half-mast, to give it theappearance of a schooner's fore-yard. The brig's real lower yard waslowered on the bulwarks, while her royal yard was sent downaltogether, and the topgallant-mast was lowered until the heelrested on the topsail yard, all of which, in the night, gave thegear forward very much the appearance of that of a fore-topsailschooner, instead of that of a half-rigged brig, as the craft reallywas. As the vessel carried a try-sail on her foremast, it answeredvery well, in the dark, to represent a schooner's foresail. Severalother little dispositions of this nature were made, about which itmight weary the uninitiated to read, but which will readily suggestthemselves to the mind of a sailor. 

These alterations were far advanced when the females re-appeared ondeck. They at once attracted their attention, and the captain'swidow felt the imperative necessity, as connected with herprofessional character, of proving the same. She soon found Spike, who was bustling around the deck, now looking around to see that hisbrig was kept in the channel, now and then issuing an order tocomplete her disguise. 

"Captain Spike, what can be the meaning of all these changes? Thetamper of your vessel is so much altered that I declare I should nothave known her!"

"Is it, by George! Then she is just in the state I want her to bein. "

"But why have you done it--and what does it all mean?"

"Oh, Molly's going to bed for the night, and she's only undressingherself--that's all. "

"Yes, Rosy dear, Captain Spike is right. I remember that my poor Mr. Budd used to talk about The Rose In Bloom having her clothes on, andher clothes off, just as if she was a born woman! But do n't youmean to navigate at all in the night, Captain Spike? Or will thebrig navigate without sails?"

"That's it--she's just as good in the dark, under one sort ofcanvas, as under another. So, Mr. Mulford, we'll take a reef in thatmainsail; it will bring it nearer to the size of our new foresail, and seem more ship-shape and Brister fashion--then I think she'lldo, as the night is getting to be rather darkish. "

"Captain Spike, " said the boatswain, who had been set to look-outfor that particular change--"the brig begins to feel the new tide, and sets to windward. "

"Let her go, then--now is as good a time as another. We've got torun the gantlet, and the sooner it is done the better. "

As the moment seemed propitious, not only Mulford, but all thepeople, heard this order with satisfaction. The night wasstar-light, though not very clear at that. Objects on the water, however, were more visible than those on the land, while those onthe last could be seen well enough, even from the brig, though inconfused and somewhat shapeless piles. When the Swash was broughtclose by the wind, she had just got into the last reach of the"river, " or that which runs parallel with the Neck for near a mile, doubling where the Sound expands itself, gradually, to a breadth ofmany leagues. Still the navigation at the entrance of this end ofthe Sound was intricate and somewhat dangerous, rendering itindispensable for a vessel of any size to make a crooked course. Thewind stood at south-east, and was very scant to lay through thereach with, while the tide was so slack as barely to possess avisible current at that place. The steamer lay directly off thePoint, mid-channel, as mentioned, showing lights, to mark herposition to anything which might be passing in or out. The greatthing was to get by her without exciting her suspicion. As all onboard, the females excepted, knew what their captain was at, theattempt was made amid an anxious and profound silence; or, if anyone spoke at all, it was only to give an order in a low tone, or itsanswer in a simple monosyllable. 

Although her aunt assured her that everything which had been donealready, and which was now doing, was quite in rule, the quick-eyedand quick-witted Rose noted these unusual proceedings, and had anopinion of her own on the subject. Spike had gone forward, andposted himself on the weather-side of the forecastle, where he couldget the clearest look ahead, and there he remained most of the time, leaving Mulford on the quarter-deck, to work the vessel, Perceivingthis, she managed to get near the mate, without attracting heraunt's attention, and at the same time out of ear-shot. 

"Why is everybody so still and seemingly so anxious, Harry Mulford?"she asked, speaking in a low tone herself, as if desirous ofconforming to a common necessity. "Is there any new danger here? Ithought the Gate had been passed altogether, some hours ago?"

"So it has. D'ye see that large dark mass on the water, off thePoint, which seems almost as huge as the fort, with lights above it?That is a revenue-steamer which came out of York a few hours beforeus. We wish to get past her without being troubled by any of herquestions. "

"And what do any in this brig care about her questions? They can beanswered, surely. "

"Ay, ay, Rose--they may be answered, as you say, but the answerssometimes are unsatisfactory. Captain Spike, for some reason orother, is uneasy, and would rather not have anything to say to her. He has the greatest aversion to speaking the smallest craft when ona coast. "

"And that's the reason he has undressed his Molly, as he calls her, that he might not be known. "

Mulford turned his head quickly toward his companion, as ifsurprised by her quickness of apprehension, but he had too just asense of his duty to make any reply. Instead of pursuing thediscourse, he adroitly contrived to change it, by pointing out toRose the manner in which they were getting on, which seemed to bevery successfully. 

Although the Swash was under much reduced canvas, she glided alongwith great ease and with considerable rapidity of motion. The heavynight air kept her canvas distended, and the weatherly set of thetide, trifling as it yet was, pressed her up against the breeze, soas to turn all to account. It was apparent enough, by the manner inwhich objects on the land were passed, that the crisis was fastapproaching. Rose rejoined her aunt, in order to await the result, in nearly breathless expectation. At that moment, she would havegiven the world to be safe on shore. This wish was not theconsequence of any constitutional timidity, for Rose was much thereverse from timid, but it was the fruit of a newly-awakened andpainful, though still vague, suspicion. Happy, thrice happy was itfor one of her naturally confiding and guileless nature, thatdistrust was thus opportunely awakened, for she was without aguardian competent to advise and guide her youth, as circumstancesrequired. 

The brig was not long in reaching the passage that opened to theSound. It is probable she did this so much the sooner because Spikekept her a little off the wind, with a view of not passing too nearthe steamer. At this point, the direction of the passage changes atnearly a right angle, the revenue-steamer lying on a line with theNeck, and leaving a sort of bay, in the angle, for the Swash toenter. The land was somewhat low in all directions but one, and thatwas by drawing a straight line from the Point, through the steamer, to the Long Island shore. On the latter, and in that quarter, rose abluff of considerable elevation, with deep water quite near it; and, under the shadows of that bluff, Spike intended to perform hisnicest evolutions. He saw that the revenue vessel had let her firesgo down, and that she was entirely without steam. Under canvas, hehad no doubt of beating her hand over hand, could he once fairly getto windward; and then she was at anchor, and would lose some time ingetting under way, should she even commence a pursuit. It was allimportant, therefore, to gain as much to windward as possible, before the people of the government vessel took the alarm. 

There can be no doubt that the alterations made on board the Swashserved her a very good turn on this occasion. Although the nightcould not be called positively dark, there was sufficient obscurityto render her hull confused and indistinct at any distance, and thisso much the more when seen from the steamer outside, or between herand the land. All this Spike very well understood, and largelycalculated on. In effect he was not deceived; the look-outs on boardthe revenue craft could trace little of the vessel that wasapproaching beyond the spars and sails which rose above the shores, and these seemed to be the spars and sails of a common foretopsailschooner. As this was not the sort of craft for which they were onthe watch, no suspicion was awakened, nor did any reports go fromthe quarter-deck to the cabin. The steamer had her quarter watches, and officers of the deck, like a vessel of war, the discipline ofwhich was fairly enough imitated, but even a man-of-war may beoverreached on an occasion. 

Spike was only great in a crisis, and then merely as a seaman. Heunderstood his calling to its minuti‘, and he understood the MollySwash better than he understood any other craft that floated. Formore than twenty years had he sailed her, and the careful parentdoes not better understand the humours of the child, than heunderstood exactly what might be expected from his brig. Hissatisfaction sensibly increased, therefore, as she stole along theland, toward the angle mentioned, without a sound audible but thegentle gurgling of the water, stirred by the stem, and which soundedlike the ripple of the gentlest wave, as it washes the shingle ofsome placid beach. 

As the brig drew nearer to the bluff, the latter brought the windmore ahead, as respected the desired course. This was unfavourable, but it did not disconcert her watchful commander. 

"Let her come round, Mr. Mulford, " said this pilot-captain, in a lowvoice--"we are as near in as we ought to go. "

The helm was put down, the head sheets started, and away into thewind shot the Molly Swash, fore-reaching famously in stays, and, ofcourse, gaining so much on her true course. In a minute she wasround, and filled on the other tack. Spike was now so near the land, that he could perceive the tide was beginning to aid him, and thathis weatherly set was getting to be considerable. Delighted at this, he walked aft, and told Mulford to go about again as soon as thevessel had sufficient way to make sure of her in stays. The mateinquired if he did not think the revenue people might suspectsomething, unless they stood further out toward mid-channel, butSpike reminded him that they would be apt to think the schooner wasworking up under the southern shore, because the ebb first madethere. This reason satisfied Mulford, and, as soon as they werehalf-way between the bluff and the steamer, the Swash was againtacked, with her head to the former. This manoeuvre was executedwhen the brig was about two hundred yards from the steamer, adistance that was sufficient to preserve, under all thecircumstances, the disguise she had assumed. 

"They do not suspect us, Harry!" whispered Spike to his mate. "Weshall get to windward of 'em, as sartain as the breeze stands. Thatboatin' gentleman might as well have staid at home, as for any goodhis hurry done him or his employers!"

"Whom do you suppose him to be, Captain Spike?"

"Who, --a feller that lives by his own wicked deeds. No matter who heis. An informer, perhaps. At any rate, he is not the man to outwitthe Molly Swash, and her old, stupid, foolish master and owner, Stephen Spike. Luff, Mr. Mulford, luff. Now's the time to make themost of your leg--Luff her up and shake her. She is setting towindward fast, the ebb is sucking along that bluff like a boy at amolasses hogshead. All she can drift on this tack is clear gain;there is no hurry, so long as they are asleep aboard the steamer. That's it--make a half-board at once, but take care and not comeround. As soon as we are fairly clear of the bluff, and open the baythat makes up behind it, we shall get the wind more to thesouthward, and have a fine long leg for the next stretch. "

Of course Mulford obeyed, throwing the brig up into the wind, andallowing her to set to windward, but filling again on the same tack, as ordered. This, of course, delayed her progress toward the land, and protracted the agony, but it carried the vessel in the directionshe most wished to go, while it kept her not only end on to thesteamer, but in a line with the bluff, and consequently in theposition most favourable to conceal her true character. Presently, the bay mentioned, which was several miles deep, opened darklytoward the south, and the wind came directly out of it, or more tothe southward. At this moment the Swash was near a quarter of a milefrom the steamer, and all that distance dead to windward of her, asthe breeze came out of the bay. Spike tacked his vessel himself now, and got her head up so high that she brought the steamer on her leequarter, and looked away toward the island which lies northwardlyfrom the Point, and quite near to which all vessels of any draughtof water are compelled to pass, even with the fairest winds. 

"Shake the reef out of the mainsail, Mr. Mulford, " said Spike, whenthe Swash was fairly in motion again on this advantageous tack. "Weshall pass well to windward of the steamer, and may as well begin toopen our cloth again. "

"Is it not a little too soon, sir?" Mulford ventured to remonstrate;"the reef is a large one, and will make a great difference in thesize of the sail. "

"They'll not see it at this distance. No, no, sir, shake out thereef, and sway away on the topgallant-mast rope; I'm for bringingthe Molly Swash into her old shape again, and make her look handsomeonce more. "

"Do you dress the brig, as well as undress her, o'mights; CaptainSpike?" inquired the ship-master's reliet, a little puzzled withthis fickleness of purpose. "I do not believe my poor Mr. Budd everdid that. "

"Fashions change, madam, with the times--ay, ay, sir--shake out thereef, and sway away on that mast-rope, boys, as soon as you havemanned it. We'll convart our schooner into a brig again. "

As these orders were obeyed, of course, a general bustle now tookplace. Mulford soon had the reef out, and the sail distended to theutmost, while the topgallant-mast was soon up and fidded. The nextthing was to sway upon the fore-yard, and get that into its place. The people were busied at this duty, when a hoarse hail came acrossthe water on the heavy night air. 

"Brig ahoy!" was the call. 

"Sway upon that fore-yard, " said Spike, unmoved by thissummons--"start it, start it at once. "

"The steamer hails us, sir, " said the mate. 

"Not she. She is hailing a brig; we are a schooner yet. "

A moment of active exertion succeeded, during which the fore-yardwent into its place. Then came a second hail. 

"Schooner, ahoy!" was the summons this time. 

"The steamer hails us again, Captain Spike. "

"The devil a bit. We're a brig now, and she hails a schooner. Comeboys, bestir yourselves, and get the canvas on Molly for'ard. Loosethe fore-course before you quit the yard there, then up aloft andloosen everything you can find. "

All was done as ordered, and done rapidly, as is ever the case onboard a well-ordered vessel when there is occasion for exertion. That occasion now appeared to exist in earnest, for while the menwere sheeting home the topsail, a flash of light illuminated thescene, when the roar of a gun came booming across the water, succeeded by the very distinct whistling of its shot. We regret thatthe relict of the late Captain Budd did not behave exactly as becamea shipmaster's widow, under fire. Instead of remaining silent andpassive, even while frightened, as was the case with Rose, shescreamed quite as loud as she had previously done that very day inHell-Gate. It appeared to Spike, indeed, that practice was makingher perfect; and, as for Biddy, the spirit of emulation became sopowerful in her bosom, that, if anything, she actually outshriekedher mistress. Hearing this, the widow made a second effort, andfairly recovered the ground some might have fancied she had lost. 

"Oh! Captain Spike, " exclaimed the agitated widow, "do not--do not, if you love me, do not let them fire again!"

"How am I to help it!" asked the captain, a good deal to the point, though he overlooked the essential fact, that, by heaving-to, andwaiting for the steamer's boat to board him, he might have preventeda second shot, as completely as if he had the ordering of the wholeaffair. No second shot was fired, however. As it afterward appeared, the screams of Mrs. Budd and Biddy were heard on board the steamer, the captain of which, naturally enough, supposing that the slaughtermust be terrible where such cries had arisen, was satisfied with themischief he had already done, and directed his people to securetheir gun and go to the capstan-bars, in order to help lift theanchor. In a word, the revenue vessel was getting under way, man-of-war fashion, which means somewhat expeditiously. 

Spike understood the sounds that reached him, among which was thecall of the boatswain, and he bestirred himself accordingly. Experienced as he was in chases and all sorts of nautical artifices, he very well knew that his situation was sufficiently critical. Itwould have been so, with a steamer at his heels, in the open ocean;but, situated as he was, he was compelled to steer but one course, and to accept the wind on that course as it might offer. If hevaried at all in his direction it was only in a trifling way, thoughhe did make some of these variations. Every moment was now precious, however, and he endeavoured to improve the time to the utmost. Heknew that he could greatly outsail the revenue vessel, under canvas, and some time would be necessary to enable her to get up her steam;half an hour at the very least. On that half hour, then, dependedthe fate of the Molly Swash. 

"Send the booms on the yards, and set stun'sails at once, Mr. Mulford, " said Spike, the instant the more regular canvas was spreadforward. "This wind will be free enough for all but the lowerstun'sail, and we must drive the brig on. "

"Are we not looking up too high, Captain Spike? The Stepping-Stonesare ahead of us, sir. "

"I know that very well, Mulford. But it's nearly high water, and thebrig's in light trim, and we may rub and go. By making a short cuthere, we shall gain a full mile on the steamer; that mile may saveus. "

"Do you really think it possible to get away from that craft, whichcan always make a fair wind of it, in these narrow waters, CaptainSpike?"

"One don't know, sir. Nothin' is done without tryin', and by tryin'more is often done than was hoped for. I have a scheme in my head, and Providence may favour me in bringing it about. "

Providence! The religionist quarrels with the philosopher if thelatter happen to remove this interposition of a higher power, evenso triflingly as by the intervention of secondary agencies, whilethe biggest rascal dignifies even his success by such phrases asProvidential aid! But it is not surprising men should misunderstandterms, when they make such sad confusion in the acts which theseterms are merely meant to represent. Spike had his Providence aswell as a priest, and we dare say he often counted on its succour, with quite as rational grounds of dependence as many of thepharisees who are constantly exclaiming, "The Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord are these. "

Sail was made on board the Swash with great rapidity, and the brigmade a bold push at the Stepping-Stones. Spike was a capital pilot. He insisted if he could once gain sight of the spar that was mooredon those rocks for a buoy, he should run with great confidence. Thetwo lights were of great assistance, of course; but the revenuevessel could see these lights as well as the brig, and she, doubtless, had an excellent pilot on board. By the time thestudding-sails were set on board the Swash, the steamer was aweigh, and her long line of peculiar sails became visible. Unfortunatelyfor men who were in a hurry, she lay so much within the bluff as toget the wind scant, and her commander thought it necessary to make astretch over to the southern shore, before he attempted to lay hiscourse. When he was ready to tack, an operation of some time with avessel of her great length, the Swash was barely visible in theobscurity, gliding off upon a slack bowline, at a rate which nothingbut the damp night air, the ballast-trim of the vessel, united toher excellent sailing qualities, could have produced with so light abreeze. 

The first half hour took the Swash completely out of sight of thesteamer. In that time, in truth, by actual superiority in sailing, by her greater state of preparation, and by the distance saved by abold navigation, she had gained fully a league on her pursuer. But, while the steamer had lost sight of the Swash, the latter kept theformer in view, and that by means of a signal that was veryportentous. She saw the light of the steamer's chimneys, and couldform some opinion of her distance and position. 

It was about eleven o'clock when the Swash passed the light atSands' Point, close in with the land. The wind stood much as it hadbeen. If there was a change at all, it was half a point more to thesouthward, and it was a little fresher. Such as it was, Spike saw hewas getting, in that smooth water, quite eight knots out of hiscraft, and he made his calculations thereon. As yet, and possiblyfor half an hour longer, he was gaining, and might hope to continueto gain on the steamer. Then her turn would come. Though no greattraveller, it was not to be expected that, favoured by smooth waterand the breeze, her speed would be less than ten knots, while therewas no hope of increasing his own without an increase of the wind. He might be five miles in advance, or six at the most; these sixmiles would be overcome in three hours of steaming, to a deadcertainty, and they might possibly be overcome much sooner. It wasobviously necessary to resort to some other experiment than that ofdead sailing, if an escape was to be effected. 

The Sound was now several miles in width, and Spike, at first, proposed to his mate, to keep off dead before the wind, and bycrossing over to the north shore, let the steamer pass ahead, andcontinue a bootless chase to the eastward. Several vessels, however, were visible in the middle of the passage, at distances varying fromone to three miles, and Mulford pointed out the hopelessness ofattempting to cross the sheet of open water, and expect to go unseenby the watchful eyes of the revenue people. 

"What you say is true enough, Mr. Mulford, " answered Spike, after amoment of profound reflection, "and every foot that they comenearer, the less will be our chance. But here is Hempstead Harbour afew leagues ahead; if we can reach that before the blackguardsclose, we may do well enough. It is a deep bay, and has high land todarken the view. I don't think the brig could be seen at midnight byanything outside; if she was once fairly up that water a mile ortwo. "

"That is our chance, sir!" exclaimed Mulford cheerfully. "Ay, ay, Iknow the spot; and everything is favourable--try that, CaptainSpike; I'll answer for it that we go clear. "

Spike did try it. For a considerable time longer he stood on, keeping as close to the land as he thought it safe to run, andcarrying everything that would draw. But the steamer was on hisheels, evidently gaining fast. Her chimneys gave out flames, andthere was every sign that her people were in earnest. To those onboard the Swash these flames seemed to draw nearer each instant, asindeed was the fact, and just as the breeze came fresher out of theopening in the hills, or the low mountains, which surround the placeof refuge in which they designed to enter, Mulford announced that byaid of the night-glass he could distinguish both sails and hull oftheir pursuer. Spike took a look, and throwing down the instrument, in a way to endanger it, he ordered the studding-sails taken in. Themen went aloft like cats, and worked as if they could stand in air. In a minute or two the Swash was under what Mrs. Budd might havecalled her "attacking" canvas, and was close by the wind, looking ona good leg well up the harbour. The brig seemed to be conscious ofthe emergency, and glided ahead at capital speed. In five minutesshe had shut in the flaming chimneys of the steamer. In five minutesmore Spike tacked, to keep under the western side of the harbour, and out of sight as long as possible, and because he thought thebreeze drew down fresher where he was than more out in the bay. 

All now depended on the single fact whether the brig had been seenfrom the steamer or not, before she hauled into the bay. If seen, she had probably been watched; if not seen, there were stronggrounds for hoping that she might still escape. About a quarter ofan hour after Spike hauled up, the burning chimneys came again intoview. The brig was then half a league within the bay, with a finedark background of hills to throw her into shadow. Spike orderedeverything taken in but the trysail, under which the brig was leftto set slowly over toward the western side of the harbour. He nowrubbed his hands with delight, and pointed out to Mulford thecircumstance that the steamer kept on her course directly athwartthe harbour's mouth! Had she seen the Swash, no doubt she would haveturned into the bay also. Nevertheless, an anxious ten minutessucceeded, during which the revenue vessel steamed fairly past, andshut in her flaming chimneys again by the eastern headlands of theestuary. 

CHAPTER III. 

 The western wave was all a flame, The day was well nigh done, Almost upon the western wave Rested the broad bright sun; When that strange ship drove suddenly Betwixt us and the sun. 

The Ancient Mariner. 

At that hour, on the succeeding morning, when the light of day isjust beginning to chase away the shadows of night, the Molly Swashbecame visible within the gloom of the high land which surrounds somuch of the bay of Hempstead, under easy sail, backing and filling, in order to keep within her hiding-place, until a look could be hadat the state of things without. Half an hour later, she was so nearthe entrance of the estuary, as to enable the look-outs aloft toascertain that the coast was clear, when Spike ordered the helm tobe put up, and the brig to be kept away to her course. At thisprecise moment, Rose appeared on deck, refreshed by the sleep of aquiet night; and with cheeks tinged with a colour even more delicatethan that which was now glowing in the eastern sky, and which wasalmost as brilliant. 

"We stopped in this bit of a harbour for the night, Miss Rose, thatis all;" said Spike, observing that his fair passenger was lookingabout her, in some little surprise, at finding the vessel so nearthe land, and seemingly so much out of her proper position. "Yes, wealways do that, when we first start on a v'y'ge, and before the briggets used to travelling--do n't we, Mr. Mulford?"

Mr. Mulford, who knew how hopeless was the attempt to mystify Rose, as one might mystify her credulous and weak-minded aunt, and who hadno disposition to deal any way but fairly by the beautiful, and inone sense now helpless young creature before him, did not see fit tomake any reply. Offend Spike he did not dare to do, more especiallyunder present circumstances; and mislead Rose he would not do. Heaffected not to hear the question, therefore, but issuing an orderabout the head-sails, he walked forward as if to see it executed. Rose herself was not under as much restraint as the young mate. 

"It is convenient, Captain Spike, " she coolly answered for Mulford, "to have stopping-places, for vessels that are wearied, and Iremember the time when my uncle used to tell me of such matters, very much in the same vein; but, it was before I was twelve yearsold. "

Spike hemmed, and he looked a little foolish, but Clench, theboatswain, coming aft to say something to him in confidence, just atthat moment, he was enabled to avoid the awkwardness of attemptingto explain. This man Clench, or Clinch, as the name was pronounced, was deep in the captain's secrets; far more so than was his mate, and would have been filling Mulford's station at that very time, hadhe not been hopelessly ignorant of navigation. On the presentoccasion, his business was to point out to the captain, two or threelines of smoke, that were visible above the water of the Sound, inthe eastern board; one of which he was apprehensive might turn outto be the smoke of the revenue craft, from which they had sorecently escaped. 

"Steamers are no rarities in Long Island Sound, Clench, " observedthe captain, levelling his glass at the most suspected of thesmokes. "That must be a Providence, or Stonington chap, coming westwith the Boston train. "

"Either of them would have been further west, by this time, CaptainSpike, " returned the doubting, but watchful boatswain. "It's a largesmoke, and I fear it is the revenue fellow coming back, after havinghad a look well to the eastward, and satisfying himself that we arenot to be had in that quarter. "

Spike growled out his assent to the possibility of such aconjecture, and promised vigilance. This satisfied his subordinatefor the moment, and he walked forward, or to the place where hebelonged. In the mean time, the widow came on deck, smiling, andsnuffing the salt air, and ready to be delighted with anything thatwas maritime. 

"Good morning, Captain Spike, " she cried--"Are we in the offing, yet?--you know I desired to be told when we are in the offing, for Iintend to write a letter to my poor Mr. Budd's sister, Mrs. Sprague, as soon as we get to the offing. "

"What is the offing, aunt?" inquired the handsome niece. 

"Why you have hardly been at sea long enough to understand me, child, should I attempt to explain. The offing, however, is theplace where the last letters are always written to the owners, andto friends ashore. The term comes, I suppose, from the circumstancethat the vessel is about to be off, and it is natural to think ofthose we leave behind, at such a moment. I intend to write to youraunt Sprague, my dear, the instant I hear we are in the offing; andwhat is more, I intend to make you my amanuensis. "

"But how will the letter be sent, aunty?--I have no more objectionsto writing than any one else, but I do not see how the letter is tobe sent. Really, the sea is a curious region, with itsstopping-places for the night, and its offings to write letters at!"

"Yes, it's all as you say, Rose--a most remarkable region is thesea! You'll admire it, as I admire it, when you come to know itbetter; and as your poor uncle admired it, and as Captain Spikeadmires it, too. As for the letters, they can be sent ashore by thepilot, as letters are always sent. "

"But, aunty, there is no pilot in the Swash--for Captain Spikerefused to take one on board. "

"Rose!--you don't understand what you are talking about! No vesselever yet sailed without a pilot, if indeed any can. It's opposed tothe law, not to have a pilot; and now I remember to have heard yourdear uncle say it wasn't a voyage if a vessel didn't take away apilot. "

"But if they take them away, aunty, how can they send the lettersashore by them?"

"Poh! poh! child; you don't know what you're saying; but you'lloverlook it, I hope, Captain Spike, for Rose is quick, and will soonlearn to know better. As if letters couldn't be sent ashore by thepilot, though he was a hundred thousand miles from land! But, Captain Spike, you must let me know when we are about to get off theSound, for I know that the pilot is always sent ashore with hisletters, before the vessel gets off the Sound. "

"Yes, yes, " returned the captain, a little mystified by the widow, though he knew her so well, and understood her so well--"you shallknow, ma'am, when we get off soundings, for I suppose that is whatyou mean. "

"What is the difference? Off the Sound, or off the soundings, ofcourse, must mean the same thing. But, Rosy, we will go below andwrite to your aunt at once, for I see a light-house yonder, andlight-houses are always put just off the soundings. "

Rose, who always suspected her aunt's nautical talk, though she didnot know how to correct it, and was not sorry to put an end to it, now, by going below, and spreading her own writing materials, inreadiness to write, as the other dictated. Biddy Noon was present, sewing on some of her own finery. 

"Now write, as I tell you, Rose, " commenced the widow--"My dearsister Sprague--Here we are, at last, just off the soundings, withlight-houses all round us, and so many capes and islands in sight, that it does seem as if the vessel never could find its way throughthem all. Some of these islands must be the West Indies"--"Aunty, that can never be!" exclaimed Rose--"we left New York onlyyesterday. "

"What of that? Had it been old times, I grant you several days mightbe necessary to get a sight of the West Indies, but, now, when aletter can be written to a friend in Boston, and an answer receivedin half an hour, it requires no such time to go to the West Indies. Besides, what other islands are there in this part of theworld?--they can't be England--"

"No--no, "--said Rose, at once seeing it would be preferable to admitthey were the West Indies; so the letter went on:--"Some of theseislands must be the West Indies, and it is high time we saw some ofthem, for we are nearly off the Sound, and the light-houses aregetting to be quite numerous. I think we have already seen foursince we left the wharf. But, my dear sister Sprague, you will bedelighted to hear how much better Rose's health is alreadybecoming--"

"My health, aunty! Why, I never knew an ill day in my life!"

"Don't tell me that, my darling; I know too well what all thesedeceptive appearances of health amount to. I would not alarm you forthe world, Rosy dear, but a careful parent--and I'm your parent inaffection, if not by nature--but a careful parent's eye is not to bedeceived. I know you look well, but you are ill, my child; though, Heaven be praised, the sea air and hydropathy are already doing youa monstrous deal of good. "

As Mrs. Budd concluded, she wiped her eyes, and appeared really gladthat her niece had a less consumptive look than when she embarked. Rose sat, gazing at her aunt, in mute astonishment. She knew howmuch and truly she was beloved, and that induced her to be moretolerant of her connection's foibles than even duty demanded. Feeling was blended with her respect, but it was almost too much forher, to learn that this long, and in some respects painful voyage, was undertaken on her account, and without the smallest necessityfor it. The vexation, however, would have been largely increased, but for certain free communications that had occasionally occurredbetween her and the handsome mate, since the moment of her coming onboard the brig. Rose knew that Harry Mulford loved her, too, for hehad told her as much with a seaman's frankness; and though she hadnever let him know that his partiality was returned, her woman'sheart was fast inclining toward him, with all her sex's tenderness. This made the mistake of her aunt tolerable, though Rose wasexceedingly vexed it should ever have occurred. 

"Why, my dearest aunt, " she cried, "they told me it was on youraccount that this voyage was undertaken!"

"I know they did, poor, dear Rosy, and that was in order not toalarm you. Some persons of delicate constitutions--"

"But my constitution is not in the least delicate, aunt; on thecontrary, it is as good as possible; a blessing for which, I trust, I am truly grateful, I did not know but you might be suffering, though you do look so well, for they all agreed in telling me youhad need of a sea-voyage. "

"I, a subject for hydropathy! Why, child, water is no more necessaryto me than it is to a cat. "

"But going to sea, aunty, is not hydropathy--"

"Don't say that, Rosy; do not say that, my dear. It is hydropathy ona large scale, as Captain Spike says; and when he gets us into bluewater, he has promised that you shall have all the benefits of thetreatment. "

Rose was silent and thoughtful; after which she spoke quickly, likeone to whom an important thought had suddenly occurred. 

"And Captain Spike, then, was consulted in my case?" she asked. 

"He was, my dear, and you have every reason to be grateful to him. He was the first to discover a change in your appearance, and tosuggest a sea voyage. Marine Hydropathy, he said, he was sure wouldget you up again; for Captain Spike thinks your constitution good atthe bottom, though the high colour you have proves too high a stateof habitual excitement. "

"Was Dr. Monson consulted at all, aunt?"

"Not at all. You know the doctors are all against hydropathy, andmesmerism, and the magnetic telegraph, and everything that is new;so we thought it best not to consult him. "

"And my aunt Sprague?"

"Yes, she was consulted after everything was settled, and when Iknew her notions could not undo what had been already done. But sheis a seaman's widow, as well as myself, and has a great notion ofthe virtue of sea air. "

"Then it would seem that Doctor Spike was the principal adviser inmy case!"

"I own that he was, Rosy dear. Captain Spike was brought up by youruncle, who has often told me what a thorough seaman he was. `There'sSpike, now, ' he said to me one day, `he can almost make his brigtalk'--this very brig too, your uncle meant, Rosy, and, of course, one of the best vessels in the world to take hydropathy in. "

"Yes, aunty, " returned Rose, playing with the pen, while her airproved how little her mind was in her words. "Well, what shall I saynext to my aunt Sprague?"

"Rose's health is already becoming confirmed, " resumed the widow, who thought it best to encourage her niece by as strong terms as shecould employ, "and I shall extol hydropathy to the skies, as long asI live. As soon as we reach our port of destination, my dear sisterSprague, I shall write you a line to let you know it, by themagnetic telegraph--"

"But there is no magnetic telegraph on the sea, aunty, " interruptedRose, looking up from the paper, with her clear, serene, blue eyes, expressing even her surprise, at this touch of the relict'signorance. 

"Don't tell me that, Rosy, child, when everybody says the sparkswill fly round the whole earth, just as soon as they will fly fromNew York to Philadelphia. "

"But they must have something to fly on, aunty; and the ocean willnot sustain wires, or posts. "

"Well, there is no need of being so particular; if there is notelegraph, the letter must come by mail. You can say telegraph, here, and when your aunt gets the letter, the postmark will tell herhow it came. It looks better to talk about telegraphiccommunications, child. "

Rose resumed her pen, and wrote at her aunt's dictation, asfollows:--"By the magnetic telegraph, when I hope to be able to tellyou that our dear Rose is well. As yet, we both enjoy the oceanexceedingly; but when we get off the Sound, into blue water, andhave sent the pilot ashore, or discharged him, I ought to say, whichputs me in mind of telling you that a cannon was discharged at usonly last night, and that the ball whistled so near me, that I heardit as plain as ever you heard Rose's piano. "

"Had I not better first tell my aunt Sprague what is to be done whenthe pilot is discharged?"

"No; tell her about the cannon that was discharged, first, and aboutthe ball that I heard. I had almost forgot that adventure, which wasa very remarkable one, was it not, Biddy?"

"Indeed, Missus, and it was! and Miss Rose might put in the letterhow we both screamed at that cannon, and might have been heard asplainly, every bit of it, as the ball. "

"Say nothing on the subject, Rose, or we shall never hear the lastof it. So, darling, you may conclude in your own way, for I believeI have told your aunt all that comes to mind. "

Rose did as desired, finishing the epistle in a very few words, for, rightly enough, she had taken it into her head there was no pilot tobe discharged, and consequently that the letter would never be sent. Her short but frequent conferences with Mulford were fast openingher eyes, not to say her heart, and she was beginning to see CaptainSpike in his true character, which was that of a great scoundrel. Itis true, that the mate had not long judged his commander quite soharshly; but had rather seen his beautiful brig, and her rarequalities, in her owner and commander, than the man himself; butjealousy had quickened his observation of late, and Stephen Spikehad lost ground sensibly with Harry Mulford, within the last week. Two or three times before, the young man had thought of seekinganother berth, on account of certain distrusts of Spike'soccupations; but he was poor, and so long as he remained in theSwash, Harry's opportunities of meeting Rose were greatly increased. This circumstance, indeed, was the secret of his still being in the"Molly, " as Spike usually called his craft; the last voyage havingexcited suspicions that were rather of a delicate nature. Then theyoung man really loved the brig, which, if she could not beliterally made to talk, could be made to do almost everything else. A vessel, and a small vessel, too, is rather contracted as to space, but those who wish to converse can contrive to speak together often, even in such narrow limits. Such had been the fact with Rose Buddand the handsome mate. Twenty times since they sailed, short as thattime was, had Mulford contrived to get so near to Rose, as to talkwith her, unheard by others. It is true, that he seldom ventured todo this, so long as the captain was in sight, but Spike was oftenbelow, and opportunities were constantly occurring. It was in thecourse of these frequent but brief conversations, that Harry hadmade certain dark hints touching the character of his commander, andthe known recklessness of his proceedings. Rose had taken the alarm, and fully comprehending her aunt's mental imbecility, her situationwas already giving her great uneasiness. She had some undefinedhopes from the revenue steamer; though, strangely enough as itappeared to her, her youngest and most approved suitor betrayed astrong desire to escape from that craft, at the very moment he wasexpressing his apprehensions on account of her presence in the brig. This contradiction arose from a certain esprit de corps, whichseldom fails, more or less, to identify the mariner with his ship. 

But the writing was finished, and the letter sealed with wax, Mrs. Budd being quite as particular in that ceremony as Lord Nelson, whenthe females again repaired on deck. They found Spike and his matesweeping the eastern part of the Sound with their glasses, with aview to look out for enemies; or, what to them, just then, was muchthe same thing, government craft. In this occupation, Rose was alittle vexed to see that Mulford was almost as much interested asSpike himself, the love of his vessel seemingly overcoming his lovefor her, if not his love of the right--she knew of no reason, however, why the captain should dread any other vessel, and feltsufficiently provoked to question him a little on the subject, if itwere only to let him see that the niece was not as completely hisdupe as the aunt. She had not been on deck five minutes, therefore, during which time several expressions had escaped the two sailorstouching their apprehensions of vessels seen in the distance, ereshe commenced her inquiries. 

"And why should we fear meeting with other vessels?" Rose plainlydemanded--"here in Long Island Sound, and within the power of thelaws of the country?"

"Fear?" exclaimed Spike, a little startled, and a good dealsurprised at this straight-forward question--"Fear, Miss Rose! Youdo not think we are afraid, though there are many reasons why we donot wish to be spoken by certain craft that are hovering about. Inthe first place, you know it is war time--I suppose you know, MadamBudd, that America is at war with Mexico?"

"Certainly, " answered the widow, with dignity--"and that is asufficient reason, Rose, why one vessel should chase, and anothershould run. If you had heard your poor uncle relate, as I have done, all his chasings and runnings away, in the war times, child, youwould understand these things better. Why, I've heard your uncle saythat, in some of his long voyages, he has run thousands andthousands of miles, with sails set on both sides, and all over hisship!"

"Yes, aunty, and so have I, but that was `running before the wind, 'as he used to call it. "

"I s'pose, however, Miss Rose, " put in Spike, who saw that the niecewould soon get the better of the aunt;--"I s'pose, Miss Rose, thatyou'll acknowledge that America is at war with Mexico?"

"I am sorry to say that such is the fact, but I remember to haveheard you say, yourself, Captain Spike, when my aunt was induced toundertake this voyage, that you did not consider there was thesmallest danger from any Mexicans. "

"Yes, you did, Captain Spike, " added the aunt--"you did say therewas no danger from Mexicans. "

"Nor is there a bit, Madam Budd, if Miss Rose, and your honouredself, will only hear me. There is no danger, because the brig hasthe heels of anything Mexico can send to sea. She has sold hersteamers, and, as for anything else under her flag, I would not carea straw. "

"The steamer from which we ran, last evening, and which actuallyfired off a cannon at us, was not Mexican, but American, " said Rose, with a pointed manner that put Spike to his trumps. 

"Oh! that steamer--" he stammered--"that was a race--only a race, Miss Rose, and I wouldn't let her come near me, for the world. Ishould never hear the last of it, in the insurance offices, and on'change, did I let her overhaul us. You see, Miss Rose--you see, Madam Budd--" Spike ever found it most convenient to address hismystifying discourse to the aunt, in preference to addressing it tothe niece--"You see, Madam Budd, the master of that craft and I areold cronies--sailed together when boys, and set great store by eachother. We met only last evening, just a'ter I had left your ownagreeable mansion, Madam Budd, and says he, `Spike, when do yousail?' `To-morrow's flood, Jones, ' says I--his name is Jones;--PeterJones, and as good a fellow as ever lived. `Do you go by the Hook, or by Hell-Gate--'"

"Hurl-Gate, Captain Spike, if you please--or Whirl-Gate, which somepeople think is the true sound; but the other way of saying it isawful. "

"Well, the captain, my old master, always called it Hell-Gate, and Ilearned the trick from him--"

"I know he did, and so do all sailors; but genteel people, now-a-days, say nothing but Hurl-Gate, or Whirl-Gate. "

Rose smiled at this; as did Mulford; but neither said anything, thesubject having once before been up between them. As for ourselves, we are still so old-fashioned as to say, and write, Hell-Gate, andintend so to do, in spite of all the Yankees that have yet passedthrough it, or who ever shall pass through it, and that is saying agreat deal. We do not like changing names to suit their uneasyspirits. 

"Call the place Hurl-Gate, and go on with your story, " said thewidow, complacently. 

"Yes, Madam Budd--`Do you go by the Hook, or by Whirl-Gate?' saidJones. `By Whirl-a-Gig-Gate, ' says I. `Well, ' says he, `I shall gothrough the Gate myself, in the course of the morning. We may meetsomewhere to the eastward, and, if we do, I'll bet you a beaver, 'says he, `that I show you my stern. ' `Agreed, ' says I, and we shookhands upon it. That's the whole history of our giving the steamerthe slip, last night, and of my not wishing to let her speak me. "

"But you went into a bay, and let her go past you, " said Rose, coolly enough as to manner, but with great point as to substance. "Was not that a singular way of winning a race?"

"It does seem so, Miss Rose, but it's all plain enough, whenunderstood. I found that steam was too much for sails, and I stoodup into the bay to let them run past us, in hopes they would neverfind out the trick. I care as little for a hat as any man, but I docare a good deal about having it reported on 'change that the Mollywas beat, by even a steamer. "

This ended the discourse for the moment, Clench again havingsomething to say to his captain in private. 

"How much of that explanation am I to believe, and how muchdisbelieve?" asked Rose, the instant she was left alone with Harry. "If it be all invention, it was a ready and ingenious story. "

"No part of it is true. He no more expected that the steamer wouldpass through Hell-Gate, than I expected it myself. There was no bet, or race, therefore; but it was our wish to avoid Uncle Sam'scruiser, that was all. "

"And why should you wish any such thing?"

"On my honour, I can give you no better reason, so far as I amconcerned, than the fact that, wishing to keep clear of her, I donot like to be overhauled. Nor can I tell you why Spike is so muchin earnest in holding the revenue vessel at arm's length; I know hedislikes all such craft, as a matter of course, but I can see noparticular reason for it just now. A more innocent cargo was neverstuck into a vessel's hold. "

"What is it?"

"Flour; and no great matter of that. The brig is not half full, being just in beautiful ballast trim, as if ready for a race. I cansee no sufficient reason, beyond native antipathy, why Captain Spikeshould wish to avoid any craft, for it is humbug his dread of aMexican, and least of all, here, in Long Island Sound. All thatstory about Jones is a tub for whales. "

"Thank you for the allusion; my aunt and myself being the whales. "

"You know I do mean--can mean nothing, Rose, that is disrespectfulto either yourself or your aunt. "

Rose looked up, and she looked pleased. Then she mused in silence, for some time, when she again spoke. 

"Why have you remained another voyage with such a man, Harry?" sheasked, earnestly. 

"Because, as his first officer, I have had access to your house, when I could not have had it otherwise; and because I haveapprehended that he might persuade Mrs. Budd, as he had boasted tome it was his intention to do, to make this voyage. "

Rose now looked grateful; and deeply grateful did she feel, and hadreason to feel. Harry had concealed no portion of his history fromher. Like herself, he was a shipmaster's child, but one bettereducated and better connected than was customary for the class. Hisfather had paid a good deal of attention to the youth's early years, but had made a seaman of him, out of choice. The father had lost hisall, however, with his life, in a shipwreck; and Harry was thrownupon his own resources, at the early age of twenty. He had made oneor two voyages as a second mate, when chance threw him in Spike'sway, who, pleased with some evidences of coolness and skill, that hehad shown in a foreign port, on the occasion of another loss, tookhim as his first officer; in which situation he had remained eversince, partly from choice and partly from necessity. On the otherhand, Rose had a fortune; by no means a large one, but severalthousands in possession, from her own father, and as many more inreversion from her uncle. It was this money, taken in connectionwith the credulous imbecility of the aunt, that had awakened thecupidity, and excited the hopes of Spike. After a life of lawlessadventure, one that had been chequered by every shade of luck, hefound himself growing old, with his brig growing old with him, andlittle left beside his vessel and the sort of half cargo that was inher hold. Want of means, indeed, was the reason that theflour-barrels were not more numerous. 

Rose heard Mulford's explanation favourably, as indeed she heardmost of that which came from him, but did not renew the discourse, Spike's conference with the boatswain just then terminating. Thecaptain now came aft, and began to speak of the performances of hisvessel in a way to show that he took great pride in them. 

"We are travelling at the rate of ten knots, Madam Budd, " he saidexultingly, "and that will take us clear of the land, before nightshuts in ag'in. Montauk is a good place for an offing; I ask for nobetter. "

"Shall we then have two offings, this voyage, Captain Spike?" askedRose, a little sarcastically. "If we are in the offing now, and areto be in the offing when we reach Montauk, there must be two suchplaces. "

"Rosy, dear, you amaze me!" put in the aunt. "There is no offinguntil the pilot is discharged, and when he's discharged there isnothing but offing. It's all offing. On the Sound, is the firstgreat change that befalls a vessel as she goes to sea; then comesthe offing; next the pilot is discharged--then--then--what comesnext, Captain Spike?"

"Then the vessel takes her departure--an old navigator likeyourself, Madam Budd, ought not to forget the departure. "

"Quite true, sir. The departure is a very important portion of aseaman's life. Often and often have I heard my poor dear Mr. Buddtalk about his departures. His departures, and his offings andhis--"

"Land-falls, " added Spike, perceiving that the shipmaster's relictwas a little at fault. 

"Thank you, sir; the hint is quite welcome. His landfalls, also, were often in his mouth. "

"What is a land-fall, aunty?" inquired Rose--"It appears a strangeterm to be used by one who lives on the water. "

"Oh! there is no end to the curiosities of sailors! A `land-fall, 'my dear, means a shipwreck, of course. To fall on the land, and avery unpleasant fall it is, when a vessel should keep on the water. I've heard of dreadful land-falls in my day, in which hundreds ofsouls have been swept into eternity, in an instant. "

"Yes; yes, Madam Budd--there are such accidents truly, and seriousthings be they to encounter, " answered Spike, hemming a little toclear his throat, as was much his practice whenever the widow raninto any unusually extravagant blunder; "yes, serious things toencounter. But the land-fall that I mean is a different sort ofthing; being, as you well know, what we say when we come in sight ofland, a'ter a v'y'ge; or, meaning the land we may happen first tosee. The departure is the beginning of our calculation when we losesight of the last cape or headland, and the land-fall closes it, byletting us know where we are, at the other end of our journey, asyou probably remember. "

"Is there not such a thing as clearing out in navigation?" askedRose, quickly, willing to cover a little confusion that was manifestin her aunt's manner. 

"Not exactly in navigation, Miss Rose, but clearing out, with honestfolk, ought to come first, and navigation a'terwards. Clearing outmeans going through the Custom-House, accordin' to law. "

"And the Molly Swash has cleared out, I hope?"

"Sartain--a more lawful clearance was never given in Wall Street;it's for Key West and a market. I did think of making it Havana anda market, but port-charges are lightest at Key West. "

"Then Key West is the place to which we are bound?"

"It ought to be, agreeable to papers; though vessels sometimes missthe ports for which they clear. "

Rose put no more questions; and her aunt, being conscious that shehad not appeared to advantage in the affair of the "land-fall, " wasalso disposed to be silent. Spike and Mulford had their attentiondrawn to the vessel, and the conversation dropped. 

The reader can readily suppose that the Molly Swash had not beenstanding still all this time. So far from this, she was running"down Sound, " with the wind on her quarter, or at south-west, makinggreat head-way, as she was close under the south shore, or on theisland side of the water she was in. The vessel had no other motionthan that of her speed, and the females escaped everything likesea-sickness, for the time being. This enabled them to attend tomaking certain arrangements necessary to their comforts below, previously to getting into rough water. In acquitting herself ofthis task, Rose received much useful advice from Josh, though hisnew assistant, Jack Tier, turned out to be a prize indeed, in thecabins. The first was only a steward; but the last proved himselfnot only a handy person of his calling, but one full of resources--agenius, in his way. Josh soon became so sensible of his owninferiority, in contributing to the comforts of females, that heyielded the entire management of the "ladies' cabin, " as a littleplace that might have been ten feet square, was called, to hisuncouth-looking, but really expert deputy. Jack waddled about below, as if born and brought up in such a place, and seemed every wayfitted for his office. In height, and in build generally, there wasa surprising conformity between the widow and the steward's deputy, a circumstance which might induce one to think they must often havebeen in each other's way, in a space so small; though, in point offact, Jack never ran foul of any one. He seemed to avoid thisinconvenience by a species of nautical instinct. 

Towards the turn of the day, Rose had everything arranged, and wassurprised to find how much room she had made for her aunt andherself, by means of Jack's hints, and how much more comfortable itwas possible to be, in that small cabin, than she had at firstsupposed. 

After dinner, Spike took his siesta. He slept in a little state-roomthat stood on the starboard side of the quarter-deck, quite aft; asMulford did in one on the larboard. These two state-rooms werefixtures; but a light deck overhead, which connected them, shippedand unshipped, forming a shelter for the man at the wheel, when inits place, as well as for the officer of the watch, should he seefit to use it, in bad weather. This sort of cuddy, Spike termed his"coach-house. "

The captain had no sooner gone into his state-room, and closed itswindow, movements that were understood by Mulford, than the lattertook occasion to intimate to Rose, by means of Jack Tier, the stateof things on deck, when the young man was favoured with the younglady's company. 

"He has turned in for his afternoon's nap, and will sleep for justone hour, blow high, or blow low, " said the mate, placing himself atRose's side on the trunk, which formed the usual seat for those whocould presume to take the liberty of sitting down on thequarter-deck. "It's a habit with him, and we can count on it, withperfect security. "

"His doing so, now, is a sign that he has no immediate fears of therevenue steamer?"

"The coast is quite clear of her. We have taken good looks at everysmoke, but can see nothing that appears like our late companion. Shehas doubtless gone to the eastward, on duty, and merely chased us, on her road. "

"But why should she chase us, at all?"

"Because we ran. Let a dog run, or a man run, or a cat run, ten toone but something starts in chase. It is human nature, I believe, togive chase; though I will admit there was something suspicious aboutthat steamer's movements--her anchoring off the Fort, for instance. But let her go, for the present; are you getting things right, andto your mind, below decks?"

"Very much so. The cabin is small, and the two state-rooms themerest drawers that ever were used, but, by putting everything inits place, we have made sufficient room, and no doubt shall becomfortable. "

"I am sorry you did not call on me for assistance. The mate has aprescriptive right to help stow away. "

"We made out without your services, " returned Rose, slightlyblushing--"Jack Tier, as he is called, Josh's assistant, is a veryuseful person, and has been our adviser and manager. I want nobetter for such services. "

"He is a queer fellow, all round. Take him altogether, I hardly eversaw so droll a being! As thick as he's long, with a waddle like aduck, a voice that is cracked, hair like bristles, and knee high;the man might make a fortune as a show. Tom Thumb is scarcely agreater curiosity. "

"He is singular in `build, ' as you call it, " returned Rose, laughing, "but, I can assure you that he is a most excellent fellowin his way--worth a dozen of Josh. Do you know, Harry, that Isuspect he has strong feelings towards Captain Spike; though whetherof like or dislike, friendship or enmity, I am at a loss to say. "

"And why do you think that he has any feeling at all? I have heardSpike say he left the fellow ashore, somewhere down on the SpanishMain, or in the Islands, quite twenty years since; but a sailorwould scarce carry a grudge so long a time, for such a thing asthat. "

"I do not know--but feeling there is, and much of it, too; though, whether hostile or friendly, I will not undertake to say. "

"I'll look to the chap, now you tell me this. It is a little odd, the manner in which he got on board us, taken in connection with thecompany he was in, and a discovery may be made. Here he is, however;and, as I keep the keys of the magazine, he can do us no great harm, unless he scuttles the brig. "

"Magazine! Is there such a thing here?"

"To be sure there is, and ammunition enough in it to keep eightcarronades in lively conversation for a couple of hours. "

"A carronade is what you call a gun, is it not?"

"A piece of a one--being somewhat short, like your friend, JackTier, who is shaped a good deal like a carronade. "

Rose smiled--nay, half laughed, for Harry's pleasantries almost tookthe character of wit in her eyes, but she did not the less pursueher inquiries. 

"Guns! And where are they, if they be on this vessel?"

"Do not use such a lubberly expression, my dear Rose, if you respectyour father's profession. On a vessel, is a new-fangled Americanism, that is neither fish, flesh, nor red-herring, as we sailorssay--neither English nor Greek. "

"What should I say, then? My wish is not to parade sea-talk, but touse it correctly, when I use it at all. "

"The expression is hardly `sea-talk, ' as you call it, but every-dayEnglish--that is, when rightly used. On a vessel is no more Englishthan it is nautical--no sailor ever used such an expression. "

"Tell me what I ought to say, and you will find me a willing, if notan apt scholar. I am certain of having often read it, in thenewspapers, and that quite lately. "

"I'll answer for that, and it's another proof of its being wrong. Ina vessel is as correct as in a coach, and on a vessel as wrong ascan be; but you can say on board a vessel, though not `on the boardsof a vessel;' as Mrs. Budd has it. "

"Mr. Mulford!"

"I beg a thousand pardons, Rose, and will offend no more--though shedoes make some very queer mistakes!"

"My aunt thinks it an honour to my uncle's memory, to be able to usethe language of his professional life, and if she does sometimesmake mistakes that are absurd, it is with motives so respectablethat no sailor should deride them. "

"I am rebuked for ever. Mrs. Budd may call the anchor a silverspoon, hereafter, without my even smiling. But if the aunt has thiskind remembrance of a seaman's life, why cannot the niece thinkequally well of it?"

"Perhaps she does, " returned Rose, smiling again--"seeing all itsattractions through the claims of Captain Spike. "

"I think half the danger from him gone, now that you seem so much onyour guard. What an odious piece of deception, to persuade Mrs. Buddthat you were fast falling into a decline!"

"One so odious that I shall surely quit the brig at the first portwe enter, or even in the first suitable vessel that we may speak. "

"And Mrs. Budd--could you persuade her to such a course?"

"You scarce know us, Harry Mulford. My aunt commands, when there isno serious duty to perform, but we change places when there is. Ican persuade her to anything that is right, in ten minutes. "

"You might persuade a world!" cried Harry, with strong admirationexpressed in his countenance; after which he began to converse withRose, on a subject so interesting to themselves, that we do notthink it prudent to relate any more of the discourse, forgetting allabout the guns. 

About four o'clock, of a fine summer's afternoon, the Swash wentthrough the Race, on the best of the ebb, and with a staggeringsouth-west wind. Her movement by the land, just at that point, couldnot have been less than at the rate of fifteen miles in the hour. Spike was in high spirits, for his brig had got on famously thatday, and there was nothing in sight to the eastward. He made nodoubt, as he had told his mate, that the steamer had gone into theVineyard Sound, and that she was bound over the shoals. 

"They want to make political capital out of her, " he added, usingone of the slang phrases, that the "business habits" of the Americanpeople are so rapidly incorporating with the common language of thecountry--"They want to make political capital out of her, Harry, andmust show her off to the Boston folk, who are full of notions. Well, let them turn her to as much account in that way as they please, solong as they keep her clear of the Molly. Your sarvant, MadamBudd"--addressing the widow, who just at that moment came ondeck--"a fine a'ternoon, and likely to be a clear night to run offthe coast in. "

"Clear nights are desirable, and most of all at sea, Captain Spike, "returned the relict, in her best, complacent manner, "whether it beto run off a coast, or to run on a coast. In either case, a clearnight, or a bright moon must be useful. "

Captain Spike rolled his tobacco over in his mouth, and cast afurtive glance at the mate, but he did not presume to hazard anyfurther manifestations of his disposition to laugh. 

"Yes, Madam Budd, " he answered, "it is quite as you say, and I amonly surprised where you have picked up so much of what I calluseful nautical knowledge. "

"We live and learn, sir. You will recollect that this is not myfirst voyage, having made one before, and that I passed a happy, happy, thirty years, in the society of my poor, dear husband, Rose'suncle. One must have been dull, indeed, not to have picked up, fromsuch a companion, much of a calling that was so dear to him, and theparticulars of which were so very dear to him. He actually gave melessons in the `sea dialect, ' as he called it, which probably is thetrue reason I am so accurate and general in my acquisitions. "

"Yes, Madam Budd--yes--hem--you are--yes, you are wonderful in thatway. We shall soon get an offing, now, Madam Budd--yes, soon get anoffing, now. "

"And take in our departure, Captain Spike--" added the widow, with avery intelligent smile. 

"Yes, take our departure. Montauk is yonder, just coming in sight;only some three hours' run from this spot. When we get there, theopen ocean will lie before us; and give me the open sea, and I'llnot call the king my uncle. "

"Was he your uncle, Captain Spike?"

"Only in a philanthropic way, Madam Budd. Yes, let us get a goodoffing, and a rapping to'gallant breeze, and I do not think I shouldcare much for two of Uncle Sam's new-fashioned revenue craft, one oneach side of me. "

"How delightful do I find such conversation, Rose! It's as much likeyour poor, dear uncle's, as one pea is like another. `Yes, ' he usedto say, too, `let me only have one on each side of me, and a wrapperround the topgallant sail to hold the breeze, and I'd not call theking my uncle. ' Now I think of it, he used to talk about the king ashis uncle, too. "

"It was all talk, aunty. He had no uncle, and, what is more, he hadno king. "

"That's quite true, Miss Rose, " rejoined Spike, attempting a bow, which ended in a sort of jerk. "It is not very becoming in usrepublicans to be talking of kings, but a habit is a habit. Ourforefathers had kings, and we drop into their ways without thinkingof what we are doing. Fore-topgallant yard, there?"

"Sir. "

"Keep a bright look-out, ahead. Let me know the instant you makeanything in the neighbourhood of Montauk. "

"Ay, ay, sir. "

"As I was saying, Madam Budd, we seamen drop into our forefathers'ways. Now, when I was a youngster, I remember, one day, that we fellin with a ketch--you know, Miss Rose, what a ketch is, I suppose?"

"I have not the least notion of it, sir. "

"Rosy, you amaze me!" exclaimed the aunt--"and you a ship-master'sniece, and a ship-master's daughter! A catch is a trick that sailorshave, when they quiz landsmen. "

"Yes, Madam Budd, yes; we have them sort of catches, too; but I nowmean the vessel with a peculiar rig, which we call a ketch, youknow. "

"Is it the full-jigger, or the half-jigger sort, that you mean?"

Spike could hardly stand this, and he had to hail thetopgallant-yard again, in order to keep the command of his muscles, for he saw by the pretty frown that was gathering on the brow ofRose, that she was regarding the matter a little seriously. Luckily, the answer of the man on the yard diverted the mind of the widowfrom the subject, and prevented the necessity of any reply. 

"There's a light, of course, sir, on Montauk, is there not, CaptainSpike?" demanded the seaman who was aloft. 

"To be sure there is--every head-land, hereabouts, has its light;and some have two. "

"Ay, ay, sir--it's that which puzzles me; I think I see onelight-house, and I'm not certain but I see two. "

"If there is anything like a second, it must be a sail. Montauk hasbut one light. "

Mulford sprang into the fore-rigging, and in a minute was on theyard. He soon came down, and reported the lighthouse in sight, withthe afternoon's sun shining on it, but no sail near. 

"My poor, dear Mr. Budd used to tell a story of his being cast awayon a light-house, in the East Indies, " put in the relict, as soon asthe mate had ended his report, "which always affected me. It seemsthere were three ships of them together, in an awful tempestdirectly off the land--"

"That was comfortable, any how, " cried Spike;--"if it must blowhard, let it come off the land, say I. "

"Yes, sir, it was directly off the land, as my poor husband alwayssaid, which made it so much the worse you must know, Rosy; thoughCaptain Spike's gallant spirit would rather encounter danger thannot. It blew what they call a Hyson, in the Chinese seas--"

"A what, aunty?--Hyson is the name of a tea, you know. "

"A Hyson, I'm pretty sure it was; and I suppose the wind is namedafter the tea, or the tea after the wind. "

"The ladies do get in a gale, sometimes, over their tea, " said Spikegallantly. "But I rather think Madam Budd must mean a Typhoon. "

"That's it--a Typhoon, or a Hyson--there is not much differencebetween them, you see. Well, it blew a Typhoon, and they are alwaysmortal to somebody. This my poor Mr. Budd well knew, and he had sethis chronometer for that Typhoon--"

"Excuse me, aunty, it was the barometer that he was watching--thechronometer was his watch. "

"So it was--his watch on deck was his chronometer, I declare. I amforgetting a part of my education. Do you know the use of achronometer, now, Rose? You have seen your uncle's often, but do youknow how he used it?"

"Not in the least, aunty. My uncle often tried to explain it, but Inever could understand him. "

"It must have been, then, because Captain Budd did not try to makehimself comprehended, " said Mulford, "for I feel certain nothingwould be easier than to make you understand the uses of thechronometer. "

"I should like to learn it from you, Mr. Mulford, " answered thecharming girl, with an emphasis so slight on the `you, ' that no oneobserved it but the mate, but which was clear enough to him, andcaused every nerve to thrill. 

"I can attempt it, " answered the young man, "if it be agreeable toMrs. Budd, who would probably like to hear it herself. "

"Certainly, Mr. Mulford; though I fancy you can say little on such asubject that I have not often heard already, from my poor, dear Mr. Budd. "

"This was not very encouraging, truly; but Rose continuing to lookinterested, the mate proceeded. 

"The use of the chronometer is to ascertain the longitude, " saidHarry, "and the manner of doing it is, simply this: A chronometer isnothing more nor less than a watch, made with more care than usual, so as to keep the most accurate time. They are of all sizes, fromthat of a clock, down to this which I wear in my fob, and which is awatch in size and appearance. Now, the nautical almanacs are allcalculated to some particular meridian--"

"Yes, " interrupted the relict, "Mr. Budd had a great deal to sayabout meridians. "

"That of London, or Greenwich, being the meridian used by those whouse the English Almanacs, and those of Paris or St. Petersburg, bythe French and Russians. Each of these places has an observatory, and chronometers that are kept carefully regulated, the year round. Every chronometer is set by the regulator of the particularobservatory or place to which the almanac used is calculated. "

"How wonderfully like my poor, dear Mr. Budd, all this is, Rosy!Meridians, and calculated, and almanacs! I could almost think Iheard your uncle entertaining me with one of his nauticaldiscussions, I declare!"

"Now the sun rises earlier in places east, than in places west ofus. "

"It rises earlier in the summer, but later in the winter, everywhere, Mr. Mulford. "

"Yes, my dear Madam; but the sun rises earlier every day, in London, than it does in New York. "

"That is impossible, " said the widow, dogmatically--"Why should notthe sun rise at the same time in England and America?"

"Because England is east of America, aunty. The sun does not move, you know, but only appears to us to move, because the earth turnsround from west to east, which causes those who are farthest east tosee it first. That is what Mr. Mulford means. "

"Rose has explained it perfectly well, " continued the mate. "Now theearth is divided into 360 degrees, and the day is divided into 24hours. If 360 be divided by 24, the quotient will be 15. If followsthat, for each fifteen degrees of longitude, there is a differenceof just one hour in the rising of the sun, all over the earth, whereit rises at all. New York is near five times 15 degrees west ofGreenwich, and the sun consequently rises five hours later at NewYork than at London. "

"There must be a mistake in this, Rosy, " said the relict, in a toneof desperate resignation, in which the desire to break out indissent, was struggling oddly enough with an assumed dignity ofdeportment. "I've always heard that the people of London are some ofthe latest in the world. Then, I've been in London, and know thatthe sun rises in New York, in December, a good deal earlier than itdoes in London, by the clock--yes, by the clock. "

"True enough, by the clock, Mrs. Budd, for London is more than tendegrees north of New York, and the farther north you go, the laterthe sun rises in winter, and the earlier in summer. "

The relict merely shrugged her shoulders, as much as to say that sheknew no such thing; but Rose, who had been well taught, raised herserene eyes to her aunt's face, and mildly said--"All true, aunty, and that is owing to the fact that the earth is smaller at each endthan in the middle. "

"Fiddle faddle with your middles and ends, Rose--I've been inLondon, dear, and know that the sun rises later there than in NewYork, in the month of December, and that I know by the clock, I tellyou. "

"The reason of which is, " resumed Mulford, "because the clocks ofeach place keep the time of that place. Now, it is different withthe chronometers; they are set in the observatory of Greenwich, andkeep the time of Greenwich. This watch chronometer was set there, only six months since; and this time, as you see, is near nineo'clock, when in truth it is only about four o'clock here, where weare. "

"I wonder you keep such a watch, Mr. Mulford!"

"I keep it, " returned the mate, smiling, "because I know it to keepgood time. It has the Greenwich time; and, as your watch has the NewYork time, by comparing them together, it is quite easy to find thelongitude of New York. "

"Do you, then, keep watches to compare with your chronometers?"asked Rose, with interest. 

"Certainly not; as that would require a watch for every separatepart of the ocean, and then we should only get known longitudes. Itwould be impracticable, and load a ship with nothing but watches. What we do is this: We set our chronometers at Greenwich, and thuskeep the Greenwich true time wherever we go. The greatest attentionis paid to the chronometers, to see that they receive no injuries;and usually there are two, and often more of them, to compare onewith another, in order to see that they go well. When in the middleof the ocean, for instance, we find the true time of the day at thatspot, by ascertaining the height of the sun. This we do by means ofour quadrants, or sextants; for, as the sun is always in the zenithat twelve o'clock, nothing is easier than to do this, when the suncan be seen, and an arc of the heavens measured. At the instant theheight of the sun is ascertained by one observer, he calls toanother, who notes the time on the chronometer. The difference inthese two times, or that of the chronometer and that of the sun, gives the distance in degrees and minutes, between the longitude ofGreenwich and that of the place on the ocean where the observer is;and that gives him his longitude. If the difference is three hoursand twenty minutes, in time, the distance from Greenwich is fiftydegrees of longitude, because the sun rises three hours and twentyminutes sooner in London, than in the fiftieth degree of westlongitude. "

"A watch is a watch, Rosy, " put in the aunt, doggedly--"and time istime. --When it's four o'clock at our house, it's four o'clock atyour aunt Sprague's, and it's so all over the world. The world mayturn round--I'll not deny it, for your uncle often said as much asthat, but it cannot turn in the way Mr. Mulford says, or we shouldall fall off it, at night, when it was bottom upwards. No, sir, no;you've started wrong. My poor, dear, late Mr. Budd, always admittedthat the world turned round, as the books say; but when I suggestedto him the difficulty of keeping things in their places, with theearth upside down, he acknowledged candidly--for he was all candour, I must say that for him--and owned that he had made a discovery bymeans of his barometer, which showed that the world did not turnround in the way you describe, or by rolling over, but by whirlingabout, as one turns in a dance. You must remember your uncle'stelling me this, Rose?"

Rose did remember her uncle's telling her aunt this, as well as agreat many other similar prodigies. Captain Budd had married hissilly wife on account of her pretty face, and when the novelty ofthat was over, he often amused himself by inventing all sorts ofabsurdities, to amuse both her and himself. Among other things, Rosewell remembered his quieting her aunt's scruples about falling offthe earth, by laying down the theory that the world did not "rollover, " but "whirl round. " But Rose did not answer the question. 

"Objects are kept in their places on the earth by means ofattraction, " Mulford ventured to say, with a great deal of humilityof manner. "I believe it is thought there is no up or down, exceptas we go from or towards the earth; and that would make the positionof the last a matter of indifference, as respects objects keeping onit. "

"Attractions are great advantages, I will own, sir, especially toour sex. I think it will be acknowledged there has been no want ofthem in our family, any more than there has been of sense andinformation. Sense and information we pride ourselves on;attractions being gifts from God, we try to think less of them. Butall the attractions in the world could not keep Rosy, here, fromfalling off the earth, did it ever come bottom upwards. And, mercyon me, where would she fall to!"

Mulford saw that argument was useless, and he confined his remarks, during the rest of the conversation, to showing Rose the manner inwhich the longitude of a place might be ascertained, with the aid ofthe chronometer, and by means of observations to get the true timeof day, at the particular place itself. Rose was so quick-witted, and already so well instructed, as easily to comprehend theprinciples; the details being matters of no great moment to one ofher sex and habits. But Mrs. Budd remained antagonist to the last. She obstinately maintained that twelve o'clock was twelve o'clock;or, if there was any difference, "London hours were notoriouslylater than those of New York. "

Against such assertions arguments were obviously useless, andMulford, perceiving that Rose began to fidget, had sufficient tactto change the conversation altogether. 

And still the Molly Swash kept in swift motion. Montauk was by thistime abeam, and the little brigantine began to rise and fall, on thelong swells of the Atlantic, which now opened before her, in onevast sheet of green and rolling waters. On her right lay thetermination of Long Island; a low, rocky cape, with its light, and afew fields in tillage, for the uses of those who tended it. It wasthe "land's end" of New York, while the island that was heaving upout of the sea, at a distance of about twenty miles to the eastward, was the property of Rhode Island, being called Blok Island. Betweenthe two, the Swash shaped her course for the ocean. 

Spike had betrayed uneasiness, as his brig came up with Montauk; butthe coast seemed clear, with not even a distant sail in sight, andhe came aft, rubbing his hands with delight, speaking cheerfully. 

"All right, Mr. Mulford, " he cried--"everything ship-shape andbrister-fashion--not even a smack fishing here-away, which is alittle remarkable. Ha!--what are you staring at, over the quarter, there?"

"Look here, sir, directly in the wake of the setting sun, which weare now opening from the land--is not that a sail?"

"Sail! Impossible, sir. What should a sail be doing in there, sonear Montauk--no man ever saw a sail there in his life. It's a spotin the sun, Madam Budd, that my mate has got a glimpse at, and, sailor-like, he mistakes it for a sail! Ha--ha--ha--yes, Harry, it'sa spot in the sun. "

"It is a spot on the sun, as you say, but it's a spot made by avessel--and here is a boat pulling towards her, might and main;going from the light, as if carrying news. "

It was no longer possible for Spike's hopes to deceive him. Therewas a vessel, sure enough; though, when first seen, it was sodirectly in a line with the fiery orb of the setting sun, as toescape common observation. As the brig went foaming on towards theocean, however, the black speck was soon brought out of the range ofthe orb of day, and Spike's glass was instantly levelled at it. 

"Just as one might expect, Mr. Mulford, " cried the captain, loweringhis glass, and looking aloft to see what could be done to help hiscraft along; "a bloody revenue cutter, as I'm a wicked sinner! Thereshe lies, sir, within musket shot of the shore, hid behind thepoint, as it might be in waiting for us, with her head to thesouthward, her helm hard down, topsail aback, and foresail brailed;as wicked looking a thing as Free Trade and Sailor's Rights ever ranfrom. My life on it, sir, she's been put in that precise spot, inwaiting for the Molly to arrive. You see, as we stand on, it placesher as handsomely to windward of us, as the heart of man coulddesire. "

"It is a revenue cutter, sir; now she's out of the sun's wake, thatis plain enough. And that is her boat, which has been sent to thelight to keep a look-out for us. Well, sir, she's to windward; butwe have everything set for our course, and as we are fairly abeam, she must be a great traveller to overhaul us. "

"I thought these bloody cutters were all down in the Gulf, " growledthe captain, casting his eyes aloft again, to see that everythingdrew. "I'm sure the newspapers have mentioned as many as twenty thatare down there, and here is one, lying behind Montauk, like a snakein the grass!"

"At any rate, by the time he gets his boat up we shall get the startof him--ay, there he fills and falls off, to go and meet her. He'llsoon be after us, Captain Spike, at racing speed. "

Everything occurred as those two mariners had foreseen. The revenuecutter, one of the usual fore-top-sail schooners that are employedin that service, up and down the coast, had no sooner hoisted up herboat, than she made sail, a little off the wind, on a line to closewith the Swash. As for the brig, she had hauled up to an easybowline, as she came round Montauk, and was now standing off southsoutheast, still having the wind at south-west. The weatherlyposition of the cutter enabled her to steer rather more than onepoint freer. At the commencement of this chase, the vessels wereabout a mile and a half apart, a distance too great to enable thecutter to render the light guns she carried available, and it wasobvious from the first, that everything depended on speed. And speedit was, truly; both vessels fairly flying; the Molly Swash having atlast met with something very like her match. Half an hour satisfiedboth Spike and Mulford that, by giving the cutter the advantage ofone point in a freer wind, she would certainly get alongside ofthem, and the alternative was therefore to keep off. 

"A starn chase is a long chase, all the world over, " criedSpike--"edge away, sir; edge away, sir, and bring the cutter well onour quarter. "

This order was obeyed; but to the surprise of those in the Swash, the cutter did not exactly follow, though she kept off a littlemore. Her object seemed to be to maintain her weatherly position, and in this manner the two vessels ran on for an hour longer, untilthe Swash had made most of the distance between Montauk and BlokIsland. Objects were even becoming dimly visible on the last, andthe light on the point was just becoming visible, a lone star abovea waste of desert, the sun having been down now fully a quarter ofan hour, and twilight beginning to draw the curtain of night overthe waters. 

"A craft under Blok, " shouted the look-out, that was still keptaloft as a necessary precaution. 

"What sort of a craft?" demanded Spike, fiercely; for the verymention of a sail, at that moment, aroused all his ire. "Arn't youmaking a frigate out of an apple-orchard?"

"It's the steamer, sir. I can now see her smoke. She's just clearingthe land, on the south side of the island, and seems to be cominground to meet us. "

A long, low, eloquent whistle from the captain, succeeded thisannouncement. The man aloft was right. It was the steamer, sureenough; and she had been lying hid behind Blok Island, exactly asher consort had been placed behind Montauk, in waiting for theirchase to arrive. The result was, to put the Molly Swash in exceedingjeopardy, and the reason why the cutter kept so well to windward wasfully explained. To pass out to sea between these two craft washopeless. There remained but a single alternative from capture byone or by the other, --and that Spike adopted instantly. He kept hisbrig dead away, setting studding-sails on both sides. This change ofcourse brought the cutter nearly aft, or somewhat on the otherquarter, and laid the brig's head in a direction to carry her closeto the northern coast of the island. But the principal advantage wasgained over the steamer, which could not keep off, without firststanding a mile or two, or even more, to the westward, in order toclear the land. This was so much clear gain to the Swash, which wasrunning off at racing speed, on a north-east course, while her mostdangerous enemy was still heading to the westward. As for thecutter, she kept away; but it was soon apparent that the brig hadthe heels of her, dead before the wind. 

Darkness now began to close around the three vessels; the brig andthe schooner soon becoming visible to each other principally bymeans of their night-glasses; though the steamer's position could beeasily distinguished by means of her flaming chimney. This lattervessel stood to the westward for a quarter of an hour, when hercommander appeared to become suddenly conscious of the ground he waslosing, and he wore short round, and went off before the wind, understeam and canvas; intending to meet the chase off the northern sideof the island. The very person who had hailed the Swash, as she wasleaving the wharf, who had passed her in Hell-Gate, with Jack Tierin his boat, and who had joined her off Throgmorton's, was now onher deck, urging her commander by every consideration not to let thebrig escape. It was at his suggestion that the course was changed. Nervous, and eager to seize the brig, he prevailed on the commanderof the steamer to alter his course. Had he done no more than this, all might have been well; but so exaggerated were his notions of theSwash's sailing, that, instead of suffering the steamer to keepclose along the eastern side of the island, he persuaded hercommander of the necessity of standing off a long distance to thenorthward and eastward, with a view to get ahead of the chase. Thiswas not bad advice, were there any certainly that Spike would standon, of which, however, he had no intention. 

The night set in dark and cloudy; and, the instant that Spike saw, by means of the flaming chimney, that the steamer had wore, and wasgoing to the eastward of Blok, his plan was laid. Calling toMulford, he communicated it to him, and was glad to find that hisintelligent mate was of his own way of thinking. The necessaryorders were given, accordingly, and everything was got ready for itsexecution. 

In the meantime, the two revenue craft were much in earnest. Theschooner was one of the fastest in the service, and had been placedunder Montauk, as described, in the confident expectation of herbeing able to compete with even the Molly Swash successfully, moreespecially if brought upon a bowline. Her commander watched thereceding form of the brig with the closest attention, until it wasentirely swallowed up in the darkness, under the land, towards whichhe then sheered himself, in order to prevent the Swash from haulingup, and turning to windward, close in under the shadow of theisland. Against this manoeuvre, however, the cutter had now taken aneffectual precaution, and her people were satisfied that escape inthat way was impossible. 

On the other hand, the steamer was doing very well. Driven by thebreeze, and propelled by her wheels, away she went, edging furtherand further from the island, as the person from the Custom-Housesucceeded, as it might be, inch by inch, in persuading the captainof the necessity of his so doing. At length a sail was dimly seenahead, and then no doubt was entertained that the brig had got tothe northward and eastward of them. Half an hour brought the steameralongside of this sail, which turned out to be a brig that had comeover the shoals, and was beating into the ocean, on her way to oneof the southern ports. Her captain said there had nothing passed tothe eastward. 

Round went the steamer, and in went all her canvas. Ten minuteslater the look-out saw a sail to the westward, standing before thewind. Odd as it might seem, the steamer's people now fancied theywere sure of the Swash. There she was, coming directly for them, with squared yards! The distance was short, or a vessel could nothave been seen by that light, and the two craft were soon near eachother. A gun was actually cleared on board the steamer, ere it wasascertained that the stranger was the schooner! It was now midnight, and nothing was in sight but the coasting brig. Reluctantly, therevenue people gave the matter up; the Molly Swash having againeluded them, though by means unknown. 

CHAPTER IV. 

 "Leander dived for love, Leucadia's cliff The Lesbian Sappho leap'd from in a miff, To punish Phaon; Icarus went dead, Because the wax did not continue stiff; And, had he minded what his father said, He had not given a name unto his watery bed. "

Sands. 

We must now advance the time several days, and change the scene to adistant part of the ocean; within the tropics indeed. The femaleshad suffered slight attacks of sea-sickness, and recovered fromthem, and the brig was safe from all her pursuers. The manner ofSpike's escape was simple enough, and without any necromancy. Whilethe steamer, on the one hand, was standing away to the northward andeastward, in order to head him off, and the schooner was edging inwith the island, in order to prevent his beating up to windward ofit, within its shadows, the brig had run close round the northernmargin of the land, and hauled up to leeward of the island, passingbetween it and the steamer. All this time, her movements wereconcealed from the schooner by the island itself, and from thesteamer, by its shadow and dark back-ground, aided by the distance. By making short tacks, this expedient answered perfectly well; and, at the very moment when the two revenue vessels met, at midnight, about three leagues to leeward of Blok Island, the brigantine, MollySwash, was just clearing its most weatherly point, on the larboardtack, and coming out exactly at the spot where the steamer was whenfirst seen that afternoon. Spike stood to the westward, until he wascertain of having the island fairly between him and his pursuers, when he went about, and filled away on his course, running out tosea again on an easy bowline. At sunrise the next day he was fiftymiles to the southward and eastward of Montauk; the schooner wasgoing into New London, her officers and people quite chop-fallen;and the steamer was paddling up the Sound, her captain being fullypersuaded that the runaways had returned in the direction from whichthey had come, and might yet be picked up in that quarter. 

The weather was light, just a week after the events related in theclose of the last chapter. By this time the brig had got within theinfluence of the trades; and, it being the intention of Spike topass to the southward of Cuba, he had so far profited by thewesterly winds, as to get well to the eastward of the Mona Passage, the strait through which he intended to shape his course on makingthe islands. Early on that morning Mrs. Budd had taken her seat onthe trunk of the cabin, with a complacent air, and arranged hernetting, some slight passages of gallantry, on the part of thecaptain, having induced her to propose netting him a purse. Biddywas going to and fro, in quest of silks and needles, her mistresshaving become slightly capricious in her tastes of late, and givingher, on all such occasions, at least a double allowance ofoccupation. As for Rose, she sat reading beneath the shade of thecoach-house deck, while the handsome young mate was within threefeet of her, working up his logarithms, but within the sanctuary ofhis own state-room; the open door and window of which, however, gavehim every facility he could desire to relieve his mathematics, bygazing at the sweet countenance of his charming neighbor. Jack Tierand Josh were both passing to and fro, as is the wont of stewards, between the camboose and the cabin, the breakfast table being justthen in the course of preparation. In all other respects, alwaysexcepting the man at the wheel, who stood within a fathom of Rose, Spike had the quarter-deck to himself, and did not fail to pace itsweather-side with an air that denoted the master and owner. Afterexhibiting his sturdy, but short, person in this manner, to theadmiring eyes of all beholders, for some time, the captain suddenlytook a seat at the side of the relict, and dropped into thefollowing discourse. 

"The weather is moderate, Madam Budd; quite moderate, " observedSpike, a sentimental turn coming over him at the moment. "What Icall moderate and agreeable. "

"So much the better for us; the ladies are fond of moderation, sir. "

"Not in admiration, Madam Budd--ha! ha! ha! no, not in admiration. Immoderation is what they like when it comes to that. I'm a singleman, but I know that the ladies like admiration--mind where you'resheering to, " the captain said, interrupting himself a littlefiercely, considering the nature of the subject, in consequence ofJack Tier's having trodden on his toe in passing--"or I'll teach youthe navigation of the quarter-deck, Mr. Burgoo!"

"Moderation--moderation, my good captain, " said the simperingrelict. "As to admiration, I confess that it is agreeable to usladies; more especially when it comes from gentlemen of sense, andintelligence, and experience. "

Rose fidgeted, having heard every word that was said, and her faceflushed; for she doubted not that Harry's ears were as good as herown. As for the man at the wheel, he turned the tobacco over in hismouth, hitched up his trousers, and appeared interested, thoughsomewhat mystified--the conversation was what he would have termed"talking dictionary, " and he had some curiosity to learn how thecaptain would work his way out of it. It is probable that Spikehimself had some similar gleamings of the difficulties of hisposition, for he looked a little troubled, though still resolute. Itwas the first time he had ever lain yard-arm and yard-arm with awidow, and he had long entertained a fancy that such a situation wastrying to the best of men. 

"Yes, Madam Budd, yes, " he said, "exper'ence and sense carry weightwith 'em, wherever they go. I'm glad to find that you entertainthese just notions of us gentlemen, and make a difference betweenboys and them that's seen and known exper'ence. For my part, I countyoungsters under forty as so much lumber about decks, as to anycomfort and calculations in keepin' a family, as a family ought tobe kept. "

Mrs. Budd looked interested, but she remained silent on hearing thisremark, as became her sex. 

"Every man ought to settle in life, some time or other, Madam Budd, accordin' to my notion, though no man ought to be in a boyish hasteabout it, " continued the captain. "Now, in my own case, I've been sobusy all my youth--not that I'm very old now, but I'm no boy--butall my younger days have been passed in trying to make things meet, in a way to put any lady who might take a fancy to me--"

"Oh! captain--that is too strong! The ladies do not take fancies forgentlemen, but the gentlemen take fancies for ladies!"

"Well, well, you know what I mean, Madam Budd; and so long as theparties understand each other, a word dropped, or a word put into acharter-party, makes it neither stronger nor weaker. There's a time, howsomever, in every man's life, when he begins to think of settlingdown, and of considerin' himself as a sort of mooring-chain, forchildren and the likes of them to make fast to. Such is my natur', Iwill own; and ever since I've got to be intimate in your family, Madam Budd, that sentiment has grown stronger and stronger in me, till it has got to be uppermost in all my idees. Bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh, as a body might say. "

Mrs. Budd now looked more than interested, for she looked a littleconfused, and Rose began to tremble for her aunt. It was evidentthat the parties most conspicuous in this scene were not at allconscious that they were overheard, the intensity of their attentionbeing too much concentrated on what was passing to allow of anyobservation without their own narrow circle. What may be thoughtstill more extraordinary, but what in truth was the most natural ofall, each of the parties was so intently bent on his, or her, owntrain of thought, that neither in the least suspected any mistake. 

"Grown with your growth, and strengthened with your strength, "rejoined the relict, smiling kindly enough on the captain to haveencouraged a much more modest man than he happened to be. 

"Yes, Madam Budd--very just that remark; grown with my strength, andstrengthened with my growth, as one might say; though I've not donemuch at growing for a good many years. Your late husband, CaptainBudd, often remarked how very early I got my growth; and rated me asan `able-bodied' hand, when most lads think it an honour to beplaced among the `or'naries. '"

The relict looked grave; and she wondered at any man's being sosingular as to allude to a first husband, at the very moment he wasthinking of offering himself for a second. As for herself, she hadnot uttered as many words in the last four years, as she had utteredin that very conversation, without making some allusion to her "poordear Mr. Budd. " The reader is not to do injustice to the captain'swidow, however, by supposing for a moment that she was actually soweak as to feel any tenderness for a man like Spike, which would bedoing a great wrong to both her taste and her judgment, as Rose wellknew, even while most annoyed by the conversation she could not butoverhear. All that influenced the good relict was that besettingweakness of her sex, which renders admiration so universallyacceptable; and predisposes a female, as it might be, to listen to asuitor with indulgence, and some little show of kindness, even whenresolute to reject him. As for Rose, to own the truth, her aunt didnot give her a thought, as yet, notwithstanding Spike was getting tobe so sentimental. 

"Yes, your late excellent and honourable consort always said that Igot my growth sooner than any youngster he ever fell in with, "resumed the captain, after a short pause; exciting fresh wonder inhis companion, that he would persist in lugging in the "deardeparted" so very unseasonably. "I am a great admirer of all theBudd family, my good lady, and only wish my connection with it hadnever tarminated; if tarminated it can be called. "

"It need not be terminated, Captain Spike, so long as friendshipexists in the human heart. "

"Ay, so it is always with you ladies; when a man is bent on suthin'closer and more interestin' like, you're for putting it off onfriendship. Now friendship is good enough in its way, Madam Budd, but friendship is n't love. "

"Love!" echoed the widow, fairly starting, though she looked down ather netting, and looked as confused as she knew how. "That is a verydecided word, Captain Spike, and should never be mentioned to awoman's ear lightly. "

So the captain now appeared to think, too, for no sooner had hedelivered himself of the important monosyllable, than he left thewidow's side, and began to pace the deck, as it might be to moderatehis own ardour. As for Rose, she blushed, if her more practised auntdid not; while Harry Mulford laughed heartily, taking good care, however, not to be heard. The man at the wheel turned the tobaccoagain, gave his trousers another hitch, and wondered anew whitherthe skipper was bound. But the drollest manifestation of surprisecame from Josh, the steward, who was passing along the lee-side ofthe quarter-deck, with a tea-pot in his hand, when the energeticmanner of the captain sent the words "friendship is n't love" to hisears. This induced him to stop for a single instant, and to cast awondering glance behind him; after which he moved on toward thegalley, mumbling as he went--"Lub! what he want of lub, or what lubwant of him! Well, I do t'ink Captain Spike bowse his jib out pretty'arly dis mornin'. "

Captain Spike soon got over the effects of his effort, and theconfusion of the relict did not last any material length of time. Asthe former had gone so far, however, he thought the present anoccasion as good as another to bring matters to a crisis. 

"Our sentiments sometimes get to be so strong, Madam Budd, " resumedthe lover, as he took his seat again on the trunk, "that they runaway with us. Men is liable to be run away with as well as ladies. Ionce had a ship run away with me, and a pretty time we had of it. Did you ever hear of a ship's running away with her people, MadamBudd, just as your horse ran away with your buggy?"

"I suppose I must have heard of such things, sir, my educationhaving been so maritime, though just at this moment I cannot recallan instance. When my horse ran away, the buggy was cap-asided. Didyour vessel cap-aside on the occasion you mention?"

"No, Madam Budd, no. The ship was off the wind at the time I mean, and vessels do not capsize when off the wind. I'll tell you how ithappened. We was a scuddin' under a goose-wing foresail--"

"Yes, yes, " interrupted the relict, eagerly. "I've often heard ofthat sail, which is small, and used only in tempests. "

"Heavy weather, Madam Budd--only in heavy weather. "

"It is amazing to me, captain, how you seamen manage to weigh theweather. I have often heard of light weather and heavy weather, butnever fairly understood the manner of weighing it. "

"Why we do make out to ascertain the difference, " replied thecaptain, a little puzzled for an answer; "and I suppose it must beby means of the barometer, which goes up and down like a pair ofscales. But the time I mean, we was a scuddin' under a goose-wingforesail--"

"A sail made of goose's wings, and a beautiful object it must be;like some of the caps and cloaks that come from the islands, whichare all of feathers, and charming objects are they. I begpardon--you had your goose's wings spread--"

"Yes, Madam Budd, yes; we was steering for a Mediterranean port, intending to clear a mole-head, when a sea took us under thelarboard-quarter, gave us such a sheer to-port as sent our cat-headag'in a spile, and raked away the chain-plates of the top-mastback-stays, bringing down all the forrard hamper about our ears. "

This description produced such a confusion in the mind of the widow, that she was glad when it came to an end. As for the captain, fearful that the "goose's wings" might be touched upon again, hethought it wisest to attempt another flight on those of Cupid. 

"As I was sayin', Madam Budd, friendship is n't love; no, not a bitof it! Friendship is a common sort of feelin': but love, as you mustknow by exper'ence, Madam Budd, is an uncommon sort of feelin'. "

"Fie, Captain Spike, gentlemen should never allude to ladies knowingany thing about love. Ladies respect, and admire, and esteem, andhave a regard for gentlemen; but it is almost too strong to talkabout their love. "

"Yes, Madam Budd, yes; I dare say it is so, and ought to be so; andI ask pardon for having said as much as I did. But my love for yourniece is of so animated and lastin' a natur', that I scarce knowwhat I did say. "

"Captain Spike, you amaze me! I declare I can hardly breathe forastonishment. My niece! Surely you do not mean Rosy!"

"Who else should I mean? My love for Miss Rose is so very decidedand animated, I tell you, Madam Budd, that I will not answer for theconsequences, should you not consent to her marryin' me. "

"I can scarce believe my ears! You, Stephen Spike, and an old friendof her uncle's, wishing to marry his niece!"

"Just so, Madam Budd; that's it, to a shavin'. The regard I have forthe whole family is so great, that nothin' less than the hand ofMiss Rose in marriage can, what I call, mitigate my feelin's. "

Now the relict had not one spark of tenderness herself in behalf ofSpike; while she did love Rose better than any human being, her ownself excepted. But she had viewed all the sentiment of that morning, and all the fine speeches of the captain, very differently from whatthe present state of things told her she ought to have viewed them;and she felt the mortification natural to her situation. The captainwas so much bent on the attainment of his own object, that he sawnothing else, and was even unconscious that his extraordinary andsomewhat loud discourse had been overheard. Least of all did hesuspect that his admiration had been mistaken; and that in what hecalled "courtin'" the niece, he had been all the while "courtin'"the aunt. But little apt as she was to discover any thing, Mrs. Buddhad enough of her sex's discernment in a matter of this sort, toperceive that she had fallen into an awkward mistake, and enough ofher sex's pride to resent it. Taking her work in her hand, she lefther seat, and descended to the cabin, with quite as much dignity inher manner as it was in the power of one of her height and "build"to express. What is the most extraordinary, neither she nor Spikeever ascertained that their whole dialogue had been overheard. Spikecontinued to pace the quarter-deck for several minutes, scarceknowing what to think of the relict's manner, when his attention wassuddenly drawn to other matters by the familiar cry of "sail-ho!"

This was positively the first vessel with which the Molly Swash hadfallen in since she lost sight of two or three craft that had passedher in the distance, as she left the American coast. As usual, thiscry brought all hands on deck, and Mulford out of his state-room. 

It has been stated already that the brig was just beginning to feelthe trades, and it might have been added, to see the mountains ofSan Domingo. The winds had been variable for the last day or two, and they still continued light, and disposed to be unsteady, rangingfrom north-east to south-east, with a preponderance in favour of thefirst point. At the cry of "sail-ho!" everybody looked in theindicated direction, which was west, a little northerly, but for along time without success. The cry had come from aloft, and Mulfordwent up as high as the fore-top before he got any glimpse of thestranger at all. He had slung a glass, and Spike was unusuallyanxious to know the result of his examination. 

"Well, Mr. Mulford, what do you make of her?" he called out as soonas the mate announced that he saw the strange vessel. 

"Wait a moment, sir, till I get a look, --she's a long way off, andhardly visible. "

"Well, sir, well?"

"I can only see the heads of her top-gallant sails. She seems a shipsteering to the southward, with as many kites flying as an Indiamanin the trades. She looks as if she were carrying royal stun'-sails, sir. "

"The devil she does! Such a chap must not only be in a hurry, but hemust be strong-handed to give himself all this trouble in such lightand var'able winds. Are his yards square?--Is he man-of-war-ish?"

"There's no telling, sir, at this distance; though I rather thinkits stun'-sails that I see. Go down and get your breakfast, and inhalf an hour I'll give a better account of him. "

This was done, Mrs. Budd appearing at the table with great dignityin her manner. Although she had so naturally supposed that Spike'sattentions had been intended for herself, she was rather mortifiedthan hurt on discovering her mistake. Her appetite, consequently, was not impaired, though her stomach might have been said to be veryfull. The meal passed off without any scene, notwithstanding, andSpike soon re-appeared on deck, still masticating the last mouthfullike a man in a hurry, and a good deal … l' Am‚ricaine. Mulford sawhis arrival, and immediately levelled his glass again. 

"Well, what news now, sir?" called out the captain. "You must have abetter chance at him by this time, for I can see the chap from offthe coach-house here. "

"Ay, ay, sir; he's a bit nearer, certainly. I should say that craftis a ship under stun'-sails, looking to the eastward of south, andthat there are caps with gold bands on her quarter-deck. "

"How low down can you see her?" demanded Spike, in a voice ofthunder. 

So emphatic and remarkable was the captain's manner in putting thisquestion, that the mate cast a look of surprise beneath him ere heanswered it. A look with the glass succeeded, when the reply wasgiven. 

"Ay, ay, sir; there can be no mistake--it's a cruiser, you maydepend on it. I can see the heads of her topsails now, and they areso square and symmetrical, that gold bands are below beyond alldoubt. "

"Perhaps he's a Frenchman--Johnny Crapaud keeps cruisers in theseseas as well as the rest on'em. "

"Johnny Crapaud's craft don't spread such arms, sir. The ship iseither English or American; and he's heading for the Mona Passage aswell as ourselves. "

"Come down, sir, come down--there's work to be done as soon as youhave breakfasted. "

Mulford did come down, and he was soon seated at the table, withboth Josh and Jack Tier for attendants. The aunt and the niece werein their own cabin, a few yards distant, with the door open. 

"What a fuss'e cap'in make 'bout dat sail, " grumbled Josh, who hadbeen in the brig so long that he sometimes took liberties with evenSpike himself. "What good he t'ink t'will do to measure him inch byinch? Bye'm by he get alongside, and den 'e ladies even can tell allabout him. "

"He nat'rally wishes to know who gets alongside, " put in Tier, somewhat apologetically. 

"What matter dat. All sort of folk get alongside of Molly Swash; andwhat good it do 'em? Yoh! yoh! yoh! I do remem'er sich times vid'eole hussy!"

"What old hussy do you mean?" demanded Jack Tier a little fiercely, and in a way to draw Mulford's eyes from the profile of Rose's faceto the visages of his two attendants. 

"Come, come, gentlemen, if you please; recollect where you are, "interrupted the mate authoritatively. "You are not now squabbling inyour galley, but are in the cabin. What is it to you, Tier, if Joshdoes call the brig an old hussy; she is old, as we all know, andyears are respectable; and as for her being a `hussy, ' that is aterm of endearment sometimes. I've heard the captain himself callthe Molly a `hussy, ' fifty times, and he loves her as he does theapple of his eye. "

This interference put an end to the gathering storm as a matter ofcourse, and the two disputants shortly after passed on deck. Nosooner was the coast clear than Rose stood in the door of her owncabin. 

"Do you think the strange vessel is an American?" she asked eagerly. 

"It is impossible to say--English or American I make no doubt. Butwhy do you inquire?"

"But my aunt and myself desire to quit the brig, and if the strangershould prove to be an American vessel of war, might not the occasionbe favourable?"

"And what reason can you give for desiring to do so?"

"What signifies a reason, " answered Rose with spirit. "Spike is notour master, and we can come and go as we may see fit. "

"But a reason must be given to satisfy the commander of the vesselof war. Craft of that character are very particular about thepassengers they receive; nor would it be altogether wise in twounprotected females to go on board a cruiser, unless in a case ofthe most obvious necessity. "

"Will not what has passed this morning be thought a sufficientreason, " added Rose, drawing nearer to the mate, and dropping hervoice so as not to be heard by her aunt. 

Mulford smiled as he gazed at the earnest but attractive countenanceof his charming companion. 

"And who could tell it, or how could it be told? Would the commanderof a vessel of war incur the risk of receiving such a person asyourself on board his vessel, for the reason that the master of thecraft she was in when he fell in with her desired to marry her?"

Rose appeared vexed, but she was at once made sensible that it wasnot quite as easy to change her vessel at sea, as to step into astrange door in a town. She drew slowly back into her own cabinsilent and thoughtful; her aunt pursuing her netting the whole timewith an air of dignified industry. 

"Well, Mr. Mulford, well, " called out Spike at the head of the cabinstairs, "what news from the coffee?"

"All ready, sir, " answered the mate, exchanging significant glanceswith Rose. "I shall be up in a moment. "

That moment soon came, and Mulford was ready for duty. While below, Spike had caused certain purchases to be got aloft, and themain-hatch was open and the men collected around it, in readiness toproceed with the work. Harry asked no questions, for thepreparations told him what was about to be done, but passing below, he took charge of the duty there, while the captain superintendedthe part that was conducted on deck. In the course of the next houreight twelve-pound carronades were sent up out of the hold, andmounted in as many of the ports which lined the bulwarks of thebrigantine. The men seemed to be accustomed to the sort of work inwhich they were now engaged, and soon had their light batteries inorder, and ready for service. In the mean time the two vessels kepton their respective courses, and by the time the guns were mounted, there was a sensible difference in their relative positions. Thestranger had drawn so near the brigantine as to be very obvious fromthe latter's deck, while the brigantine had drawn so much nearer tothe islands of San Domingo and Porto Rico, as to render the openingbetween them, the well-known Mona Passage, distinctly visible. 

Of all this Spike appeared to be fully aware, for he quitted thework several times before it was finished, in order to take a lookat the stranger, and at the land. When the batteries were arranged, he and Mulford, each provided with a glass, gave a few minutes to amore deliberate examination of the first. 

"That's the Mona ahead of us, " said the captain; "of that there canbe no question, and a very pretty land-fall you've made of it, Harry. I'll allow you to be as good a navigator as floats. "

"Nevertheless, sir, you have not seen fit to let me know whither thebrig is really bound this voyage. "

"No matter for that, young man--no matter, as yet. All in good time. When I tell you to lay your course for the Mona, you can lay yourcourse for the Mona; and, as soon as we are through the passage, I'll let you know what is wanted next--if that bloody chap, who isnearing us, will let me. "

"And why should any vessel wish to molest us on our passage, CaptainSpike?"

"Why, sure enough! It's war-times, you know, and war-times alwaysbring trouble to the trader--though it sometimes brings profit, too. "

As Spike concluded, he gave his mate a knowing wink, which the otherunderstood to mean that he expected himself some of the unusualprofit to which he alluded. Mulford did not relish this secretcommunication, for the past had induced him to suspect the characterof the trade in which his commander was accustomed to engage. Without making any sort of reply, or encouraging the confidence byeven a smile, he levelled his glass at the stranger, as did Spike, the instant he ceased to grin. 

"That's one of Uncle Sam's fellows!" exclaimed the captain, droppingthe glass. "I'd swear to the chap in any admiralty court on 'arth. "

"'T is a vessel of war, out of all doubt, " returned the mate, "andunder a cloud of canvas. I can make out the heads of her coursesnow, and see that she is carrying hard, for a craft that is almostclose-hauled. "

"Ay, ay; no merchantmen keeps his light stun'-sails set, as near thewind as that fellow's going. He's a big chap, too--a frigate, atleast, by his canvas. "

"I do not know, sir--they build such heavy corvettes now-a-days, that I should rather take her for one of them. They tell me shipsare now sent to sea which mount only two-and-twenty guns, but whichmeasure quite a thousand tons. "

"With thunderin' batteries, of course. "

"With short thirty-twos and a few rapping sixty-eight Paixhans--orColumbiads, as they ought in justice to be called. "

"And you think this chap likely to be a craft of that sort?"

"Nothing is more probable, sir. Government has several, and, sincethis war has commenced, it has been sending off cruiser aftercruiser into the Gulf. The Mexicans dare not send a vessel of war tosea, which would be sending them to Norfolk, or New York, at once;but no one can say when they may begin to make a prey of ourcommerce. "

"They have taken nothing as yet, Mr. Mulford, and, to tell you thetruth, I'd much rather fall in with one of Don Montezuma's craftthan one of Uncle Sam's. "

"That is a singular taste, for an American, Captain Spike, unlessyou think, now our guns are mounted, we can handle a Mexican, "returned Mulford coldly. "At all events, it is some answer to thosewho ask `What is the navy about?' that months of war have gone by, and not an American has been captured. Take away that navy, and theinsurance offices in Wall-street would tumble like a New Yorkparty-wall in a fire. "

"Nevertheless, I'd rather take my chance, just now, with DonMontezuma than with Uncle Sam. "

Mulford did not reply, though the earnest manner in which Spikeexpressed himself, helped to increase his distrust touching thenature of the voyage. With him the captain had no furtherconference, but it was different as respects the boatswain. Thatworthy was called aft, and for half an hour he and Spike wereconversing apart, keeping their eyes fastened on the strange vesselmost of the time. 

It was noon before all uncertainly touching the character of thestranger ceased. By that time, however, both vessels were enteringthe Mona Passage; the brig well to windward, on the Porto Rico side;while the ship was so far to leeward as to be compelled to keepeverything close-hauled, in order to weather the island. The hull ofthe last could now be seen, and no doubt was entertained about herbeing a cruiser, and one of some size, too. Spike thought she was afrigate; but Mulford still inclined to the opinion that she was oneof the new ships; perhaps a real corvette, or with a light spar-deckover her batteries. Two or three of the new vessels were known to bethus fitted, and this might be one. At length all doubt on thesubject ceased, the stranger setting an American ensign, and gettingso near as to make it apparent that she had but a single line ofguns. Still she was a large ship, and the manner that she ploughedthrough the brine, close-hauled as she was, extorted admiration evenfrom Spike. 

"We had better begin to shorten sail, Mr. Mulford, " the captain atlength most reluctantly remarked. "We might give the chap the slip, perhaps, by keeping close in under Porto Rico, but he would give usa long chase, and might drive us away to windward, when I wish tokeep off between Cuba and Jamaica. He's a traveller; look, how hestands up to it under that could of canvas!"

Mulford was slow to commence on the studding-sails, and the cruiserwas getting nearer and nearer. At length a gun was fired, and aheavy shot fell about two hundred yards short of the brig, and alittle out of line with her. On this hint, Spike turned the handsup, and began to shorten sail. In ten minutes the Swash was underher topsail, mainsail and jib, with her light sails hanging in thegear, and all the steering canvas in. In ten minutes more thecruiser was so near as to admit of the faces of the three or fourmen whose heads were above the hammock-cloths being visible, whenshe too began to fold her wings. In went her royals, topgallant-sails, and various kites, as it might be by some commonmuscular agency; and up went her courses. Everything was done atonce. By this time she was crossing the brig's wake, lookingexceedingly beautiful, with her topsails lifting, her light sailsblowing out, and even her heavy courses fluttering in the breeze. There flew the glorious stars and stripes also; of brief existence, but full of recollections! The moment she had room, her helm wentup, her bows fell off, and down she came, on the weather quarter ofthe Swash, so near as to render a trumpet nearly useless. 

On board the brig everybody was on deck; even the relict havingforgotten her mortification in curiosity. On board the cruiser noone was visible, with the exception of a few men in each top, and agroup of gold-banded caps on the poop. Among these officers stoodthe captain, a red-faced, middle-aged man, with the usual signs ofhis rank about him; and at his side was his lynx-eyed firstlieutenant. The surgeon and purser were also there, though theystood a little apart from the more nautical dignitaries. The hailthat followed came out of a trumpet that was thrust through themizzen-rigging; the officer who used it taking his cue from thepoop. 

"What brig is that?" commenced the discourse. 

"The Molly Swash, of New York, Stephen Spike, master. "

"Where from, and whither bound?"

"From New York, and bound to Key West and a market. "

A pause succeeded this answer, during which the officers on the poopof the cruiser held some discourse with him of the trumpet. Duringthe interval the cruiser ranged fairly up abeam. 

"You are well to windward of your port, sir, " observed he of thetrumpet significantly. 

"I know it; but it's war times, and I didn't know but there might bepiccaroons hovering about the Havanna. "

"The coast is clear, and our cruisers will keep it so. I see youhave a battery, sir!"

"Ay, ay; some old guns that I've had aboard these ten years: they'reuseful, sometimes, in these seas. "

"Very true. I'll range ahead of you, and as soon as you've room, I'll thank you to heave-to. I wish to send a boat on board you. "

Spike was sullen enough on receiving this order, but there was nohelp for it. He was now in the jaws of the lion, and his wisestcourse was to submit to the penalties of his position with the bestgrace he could. The necessary orders were consequently given, andthe brig no sooner got room than she came by the wind and backed hertopsail. The cruiser went about, and passing to windward, backed hermain-topsail just forward of the Swash's beam. Then the latterlowered a boat, and sent it, with a lieutenant and a midshipman inits stern-sheets, on board the brigantine. As the cutter approached, Spike went to the gangway to receive the strangers. 

Although there will be frequent occasion to mention this cruiser, the circumstances are of so recent occurrence, that we do not chooseto give either her name, or that of any one belonging to her. Weshall, consequently, tell the curious, who may be disposed to turnto their navy-lists and blue-books, that the search will be of nouse, as all the names we shall use, in reference to this cruiser, will be fictitious. As much of the rest of our story as the readerplease may be taken for gospel; but we tell him frankly, that wehave thought it most expedient to adopt assumed names, in connectionwith this vessel and all her officers. There are good reasons for sodoing; and, among others, is that of abstaining from arming a cliqueto calumniate her commander, (who, by the way, like anothercommander in the Gulf that might be named, and who has actually beenexposed to the sort of tracasserie to which there is allusion, isone of the very ablest men in the service, ) in order to put anotherin his place. 

The officer who now came over the side of the Swash we shall callWallace; he was the second lieutenant of the vessel of war. He wasabout thirty, and the midshipman who followed him was a well-grownlad of nineteen. Both had a decided man-of-war look, and both lookeda little curiously at the vessel they had boarded. 

"Your servant, sir, " said Wallace, touching his cap in reply toSpike's somewhat awkward bow. "Your brig is the Molly Swash, StephenSpike, bound from New York to Key West and a market. "

"You've got it all as straight, lieutenant, as if you was a readin'it from the log. "

"The next thing, sir, is to know of what your cargo is composed?"

"Flour; eight hundred barrels of flour. "

"Flour! Would you not do better to carry that to Liverpool? TheMississippi must be almost turned into paste by the quantity offlour it floats to market. "

"Notwithstanding that, lieutenant, I know Uncle Sam's economy sowell, as to believe I shall part with every barrel of my flour tohis contractors, at a handsome profit. "

"You read Whig newspapers principally, I rather think, Mr. Spike, "answered Wallace, in his cool, deliberate way, smiling, however, ashe spoke. 

We may just as well say here, that nature intended this gentlemanfor a second lieutenant, the very place he filled. He was a capitalsecond lieutenant, while he would not have earned his rations asfirst. So well was he assured of this peculiarity in his moralcomposition, that he did not wish to be the first lieutenant ofanything in which he sailed. A respectable seaman, a well-read andintelligent man, a capital deck officer, or watch officer, he wastoo indolent to desire to be anything more, and was as happy as theday was long, in the easy berth he filled. The first lieutenant hadbeen his messmate as a midshipman, and ranked him but two on thelist in his present commission; but he did not envy him in theleast. On the contrary, one of his greatest pleasures was to get. "Working Willy, " as he called his senior, over a glass of wine, or atumbler of "hot stuff, " and make him recount the labours of the day. On such occasions, Wallace never failed to compare the situation of"Working Willy" with his own gentlemanlike ease and independence. Assecond lieutenant, his rank raised him above most of the unpleasantduty of the ship, while it did not raise him high enough to plungehim into the never-ending labours of his senior. He delighted tocall himself the "ship's gentleman, " a sobriquet he well deserved, on more accounts than one. 

"You read Whig newspapers principally, I rather think, Mr. Spike, "answered the lieutenant, as has been just mentioned, "while we onboard the Poughkeepsie indulge in looking over the columns of theUnion, as well as over those of the Intelligencer, when by good luckwe can lay our hands on a stray number. "

"That ship, then, is called the Poughkeepsie, is she, sir?" inquiredSpike. 

"Such is her name, thanks to a most beneficent and sage provision ofCongress, which has extended its parental care over the navy so faras to imagine that a man chosen by the people to exercise so many ofthe functions of a sovereign, is not fit to name a ship. All our twoand three deckers are to be called after states; the frigates afterrivers; and the sloops after towns. Thus it is that our craft hasthe honour to be called the United States ship the `Poughkeepsie, 'instead of the `Arrow, ' or the `Wasp, ' or the `Curlew, ' or the`Petrel, ' as might otherwise have been the case. But the wisdom ofCongress is manifest, for the plan teaches us sailors geography. "

"Yes, sir, yes, one can pick up a bit of l'arnin' in that way cheap. The Poughkeepsie, Captain--?"

"The United States' ship Poughkeepsie, 20, Captain Adam Mull, atyour service. But, Mr. Spike, you will allow me to look at yourpapers. It is a duty I like, for it can be performed quietly, andwithout any fuss. "

Spike looked distrustfully at his new acquaintance, but went for hisvessel's papers without any very apparent hesitation. Every thingwas en regle, and Wallace soon got through with the clearance, manifest, &c. Indeed the cargo, on paper at least, was of thesimplest and least complicated character, being composed of nothingbut eight hundred barrels of flour. 

"It all looks very well on paper, Mr. Spike, " added the boardingofficer. "With your permission, we will next see how it looks insober reality. I perceive your main hatch is open, and I suppose itwill be no difficult matter just to take a glance at your hold. "

"Here is a ladder, sir, that will take us at once to the half-deck, for I have no proper 'twixt decks in this craft; she's too small forthat sort of outfit. "

"No matter, she has a hold, I suppose, and that can contain cargo. Take me to it by the shortest road, Mr. Spike, for I am no greatadmirer of trouble. "

Spike now led the way below, Wallace following, leaving themidshipman on deck, who had fallen into conversation with the relictand her pretty niece. The half-deck of the brigantine containedspare sails, provisions, and water, as usual, while quantities ofold canvas lay scattered over the cargo; more especially in the wakeof the hatches, of which there were two besides that which led fromthe quarter-deck. 

"Flour to the number of eight hundred barrels, " said Wallace, striking his foot against a barrel that lay within his reach. "Thecargo is somewhat singular to come from New York, going to Key West, my dear Spike?"

"I suppose you know what sort of a place Key West is, sir; a bit ofan island in which there is scarce so much as a potatoe grows. "

"Ay, ay, sir; I know Key West very well, having been in and out adozen times. All eatables are imported, turtle excepted. But flourcan be brought down the Mississippi so much cheaper than it can bebrought from New York. "

"Have you any idee, lieutenant, what Uncle Sam's men are paying forit at New Orleens, just to keep soul and bodies together among theso'gers?"

"That may be true, sir--quite true, I dare say, Mr. Spike. Have n'tyou a bit of a chair that a fellow can sit down on--this half-deckof your's is none of the most comfortable places to stand in. Thankyou, sir--thank you with all my heart. What lots of old sails youhave scattered about the hold, especially in the wake of thehatches!"

"Why, the craft being little more than in good ballast trim, I keepthe hatches off to air her; and the spray might spit down upon theflour at odd times but for them 'ere sails. "

"Ay, a prudent caution. So you think Uncle Sam's people will beafter this flour as soon as they learn you have got it snug in atKey West?"

"What more likely, sir? You know how it is with ourgovernment--always wrong, whatever it does! and I can show youparagraphs in letters written from New Orleens, which tell us thatUncle Sam is paying seventy-five and eighty per cent. More for flourthan anybody else. "

"He must be a flush old chap to be able to do that, Spike. "

"Flush! I rather think he is. Do you know that he is spendin', accordin' to approved accounts, at this blessed moment, as much ashalf a million a day? I own a wish to be pickin' up some of thecoppers while they are scattered about so plentifully. "

"Half a million a day! why that is only at the rate of $187, 000, 000per annum; a mere trifle, Spike, that is scarce worth mentioningamong us mariners. "

"It's so in the newspapers, I can swear, lieutenant. "

"Ay, ay, and the newspapers will swear to it, too, and they thatgave the newspapers their cue. But no matter, our business is withthis flour. Will you sell us a barrel or two for our mess? I heardthe caterer say we should want flour in the course of a week or so. "

Spike seemed embarrassed, though not to a degree to awaken suspicionin his companion. 

"I never sold cargo at sea, long as I've sailed and owned a craft, "he answered, as if uncertain what to do. "If you'll pay the price Iexpect to get in the Gulf, and will take ten barrels, I do n't knowbut we may make a trade on't. I shall only ask expected prices. "

"Which will be--?"

"Ten dollars a barrel. For one hundred silver dollars I will putinto your boat ten barrels of the very best brand known in thewestern country. "

"This is dealing rather more extensively than I anticipated, but wewill reflect on it. "

Wallance now indolently arose and ascended to the quarter-deck, followed by Spike, who continued to press the flour on him, as ifanxious to make money. But the lieutenant hesitated about paying aprice as high as ten dollars, or to take a quantity as large as tenbarrels. 

"Our mess is no great matter after all, " he said carelessly. "Fourlieutenants, the purser, two doctors, the master, and a marineofficer, and you get us all. Nine men could never eat ten barrels offlour, my dear Spike, you will see for yourself, with the quantityof excellent bread we carry. You forget the bread. "

"Not a bit of it, Mr. Wallace, since that is your name. But suchflour as this of mine has not been seen in the Gulf this many a day. I ought in reason to ask twelve dollars for it, and insist on such aship as your'n's taking twenty instead of the ten barrels. "

"I thank you, sir, the ten will more than suffice; unless, indeed, the captain wants some for the cabin. How is it with your steeragemesses, Mr. Archer--do you want any flour?"

"We draw a little from the ship, according to rule, sir, but wecan't go as many puddings latterly as we could before we touchedlast at the Havanna, " answered the laughing midshipman. "There isn't a fellow among us, sir, that could pay a shore-boat for landinghim, should we go in again before the end of another month. I neverknew such a place as Havanna. They say midshipmen's money meltsthere twice as soon as lieutenants' money. "

"It's clear, then, you'll not take any of the ten. I am afraid afterall, Mr. Spike, we cannot trade, unless you will consent to let mehave two barrels. I'll venture on two at ten dollars, high as theprice is. "

"I should n't forgive myself in six months for making so had abargain, lieutenant, so we'll say no more about it if you please. "

"Here is a lady that wishes to say a word to you, Mr. Wallace, before we go back to the ship, if you are at leisure to hear her, orthem--for there are two of them, " put in Archer. 

At this moment Mrs. Budd was approaching with a dignified step, while Rose followed timidly a little in the rear. Wallace was a gooddeal surprised at this application, and Spike was quite as muchprovoked. As for Mulford, he watched the interview from a distance, a great deal more interested in its result than he cared to haveknown, more especially to his commanding officer. Its object was toget a passage in the vessel of war. 

"You are an officer of that Uncle Sam vessel, " commenced Mrs. Budd, who thought that she would so much the more command the respect andattention of her listener, by showing him early how familiar she waswith even the slang dialect of the seas. 

"I have the honour, ma'am, to belong to that Uncle Sam craft, "answered Wallace gravely, though he bowed politely at the same time, looking intently at the beautiful girl in the back-ground as he sodid. 

"So I've been told, sir. She's a beautiful vessel, lieutenant, andis full jiggered, I perceive. "

For the first time in his life, or at least for the first time sincehis first cruise, Wallace wore a mystified look, being absolutely ata loss to imagine what "full jiggered" could mean. He only looked, therefore, for he did not answer. 

"Mrs. Budd means that you've a full rigged craft, " put in Spike, anxious to have a voice in the conference, "this vessel being only ahalf-rigged brig. "

"Oh! ay; yes, yes--the lady is quite right. We are full jiggeredfrom our dead-eyes to our eye-bolts. "

"I thought as much, sir, from your ground hamper and top-tackles, "added the relict smiling. "For my part there is nothing in naturethat I so much admire as a full jiggered ship, with her canvas outof the bolt-ropes, and her clew-lines and clew-garnets braced sharp, and her yards all abroad. "

"Yes, ma'am, it is just as you say, a very charming spectacle. Ourbaby was born full grown, and with all her hamper aloft just as yousee her. Some persons refer vessels to art, but I think you arequite right in referring them to nature. "

"Nothing can be more natural to me, lieutenant, than a fine shipstanding on her canvas. It's an object to improve the heart and tosoften the understanding. "

"So I should think, ma'am, " returned Wallace, a little quizzically, "judging from the effect on yourself. "

This speech, unfortunately timed as it was, wrought a completechange in Rose's feelings, and she no longer wished to exchange theSwash for the Poughkeepsie. She saw that her aunt was laughed at insecret, and that was a circumstance that never failed to grate onevery nerve in her system. She had been prepared to second andsustain the intended application--she was now determined to opposeit. 

"Yes, sir, " resumed the unconscious relict, "and to soften theunderstanding. Lieutenant, did you ever cross the Capricorn?"

"No less than six times; three going and three returning, you know. "

"And did Neptune come on board you, and were you shaved?"

"Everything was done secundem artem, ma'am. The razor was quite anexample of what are called in poetry `thoughts too deep for tears. '"

"That must have been delightful. As for me, I'm quite a devotee ofNeptune's; but I'm losing time, for no doubt your ship is all readyto pull away and carry on sail--"

"Aunt, may I say a word to you before you go any further, " put inRose in her quiet but very controlling way. 

The aunt complied, and Wallace, as soon as left alone, felt like aman who was released from a quick-sand, into which every effort toextricate himself only plunged him so much the deeper. At thismoment the ship hailed, and the lieutenant took a hasty leave ofSpike, motioned to the midshipman to precede him, and followed thelatter into his boat. Spike saw his visiter off in person, tendingthe side and offering the man-ropes with his own hands. For thiscivility Wallace thanked him, calling out as his boat pulled himfrom the brig's side--"If we `pull away, '" accenting the "pull" insecret derision of the relict's mistake, "you can pull away; ourfilling the topsail being a sign for you to do the same. "

"There you go, and joy go with you, " muttered Spike, as he descendedfrom the gangway. "A pretty kettle of fish would there have beencooked had I let him have his two barrels of flour. "

The man-of-war's cutter was soon under the lee of the ship, where itdischarged its freight, when it was immediately run up. During thewhole time Wallace had been absent, Captain Mull and his officersremained on the poop, principally occupied in examining anddiscussing the merits of the Swash. No sooner had their officerreturned, however, than an order was given to fill away, it beingsupposed that the Poughkeepsie had no further concern with thebrigantine. As for Wallace, he ascended to the poop and made thecustomary report. 

"It's a queer cargo to be carrying to Key West from the Atlanticcoast, " observed the captain in a deliberating sort of manner, as ifthe circumstance excited suspicion; "Yet the Mexicans can hardly bein want of any such supplies. "

"Did you see the flour, Wallace?" inquired the first lieutenant, whowas well aware of his messmate's indolence. 

"Yes, sir, and felt it too. The lower hold of the brig is full offlour, and of nothing else. "

"Ware round, sir--ware round and pass athwart the brig's wake, "interrupted the captain. "There's plenty of room now, and I wish topass as near that craft as we can. "

This manoeuvre was executed. The sloop-of-war no sooner filled hermaintop-sail than she drew ahead, leaving plenty of room for thebrigantine to make sail on her course. Spike did not profit by thisopening, however, but he sent several men aloft forward, where theyappeared to be getting ready to send down the upper yards and thetopgallant-mast. No sooner was the sloop-of-war's helm put up thanthat vessel passed close along the brigantine's weather side, andkept off across her stern on her course. As she did this the canvaswas fluttering aboard her, in the process of making sail, and Mullheld a short discourse with Spike. 

"Is anything the matter aloft?" demanded the man-of-war's man. 

"Ay, ay; I've sprung my topgallant-mast, and think this a goodoccasion to get another up in its place. "

"Shall I lend you a carpenter or two, Mr. Spike?"

"Thank'ee, sir, thank'ee with all my heart; but we can do withoutthem. It's an old stick, and it's high time a better stood where itdoes. Who knows but I may be chased and feel the want of reliablespars. "

Captain Mull smiled and raised his cap in the way of an adieu, whenthe conversation ended; the Poughkeepsie sliding off rapidly with afree wind, leaving the Swash nearly stationary. In ten minutes thetwo vessels were more than a mile apart; in twenty, beyond the reachof shot. 

Notwithstanding the natural and common-place manner in which thisseparation took place, there was much distrust on board each vessel, and a good deal of consummate management on the part of Spike. Thelatter knew that every foot the sloop-of-war went on her course, carried her just so far to leeward, placing his own brig, in-so-much, dead to windward of her. As the Swash's best point ofsailing, relatively considered, was close-hauled, this was giving toSpike a great security against any change of purpose on the part ofthe vessel of war. Although his people were aloft and actually sentdown the topgallant-mast, it was only to send it up again, the sparbeing of admirable toughness, and as sound as the day it was cut. 

"I don't think, Mr. Mulford, " said the captain sarcastically, "thatUncle Sam's glasses are good enough to tell the difference in woodat two leagues' distance, so we'll trust to the old stick a littlelonger. Ay, ay, let 'em run off before it, we'll find another roadby which to reach our port. "

"The sloop-of-war is going round the south side of Cuba, CaptainSpike, " answered the mate, "and I have understood you to say thatyou intended to go by the same passage. "

"A body may change his mind, and no murder. Only consider, Harry, how common it is for folks to change their minds. I did intend topass between Cuba and Jamaica, but I intend it no longer. Our runfrom Montauk has been oncommon short, and I've time enough to spareto go to the southward of Jamaica too, if the notion takes me. "

"That would greatly prolong the passage, Captain Spike, --a week atleast. "

"What if it does--I've a week to spare; we're nine days afore ourtime. "

"Our time for what, sir? Is there any particular time set for avessel's going into Key West?"

"Don't be womanish and over-cur'ous, Mulford. I sail with sealedorders, and when we get well to windward of Jamaica, 't will be timeenough to open them. "

Spike was as good as his word. As soon as he thought thesloop-of-war was far enough to leeward, or when she was hull down, he filled away and made sail on the wind to get nearer to PortoRico. Long ere it was dark he had lost sight of the sloop-of-war, when he altered his course to south-westerly, which was carrying himin the direction he named, or to windward of Jamaica. 

While this artifice was being practised on board the Molly Swash, the officers of the Poughkeepsie were not quite satisfied with theirown mode of proceeding with the brigantine. The more they reasonedon the matter, the more unlikely it seemed to them that Spike couldbe really carrying a cargo of flour from New York to Key West, inthe expectation of disposing of it to the United States'contractors, and the more out of the way did he seem to be inrunning through the Mona Passage. 

"His true course should have been by the Hole in the Wall, and sodown along the north side of Cuba, before the wind, " observed thefirst lieutenant. "I wonder that never struck you, Wallace; you, whoso little like trouble. "

"Certainly I knew it, but we lazy people like running off before thewind, and I did not know but such were Mr. Spike's tastes, " answeredthe "ship's gentleman. " "In my judgment, the reluctance he showed toletting us have any of his flour, is much the most suspiciouscircumstance in the whole affair. "

These two speeches were made on the poop, in the presence of thecaptain, but in a sort of an aside that admitted of some of theward-room familiarity exhibited. Captain Mull was not supposed tohear what passed, though hear it he in fact did, as was seen by hisown remarks, which immediately succeeded. 

"I understood you to say, Mr. Wallace, " observed the captain, alittle drily, "that you saw the flour yourself?"

"I saw the flour-barrels, sir; and as regularly built were they asany barrels that ever were branded. But a flour-barrel may havecontained something beside flour. "

"Flour usually makes itself visible in the handling; were thesebarrels quite clean?"

"Far from it, sir. They showed flour on their staves, like any othercargo. After all, the man may have more sense than we give himcredit for, and find a high market for his cargo. "

Captain Mull seemed to muse, which was a hint for his juniors not tocontinue the conversation, but rather to seem to muse, too. After ashort pause, the captain quietly remarked--"Well, gentlemen, he willbe coming down after us, I suppose, as soon as he gets his newtopgallant-mast on-end, and then we can keep a bright look-out forhim. We shall cruise off Cape St. Antonio for a day or two, and nodoubt shall get another look at him. I should like to have onebaking from his flour. "

But Spike had no intention to give the Poughkeepsie the desiredopportunity. As has been stated, he stood off to the southward on awind, and completely doubled the eastern end of Jamaica, when he puthis helm up, and went, with favouring wind and current, toward thenorthward and westward. The consequence was, that he did not fall inwith the Poughkeepsie at all, which vessel was keeping a sharplook-out for him in the neighbourhood of Cape St. Antonio and theIsle of Pines, at the very moment he was running down the coast ofYucatan. Of all the large maritime countries of the world, Mexico, on the Atlantic, is that which is the most easily blockaded, by asuperior naval power. By maintaining a proper force between Key Westand the Havanna, and another squadron between Cape St. Antonio andLoggerhead Key, the whole country, the Bay of Honduras excepted, isshut up, as it might be in a band-box. It is true the Gulf would beleft open to the Mexicans, were not squadrons kept nearer in; but, as for anything getting out into the broad Atlantic, it would benext to hopeless. The distance to be watched between the Havanna andKey West is only about sixty miles, while that in the otherdirection is not much greater. 

While the Swash was making the circuit of Jamaica, as described, hercaptain had little communication with his passengers. Themisunderstanding with the relict embarrassed him as much as itembarrassed her; and he was quite willing to let time mitigate herresentment. Rose would be just as much in his power a fortnighthence as she was today. This cessation in the captain's attentionsgave the females greater liberty, and they improved it, singularlyenough as it seemed to Mulford, by cultivating a strange sort ofintimacy with Jack Tier. The very day that succeeded the delicateconversation with Mrs. Budd, to a part of which Jack had been anauditor, the uncouth-looking steward's assistant was seen in closeconference with the pretty Rose; the subject of their conversationbeing, apparently, of a most engrossing nature. From that hour, Jackgot to be not only a confidant, but a favourite, to Mulford's greatsurprise. A less inviting subject for tˆte-…-tˆtes and confidentialdialogues, thought the young man, could not well exist; but so itwas; woman's caprices are inexplicable; and not only Rose and heraunt, but even the captious and somewhat distrustful Biddy, manifested on all occasions not only friendship, but kindness andconsideration for Jack. 

"You quite put my nose out o' joint, you Jack Tier, with 'e lady, "grumbled Josh, the steward de jure, if not now de facto, of thecraft, "and I neber see nuttin' like it! I s'pose you expect tendollar, at least, from dem passenger, when we gets in. But I'd haveyou to know, Misser Jack, if you please, dat a steward be a steward, and he do n't like to hab trick played wid him, afore he own face. "

"Poh! poh! Joshua, " answered Jack good-naturedly, "do n't distressyourself on a consail. In the first place, you've got no nose to beput out of joint; or, if you have really a nose, it has no joint. It's nat'ral for folks to like their own colour, and the ladiesprefar me, because I'm white. "

"No so werry white as all dat, nudder, " grumbled Josh. "I see greatmany whiter dan you. But, if dem lady like you so much as to gib youten dollar, as I expects, when we gets in, I presumes you'll handover half, or six dollar, of dat money to your superior officer, asis law in de case. "

"Do you call six the half of ten, Joshua, my scholar, eh?"

"Well, den, seven, if you like dat better. I wants just half, andjust half I means to git. "

"And half you shall have, maty. I only wish you would just tell mewhere we shall be, when we gets in. "

"How I know, white man? Dat belong to skipper, and better ask him. If he do n't gib you lick in de chop, p'rhaps he tell you. "

As Jack Tier had no taste for "licks in the chops, " he did notfollow Josh's advice. But his agreeing to give half of the tendollars to the steward kept peace in the cabins. He was even soscrupulous of his word, as to hand to Josh a half-eagle that veryday; money he had received from Rose; saying he would trust toProvidence for his own half of the expected douceur. This concessionplaced Jack Tier on high grounds with his "superior officer, " andfrom that time the former was left to do the whole of the customaryservice of the ladies' cabin. 

As respects the vessel, nothing worthy of notice occurred until shehad passed Loggerhead Key, and was fairly launched in the Gulf ofMexico. Then, indeed, Spike took a step that greatly surprised hismate. The latter was directed to bring all his instruments, charts, &c. , and place them in the captain's state-room, where it wasunderstood they were to remain until the brig got into port. Spikewas but an indifferent navigator, while Mulford was one of a higherorder than common. So much had the former been accustomed to rely onthe latter, indeed, as they approached a strange coast, that hecould not possibly have taken any step, that was not positivelycriminal, which would have given his mate more uneasiness than this. 

At first, Mulford naturally enough suspected that Spike intended topush for some Mexican port, by thus blinding his eyes as to theposition of the vessel. The direction steered, however, soonrelieved the mate from this apprehension. From the eastern extremityof Yucatan, the Mexican coast trends to the westward, and even tothe south of west, for a long distance, whereas the course steeredby Spike was north, easterly. This was diverging from the enemy'scoast instead of approaching it, and the circumstance greatlyrelieved the apprehensions of Mulford. 

Nor was the sequestration of the mate's instruments the onlysuspicious act of Spike. He caused the brig's paint to be entirelyaltered, and even went so far toward disguising her, as to make somechanges aloft. All this was done as the vessel passed swiftly on hercourse, and everything had been effected, apparently to thecaptain's satisfaction, when the cry of "land-ho!" was once moreheard. The land proved to be a cluster of low, small islands, partcoral, part sand, that might have been eight or ten in number, andthe largest of which did not possess a surface of more than a veryfew acres. Many were the merest islets imaginable, and on one of thelargest of the cluster rose a tall, gaunt light-house, having thecustomary dwelling of its keeper at its base. Nothing else wasvisible; the broad expanse of the blue waters of the Gulf excepted. All the land in sight would not probably have made one field oftwenty acres in extent, and that seemed cut off from the rest of theworld, by a broad barrier of water. It was a spot of such singularsituation and accessories, that Mulford gazed at it with a burningdesire to know where he was, as the brig steered through a channelbetween two of the islets, into a capacious and perfectly safebasin, formed by the group, and dropped her anchor in its centre. 

CHAPTER V

 "He sleeps; but dreams of massy gold, And heaps of pearl. He stretch'd his hands-- He hears a voice--

 "Ill man withhold!' A pale one near him stands. "

Dana. 

It was near night-fall when the Swash anchored among the low andsmall islets mentioned. Rose had been on deck, as the vesselapproached this singular and solitary haven, watching the movementsof those on board, as well as the appearance of objects on the land, with the interest her situation would be-likely to awaken. She sawthe light and manageable craft glide through the narrow and crookedpassages that led into the port, the process of anchoring, and thescene of tranquil solitude that succeeded; each following the otheras by a law of nature. The light-house next attracted her attention, and, as soon as the sun disappeared, her eyes were fastened on thelantern, in expectation of beholding the watchful and warning firesgleaming there, to give the mariner notice of the position of thedangers that surrounded the place. Minute went by after minute, however, and the customary illumination seemed to be forgotten. 

"Why is not this light shining?" Rose asked of Mulford, as the youngman came near her, after having discharged his duty in helping tomoor the vessel, and in clearing the decks. "All the light-houses wehave passed, and they have been fifty, have shown bright lights atthis hour, but this. "

"I cannot explain it; nor have I the smallest notion where we are. Ihave been aloft, and there was nothing in sight but this cluster oflow islets, far or near. I did fancy, for a moment, I saw a specklike a distant sail, off here, to the northward and eastward, but Irather think it was a gull, or some other sea-bird glancing upwardon the wing. I mentioned it to the captain when I came down, and heappeared to believe it a mistake. I have watched that light-houseclosely, too, ever since we came in, and I have not seen thesmallest sign of life about it. It is altogether an extraordinaryplace!"

"One suited to acts of villany, I fear, Harry!"

"Of that we shall be better judges to-morrow. You, at least, haveone vigilant friend, who will die sooner than harm shall come toyou. I believe Spike to be thoroughly unprincipled; still he knowshe can go so far and no further, and has a wholesome dread of thelaw. But the circumstance that there should be such a port as this, with a regular light-house, and no person near the last, is so muchout of the common way, that I do not know what to make of it. "

"Perhaps the light-house keeper is afraid to show himself, in thepresence of the Swash?"

"That can hardly be, for vessels must often enter the port, if portit can be called. But Spike is as much concerned at the circumstancethat the lamps are not lighted, as any of us can be. Look, he isabout to visit the building in the boat, accompanied by two of hisoldest sea-dogs. "

"Why might we not raise the anchor, and sail out of this place, leaving Spike ashore?" suggested Rose, with more decision and spiritthan discretion. 

"For the simple reason that the act would be piracy, even if I couldget the rest of the people to obey my orders, as certainly I couldnot. No, Rose: you, and your aunt, and Biddy, however, might land atthese buildings, and refuse to return, Spike having no authorityover his passengers. "

"Still he would have the power to make us come back to his brig. Look, he has left the vessel's side, and is going directly towardthe light-house. "

Mulford made no immediate answer, but remained at Rose's side, watching the movements of the captain. The last pulled directly tothe islet with the buildings, a distance of only a few hundred feet, the light-house being constructed on a rocky island that was nearlyin the centre of the cluster, most probably to protect it from theravages of the waves. The fact, however, proved, as Mulford did notfail to suggest to his companion, that the beacon had been erectedless to guide vessels into the haven, than to warn mariners at adistance, of the position of the whole group. 

In less than five minutes after he had landed, Spike himself wasseen in the lantern, in the act of lighting its lamps. In a veryshort time the place was in a brilliant blaze, reflectors and allthe other parts of the machinery of the place performing theirduties as regularly as if tended by the usual keeper. Soon afterSpike returned on board, and the anchor-watch was set. Theneverybody sought the rest that it was customary to take at thathour. 

Mulford was on deck with the appearance of the sun; but he foundthat Spike had preceded him, had gone ashore again, had extinguishedthe lamps, and was coming alongside of the brig on his return. Aminute later the captain came over the side. 

"You were right about your sail, last night, a'ter all, Mr. Mulford, " said Spike, on coming aft. "There she is, sure enough; andwe shall have her alongside to strike cargo out and in, by the timethe people have got their breakfasts. "

As Spike pointed toward the light-house while speaking, the matechanged his position a little, and saw that a schooner was comingdown toward the islets before the wind. Mulford now began tounderstand the motives of the captain's proceedings, though a gooddeal yet remained veiled in mystery. He could not tell where thebrig was, nor did he know precisely why so many expedients wereadopted to conceal the transfer of a cargo as simple as that offlour. But he who was in the secret left but little time forreflection; for swallowing a hasty breakfast on deck, he issuedorders enough to his mate to give him quite as much duty as he couldperform, when he again entered the yawl, and pulled toward thestranger. 

Rose soon appeared on deck, and she naturally began to questionHarry concerning their position and prospects. He was confessing hisignorance, as well as lamenting it, when his companion's sweet facesuddenly flushed. She advanced a step eagerly toward the open windowof Spike's state-room, then compressed her full, rich under-lip withthe ivory of her upper teeth, and stood a single instant, abeautiful statue of irresolution instigated by spirit. The lastquality prevailed; and Mulford was really startled when he saw Roseadvance quite to the window, thrust in an arm, and turn toward himwith his own sextant in her hand. During the course of the passageout, the young man had taught Rose to assist him in observing thelongitude; and she was now ready to repeat the practice. Not amoment was lost in executing her intention. Sights were had, and theinstrument was returned to its place without attracting theattention of the men, who were all busy in getting up purchases, andin making the other necessary dispositions for discharging theflour. The observations answered the purpose, though somewhatimperfectly made. Mulford had a tolerable notion of their latitude, having kept the brig's run in his head since quitting Yutacan; andhe now found that their longitude was about 83 o west fromGreenwich. After ascertaining this fact, a glance at the open chart, which lay on Spike's desk, satisfied him that the vessel wasanchored within the group of the Dry Tortugas, or at the westerntermination of the well-known, formidable, and extensive FloridaReef. He had never been in that part of the world before, but hadheard enough in sea-gossip, and had read enough in books, to be atonce apprised of the true character of their situation. The isletswere American; the light-house was American; and the haven in whichthe Swash lay was the very spot in the contemplation of governmentfor an outer man-of-war harbour, where fleets might rendezvous inthe future wars of that portion of the world. He now saw plainlyenough the signs of the existence of a vast reef, a short distanceto the southward of the vessel, that formed a species of sea-wall, or mole, to protect the port against the waves of the gulf in thatdirection. This reef he knew to be miles in width. 

There was little time for speculation, Spike soon bringing thestrange schooner directly alongside of the brig. The two vesselsimmediately became a scene of activity, one discharging, and theother receiving the flour as fast as it could be struck out of thehold of the Swash and lowered upon the deck of the schooner. Mulford, however, had practised a little artifice, as the strangerentered the haven, which drew down upon him an anathema or two fromSpike, as soon as they were alone. The mate had set the brig'sensign, and this compelled the stranger to be markedly rude, or toanswer the compliment. Accordingly he had shown the ancient flag ofSpain. For thus extorting a national symbol from the schooner, themate was sharply rebuked at a suitable moment, though nothing couldhave been more forbearing than the deportment of his commander whenthey first met. 

When Spike returned to his own vessel, he was accompanied by adark-looking, well-dressed, and decidedly gentleman-like personage, whom he addressed indifferently, in his very imperfect Spanish, asDon Wan, (Don Juan, or John, ) or Se¤or Montefalderon. By the latterappellation he even saw fit to introduce the veryrespectable-looking stranger to his mate. This stranger spokeEnglish well, though with an accent. 

"Don Wan has taken all the flour, Mr. Mulford, and intends shovingit over into Cuba, without troubling the custom-house, I believe;but that is not a matter to give us any concern, you know. "

The wink, and the knowing look by which this speech was accompanied, seemed particularly disagreeable to Don Juan, who now paid hiscompliments to Rose, with no little surprise betrayed in hiscountenance, but with the ease and reserve of a gentleman. Mulfordthought it strange that a smuggler of flour should be so polished apersonage, though his duty did not admit of his bestowing muchattention on the little trifling of the interview that succeeded. 

For about an hour the work went steadily and rapidly on. During thattime Mulford was several times on board the schooner, as, indeed, was Josh, Jack Tier, and others belonging to the Swash. The Spanishvessel was Baltimore, or clipper built, with a trunk-cabin, and hadevery appearance of sailing fast. Mulford was struck with her model, and, while on board of her, he passed both forward and aft toexamine it. This was so natural in a seaman, that Spike, while henoted the proceeding, took it in good part. He even called out tohis mate, from his own quarter-deck, to admire this or that point inthe schooner's construction. As is customary with the vessels ofsouthern nations, this stranger was full of men, but they continuedat their work, some half dozen of brawny negroes among them, shouting their songs as they swayed at the falls, no one appearingto manifest jealousy or concern. At length Tier came near the mate, and said, "Uncle Sam will not be pleased when he hears the reason that thekeeper is not in his light-house. "

"And what is that reason, Jack? If you know it, tell it to me. "

"Go aft and look down the companion-way, maty, and see it foryourself. "

Mulford did go aft, and he made an occasion to look down into theschooner's cabin, where he caught a glimpse of the persons of a manand a boy, whom he at once supposed had been taken from thelight-house. This one fact of itself doubled his distrust of thecharacter of Spike's proceedings. There was no sufficient apparentreason why a mere smuggler should care about the presence of anindividual more or less in a foreign port. Everything that hadoccurred, looked like pre-concert between the brig and the schooner;and the mate was just beginning to entertain the strongest distrustthat their vessel was holding treasonable communication with theenemy, when an accident removed all doubt on the subject, from hisown mind at least. Spike had, once or twice, given his opinion thatthe weather was treacherous, and urged the people of both crafts toextraordinary exertions, in order that the vessels might get clearof each other as soon as possible. This appeal had set variousexpedients in motion to second the more regular work of thepurchases. Among other things, planks had been laid from one vesselto the other, and barrels were rolled along them with very littleattention to the speed or the direction. Several had fallen on theschooner's deck with rude shocks, but no damage was done, until one, of which the hoops had not been properly secured, met with a fall, and burst nearly at Mulford's feet. It was at the precise momentwhen the mate was returning, from taking his glance into the cabin, toward the side of the Swash. A white cloud arose, and half a dozenof the schooner's people sprang for buckets, kids, or dishes, inorder to secure enough of the contents of the broken barrel tofurnish them with a meal. At first nothing was visible but the whitecloud that succeeded the fall, and the scrambling sailors in itsmidst. No sooner, however, had the air got to be a little clear, than Mulford saw an object lying in centre of the wreck, that he atonce recognised for a keg of the gunpowder! The captain of theschooner seized this keg, gave a knowing look at Mulford, anddisappeared in the hold of his own vessel, carrying with him, whatwas out of all question, a most material part of the true cargo ofthe Swash. 

At the moment when the flour-barrel burst, Spike was below, in closeconference with his Spanish, or Mexican guest; and the wreck beingso soon cleared away, it is probable that he never heard of theaccident. As for the two crews, they laughed a little amongthemselves at the revelation which had been made, as well as at themanner; but to old sea-dogs like them, it was a matter of verylittle moment, whether the cargo was, in reality, flour orgunpowder. In a few minutes the affair seemed to be forgotten. Inthe course of another hour the Swash was light, having nothing inher but some pig-lead, which she used for ballast, while theschooner was loaded to her hatches, and full. Spike now sent a boat, with orders to drop a kedge about a hundred yards from the placewhere his own brig lay. The schooner warped up to this kedge, anddropped an anchor of her own, leaving a very short range of cableout, it being a flat calm. Ordinarily, the trades prevail at the DryTortugas, and all along the Florida Reef. Sometimes, indeed, thisbreeze sweeps across the whole width of the Gulf of Mexico, blowinghome, as it is called--reaching even to the coast of Texas. It issubject, however, to occasional interruptions everywhere, varyingmany points in its direction, and occasionally ceasing entirely. Thelatter was the condition of the weather about noon on this day, orwhen the schooner hauled off from the brig, and was secured at herown anchor. 

"Mr. Mulford, " said Spike, "I do not like the state of theatmosphere. D'ye see that fiery streak along the westernhorizon--well, sir, as the sun gets nearer to that streak, there'llbe trouble, or I'm no judge of weather. "

"You surely do not imagine, Captain Spike, that the sun will be anynearer to that fiery streak, as you call it, when he is about toset, than he is at this moment?" answered the mate, smiling. 

"I'm sure of one thing, young man, and that is, that old heads arebetter than young ones. What a man has once seen, he may expect tosee again, if the same leading signs offer. Man the boat, sir, andcarry out the kedge, which is still in it, and lay it off here, about three p'ints on our larboard bow. "

Mulford had a profound respect for Spike's seamanship, whatever hemight think of his principles. The order was consequently obeyed. The mate was then directed to send down various articles out of thetop, and to get the top-gallant and royal yards on deck. Spikecarried his precautions so far, as to have the mainsail lowered, itordinarily brailing at that season of the year, with a standinggaff. With this disposition completed, the captain seemed more athis ease, and went below to join Se¤or Montefalderon in a siesta. The Mexican, for such, in truth, was the national character of theowner of the schooner, had preceded him in this indulgence; and mostof the people of the brig having laid themselves down to sleep underthe heat of the hour, Mulford soon enjoyed another favourableopportunity for a private conference with Rose. 

"Harry, " commenced the latter, as soon as they were alone; "I havemuch to tell you. While you have been absent I have overheard aconversation between this Spanish gentleman and Spike, that showsthe last is in treaty with the other for the sale of the brig. Spikeextolled his vessel to the skies, while Don Wan, as he calls him, complains that the brig is old, and cannot last long; to which Spikeanswered `to be sure she is old, Se¤or Montefalderon, but she willlast as long as your war, and under a bold captain might be made toreturn her cost a hundred fold!' What war can he mean, and to whatdoes such a discourse tend?"

"The war alludes to the war now existing between America and Mexico, and the money to be made is to be plundered at sea, from our ownmerchant-vessels. If Don Juan Montefalderon is really in treaty forthe purchase of the brig, it is to convert her into a Mexicancruiser, either public or private. "

"But this would be treason on the part of Spike!"

"Not more so than supplying the enemy with gunpowder, as he has justbeen doing. I have ascertained the reason he was so unwilling to beoverhauled by the revenue steamer, as well as the reason why therevenue steamer wished so earnestly to overhaul us. Each barrel offlour contains another of gunpowder, and that has been sold to thisSe¤or Montefalderon, who is doubtless an officer of the Mexicangovernment, and no smuggler. "

"He has been at New York, this very summer, I know, " continued Rose, "for he spoke of his visit, and made such other remarks, as leavesno doubt that Spike expected to find him here, on this very day ofthe month. He also paid Spike a large sum of money in doubloons, andtook back the bag to his schooner, when he had done so, aftershowing the captain enough was left to pay for the brig could theyonly agree on the terms of their bargain. "

"Ay, ay; it is all plain enough now, Spike has determined on adesperate push for fortune, and foreseeing it might not soon be inhis power to return to New York in safety, he has included hisdesigns on you and your fortune, in the plot. "

"My fortune! the trifle I possess can scarcely be called a fortune, Harry!"

"It would be a fortune to Spike, Rose; and I shall be honest enoughto own it would be a fortune to me. I say this frankly, for I dobelieve you think too well of me to suppose that I seek you for anyother reason than the ardent love I bear your person and character;but a fact is not to be denied because it may lead certain personsto distrust our motives. Spike is poor, like myself; and the brig isnot only getting to be very old, but she has been losing money forthe last twelve months. "

Mulford and Rose now conversed long and confidentially, on theirsituation and prospects. The mate neither magnified nor concealedthe dangers of both; but freely pointed out the risk to himself, inbeing on board a vessel that was aiding and comforting the enemy. Itwas determined between there that both would quit the brig themoment an opportunity offered; and the mate even went so far as topropose an attempt to escape in one of the boats, although he mightincur the hazards of a double accusation, those of mutiny andlarceny, for making the experiment. Unfortunately, neither Rose, norher aunt, nor Biddy, nor Jack Tier had seen the barrel of powder, and neither could testify as to the true character of Spike'sconnection with the schooner. It was manifestly necessary, therefore, independently of the risks that might be run by "beardingthe lion in his den, " to proceed with great intelligence andcaution. 

This dialogue between Harry and Rose, occurred just after the turnin the day, and lasted fully an hour. Each had been too muchinterested to observe the heavens, but, as they were on the point ofseparating, Rose pointed out to her companion the unusual and mostmenacing aspect of the sky in the western horizon. It appeared as ifa fiery heat was glowing there, behind a curtain of black vapour;and what rendered it more remarkable, was the circumstance that anextraordinary degree of placidity prevailed in all other parts ofthe heavens. Mulford scarce knew what to make of it; his experiencenot going so far as to enable him to explain the novel and alarmingappearance. He stepped on a gun, and gazed around him for a moment. There lay the schooner, without a being visible on board of her, andthere stood the light-house, gloomy in its desertion and solitude. The birds alone seemed to be alive and conscious of what wasapproaching. They were all on the wing, wheeling wildly in the air, and screaming discordantly, as belonged to their habits. The youngman leaped off the gun, gave a loud call to Spike, at thecompanion-way, and sprang forward to call all hands. 

One minute only was lost, when every seaman on board the Swash, fromthe captain to Jack Tier, was on deck. Mulford met Spike at thecabin door, and pointed toward the fiery column, that was boomingdown upon the anchorage, with a velocity and direction that wouldnow admit of no misinterpretation. For one instant that sturdy oldseaman stood aghast; gazing at the enemy as one conscious of hisimpotency might have been supposed to quail before an assault thathe foresaw must prove irresistible. Then his native spirit, and mostof all the effects of training, began to show themselves in him, andhe became at once, not only the man again, but the resolute, practised, and ready commander. 

"Come aft to the spring, men--" he shouted--"clap on the spring, Mr. Mulford, and bring the brig head to wind. "

This order was obeyed as seamen best obey, in cases of sudden andextreme emergency; or with intelligence, aptitude and power. Thebrig had swung nearly round, in the desired direction, when thetornado struck her. It will be difficult, we do not know but it isimpossible, to give a clear and accurate account of what followed. As most of our readers have doubtless felt how great is the power ofthe wind, whiffling and pressing different ways, in sudden andpassing gusts, they have only to imagine this power increased many, many fold, and the baffling currents made furious, as it might be, by meeting with resistance, to form some notion of the appallingstrength and frightful inconstancy with which it blew for about aminute. 

Notwithstanding the circumstance of Spike's precaution had greatlylessened the danger, every man on the deck of the Swash believed thebrig was gone when the gust struck her. Over she went, in fact, until the water came pouring in above her half-ports, like so manylittle cascades, and spouting up through her scupper-holes, resembling the blowing of young whales. It was the whiffling energyof the tornado that alone saved her. As if disappointed in notdestroying its intended victim at one swoop, the tornado "let up" inits pressure, like a dexterous wrestler, making a fresh anddesperate effort to overturn the vessel, by a slight variation inits course. That change saved the Swash. She righted, and evenrolled in the other direction, or what might be called to windward, with her decks full of water. For a minute longer these baffling, changing gusts continued, each causing the brig to bow like a reedto their power, one lifting as another pressed her down, and thenthe weight, or the more dangerous part of the tornado was passed, though it continued to blow heavily, always in whiffling blasts, several minutes longer. 

During the weight of the gust, no one had leisure, or indeedinclination to look to aught beyond its effect on the brig. Had onebeen otherwise disposed, the attempt would have been useless, forthe wind had filled the air with spray, and near the islets evenwith sand. The lurid but fiery tinge, too, interposed a veil that nohuman eye could penetrate. As the tornado passed onward, however, and the winds lulled, the air again became clear, and in fiveminutes after the moment when the Swash lay nearly on her side, withher lower yard-arm actually within a few feet of the water, all wasstill and placid around her, as one is accustomed to see the oceanin a calm, of a summer's afternoon. Then it was that those who hadbeen in such extreme jeopardy could breathe freely and look aboutthem. On board the Swash all was well--not a rope-yarn had parted, or an eyebolt drawn. The timely precautions of Spike had saved hisbrig, and great was his joy thereat. 

In the midst of the infernal din of the tornado, screams hadascended from the cabin, and the instant he could quit the deck withpropriety, Mulford sprang below, in order to ascertain their cause. He apprehended that some of the females had been driven to leewardwhen the brig went over, and that part of the luggage or furniturehad fallen on them. In the main cabin, the mate found Se¤orMontefalderon just quitting his berth, composed, gentleman-like, andcollected. Josh was braced in a corner nearly grey with fear, whileJack Tier still lay on the cabin floor, at the last point to whichhe had rolled. One word sufficed to let Don Juan know that the gusthad passed, and the brig was safe, when Mulford tapped at the deorof the inner cabin. Rose appeared, pale, but calm and unhurt. 

"Is any one injured?" asked the young man, his mind relieved atonce, as soon as he saw that she who most occupied his thoughts wassafe; "we heard screams from this cabin. "

"My aunt and Biddy have been frightened, " answered Rose, "butneither has been hurt. Oh, Harry, what terrible thing has happenedto us? I heard the roaring of--"

" 'T was a tornado, " interrupted Mulford eagerly, "but 't is over. 'T was one of those sudden and tremendous gusts that sometimes occurwithin the tropics, in which the danger is usually in the firstshock. If no one is injured in this cabin, no one is injured atall. "

"Oh, Mr. Mulford--dear Mr. Mulford!" exclaimed the relict, from thecorner into which she had been followed and jammed by Biddy, "Oh, Mr. Mulford, are we foundered or not?"

"Heaven be praised, not, my dear ma'am, though we came nearer to itthan I ever was before. "

"Are we cap-asided?"

"Nor that, Mrs. Budd; the brig is as upright as a church. "

"Upright!" repeated Biddy, in her customary accent, --"is it as achurch? Sure, then, Mr. Mate, 't is a Presbyterian church that youmane, and that is always totterin'. "

"Catholic, or Dutch--no church in York is more completely up anddown than the brig at this moment. "

"Get off of me--get off of me, Biddy, and let me rise, " said thewidow, with dignity. "The danger is over I see, and, as we returnour thanks for it, we have the consolation of knowing that we havedone our duty. It is incumbent on all, at such moments, to be attheir posts, and to set examples of decision and prudence. "

As Mulford saw all was well in the cabin, he hastened on deck, followed by Se¤or Montefalderon. Just as they emerged from thecompanion-way, Spike was hailing the forecastle. 

"Forecastle, there, " he cried, standing on the trunk himself as hedid so, and moving from side to side, as if to catch a glimpse ofsome object ahead. 

"Sir, " came back from an old salt, who was coiling up rigging inthat seat of seamanship. 

"Where-away is the schooner? She ought to be dead ahead of us, as wetend now--but blast me if I can see as much as her mast-heads. "

At this suggestion, a dozen men sprang upon guns or other objects, to look for the vessel in question. The old salt forward, however, had much the best chance, for he stepped on the heel of thebowsprit, and walked as far out as the knight-heads, to command thewhole view ahead of the brig. There he stood half a minute, lookingfirst on one side of the head-gear, then the other, when he gave histrousers a hitch, put a fresh quid in his mouth, and called out in avoice almost as hoarse as the tempest, that had just gone by, "The schooner has gone down at her anchor, sir. There's her buoywatching still, as if nothing had happened; but as for the craftitself, there's not so much as a bloody yard-arm, or mast-head ofher to be seen!"

This news produced a sensation in the brig at once, as may besupposed. Even Se¤or Montefalderon, a quiet, gentleman-like person, altogether superior in deportment to the bustle and fuss thatusually marks the manners of persons in trade, was disturbed; for tohim the blow was heavy indeed. Whether he were acting for himself, or was an agent of the Mexican government, the loss was much thesame. 

"Tom is right enough, " put in Spike, rather coolly for thecircumstances--"that there schooner of yourn has foundered, Don Wan, as any one can see. She must have cap-sized and filled, for Iobsarved they had left the hatches off, meaning, no doubt, to makean end of the storage as soon as they had done sleeping. "

"And what has become of all her men, Don Esteban?" for so theMexican politely called his companion. "Have all my poor countrymenperished in this disaster?"

"I fear they have, Don Wan; for I see no head, as of any oneswimming. The vessel lay so near that island next to it, that a poorswimmer would have no difficulty in reaching the place; but there isno living thing to be seen. But man the boat, men; we will go to thespot, Se¤or, and examine for ourselves. "

There were two boats in the water, and along-side of the brig. Onewas the Swash's yawl, a small but convenient craft, while the otherwas much larger, fitted with a sail, and had all the appearance ofhaving been built to withstand breezes and seas. Mulford feltperfectly satisfied, the moment he saw this boat, which had comeinto the haven in tow of the schooner, that it had been originallyin the service of the light-house keeper. As there was a verygeneral desire among those on the quarter-deck to go to theassistance of the schooner, Spike ordered both boats manned, jumpinginto the yawl himself, accompanied by Don Juan Montefalderon, andtelling Mulford to follow with the larger craft, bringing with himas many of the females as might choose to accompany him. As Mrs. Budd thought it incumbent on her to be active in such a scene, alldid go, including Biddy, though with great reluctance on the part ofRose. 

With the buoy for a guide, Spike had no difficulty in finding thespot where the schooner lay. She had scarcely shifted her berth inthe least, there having been no time for her even to swing to thegust, but she had probably cap-sized at the first blast, filled, andgone down instantly. The water was nearly as clear as the calm, mildatmosphere of the tropics; and it was almost as easy to discern thevessel, and all her hamper, as if she lay on a beach. She had sunkas she filled, or on her side, and still continued in that position. As the water was little more than three fathoms deep, the upper sidewas submerged but a few inches, and her yard-arms would have beenout of the water, but for the circumstance that the yards had cantedunder the pressure. 

At first, no sign was seen of any of those who had been on boardthis ill-fated schooner when she went down. It was known thattwenty-one souls were in her, including the man and the boy who hadbelonged to the light-house. As the boat moved slowly over this sadruin, however, a horrible and startling spectacle came in view. Twobodies were seen, within a few feet of the surface of the water, onegrasped in the arms of the other, in the gripe of despair. The manheld in the grasp, was kept beneath the water solely by thedeath-lock of his companion, who was himself held where he floated, by the circumstance that one of his feet was entangled in a rope. The struggle could not have been long over, for the two bodies wereslowly settling toward the bottom when first seen. It is probablethat both these men had more than once risen to the surface in theirdreadful struggle. Spike seized a boat-hook, and made an effort tocatch the clothes of the nearest body, but ineffectually, bothsinking to the sands beneath, lifeless, and without motion. Therebeing no sharks in sight, Mulford volunteered to dive and fasten aline to one of these unfortunate men, whom Don Juan declared at oncewas the schooner's captain. Some little time was lost in procuring alead-line from the brig, when the lead was dropped alongside of thedrowned. Provided with another piece of the same sort of line, whichhad a small running bowline around that which was fastened to thelead, the mate made his plunge, and went down with great vigour ofarm. It required resolution and steadiness to descend so far intosalt water; but Harry succeeded, and rose with the bodies, whichcame up with the slightest impulse. All were immediately got intothe boat, and away the latter went toward the light-house, which wasnearer and more easy of access than the brig. 

It is probable that one of these unfortunate men might have beenrevived under judicious treatment; but he was not fated to receiveit. Spike, who knew nothing of such matters, undertook to directeverything, and, instead of having recourse to warmth and gentletreatment, he ordered the bodies to be rolled on a cask, suspendedthem by the heels, and resorted to a sort of practice that mighthave destroyed well men, instead of resuscitating those in whom thevital spark was dormant, if not actually extinct. 

Two hours later, Rose, seated in her own cabin, unavoidablyoverheard the following dialogue, which passed in English, alanguage that Se¤or Montefalderon spoke perfectly well, as has beensaid. 

"Well, Se¤or, " said Spike, "I hope this little accident will notprevent our final trade. You will want the brig now, to take theschooner's place. "

"And how am I to pay you for the brig, Se¤or Spike, even if I buyher?"

"I'll ventur' to guess there is plenty of money in Mexico. Thoughthey do say the government is so backward about paying, I havealways found you punctual, and am not afraid to put faith in youag'in. "

"But I have no longer any money to pay you half in hand, as I didfor the powder, when last in New York. "

"The bag was pretty well lined with doubloons when I saw it last, Se¤or. "

"And do you know where that bag is; and where there is another thatholds the same sum?"

Spike started, and he mused in silence some little time, ere heagain spoke. 

"I had forgotten, " he at length answered. "The gold must have allgone down in the schooner, along with the powder!"

"And the poor men!"

"Why, as for the men, Se¤or, more may be had for the asking; butpowder and doubloons will be hard to find, when most wanted. Thenthe men were poor men, accordin' to my idees of what an able seamanshould be, or they never would have let their schooner turn turtlewith them as she did. "

"We will talk of the money, Don Esteban, if you please, " said theMexican, with reserve. 

"With all my heart, Don Wan--nothing is more agreeable to me thanmoney. How many of them doubloons shall fall to my share, if I raisethe schooner and put you in possession of your craft again?"

"Can that be done, Se¤or?" demanded Don Juan earnestly. 

"A seaman can do almost anything, in that way, Don Wan, if you willgive him time and means. For one-half the doubloons I can find inthe wrack, the job shall be done. "

"You can have them, " answered Don Juan, quietly, a good dealsurprised that Spike should deem it necessary to offer him any partof the sum he might find. "As for the powder, I suppose that is lostto my country. "

"Not at all, Don Wan. The flour is well packed around it, and Idon't expect it would take any harm in a month. I shall not onlyturn over the flour to you, just as if nothing had happened, but Ishall put four first-rate hands aboard your schooner, who will takeher into port for you, with a good deal more sartainty than forty ofthe men you had. My mate is a prime navigator. "

This concluded the bargain, every word of which was heard by Rose, and every word of which she did not fail to communicate to Mulford, the moment there was an opportunity. The young man heard it withgreat interest, telling Rose that he should do all he could toassist in raising the schooner, in the hope that something mightturn up to enable him to escape in her, taking off Rose and heraunt. As for his carrying her into a Mexican port, let them trusthim for that! Agreeably to the arrangement, orders were given thatafternoon to commence the necessary preparations for the work, andconsiderable progress was made in them by the time the Swash'speople were ordered to knock off work for the night. 

After the sun had set, the reaction in the currents again commenced, and it blew for a few hours heavily, during the night. Towardmorning, however, it moderated, and when the sun re-appeared itscarcely ever diffused its rays over a more peaceful or quiet day. Spike caused all hands to be called, and immediately set about theimportant business he had before him. 

In order that the vessel might be as free as possible, Jack Tier wasdirected to skull the females ashore, in the brig's yawl; Se¤orMontefalderon, a man of polished manners, as we maintain is very aptto be the case with Mexican gentlemen, whatever may be the opinionof this good republic on the subject just at this moment, askedpermission to be of the party. Mulford found an opportunity to begRose, if they landed at the light, to reconnoitre the place well, with a view to ascertain what facilities it could afford in anattempt to escape. They did land at the light, and glad enough wereMrs. Budd, Rose and Biddy to place their feet on terr  firmƒ afterso long a confinement to the narrow limits of a vessel. 

"Well, " said Jack Tier, as they walked up to the spot where thebuildings stood, "this is a rum place for a light'us, Miss Rose, andI don't wonder the keeper and his mess-mates has cleared out. "

"I am very sorry to say, " observed Se¤or Montefalderon, whosecountenance expressed the concern he really felt, "that the keeperand his only companion, a boy, were on board the schooner, and haveperished in her, in common with so many of my poor countrymen. Thereare the graves of two whom we buried here last evening, after vainefforts to restore them to life!"

"What a dreadful catastrophe it has been, Se¤or, " said Rose, whosesweet countenance eloquently expressed the horror and regret she sonaturally felt--"Twenty fellow-beings hurried into eternity withouteven an instant for prayer!"

"You feel for them, Se¤orita--it is natural you should, and it isnatural that I, their countryman and leader, should feel for them, also. I do not know what God has in reserve for my unfortunatecountry! We may have cruel and unscrupulous men among us, Se¤orita, but we have thousands who are just, and brave, and honourable. "

"So Mr. Mulford tells me, Se¤or; and he has been much in your ports, on the west coast. "

"I like that young man, and wonder not a little at his and yoursituation in this brig--" rejoined the Mexican, dropping his voiceso as not to be heard by their companions, as they walked a littleahead of Mrs. Budd and Biddy. "The Se¤or Spike is scarcely worthy tobe his commander or your guardian. "

"Yet you find him worthy of your intercourse and trust, Don Juan?"

The Mexican shrugged his shoulders, and smiled equivocally; still, in a melancholy manner. It would seem he did not deem it wise topush this branch of the subject further, since he turned to another. 

"I like the Se¤or Mulford, " he resumed, "for his general deportmentand principles, so far as I can judge of him on so short anacquaintance. "

"Excuse me, Se¤or, " interrupted Rose, hurriedly--"but you never sawhim until you met him here. "

"Never--I understand you, Se¤orita, and can do full justice to theyoung man's character. I am willing to think he did not know theerrand of his vessel, or I should not have seen him now. But what Imost like him for, is this: Last night, during the gale, he and Iwalked the deck together, for an hour. We talked of Mexico, and ofthis war, so unfortunate for my country already, and which maybecome still more so, when he uttered this noble sentiment--`Mycountry is more powerful than yours, Se¤or Montefalderon, ' he said, `and in this it has been more favoured by God. You have sufferedfrom ambitious rulers, and from military rule, while we have beenadvancing under the arts of peace, favoured by a most beneficentProvidence. As for this war, I know but little about it, though Idare say the Mexican government may have been wrong in some thingsthat it might have controlled and some that it might not--but letright be where it will, I am sorry to see a nation that has taken sofirm a stand in favour of popular government, pressed upon so hardby another that is supposed to be the great support of suchprinciples. America and Mexico are neighbours, and ought to befriends; and while I do not, cannot blame my own country forpursuing the war with vigour, nothing would please me more than tohear peace proclaimed. '"

"That is just like Harry Mulford, " said Rose, thoughtfully, as soonas her companion ceased to speak. "I do wish, Se¤or, that therecould be no use for this powder, that is now buried in the sea. "

Don Juan Montefalderon smiled, and seemed a little surprised thatthe fair young thing at his side should have known of thetreacherous contents of the flour-barrels. No doubt he found itinexplicable, that persons like Rose and Mulford should, seemingly, be united with one like Spike; but he was too well bred, and, indeed, too effectually mystified, to push the subject further thanmight be discreet. 

By this time they were near the entrance of the lighthouse, intowhich the whole party entered, in a sort of mute awe at its silenceand solitude. At Se¤or Montefalderon's invitation, they ascended tothe lantern, whence they could command a wide and fair view of thesurrounding waters. The reef was much more apparent from thatelevation than from below; and Rose could see that numbers of itsrocks were bare, while on other parts of it there was the appearanceof many feet of water. Rose gazed at it with longing eyes, for, froma few remarks that had fallen from Mulford, she suspected he hadhopes of escaping among its channels and coral. 

As they descended and walked through the buildings, Rose also tookgood heed of the supplies the place afforded. There were flour, andbeef, and pork, and many other of the common articles of food, aswell as water in a cistern, that caught it as it flowed from theroof of the dwelling. Water was also to be found in casks--nothinglike a spring or a well existing among those islets. All thesethings Rose noted, putting them aside in her memory for readyreference hereafter. 

In the mean time the mariners were not idle. Spike moved his brig, and moored her, head and stern, alongside of the wreck, before thepeople got their breakfasts. As soon as that meal was ended, bothcaptain and mate set about their duty in earnest. Mulford carriedout an anchor on the off-side of the Swash, and dropped it at adistance of about eighty fathoms from the vessel's beam. Purchaseswere brought from both mast-heads of the brig to the chain of thisanchor, and were hove upon until the vessel was given a heel of morethan a streak, and the cable was tolerably taut. Other purchaseswere got up opposite, and overhauled down, in readiness to take holdof the schooner's masts. The anchor of the schooner was weighed byits buoy-rope, and the chain, after being rove through the upper oropposite hawse-hole, brought in on board the Swash. Another chainwas dropped astern, in such a way, that when the schooner cameupright, it would be sure to pass beneath her keel, some six oreight feet from the rudder. Slings were then sunk over themast-heads, and the purchases were hooked on. Hours were consumed inthese preliminary labours, and the people went to dinner as soon asthey were completed. 

When the men had dined, Spike brought one of his purchases to thewindlass, and the other to the capstan, though not until each wasbowsed taut by hand; a few minutes having brought the strain so faron everything, as to enable a seaman, like Spike, to form somejudgment of the likelihood that his preventers and purchases wouldstand. Some changes were found necessary to equalize the strain, but, on the whole, the captain was satisfied with his work, and thecrew were soon ordered to "heave-away; the windlass best. "

In the course of half an hour the hull of the vessel, which lay onits bilge, began to turn on its keel, and the heads of the spars torise above the water. This was the easiest part of the process, allthat was required of the purchases being to turn over a mass whichrested on the sands of the bay. Aided by the long levers afforded bythe spars, the work advanced so rapidly, that, in just one hour'stime after his people had begun to heave, Spike had the pleasure tosee the schooner standing upright, alongside of his own brig, thoughstill sunk to the bottom. The wreck was secured in this position, bymeans of guys and preventers, in order that it might not again cant, when the order was issued to hook on the slings that were to raiseit to the surface. These slings were the chains of the schooner, oneof which went under her keel, while for the other the captaintrusted to the strength of the two hawse-holes, having passed thecable out of one and in at the other, in a way to serve hispurposes, as has just been stated. 

When all was ready, Spike mustered his crew, and made a speech. Hetold the men that he was about a job that was out of the usual lineof their duty, and that he knew they had a right to expect extra payfor such extra work. The schooner contained money, and his objectwas to get at it. If he succeeded, their reward would be a doubloona man, which would be earning more than a month's wages bytwenty-four hours' work. This was enough. The men wanted to hear nomore; but they cheered their commander, and set about their task inthe happiest disposition possible. 

The reader will understand that the object to be first achieved, wasto raise a vessel, with a hold filled with flour and gunpowder, fromoff the bottom of the bay to its surface. As she stood, the deck ofthis vessel was about six feet under water, and every one willunderstand that her weight, so long as it was submerged in a fluidas dense as that of the sea, would be much more manageable than ifsuspended in air. The barrels, for instance, were not much heavierthan the water they displaced, and the wood work of the vesselitself, was, on the whole, positively lighter than the element inwhich it had sunk. As for the water in the hold, that was of thesame weight as the water on the outside of tne craft, and there hadnot been much to carry the schooner down, beside her iron, the sparsthat were out of water, and her ballast. This last, some ten ortwelve tons in weight, was in fact the principal difficulty, andalone induced Spike to have any doubts about his eventual success. There was no foreseeing the result until he had made a trial, however; and the order was again given to "heave away. "

To the infinite satisfaction of the Swash's crew, the weight wasfound quite manageable, so long as the hull remained beneath thewater. Mulford, with three or four assistants, was kept on board theschooner lightening her, by getting the other anchor off her bows, and throwing the different objects overboard, or on the decks of thebrig. By the time the bulwarks reached the surface, as much wasgained in this way, as was lost by having so much of the lighterwoodwork rise above the water. As a matter of course, however, theweight increased as the vessel rose, and more especially as thelower portion of the spars, the bowsprit, boom, &c. , from beingbuoyant assistants, became so much dead weight to be lifted. 

Spike kept a watchful eye on his spars, and the extra supports hehad given them. He was moving, the whole time, from point to point, feeling shrouds and back-stays, and preventers, in order toascertain the degree of strain on each, or examining how thepurchases stood. As for the crew, they cheered at their toil, incessantly, passing from capstan bars to the handspikes, and viceversƒ. They, too, felt that their task was increasing in resistanceas it advanced, and now found it more difficult to gain an inch, than it had been at first to gain a foot. They seemed, indeed, to beheaving their own vessel out, instead of heaving the other craft up, and it was not long before they had the Swash heeling over towardthe wreck several streaks. The strain, moreover, on everything, became not only severe, but somewhat menacing. Every shroud, back-stay, and preventer was as taut as a bar of iron, and thechain-cable that led to the anchor planted off abeam, was asstraight as if the brig were riding by it in a gale of wind. One ortwo ominous surges aloft, too, had been heard, and, though no morethan straps and slings settling into their places under hardstrains, they served to remind the crew that danger might come fromthat quarter. Such was the state of things, when Spike called out to"heave and pall, " that he might take a look at the condition of thewreck. 

Although a great deal remained to be done, in order to get theschooner to float, a great deal had already been done. Her precisecondition was as follows: Having no cabin windows, the water hadentered her, when she capsized, by the only four apertures herconstruction possessed. These were the companion-way, orcabin-doors; the sky-light; the main-hatch, or the large inletamid-ships, by which cargo went up and down; and the booby-hatch, which was the counterpart of the companion-way, forward; beingintended to admit of ingress to the forecastle, the apartment of thecrew. Each of these hatch-ways, or orifices, had the usual defencesof "coamings, " strong frame-work around their margins. Thesecoamings rose six or eight inches above the deck, and answered thedouble purpose of strengthening the vessel, in a part, that withoutthem would be weaker han common, and of preventing any water thatmight be washing about the decks from running below. As soon, therefore, as these three apertures, or their coamings, could beraised above the level of the water of the basin, all danger of thevessel's receiving any further tribute of that sort from the oceanwould be over. It was to this end, consequently, that Spike'sefforts had been latterly directed, though they had only in partsucceeded. The schooner possessed a good deal of sheer, as it istermed; or, her two extremities rose nearly a foot above her centre, when on an even keel. This had brought her extremities first to thesurface, and it was the additional weight which had consequentlybeen brought into the air that had so much increased the strain, andinduced Spike to pause. The deck forward, as far aft as theforemast, and aft as far forward as the centre of the trunk, or tothe sky-light, was above the water, or at least awash; while all therest of it was covered. In the vicinity of the main-hatch there wereseveral inches of water; enough indeed to leave the upper edge ofthe coamings submerged by about an inch. To raise the keel that inchby means of the purchases, Spike well knew would cost him morelabour, and would incur more risk than all that had been donepreviously, and he paused before he would attempt it. 

The men were now called from the brig and ordered to come on boardthe schooner. Spike ascertained by actual measurement how much waswanted to bring the coamings of the main-hatch above the water, until which, he knew, pumping and bailing would be useless. He foundit was quite an inch, and was at a great loss to know how that inchshould be obtained. Mulford advised another trial with thehandspikes and bars, but to this Spike would not consent. Hebelieved that the masts of the brig had already as much pressure onthem as they would bear. The mate next proposed getting the mainboom off the vessel, and to lighten the craft by cutting away herbowsprit and masts. The captain was well enough disposed to do this, but he doubted whether it would meet with the approbation of "DonWan, " who was still ashore with Rose and her aunt, and who probablylooked forward to recovering his gunpowder by means of those veryspars. At length the carpenter hit upon a plan that was adopted. 

This plan was very simple, though it had its own ingenuity. It willbe remembered that water could now only enter the vessel's hold atthe main-hatch, all the other hatchways having their coamings abovethe element. The carpenter proposed, therefore, that themain-hatches, which had been off when the tornado occurred, butwhich had been found on deck when the vessel righted, should now beput on, oakum being first laid along in their rabbetings, and thatthe cracks should be stuffed with additional oakum, to exclude asmuch water as possible. He thought that two or three men, by usingcaulking irons for ten minutes, would make the hatch-way so tightthat very little water would penetrate. While this was doing, hehimself would bore as many holes forward and aft as he could, with atwo inch auger, out of which the water then in the vessel would becertain to run. Spike was delighted with this project, and gave thenecessary orders on the spot. 

This much must be said of the crew of the Molly Swash--whatever theydid in their own profession, they did intelligently and well. On thepresent occasion they maintained their claim to this character, andwere both active and expert. The hatches were soon on, and, in animperfect manner, caulked. While this was doing, the carpenter gotinto a boat, and going under the schooner's bows, where a wholeplank was out of water, he chose a spot between two of the timbers, and bored a hole as near the surface of the water as he dared to do. Not satisfied with one hole, however, he bored many--choosing bothsides of the vessel to make them, and putting some aft as well asforward. In a word, in the course of twenty minutes the schooner wastapped in at least a dozen places, and jets of water, two inches indiameter, were spouting from her on each bow, and under eachquarter. 

Spike and Mulford noted the effect. Some water, doubtless, stillworked itself into the vessel about the main-hatch, but that moreflowed from her by means of the outlets just named, was quiteapparent. After close watching at the outlets for some time, Spikewas convinced that the schooner was slowly rising, the intensestrain that still came from the brig producing that effect as thevessel gradually became lighter. By the end of half an hour, therecould be no longer any doubt, the holes, which had been bored withinan inch of the water, being now fully two inches above it. The augerwas applied anew, still nearer to the surface of the sea, and asfresh outlets were made, those that began to manifest a dulness intheir streams were carefully plugged. 

Spike now thought it was time to take a look at the state of thingson deck. Here, to his joy, he ascertained that the coamings hadactually risen a little above the water. The reader is not tosuppose by this rising of the vessel, that she had becomesufficiently buoyant, in consequence of the water that had run outof her, to float of herself. This was far from being the case; butthe constant upward pressure from the brig, which, on mechanicalprinciples, tended constantly to bring that craft upright, had theeffect to lift the schooner as the latter was gradually relievedfrom the weight that pressed her toward the bottom. 

The hatches were next removed, when it was found that the water inthe schooner's hold had so far lowered, as to leave a vacant spaceof quite a foot between the lowest part of the deck and its surface. Toward the two extremities of the vessel this space necessarily wasmuch increased, in consequence of the sheer. Men were now sent intothe hatchway with orders to hook on to the flour-barrels--a whiphaving been rigged in readiness to hoist them on deck. At the sametime gangs were sent to the pumps, though Spike still depended forgetting rid of the water somewhat on the auger--the carpentercontinuing to bore and plug his holes as new opportunities offered, and the old outlets became useless. It was true this expedient wouldsoon cease, for the water having found its level in the vessel'shold, was very nearly on a level also with that on the outside. Bailing also was commenced, both forward and aft. 

Spike's next material advantage was obtained by means of the cargo. By the time the sun had set, fully two hundred barrels had beenrolled into the hatchway, and passed on deck, whence about half ofthem were sent in the lighthouse boat to the nearest islet, and theremainder were transferred to the deck of the brig. These last wereplaced on the off side of the Swash, and aided in bringing hernearer upright. A great deal was gained in getting rid of thesebarrels. The water in the schooner lowered just as much as the spacethey had occupied, -and the vessel was relieved at once of twentytons in weight. 

Just after the sun had set, Se¤or Don Juan Montefalderon and hisparty returned on board. They had staid on the island to the lastmoment, at Rose's request, for she had taken as close an observationof everything as possible, in order to ascertain if any means ofconcealment existed, in the event of her aunt, Biddy, and herselfquitting the brig. The islets were all too naked and too small, however; and she was compelled to return to the Swash, without anyhopes derived from this quarter. 

Spike had just directed the people to get their suppers as theMexican came on board. Together they descended to the schooner'sdeck, where they had a long but secret conference. Se¤orMontefalderon was a calm, quiet and reasonable man, and while hefelt as one would be apt to feel who had recently seen so manyassociates swept suddenly out of existence, the late catastrophe didnot in the least unman him. It is too much the habit of the Americanpeople to receive their impressions from newspapers, which throw offtheir articles unreflectingly, and often ignorantly, as crones inpetticoats utter their gossip. In a word, the opinions thus obtainedare very much on a level, in value, with the thoughts of those whoare said to think aloud, and who give utterance to all the cruditiesand trivial rumours that may happen to reach their ears. In thismanner, we apprehend, very false notions of our neighbours of Mexicohave become circulated among us. That nation is a mixed race, andhas necessarily the various characteristics of such an origin, andit is unfortunately little influenced by the diffusion ofintelligence which certainly exists here. Although an enemy, itought to be acknowledged, however, that even Mexico has herredeeming points. Anglo-Saxons as we are, we have no desireunnecessarily to illustrate that very marked feature in theAnglo-Saxon character, which prompts the mother stock to calumniateall who oppose it, but would rather adopt some of that chivalrouscourtesy of which so much that is lofty and commendable is to befound among the descendants of Old Spain. 

The Se¤or Montefalderon was earnestly engaged in what he conceivedto be the cause of his country. It was scarcely possible to bringtogether two men impelled by motives more distinct than Spike andthis gentleman. The first was acting under impulses of the lowestand most grovelling nature; while the last was influenced by motivesof the highest. However much Mexico may, and has, weakened her causeby her own punic faith, instability, military oppression, andpolitical revolutions, giving to the Texans in particular amplejustification for their revolt, it was not probable that Don JuanMontefalderon saw the force of all the arguments that a casuist ofordinary ingenuity could certainly adduce against his country; forit is a most unusual thing to find a man anywhere, who is willing toadmit that the positions of an opponent are good. He saw in theevents of the day, a province wrested from his nation; and, in hisreasoning on the subject, entirely overlooking the numerousoccasions on which his own fluctuating government had givensufficient justification, not to say motives, to their powerfulneighbours to take the law into their own hands, and redressthemselves, he fancied all that has occurred was previously planned;instead of regarding it, as it truly is, as merely the result ofpolitical events that no man could have foreseen, that no man hadoriginally imagined, or that any man could control. 

Don Juan understood Spike completely, and quite justly appreciatednot only his character, but his capabilities. Their acquaintance wasnot of a day, though it had ever been marked by that singularcombination of caution and reliance that is apt to characterize theintercourse between the knave and the honest man, when circumstancescompel not only communication, but, to a certain extent, confidence. They now paced the deck of the schooner, side by side, for fully anhour, during which time the price of the vessel, the means, and themode of payment and transfer, were fully settled between them. 

"But what will you do with your passengers, Don Esteban?" asked theMexican pleasantly, when the more material points were adjusted. "Ifeel a great interest in the young lady in particular, who is acharming se¤orita, and who tells me that her aunt brought her thisvoyage on account of her health. She looks much too blooming to beout of health, and if she were, this is a singular voyage for aninvalid to make!"

"You don't understand human natur' yet, altogether, I see, Don Wan, "answered Spike, chuckling and winking. "As you and I are not onlygood friends, but what a body may call old friends, I'll let youinto a secret in this affair, well knowing that you'll not betrayit. It's quite true that the old woman thinks her niece is apulmonary, as they call it, and that this v'y'ge is recommended forher, but the gal is as healthy as she's handsom'. "

"Her constitution, then, must be very excellent, for it is seldom Ihave seen so charming a young woman. But if the aunt is misled inthis matter, how has it been with the niece?"

Spike did not answer in words, but he leered upon his companion, andhe winked. 

"You mean to be understood that you are in intelligence with eachother, I suppose, Don Esteban, " returned the Se¤or Montefalderon, who did not like the captain's manner, and was willing to drop thediscourse. 

Spike then informed his companion, in confidence, that he and Rosewere affianced, though without the aunt's knowledge, --that heintended to marry the niece the moment he reached a Mexican portwith the brig, and that it was their joint intention to settle inthe country. He added that the affair required management, as hisintended had property, and expected more, and he begged Don Juan toaid him, as things drew near to a crisis. The Mexican evaded ananswer, and the discourse dropped. 

The moon was now shining, and would continue to throw its pale lightover the scene for two or three hours longer. Spike profited by thecircumstance to continue the work of lightening the schooner. One ofthe first things done next was to get up the dead, and to removethem to the boat. This melancholy office occupied an hour, thebodies being landed on the islet, near the powder, and thereinterred in the sands. Don Juan Montefalderon attended on thisoccasion, and repeated some prayers over the graves, as he had donein the morning, in the cases of the two who had been buried near thelight-house. 

While this melancholy duty was in the course of performance, that ofpumping and bailing was continued, under the immediate personalsuperintendence of Mulford. It would not be easy to define, withperfect clearness, the conflicting feelings by which the mate of theSwash was now impelled. He had no longer any doubt on the subject ofSpike's treason, and had it not been for Rose, he would not havehesitated a moment about making off in the light-house boat for KeyWest, in order to report all that had passed to the authorities. Butnot only Rose was there, and to be cared for, but what was far moredifficult to get along with, her aunt was with her. It is true, Mrs. Budd was no longer Spike's dupe; but under any circumstances she wasa difficult subject to manage, and most especially so in all mattersthat related to the sea. Then the young man submitted, more or less, to the strange influence which a fine craft almost invariablyobtains over those that belong to her. He did not like the idea ofdeserting the Swash, at the very moment he would not have hesitatedabout punishing her owner for his many misdeeds. In a word, Harrywas too much of a tar not to feel a deep reluctance to turn againsthis cruise, or his voyage, however much either might be condemned byhis judgment, or even by his principles. 

It was quite nine o'clock when the Se¤or Montefalderon and Spikereturned from burying the dead. No sooner did the last put his footon the deck of his own vessel, than he felt the fall of one of thepurchases which had been employed in raising the schooner. It was sofar slack as to satisfy him that the latter now floated by her ownbuoyancy, though it might be well to let all stand until morning, for the purposes of security. Thus apprised of the condition of thetwo vessels, he gave the welcome order to "knock off for the night. "

CHAPTER VI

 "At the piping of all hands, When the judgment signal's spread-- When the islands and the land, And the seas give up their dead, And the south and the north shall come; When the sinner is dismayed, And the just man is afraid, Then heaven be thy aid, Poor Tom. "

Brainard. 

The people had now a cessation from their toil. Of all the labourknown to sea-faring men, that of pumping is usually thought to bethe most severe. Those who work at it have to be relieved everyminute, and it is only by having gangs to succeed each other, thatthe duty can be done at all with anything like steadiness. In thepresent instance, it is true, that the people of the Swash weresustained by the love of gold, but glad enough were they whenMulford called out to them to "knock off, and turn in for thenight. " It was high time this summons should be made, for not onlywere the people excessively wearied, but the customary hours oflabour were so far spent, that the light of the moon had some timebefore begun to blend with the little left by the parting sun. Gladenough were all hands to quit the toil; and two minutes werescarcely elapsed ere most of the crew had thrown themselves down, and were buried in deep sleep. Even Spike and Mulford took the restthey needed, the cook alone being left to look out for the changesin the weather. In a word, everybody but this idler was exhaustedwith pumping and bailing, and even gold had lost its power to charm, until nature was recruited by rest. 

The excitement produced by the scenes through which they had solately passed, caused the females to sleep soundly, too. Thedeath-like stillness which pervaded the vessel contributed to theirrest, and Rose never woke, from the first few minutes after her headwas on her pillow, until near four in the morning. The deep quietseemed ominous to one who had so lately witnessed the calm whichprecedes the tornado, and she arose. In that low latitude and warmseason, few clothes were necessary, and our heroine was on deck in avery few minutes. Here she found the same grave-like sleep pervadingeverything. There was not a breath of air, and the ocean seemed tobe in one of its profoundest slumbers. The hard-breathing of Spikecould be heard through the open windows of his state-room, and thiswas positively the only sound that was audible. The common men, wholay scattered about the decks, more especially from the mainmastforward, seemed to be so many logs, and from Mulford no breathingwas heard. 

The morning was neither very dark nor very light, it being easy todistinguish objects that were near, while those at a distance werenecessarily lost in obscurity. Availing herself of the circumstance, Rose went as far as the gangway, to ascertain if the cook were athis post. She saw him lying near his galley, in as profound a sleepas any of the crew. This she felt to be wrong, and she felt alarmed, though she knew not why. Perhaps it was the consciousness of beingthe only person up and awake at that hour of deepest night, in avessel so situated as the Swash, and in a climate in whichhurricanes seem to be the natural offspring of the air. Some onemust be aroused, and her tastes, feelings, and judgment, all pointedto Harry Mulford as the person she ought to awaken. He slepthabitually in his clothes--the lightest summer dress of the tropics;and the window of his little state-room was always open for air. Moving lightly to the place, Rose laid her own little, soft hand onthe arm of the young man, when the latter was on his feet in aninstant. A single moment only was necessary to regain hisconsciousness, when Mulford left the state-room and joined Rose onthe quarter-deck. 

"Why am I called, Rose, " the young man asked, attempering his voiceto the calm that reigned around him; "and why am I called by you?"

Rose explained the state of the brig, and the feeling which inducedher to awaken him. With woman's gentleness she now expressed herregret for having robbed Harry of his rest; had she reflected amoment, she might have kept watch herself, and allowed him to obtainthe sleep he must surely so much require. 

But Mulford laughed at this; protested he had never been awakened ata more favourable moment, and would have sworn, had it been proper, that a minute's further sleep would have been too much for him. After these first explanations, Mulford walked round the decks, carefully felt how much strain there was on the purchases, andrejoined Rose to report that all was right, and that he did notconsider it necessary to call even the cook. The black was an idlerin no sense but that of keeping watch, and he had toiled the pastday as much as any of the men, though it was not exactly at thepumps. 

A long and semi-confidential conversation now occurred between Harryand Rose. They talked of Spike, the brig, and her cargo, and of thedelusion of the captain's widow. It was scarcely possible thatpowder should be so much wanted at the Havanna as to rendersmuggling, at so much cost, a profitable adventure; and Mulfordadmitted his convictions that the pretended flour was originallyintended for Mexico. Rose related the tenor of the conversation shehad overheard between the two parties, Don Juan and Don Esteban, andthe mate no longer doubted that it was Spike's intention to sell thebrig to the enemy. She also alluded to what had passed betweenherself and the stranger. 

Mulford took this occasion to introduce the subject of Jack Tier'sintimacy and favour with Rose. He even professed to feel somejealousy on account of it, little as there might be to alarm mostmen in the rivalry of such a competitor. Rose laughed, as girls willlaugh when there is question of their power over the other sex, andshe fairly shook her rich tresses as she declared her determinationto continue to smile on Jack to the close of the voyage. Then, as ifshe had said more than she intended, she added with woman'sgenerosity and tenderness, --"After all, Harry, you know how much Ipromised to you even before we sailed, and how much more since, andhave no just cause to dread even Jack. There is another reason, however, that ought to set your mind entirely at case on hisaccount. Jack is married, and has a partner living at this verymoment, as he does not scruple to avow himself. "

A hissing noise, a bright light, and a slight explosion, interruptedthe half-laughing girl, and Mulford, turning on his heel, quick asthought, saw that a rocket had shot into the air, from a point closeunder the bows of the brig. He was still in the act of moving towardthe forecastle, when, at the distance of several leagues, he saw theexplosion of another rocket high in the air. He knew enough of thepractices of vessels of war, to feel certain that these were asignal and its answer from some one in the service of government. Not at all sorry to have the career of the Swash arrested, beforeshe could pass into hostile hands, or before evil could befall Rose, Mulford reached the forecastle just in time to answer the inquirythat was immediately put to him, in the way of a hail. A gig, pulling four oars only, with two officers in its stern-sheets, wasfairly under the vessel's bows, and the mate could almostdistinguish the countenance of the officer who questioned him, theinstant he showed his head and shoulders above the bulwarks. 

"What vessels are these?" demanded the stranger, speaking in theauthoritative manner of one who acted for the state, but notspeaking much above the usual conversational tone. 

"American and Spanish, " was the answer. "This brig is American--theschooner alongside is a Spaniard, that turned turtle in a tornado, about six-and-thirty hours since, and on which we have been hard atwork trying to raise her, since the gale which succeeded the tornadohas blown its pipe out. "

"Ay, ay, that's the story, is it? I did not know what to make ofyou, lying cheek by jowl, in this fashion. Was anybody lost on boardthe schooner?"

"All hands, including every soul aft and forward, the supercargoexcepted, who happened to be aboard here. We buried seventeen bodiesthis afternoon on the smallest of the Keys that you see near athand, and two this morning alongside of the light. But what boat isthat, and where are you from, and whom are you signalling?"

"The boat is a gig, " answered the stranger, deliberately, "and shebelongs to a cruiser of Uncle Sam's, that is off the reef, a shortbit to the eastward, and we signalled our captain. But I'll come onboard you, sir, if you please. "

Mulford walked aft to meet the stranger at the gangway, and wasrelieved, rather than otherwise, at finding that Spike was alreadyon the quarter-deck. Should the vessel of war seize the brig, hecould rejoice at it, but so strong were his professional ideas ofduty to the craft he sailed in, that he did not find it in his heartto say aught against her. Were any mishap to befall it, or werejustice to be done, he preferred that it might be done under Spike'sown supervision, rather than under his. 

"Call all hands, Mr. Mulford, " said Spike, as they met. "I see astreak of day coming yonder in the east--let all hands be called atonce. What strange boat is this we have alongside?"

This question was put to the strangers, Spike standing on hisgangway-ladder to ask it, while the mate was summoning the crew. Theofficer saw that a new person was to be dealt with, and in hisquiet, easy way, he answered, while stretching out his hands to takethe man-rope--"Your servant, sir--we are man-of-war's men, belonging to one of Uncle Sam's craft, outside, and have just comein to pay you a visit of ceremony. I told one, whom I suppose wasyour mate, that I would just step on board of you. "

"Ay, ay--one at a time, if you please. It's war-time, and I cannotsuffer armed boat's crews to board me at night, without knowingsomething about them. Come up yourself, if you please, but orderyour people to stay in the boat. Here, muster about this gangway, half a dozen of you, and keep an eye on the crew of this strangeboat. "

These orders had no effect on the cool and deliberate lieutenant, who ascended the brig's side, and immediately stood on her deck. Nosooner had he and Spike confronted each other, than each gave alittle start, like that of recognition, and the lieutenant spoke. 

"Ay, ay--I believe I know this vessel now. It is the Molly Swash, ofNew York, bound to Key West, and a market; and I have the honour tosee Captain Stephen Spike again. "

It was Mr. Wallace, the second lieutenant of the sloop-of-war thathad boarded the brig in the Mona Passage, and to avoid whom Spikehad gone to the southward of Jamaica. The meeting was verymal-…-propos, but it would not do to betray that the captain andowner of the vessel thought as much as this; on the contrary, Wallace was warmly welcomed, and received, not only as an oldacquaintance, but as a very agreeable visiter. To have seen the two, as they walked aft together, one might have supposed that themeeting was conducive of nothing but a very mutual satisfaction, itwas so much like that which happens between those who keep up ahearty acquaintance. 

"Well, I'm glad to see you again, Captain Spike, " cried Wallace, after the greetings were passed, "if it be only to ask where youflew to, the day we left you in the Mona Passage? We looked out foryou with all our eyes, expecting you would be down between SanDomingo and Jamaica, but I hardly think you got by us in the night. Our master thinks you must have dove, and gone past loon-fashion. Doyou ever perform that manoeuvre?"

"No, we've kept above water the whole time, lieutenant, " answeredSpike, heartily; "and that is more than can be said of the poorfellow alongside of us. I was so much afraid of the Isle of Pines, that I went round Jamaica. "

"You might have given the Isle of Pines a berth, and still havepassed to the northward of the Englishmen, " said Wallace, a littledrily. "However, that island is somewhat of a scarecrow, and we havebeen to take a look at it ourselves. All's right there, just now. But you seem light; what have you done with your flour?"

"Parted with every barrel of it. You may remember I was bound to KeyWest, and a market. Well, I found my market here, in Americanwaters. "

"You have been lucky, sir. This `emporium' does not seem to beexactly a commercial emporium. "

"The fact is, the flour is intended for the Havanna; and I fancy itis to be shipped for slavers. But I am to know nothing of all that, you'll understand, lieutenant. If I sell my flour in Americanwaters, at two prices, it's no concern of mine what becomes of ita'terwards. "

"Unless it happen to pass into enemy's hands, certainly not; and youare too patriotic to deal with Mexico, just now, I'm sure. Pray, didthat flour go down when the schooner turned turtle?"

"Every barrel of it; but Don Wan, below there, thinks that most ofit may yet be saved, by landing it on one of those Keys to dry. Flour, well packed, wets in slowly. You see we have some of it ondeck. "

"And who may Don Wan be, sir, pray? We are sent here to look afterDons and Donas, you know. "

"Don Wan is a Cuban merchant, and deals in such articles as hewants. I fell in with him among the reefs here, where he wasrummaging about in hopes of meeting with a wrack, he tells me, andthinking to purchase something profitable in that way; but finding Ihad flour, he agreed to take it out of me at this anchorage, andsend me away in ballast at once. I have found Don Wan Montefalderonready pay, and very honourable. "

Wallace then requested an explanation of the disaster, to thedetails of which he listened with a sailor's interest. He asked agreat many questions, all of which bore on the more nauticalfeatures of the event; and, day having now fairly appeared, heexamined the purchases and backings of the Swash with professionalnicety. The schooner was no lower in the water than when the men hadknocked off work the previous night; and Spike set the people at thepumps and their bailing again, as the most effectual method ofpreventing their making any indiscreet communications to theman-of-war's men. 

About this time the relict appeared on deck, when Spike gallantlyintroduced the lieutenant anew to his passengers. It is true he knewno name to use, but that was of little moment, as he called theofficer "the lieutenant, " and nothing else. 

Mrs. Budd was delighted with this occasion to show-off, and she soonbroke out on the easy, indolent, but waggish Wallace, in a strain tosurprise him, notwithstanding the specimen of the lady's skill fromwhich he had formerly escaped. 

"Captain Spike is of opinion, lieutenant, that our cast-anchor hereis excellent, and I know the value of a good cast-anchor place; formy poor Mr. Budd was a sea-faring man, and taught me almost as muchof your noble profession as he knew himself. "

"And he taught you, ma'am, " said Wallace, fairly opening his eyes, under the influence of astonishment, "to be very particular aboutcast-anchor places!"

"Indeed he did. He used to say, that roads-instead were never asgood, for such purposes, as land that's locked havens, for theanchors would return home, as he called it, in roads-instead. "

"Yes, ma'am, " answered Wallace, looking very queer at first, as ifdisposed to laugh outright, then catching a glance of Rose, andchanging his mind; "I perceive that Mr. Budd knew what he was about, and preferred an anchorage where he was well land-locked, and wherethere was no danger of his anchors coming home, as so often happensin your open roadsteads. "

"Yes, that's just it! That was just his notion! You cannot feel howdelightful it is, Rose, to converse with one that thoroughlyunderstands such subjects! My poor Mr. Budd did, indeed, denounceroads-instead, at all times calling them `savage. '"

"Savage, aunt, " put in Rose, hoping to stop the good relict by herown interposition--"that is a strange word to apply to ananchorage!"

"Not at all, young lady, " said Wallace gravely. "They are often wildberths, and wild berths are not essentially different from wildbeasts. Each is savage, as a matter of course. "

"I knew I was right!" exclaimed the widow. "Savage cast-anchors comeof wild births, as do savage Indians. Oh! the language of the ocean, as my poor Mr. Budd used to say, is eloquence tempered by commonsense!"

Wallace stared again, but his attention was called to other things, just at that moment. The appearance of Don Juan Montefalderon yCastro on deck, reminded him of his duty, and approaching thatgentleman he condoled with him on the grave loss he had sustained. After a few civil expressions on both sides, Wallace made a delicateallusion to the character of the schooner. 

"Under other circumstances, " he said, "it might be my duty toinquire a little particularly as to the nationality of your vessel, Se¤or, for we are at war with the Mexicans, as you doubtless know. "

"Certainly, " answered Don Juan, with an unmoved air and greatpoliteness of manner, "though it would be out of my power to satisfyyou. Everything was lost in the schooner, and I have not a paper ofany sort to show you. If it be your pleasure to make a prize of avessel in this situation, certainly it is in your power to do it. Afew barrels of wet flour are scarce worth disputing about. "

Wallace now seemed a little ashamed, the sang froid of the otherthrowing dust in his eyes, and he was in a hurry to change thesubject. Se¤or Don Juan was very civilly condoled with again, and hewas made to repeat the incidents of the loss, as if his auditor tooka deep interest in what he said, but no further hint was giventouching the nationality of the vessel. The lieutenant's tact lethim see that Se¤or Montefalderon was a person of a very differentcalibre from Spike, as well as of different habits; and he did notchoose to indulge in the quiet irony that formed so large aningredient in his own character, with this new acquaintance. Hespoke Spanish himself, with tolerable fluency, and a conversationnow occurred between the two, which was maintained for some timewith spirit and a very manifest courtesy. 

This dialogue between Wallace and the Spaniard gave Spike a littleleisure for reflection. As the day advanced the cruiser came moreand more plainly in view, and his first business was to take a goodsurvey of her. She might have been three leagues distant, butapproaching with a very light breeze, at the rate of something lessthan two knots in the hour. Unless there was some one on board herwho was acquainted with the channels of the Dry Tortugas, Spike feltlittle apprehension of the ship's getting very near to him; but hevery well understood that, with the sort of artillery that was inmodern use among vessels of war, he would hardly be safe could thecruiser get within a league. That near Uncle Sam's craft mightcertainly come without encountering the hazards of the channels, andwithin that distance she would be likely to get in the course of themorning, should he have the complaisance to wait for her. Hedetermined, therefore, not to be guilty of that act of folly. 

All this time the business of lightening the schooner proceeded. Although Mulford earnestly wished that the man-of-war might get anaccurate notion of the true character and objects of the brig, hecould not prevail on himself to become an informer. In order toavoid the temptation so to do, he exerted himself in keeping the menat their tasks, and never before had pumping and bailing beencarried on with more spirit. The schooner soon floated of herself, and the purchases which led to the Swash were removed. Near ahundred more barrels of the flour had been taken out of the hold ofthe Spanish craft, and had been struck on the deck of the brig, orsent to the Key by means of the boats. This made a material changein the buoyancy of the vessel, and enabled the bailing to go on withgreater facility. The pumps were never idle, but two small streamsof water were running the whole time toward the scuppers, andthrough them into the sea. 

At length the men were ordered to knock off, and to get theirbreakfasts. This appeared to arouse Wallace, who had been chatting, quite agreeably to himself, with Rose, and seemed reluctant todepart, but who now became sensible that he was neglecting his duty. He called away his boat's crew, and took a civil leave of thepassengers; after which he went over the side. The gig was somelittle distance from the Swash, when Wallace rose and asked to seeSpike, with whom he had a word to say at parting. 

"I will soon return, " he said, "and bring you forty or fifty freshmen, who will make light work with your wreck. I am certain ourcommander will consent to my doing so, and will gladly send on boardyou two or three boat's crews. "

"If I let him, " muttered Spike between his teeth, "I shall be apoor, miserable cast-anchor devil, that's all. "

To Wallace, however, he expressed his hearty acknowledgments; beggedhim not to be in a hurry, as the worst was now over, and the row wasstill a long one. If he got back toward evening it would be all ingood time. Wallace waved his hand, and the gig glided away. As forSpike, he sat down on the plank-sheer where he had stood, andremained there ruminating intently for two or three minutes. When hedescended to the deck his mind was fully made up. His first act wasto give some private orders to the boatswain, after which hewithdrew to the cabin, whither he summoned Tier, without delay. 

"Jack, " commenced the captain, using very little circumlocution inopening his mind, "you and I are old shipmates, and ought to be oldfriends, though I think your natur' has undergone some changes sincewe last met. Twenty years ago there was no man in the ship on whom Icould so certainly depend as on Jack Tier; now, you seem given upaltogether to the women. Your mind has changed even more than yourbody. "

"Time does that for all of us, Captain Spike, " returned Tier coolly. "I am not what I used to be, I'll own, nor are you yourself, forthat matter. When I saw you last, noble captain, you were a handsomeman of forty, and could go aloft with any youngster in the brig;but, now, you're heavy, and not over-active. "

"I!--Not a bit of change has taken place in me for the last thirtyyears. I defy any man to show the contrary. But that's neither herenor there; you are no young woman, Jack, that I need be boasting ofmy health and beauty before you. I want a bit of real sarvice fromyou, and want it done in old-times fashion; and I mean to pay for itin old-times fashion, too. "

As Spike concluded, he put into Tier's hand one of the doubloonsthat he had received from Se¤or Montefalderon, in payment for thepowder. The doubloons, for which so much pumping and bailing werethen in process, were still beneath the waters of the gulf. 

"Ay, ay, sir, " returned Jack, smiling and pocketing the gold, with awink of the eye, and a knowing look; "this does resemble old timessum'at. I now begin to know Captain Spike, my old commander again, and see that he's more like himself than I had just thought him. What am I to do for this, sir? speak plain, that I may be sartain tosteer the true course. "

"Oh, just a trifle, Jack--nothing that will break up the ground-tierof your wits, my old shipmate. You see the state of the brig, andknow that she is in no condition for ladies. "

"'T would have been better all round, sir, had they never comeaboard at all, " answered Jack, looking dark. 

Spike was surprised, but he was too much bent on his projects toheed trifles. 

"You know what sort of flour they're whipping out of the schooner, and must understand that the brig will soon be in a pretty litter. Ido not intend to let them send a single barrel of it beneath myhatches again, but the deck and the islands must take it all. Now Iwish to relieve my passengers from the confinement this willoccasion, and I have ordered the boatswain to pitch a tent for themon the largest of these here Tortugas; and what I want of you, is tomuster food and water, and other women's knicknacks, and go ashorewith them, and make them as comfortable as you can for a few days, or until we can get this schooner loaded and off. "

Jack Tier looked at his commander as if he would penetrate his mostsecret thoughts. A short pause succeeded, during which the steward'smate was intently musing, then his countenance suddenly brightened;he gave the doubloon a fillip, and caught it on the palm of his handas it descended, and he uttered the customary "Ay, ay, sir, " withapparent cheerfulness. Nothing more passed between these twoworthies, who now parted, Jack to make his arrangements, and Spiketo "tell his yarn, " as he termed the operation in his own mind, toMrs. Budd, Rose, and Biddy. The widow listened complacently, thoughshe seemed half doubting, half ready to comply. As for Rose, shereceived the proposal with delight--The confinement of the vesselhaving become irksome to her. The principal obstacle was inovercoming the difficulties made by the aunt, Biddy appearing tolike the notion quite as much as "Miss Rosy. " As for thelight-house, Mrs. Budd had declared nothing would induce her to gothere; for she did not doubt that the place would soon be, if itwere not already, haunted. In this opinion she was sustained byBiddy; and it was the knowledge of this opinion that induced Spiketo propose the tent. 

"Are you sure, Captain Spike, it is not a desert island?" asked thewidow; "I remember that my poor Mr. Budd always spoke of desertislands as horrid places, and spots that every one should avoid. "

"What if it is, aunty, " said Rose eagerly, "while we have the brighere, close at hand. We shall suffer none of the wants of such aplace, so long as our friends can supply us. "

"And such friends, Miss Rose, " exclaimed Spike, a littlesentimentally for him, "friends that would undergo hunger and thirstthemselves, before you should want for any comforts. "

"Do, now, Madam Budd, " put in Biddy in her hearty way, "it's anisland, ye'll remimber: and sure that's just what ould Ireland hasever been, God bless it! Islands make the pleasantest risidences. "

"Well I'll venture to oblige you and Biddy, Rosy, dear, " returnedthe aunt, still half reluctant to yield; "but you'll remember, thatif I find it at all a desert island, I'll not pass the night on iton any account whatever. "

With this understanding the party was transferred to the shore. Theboatswain had already erected a sort of a tent, on a favourablespot, using some of the old sails that had covered theflour-barrels, not only for the walls, but for a carpet of someextent also. This tent was ingeniously enough contrived. In additionto the little room that was entirely enclosed, there was a sort ofpiazza, or open verandah, which would enable its tenants to enjoythe shade in the open air. Beneath this verandah, a barrel of freshwater was placed, as well as three or four ship's stools, all ofwhich had been sent ashore with the materials for constructing thetent. The boat had been going and coming for some time, and thedistance being short, the "desert island" was soon a desert nolonger. It is true that the supplies necessary to support threewomen for as many days, were no great matter, and were soon landed, but Jack Tier had made a provision somewhat more ample. A capitalcaterer, he had forgotten nothing within the compass of his means, that could contribute to the comfort of those who had been putespecially under his care. Long before the people "knocked off" fortheir dinners, the arrangements were completed, and the boatswainwas ready to take his leave. 

"Well, ladies, " said that grum old salt, "I can do no more for you, as I can see. This here island is now almost as comfortable as aship that has been in blue water for a month, and I do n't know howit can be made more comfortabler. "

This was only according to the boatswain's notion of comfort; butRose thanked him for his care in her winning way, while her auntadmitted that, "for a place that was almost a desert island, thingsdid look somewhat promising. " In a few minutes the men were allgone, and the islet was left to the sole possession of the threefemales, and their constant companion, Jack Tier. Rose was pleasedwith the novelty of her situation, though the islet certainly diddeserve the opprobrium of being a "desert island. " There was noshade but that of the tent, and its verandah-like covering, thoughthe last, in particular, was quite extensive. There was no water, that in the barrel and that of the ocean excepted. Of herbage therewas very little on this islet, and that was of the most meagre andcoarse character, being a long wiry grass, with here and there a fewstunted bushes. The sand was reasonably firm, however, moreespecially round the shore, and the walking was far from unpleasant. Little did Rose know it, but a week earlier, the spot would havebeen next to intolerable to her, on account of the musquitoes, gallinippers, and other similar insects of the family of tormentors;but everything of the sort had temporarily disappeared in thecurrents of the tornado. To do Spike justice, he was aware of thiscircumstance, or he might have hesitated about exposing females tothe ordinary annoyances of one of these spots. Not a musquito, oranything of the sort was left, however, all having gone to leeward, in the vortex which had come so near sweeping off the Mexicanschooner. 

"This place will do very well, aunty, for a day or two, " cried Rosecheerfully, as she returned from a short excursion, and threw asideher hat, one made to shade her face from the sun of a warm climate, leaving the sea-breeze that was just beginning to blow, to fan herblooming and sunny cheeks. "It is better than the brig. The worstpiece of land is better than the brig. "

"Do not say that, Rose--not if it's a desert island, dear; and thisis desperately like a desert island; I am almost sorry I ventured onit. "

"It will not be deserted by us, aunty, until we shall see occasionto do so. Why not endeavour to get on board of yonder ship, andreturn to New York in her; or at least induce her captain to put usashore somewhere near this, and go home by land. Your health neverseemed better than it is at this moment; and as for mine, I doassure you, aunty, dear, I am as perfectly well as I ever was in mylife. "

"All from this voyage. I knew it would set you up, and am delightedto hear you say as much. Biddy and I were talking of you this verymorning, my child, and we both agreed that you were getting to beyourself again. Oh, ships, and brigs, and schooners, full-jigger orhalf-jigger, for pulmonary complaints, say I! My poor Mr. Buddalways maintained that the ocean was the cure for all diseases, andI determined that to sea you should go, the moment I became alarmedfor your health. "

The good widow loved Rose most tenderly, and she was obliged to useher handkerchief to dry the tears from her eyes as she concluded. Those tears sprung equally from a past feeling of apprehension, anda present feeling of gratitude. Rose saw this, and she took a seatat her aunt's side, touched herself, as she never failed to be onsimilar occasions with this proof of her relative's affection. Atthat moment even Harry Mulford would have lost a good deal in herkind feelings toward him, had he so much as smiled at one of thewidow's nautical absurdities. At such times, Rose seemed to be heraunt's guardian and protectress, instead of reversing the relations, and she entirely forgot herself the many reasons which existed forwishing that she had been placed in childhood, under the care of onebetter qualified than the well-meaning relict of her uncle, for theperformance of her duties. 

"Thank you, aunty--thank'ee, dear aunty, " said Rose, kissing thewidow affectionately. "I know that you mean the best for me, thoughyou are a little mistaken in supposing me ill. I do assure you, dear, " patting her aunt's cheek, as if she herself had been merely aplayful child, "I never was better; and if I have been pulmonary, Iam entirely cured, and am now ready to return home. "

"God be praised for this, Rosy. Under His divine providence, it isall owing to the sea. If you really feel so much restored, however, I do not wish to keep you a moment longer on a ship's board than isnecessary. We owe something to Captain Spike's care, and cannot quithim too unceremoniously; but as soon as he is at liberty to go intoa harbour, I will engage him to do so, and we can return home byland--unless, indeed, the brig intends to make the home voyageherself. "

"I do not like this brig, aunty, and now we are out of her, I wishwe could keep out of her. Nor do I like your Captain Spike, whoseems to me anything but an agreeable gentleman. "

"That's because you arn't accustomed to the sea. My poor Mr. Buddhad his ways, like all the rest of them; it takes time to getacquainted with them. All sailors are so. "

Rose bent her face involuntarily, but so low as to conceal theincreasing brightness of her native bloom, as she answered, "Harry Mulford is not so, aunty, dear--and he is every inch asailor. "

"Well, there is a difference, I must acknowledge, though I dare sayHarry will grow every day more and more like all the rest of them. In the end, he will resemble Captain Spike. "

"Never, " said Rose, firmly. 

"You can't tell, child. I never saw your uncle when he was Harry'sage, for I was n't born till he was thirty, but often and often hashe pointed out to me some slender, genteel youth, and say, `justsuch a lad was I at twenty, ' though nothing could be less alike, atthe moment he was speaking, than they two. We all change with ouryears. Now I was once as slender, and almost--not quite, Rosy, forfew there are that be--but almost as handsome as you yourself. "

"Yes, aunty, I've heard that before, " said Rose, springing up, inorder to change the discourse; "but Harry Mulford will never becomelike Stephen Spike. I wish we had never known the man, dearestaunty. "

"It was all your own doings, child. He's a cousin of your mostintimate friend, and she brought him to the house; and one could n'toffend Mary Mulford, by telling her we did n't like her cousin. "

Rose seemed vexed, and she kept her little foot in motion, pattingthe sail that formed the carpet, as girls will pat the ground withtheir feet when vexed. This gleam of displeasure was soon over, however, and her countenance became as placid as the clear, blue skythat formed the vault of the heavens above her head. As if to atonefor the passing rebellion of her feelings, she threw her arms aroundher aunt's neck; after which she walked away, along the beach, ruminating on her present situation, and of the best means ofextricating their party from the power of Spike. 

It requires great familiarity with vessels and the seas, for one tothink, read, and pursue the customary train of reasoning on board aship that one has practised ashore. Rose had felt this embarrassmentduring the past month, for the whole of which time she had scarcelybeen in a condition to act up to her true character, suffering herenergies, and in some measure her faculties, to be drawn into thevortex produced by the bustle, novelties, and scenes of the vesseland the ocean. But, now she was once more on the land, diminutiveand naked as was the islet that composed her present world, and shefound leisure and solitude for reflection and decision. She was notignorant of the nature of a vessel of war, or of the impropriety ofunprotected females placing themselves on board of one; butgentlemen of character, like the officers of the ship in sight, could hardly be wanting in the feelings of their caste; and anythingwas better than to return voluntarily within the power of Spike. Shedetermined within her own mind that voluntarily she would not. Weshall leave this young girl, slowly wandering along the beach of herislet, musing on matters like these, while we return to the vesselsand the mariners. 

A good breeze had come in over the reef from the Gulf, throwing thesloop-of-war dead to leeward of the brigantine's anchorage. This wasthe reason that the former had closed so slowly. Still the distancebetween the vessels was so small, that a swift cruiser, like theship of war, would soon have been alongside of the wreckers, but forthe intervening islets and the intricacies of their channels. Shehad made sail on the wind, however, and was evidently disposed tocome as near to the danger as her lead showed would be safe, even ifshe did not venture among them. 

Spike noted all these movements, and he took his measuresaccordingly. The pumping and bailing had been going on since theappearance of light, and the flour had been quite half removed fromthe schooner's hold. That vessel consequently floated withsufficient buoyancy, and no further anxiety was felt on account ofher sinking. Still, a great deal of water remained in her, the cabinitself being nearly half full. Spike's object was to reduce thiswater sufficiently to enable him to descend into the state-roomwhich Se¤or Montefalderon had occupied, and bring away the doubloonsthat alone kept him in the vicinity of so ticklish a neighbour asthe Poughkeepsie. Escape was easy enough to one who knew thepassages of the reef and islets; more especially since the wind hadso fortunately brought the cruiser to leeward. Spike mostapprehended a movement upon him in the boats, and he had almost madeup his mind, should such an enterprise be attempted, to try his handin beating it off with his guns. A good deal of uncertainty on thesubject of Mulford's consenting to resist the recognised authoritiesof the country, as well as some doubts of a similar nature inreference to two or three of the best of the foremast hands, aloneleft him at all in doubt as to the expediency of such a course. Asno boats were lowered from the cruiser, however, the necessity ofresorting to so desperate a measure, did not occur, and the duty oflightening the schooner had proceeded without interruption. As soonas the boatswain came off from the islet, he and the men with himwere directed to take the hands and lift the anchors, of which itwill be remembered the Swash had several down. Even Mulford wasshortly after set at work on the same duty; and these expert andready seamen soon had the brig clear of the ground. As the schoonerwas anchored, and floated without assistance, the Swash rode by her. 

Such was the state of things when the men turned to, after havinghad their dinners. By this time, the sloop-of-war was within half aleague of the bay, her progress having been materially retarded bythe set of the current, which was directly against her. Spike sawthat a collision of some sort or other must speedily occur, and hedetermined to take the boatswain with him, and descend into thecabin of the schooner in quest of the gold. The boatswain wassummoned, and Se¤or Montefalderon repeated in this man's presencethe instructions that he thought it necessary for the adventurers tofollow, in order to secure the prize. Knowing how little locks wouldavail on board a vessel, were the men disposed to rob him, thatgentleman had trusted more to secreting his treasure, than tosecuring it in the more ordinary way. When the story had again beentold, Spike and his boatswain went on board the schooner, and, undressing, they prepared to descend into the cabin. The captainpaused a single instant to take a look at the sloop-of-war, and toexamine the state of the weather. It is probable some new impressionwas made on him by this inquiry, for, hailing Mulford, he orderedhim to loosen the sails, and to sheet home, and hoist theforetopsail. In a word, to "see all ready to cast off, and make sailon the brig at the shortest notice. " With this command hedisappeared by the schooner's companion-way. 

Spike and his companion found the water in the cabin very muchdeeper than they had supposed. With a view to comfort, thecabin-floor had been sunk much lower than is usual on board Americanvessels, and this brought the water up nearly to the arm-pits of twomen as short as our captain and his sturdy little boatswain. Theformer grumbled a good deal, when he ascertained the fact, and saidsomething about the mate's being better fitted to make a search insuch a place, but concluding with the remark, that "the man whowants ticklish duty well done, must see to it himself. "

The gold-hunters groped their way cautiously about the cabin forsome time, feeling for a drawer, in which they had been told theyshould find the key of Se¤or Montefalderon's state-room door. Inthis Spike himself finally succeeded, he being much betteracquainted with cabins and their fixtures, than the boatswain. 

"Here it is, Ben, " said the captain, "now for a dive among the Don'sval'ables. Should you pick up anything worth speaking of, you cancondemn it for salvage, as I mean to cast off, and quit the wrackthe moment we've made sure of the doubloons. "

"And what will become of all the black flour that is lying about, sir?" asked the boatswain with a grin. 

"It may take care of itself. My agreement will be up as soon as thedoubloons are found. If the Don will come down handsomely with hisshare of what will be left, I may be bought to put the kegs we havein the brig ashore for him somewhere in Mexico; but my wish is toget out of the neighbourhood of that bloody sloop-of-war, as soon aspossible. "

"She makes but slow headway ag'in the current, sir; but a body wouldthink she might send in her boats. "

"The boats might be glad to get back again, " muttered Spike. "Ay, here is the door unlocked, and we can now fish for the money. "

Some object had rolled against the state-room door, when the vesselwas capsized, and there was a good deal of difficulty in forcing itopen. They succeeded at last, and Spike led the way by wading intothe small apartment. Here they began to feel about beneath thewater, and by a very insufficient light, in quest of the hiddentreasure. Spike and his boatswain differed as to the place which hadjust been described to them, as men will differ even in the accountof events that pass directly before their eyes. While thus employed, the report of a heavy gun came through the doors of the cabin, penetrating to the recess in which they were thus employed. 

"Ay, that's the beginning of it!" exclaimed Spike. "I wonder thatthe fool has put it off so long. "

"That gun was a heavy fellow, Captain Spike, " returned theboatswain; "and it sounded in my ears as if't was shotted. "

"Ay, ay, I dare say you're right enough in both opinions. They putsuch guns on board their sloops-of-war, now-adays, as a fellow usedto find in the lower batteries of a two-decker only in old times;and as for shot, why Uncle Sam pays, and they think it cheaper tofire one out of a gun, than to take the trouble of drawing it. "

"I believe here's one of the bags, Captain Spike, " said theboatswain, making a dip, and coming up with one-half of the desiredtreasure in his fist. "By George, I've grabbed him, sir; and theother bag can't be far off. "

"Hand that over to me, " said the captain, a little authoritatively, "and take a dive for the next. "

As the boatswain was obeying this order, a second gun was heard, andSpike thought that the noise made by the near passage of a largeshot was audible also. He called out to Ben to "bear a hand, as theship seems in 'arnest. " But the head of the boatswain being underwater at the time, the admonition was thrown away. The fellow sooncame up, however, puffing like a porpoise that has risen to thesurface to blow. 

"Hand it over to me at once, " said Spike, stretching out hisunoccupied hand to receive the prize; "we have little time to lose. "

"That's sooner said than done, sir, " answered the boat-swain; "a boxhas driven down upon the bag, and there's a tight jam. I got hold ofthe neck of the bag, and pulled like a horse, but it wouldn't comeno how. "

"Show me the place, and let me have a drag at it. There goes anotherof his bloody guns!"

Down went Spike, and the length of time he was under water, provedhow much he was in earnest. Up he came at length, and with no betterluck than his companion. He had got hold of the bag, satisfiedhimself by feeling its outside that it contained the doubloons, andhauled with all his strength, but it would not come. The boatswainnow proposed to take a jamming hitch with a rope around the neck ofthe bag, which was long enough to admit of such a fastening, andthen to apply their united force. Spike assented, and the boatswainrummaged about for a piece of small rope to suit his purpose. Atthis moment Mulford appeared at the companion-way to announce themovements on the part of the sloop-of-war. He had been purposelytardy, in order to give the ship as much time as possible; but hesaw by the looks of the men that a longer delay might excitesuspicion. 

"Below there!" called out the mate. 

"What's wanting, sir?--what's wanting, sir?" answered Spike; "let'sknow at once. "

"Have you heard the guns, Captain Spike?"

"Ay, ay, every grumbler of them. They've done no mischief, I trust, Mr. Mulford?"

"None as yet, sir; though the last shot, and it was a heavy fellow, passed just above the schooner's deck. I've the topsail sheeted homeand hoisted, and it's that which has set them at work. If I clewedup again, I dare say they'd not fire another gun. "

"Clew up nothing, sir, but see all clear for casting off and makingsail through the South Pass. What do you say, Ben, are you ready fora drag?"

"All ready, sir, " answered the boatswain, once more coming up tobreathe. "Now for it, sir; a steady pull, and a pull all together. "

They did pull, but the hitch slipped, and both went down beneath thewater. In a moment they were up again, puffing a little and swearinga great deal. Just then another gun, and a clatter above theirheads, brought them to a stand. 

"What means that, Mr. Mulford?" demanded Spike, a good dealstartled. 

"It means that the sloop-of-war has shot away the head of thisschooner's foremast, sir, and that the shot has chipp'd a smallpiece out of the heel of our maintop-mast--that's all. "

Though excessively provoked at the mate's cool manner of replying, Spike saw that he might lose all by being too tenacious aboutsecuring the remainder of the doubloons. Pronouncing in veryenergetic terms on Uncle Sam, and all his cruisers, an anathema thatwe do not care to repeat, he gave a surly order to Ben to"knock-off, " and abandoned his late design. In a minute he was ondeck and dressed. 

"Cast off, lads, " cried the captain, as soon as on the deck of hisown brig again, "and four of you man that boat. We have got half ofyour treasure, Se¤or Wan, but have been driven from the rest of it, as you see. There is the bag; when at leisure we'll divide it, andgive the people their share. Mr. Mulford, keep the brig in motion, hauling up toward the South Pass, while I go ashore for the ladies. I'll meet you just in the throat of the passage. "

This said, Spike tumbled into his boat, and was pulled ashore. Asfor Mulford, though he cast many an anxious glance toward the islet, he obeyed his orders, keeping the brig standing off and on, undereasy canvas, but working her up toward the indicated passage. 

Spike was met by Jack Tier on the beach of the little island. 

"Muster the women at once, " ordered the captain, "we have no time tolose, for that fellow will soon be firing broad-sides, and his shotnow range half a mile beyond us. "

"You'll no more move the widow and her maid, than you'll move theisland, " answered Jack, laconically. 

"Why should I not move them? Do they wish to stay here and starve?"

"It's little that they think of that. The sloop-of-war no soonerbegun to fire than down went Mrs. Budd on the canvas floor of thetent, and set up just such a screaming as you may remember she triedher hand at the night the revenue craft fired into us. Biddy laydown alongside of her mistress, and at every gun, they just screamas loud as they can, as if they fancied they might frighten offUncle Sam's men from their duty. "

"Duty!--You little scamp, do you call tormenting honest traders inthis fashion the duty of any man?"

"Well, captain, I'm no ways partic'lar about a word or two. Their`ways, ' if you like that better than duty, sir. "

"Where's Rose? Is she down too, screaming and squalling?"

"No, Captain Spike, no. Miss Rose is endeavouring, like a handsomeyoung Christian lady as she is, to pacify and mollify her aunt andBiddy; and right down sensible talk does she give them. "

"Then she at least can go aboard the brig, " exclaimed Spike, with asudden animation, and an expression of countenance that Jack did notat all like. 

"I ray-y-ther think she'll wish to hold on to the old lady, "observed the steward's-mate, a little emphatically. 

"You be d--d, " cried Spike, fiercely; "when your opinion is wanted, I'll ask for it. If I find you've been setting that young woman'smind ag'in me, I'll toss you overboard, as I would the offals of ashark. "

"Young women's minds, when they are only nineteen, get set ag'inboys of fifty-six without much assistance. "

"Fifty-six yourself. "

"I'm fifty-three--that I'll own without making faces at it, "returned Jack, meekly; "and, Stephen Spike, you logged fifty-sixyour last birthday, or a false entry was made. "

This conversation did not take place in the presence of the boat'screw, but as the two walked together toward the tent. They were nowin the verandah, as we have called the shaded opening in front, andactually within sound of the sweet voice of Rose, as she exhortedher aunt, in tones a little louder than usual for her to use, tomanifest more fortitude. Under such circumstances Spike did not deemit expedient to utter that which was uppermost in his mind, but, turning short upon Tier, he directed a tremendous blow directlybetween his eyes. Jack saw the danger and dodged, falling backwardto avoid a concussion which he knew would otherwise be fearful, coming as it would from one of the best forecastle boxers of histime. The full force of the blow was avoided, though Jack got enoughof it to knock him down, and to give him a pair of black eyes. Spikedid not stop to pick the assistant steward up, for another gun wasfired at that very instant, and Mrs. Budd and Biddy renewed theirscreams. Instead of pausing to kick the prostrate Tier, as had justbefore been his intention, the captain entered the tent. 

A scene that was sufficiently absurd met the view of Spike, when hefound himself in the presence of the females. The widow had thrownherself on the ground, and was grasping the cloth of the sail onwhich the tent had been erected with both her hands, and wasscreaming at the top of her voice. Biddy's imitation was not exactlyliteral, for she had taken a comfortable seat at the side of hermistress, but in the way of cries, she rather outdid her principal. 

"We must be off, " cried Spike, somewhat unceremoniously. "Theman-of-war is blazing away, as if she was a firin' minute-guns overour destruction, and I can wait no longer. "

"I'll not stir, " answered the widow--"I can't stir--I shall be shotif I go out. No, no, no--I'll not stir an inch. "

"We'll be kilt!--we'll be kilt!" echoed Biddy, "and a wicketmurther't will be in that same man, war or no war. "

The captain perceived the uselessness of remonstrance at such amoment, and perhaps he was secretly rejoiced thereat; but it iscertain that he whipped Rose up under his arm, and walked away withher, as if she had been a child of two or three years of age. Rosedid not scream, but she struggled and protested vehemently. It wasin vain. Already the captain had carried her half the distancebetween the tent and the boat, in the last of which, a minute morewould have deposited his victim, when a severe blow on the back ofhis head caused Spike to stumble, and he permitted Rose to escapefrom his grasp, in the effort to save himself from a fall. Turningfiercely toward his assailant, whom he suspected to be one of hisboat's crew, he saw Tier standing within a few yards, levelling apistol at him. 

"Advance a step, and you're a dead man, villain!" screamed Jack, hisvoice almost cracked with rage, and the effort he made to menace. 

Spike muttered an oath too revolting for our pages; but it was sucha curse as none but an old salt could give vent to, and that in thebitterness of his fiercest wrath. At that critical moment, whileRose was swelling with indignation and wounded maiden pride, almostwithin reach of his arms, looking more lovely than ever, as theflush of anger deepened the colour in her cheeks, a fresh and deepreport from one of the guns of the sloop-of-war drew all eyes in herdirection. The belching of that gun seemed to be of double the powerof those which had preceded it, and jets of water, that were twentyfeet in height, marked the course of the formidable missile that wasprojected from the piece. The ship had, indeed, discharged one ofthose monster-cannons that bear the name of a distinguished Frenchengineer, but which should more properly be called by the name ofthe ingenious officer who is at the head of our own ordnance, asthey came originally from his inventive faculties, though somewhatimproved by their European adopter. Spike suspected the truth, forhe had heard of these "Pazans, " as he called them, and he watchedthe booming, leaping progress of the eight-inch shell that this gunthrew, with the apprehension that unknown danger is apt to excite. As jet succeeded jet, each rising nearer and nearer to his brig, theinterval of time between them seeming fearfully to diminish, hemuttered oath upon oath. The last leap that the shell made on thewater was at about a quarter of a mile's distance of the islet onwhich his people had deposited at least a hundred and fifty barrelsof his spurious flour:-thence it flew, as it might be without aneffort, with a grand and stately bound into the very centre of thebarrels, exploding at the moment it struck. All saw the scatteringof flour, which was instantly succeeded by the heavy though slightlystraggling explosion of all the powder on the island. A hundred kegswere lighted, as it might be, in a common flash, and a cloud ofwhite smoke poured out and concealed the whole islet, and all nearit. 

Rose stood confounded, nor was Jack Tier in a much better state ofmind, though he still kept the pistol levelled, and menaced Spike. But the last was no longer dangerous to any there. He recollectedthat piles of the barrels encumbered the decks of his vessel, and herushed to the boat, nearly frantic with haste, ordering the men topull for their lives. In less than five minutes he was alongside, and on the deck of the Swash--his first order being to--"Tumbleevery barrel of this bloody powder into the sea, men. Over with it, Mr. Mulford, clear away the midship ports, and launch as much as youcan through them. "

Remonstrance on the part of Se¤or Montefalderon would have beenuseless, had he been disposed to make it; but, sooth to say, he wasas ready to get rid of the powder as any there, after the specimenhe had just witnessed of the power of a Paixhan gun. 

Thus it is ever with men. Had two or three of those shells beenfirst thrown without effect, as might very well have happened underthe circumstances, none there would have cared for the risk theywere running; but the chance explosion which had occurred, presentedso vivid a picture of the danger, dormant and remote as it reallywas, as to throw the entire crew of the Swash into a frenzy ofexertion. 

Nor was the vessel at all free from danger. On the contrary, she ranvery serious risk of being destroyed, and in some degree, in thevery manner apprehended. Perceiving that Spike was luffing upthrough one of the passages nearest the reef, which would carry himclear of the group, a long distance to windward of the point wherehe could only effect the same object, the commander of thesloop-of-war opened his fire in good earnest, hoping to shoot awaysomething material on board the Swash, before she could get beyondthe reach of his shot. The courses steered by the two vessels, justat that moment, favoured such an attempt, though they made itnecessarily very short-lived. While the Swash was near the wind, thesloop-of-war was obliged to run off to avoid islets ahead of her, acircumstance which, while it brought the brig square with the ship'sbroadside, compelled the latter to steer on a diverging line to thecourse of her chase. It was in consequence of these facts, that thesloop-of-war now opened in earnest, and was soon canopied in thesmoke of her own fire. 

Great and important changes, as has been already mentioned, havebeen made in the armaments of all the smaller cruisers within thelast few years. Half a generation since, a ship of the rate--we donot say of the size--of the vessel which was in chase of Spike andhis craft, would not have had it in her power to molest an enemy atthe distance these two vessels were now apart. But recentimprovements have made ships of this nominal force formidable atnearly a league's distance; more especially by means of theirPaixhans and their shells. 

For some little time the range carried the shot directly over theislet of the tent; Jack Tier and Rose, both of whom were watchingall that passed with intense interest, standing in the open air thewhole time, seemingly with no concern for themselves, so absorbedwas each, notwithstanding all that had passed, in the safety of thebrig. As for Rose, she thought only of Harry Mulford, and of thedanger he was in by those fearful explosions of the shells. Herquick intellect comprehended the peculiar nature of the risk thatwas incurred by having the flour-barrels on deck, and she could notbut see the manner in which Spike and his men were tumbling theminto the water, as the quickest manner of getting rid of them. Afterwhat had just passed between Jack Tier and his commander, it mightnot be so easy to account for his manifest, nay, intense interest inthe escape of the Swash. This was apparent by his troubledcountenance, by his exclamations, and occasionally by his openlyexpressed wishes for her safety. Perhaps it was no more than theinterest the seaman is so apt to feel in the craft in which he hasso long sailed, and which to him has been a home, and of whichMulford exhibited so much, in his struggles between feeling andconscience--between a true and a false duty. 

As for Spike and his people, we have already mentioned their effortsto get rid of the powder. Shell after shell exploded, though nonevery near the brig, the ship working her guns as if in action. Atlength the officers of the sloop-of-war detected a source of errorin their aim, that is of very common occurrence in sea-gunnery. Their shot had been thrown to ricochet, quartering a low, but veryregular succession of little waves. Each shot striking the water atan acute angle to its agitated surface, was deflected from astraight line, and described a regular curve toward the end of itscareer; or, it might be truer to say, an irregular curvature, forthe deflection increased as the momentum of the missile diminished. 

No sooner did the commanding officer of the sloop-of-war discoverthis fact, and it was easy to trace the course of the shots by thejets of water they cast into the air, and to see as well as to hearthe explosions of the shells, than he ordered the guns pointed moreto windward, as a means of counteracting the departure from thestraight lines. This expedient succeeded in part, the solid shotfalling much nearer to the brig the moment the practice was resortedto. No shell was fired for some little time after the new order wasissued, and Spike and his people began to hope these terrificmissiles had ceased their annoyance. The men cheered, finding theirvoices for the first time since the danger had seemed so imminent, and Spike was heard animating them to their duty. As for Mulford, hewas on the coach-house deck, working the brig, the captain havingconfided to him that delicate duty, the highest proof he couldfurnish of confidence in his seamanship. The handsome young mate hadjust made a half-board, in the neatest manner, shoving the brig byits means through a most difficult part of the passage, and had gother handsomely filled again on the same tack, looking right out intoopen water, by a channel through which she could now stand on a veryeasy bowline. Everything seemed propitious, and the sloop-of-war'ssolid shot began to drop into the water, a hundred yards short ofthe brig. In this state of things one of the Paixhans belched forthits angry flame and sullen roar again. There was no mistaking thegun. Then came its mass of iron, a globe that would have weighedjust sixty-eight pounds, had not sufficient metal been left out ofits interior to leave a cavity to contain a single pound of powder. Its course, as usual, was to be marked by its path along the sea, asit bounded, half a mile at a time, from wave to wave. Spike saw byits undeviating course that this shell was booming terrificallytoward his brig, and a cry to "look out for the shell, " caused thework to be suspended. That shell struck the water for the last time, within two hundred yards of the brig, rose dark and menacing in itsfurious leap, but exploded at the next instant. The fragments of theiron were scattered on each side, and ahead. Of the last, three orfour fell into the water so near the vessel as to cast their sprayon her decks. 

"Overboard with the rest of the powder!" shouted Spike. "Keep thebrig off a little, Mr. Mulford--keep her off, sir; you luff toomuch, sir. "

"Ay, ay, sir, " answered the mate. "Keep her off, it is. "

"There comes the other shell!" cried Ben, but the men did not quittheir toil to gaze this time. Each seaman worked as if life anddeath depended on his single exertions. Spike alone watched thecourse of the missile. On it came, booming and hurtling through theair, tossing high the jets, at each leap it made from the surface, striking the water for its last bound, seemingly in a line with theshell that had just preceded it. From that spot it made its finalleap. Every hand in the brig was stayed and every eye was raised asthe rushing tempest was heard advancing. The mass went mutteringdirectly between the masts of the Swash. It had scarcely seemed togo by when the fierce flash of fire and the sharp explosionfollowed. Happily for those in the brig, the projectile force givenby the gun carried the fragments from them, as in the other instanceit had brought them forward; else would few have escaped mutilation, or death, among their crew. 

The flashing of fire so near the barrels of powder that stillremained on their deck, caused the frantic efforts to be renewed, and barrel after barrel was tumbled overboard, amid the shouts thatwere now raised to animate the people to their duty. 

"Luff, Mr. Mulford--luff you may, sir, " cried Spike. No answer wasgiven. 

"D'ye hear there, Mr. Mulford?--it is luff you may, sir. "

"Mr. Mulford is not aft, sir, " called out the man at the helm--"butluff it is, sir. "

"Mr. Mulford not aft! Where's the mate, man? Tell him he is wanted. "

No Mulford was to be found! A call passed round the decks, was sentbelow, and echoed through the entire brig, but no sign or tidingscould be had of the handsome mate. At that exciting moment thesloop-of-war seemed to cease her firing, and appeared to be securingher guns. 

CHAPTER VII. 

 Thou art the same, eternal sea! The earth has many shapes and forms, Of hill and valley, flower and tree; Fields that the fervid noontide warms, Or winter's rugged grasp deforms, Or bright with autumn's golden store; Thou coverest up thy face with storms, Or smilest serene, --but still thy roar And dashing foam go up to vex the sea-beat shore:

Lunt. 

We shall now advance the time eight-and-forty hours. The bafflingwinds and calms that succeeded the tornado had gone, and the tradesblew in their stead. Both vessels had disappeared, the brig leading, doubling the western extremity of the reef, and going off beforeboth wind and current, with flowing sheets, fully three hours beforethe sloop-of-war could beat up against the latter, to a point thatenabled her to do the same thing. By that time, the Swash wasfive-and-twenty miles to the eastward, and consequently but justdiscernible in her loftiest sails, from the ship's royal yards. Still, the latter continued the chase; and that evening both vesselswere beating down along the southern margin of the Florida Reef, against the trades, but favoured by a three or four knot current, the brig out of sight to windward. Our narrative leads us to losesight of both these vessels, for a time, in order to return to theislets of the Gulf. Eight-and-forty hours had made some changes inand around the haven of the Dry Tortugas. The tent still stood, anda small fire that was boiling its pot and its kettle, at no greatdistance from it, proved that the tent was still inhabited. Theschooner also rode at her anchors, very much as she had beenabandoned by Spike. The bag of doubloons, however, had been found, and there it lay, tied but totally unguarded, in the canvas verandahof Rose Budd's habitation. Jack Tier passed and repassed it withapparent indifference, as he went to and fro, between his pantry andkitchen, busy as a bee in preparing his noontide meal for the day. This man seemed to have the islet all to himself, however, no oneelse being visible on any part of it. He sang his song, in acracked, contre alto voice, and appeared to be happy in hissolitude. Occasionally he talked to himself aloud, most probablybecause he had no one else to speak to. We shall record one of hisrecitatives, which came in between the strains of a veryinharmonious air, the words of which treated of the seas, while thesteward's assistant was stirring an exceedingly savoury mess that hehad concocted of the ingredients to be found in the united lardersof the Swash and the Mexican schooner. 

"Stephen Spike is a capital willian!" exclaimed Jack, smelling at aladle filled with his soup--"a capital willian, I call him. Tothink, at his time of life, of such a handsome and pleasant youngthing as this Rose Budd; and then to try to get her by underhandmeans, and by making a fool of her silly old aunt. It 's wonderfulwhat fools some old aunts be! Quite wonderful! If I was as great asimpleton as this Mrs. Budd, I'd never cross my threshhold. Yes, Stephen Spike is a prodigious willian, as his best friend must own!Well, I gave him a thump on the head that he'll not forget thisv'y'ge. To think of carryin' off that pretty Rose Budd in his veryarms, in so indecent a manner! Yet, the man has his good p'ints, ifa body could only forget his bad ones. He's a first-rate seaman. Howhe worked the brig till he doubled the reef, a'ter she got into openwater; and how he made her walk off afore the wind, with stun'sailsalow and aloft, as soon as ever he could make 'em draw! My life forit, he 'll tire the legs of Uncle Sam's man, afore he can fetch upwith him. For running away, when hard chased, Stephen Spike has n'this equal on 'arth. But, he's a great willian--a prodigious willian!I cannot say I actually wish him hanged; but I would rather have himhanged than see him get pretty Rose in his power. What has he to dowith girls of nineteen? If the rascal is one year old, he'sfifty-six. I hope the sloop-of-war will find her match, and I thinkshe will. The Molly's a great traveller, and not to be outdoneeasily. 'T would be a thousand pities so lovely a craft should becut off in the flower of her days, as it might be, and I do hopeshe'll lead that bloody sloop on some sunken rock. 

"Well, there's the other bag of doubloons. It seems Stephen couldnot get it. That's odd, too, for he's great at grabbin' gold. Theman bears his age well; but he's a willian! I wonder whether he orMulford made that half-board in the narrow channel. It was welldone, and Stephen is a perfect sailor; but he says Mulford is thesame. Nice young man, that Mulford; just fit for Rose, and Rose forhim. Pity to part them. Can find no great fault with him, exceptthat he has too much conscience. There's such a thing as having toomuch, as well as too little conscience. Mulford has too much, andSpike has too little. For him to think of carryin' off a gal ofnineteen! I say he's fifty-six, if he's a day. How fond he used tobe of this very soup! If I've seen him eat a quart of it, I've seenhim eat a puncheon full of it, in my time. What an appetite the manhas when he's had a hard day's duty on 't! There 's a great deal toadmire, and a great deal to like in Stephen Spike, but he's areg'lar willian. I dare say he fancies himself a smart, jaunty youthag'in, as I can remember him; a lad of twenty, which was about hisyears when I first saw him, by the sign that I was very littleturned of fifteen myself. Spike was comely then, though Iacknowledge he's a willian. I can see him now, with his deep blueroundabout, his bell-mouthed trowsers, both of fine cloth--too finefor such a willian--but fine it was, and much did it become him. "

Here Jack made a long pause, during which, though he may havethought much, he said nothing. Nevertheless, he was n't idle thewhile. On the contrary, he passed no less than three several timesfrom the fire to the tent, and returned. Each time, in going andcoming, he looked intently at the bag of doubloons, though he didnot stop at it or touch it. Some associations connected with Spike'sfruitless attempts to obtain it must have formed its principalinterest with this singular being, as he muttered his captain's nameeach time in passing, though he said no more audibly. The concernsof the dinner carried him back and forth; and in his last visit tothe tent, he began to set a small table--one that had been broughtfor the convenience of Mrs. Budd and her niece, from the brig, andwhich of course still remained on the islet. It was while thusoccupied, that Jack Tier recommenced his soliloquy. 

"I hope that money may do some worthy fellow good yet. It's Mexicangold, and that's inemy's gold, and might be condemned by law, I dosuppose. Stephen had a hankerin' a'ter it, but he did not get it. Itcome easy enough to the next man that tried. That Spike 's awillian, and the gold was too good for him. He has no conscience atall to think of a gal of nineteen! And one fit for his betters, inthe bargain. The time has been when Stephen Spike might havepretended to Rose Budd's equal. That much I'll ever maintain, butthat time's gone; and, what is more, it will never come again. Ishould like Mulford better if he had a little less conscience. Conscience may do for Uncle Sam's ships, but it is sometimes in theway aboard a trading craft. What can a fellow do with a consciencewhen dollars is to be smuggled off, or tobacco smuggled ashore? I dosuppose I've about as much conscience as it is useful to have, andI've got ashore in my day twenty thousand dollars' worth of stuff, of one sort or another, if I've got ashore the valie of ten dollars. But Spike carries on business on too large a scale, and many's thetime I've told him so. I could have forgiven him anything but thisattempt on Rose Budd; and he's altogether too old for that, to saynothing of other people's rights. He's an up-and-down willian, and abody can make no more, nor any less of him. That soup must be neardone, and I'll hoist the signal for grub. "

This signal was a blue-peter of which one had been brought ashore tosignal the brig; and with which Jack now signalled the schooner. Ifthe reader will turn his eyes toward the last named vessel, he willfind the guests whom Tier expected to surround his table. Rose, heraunt, and Biddy were all seated, under an awning made by a sail, onthe deck of the schooner, which now floated so buoyantly as to showthat she had materially lightened since last seen. Such indeed wasthe fact, and he who had been the instrument of producing thischange, appeared on deck in the person of Mulford, as soon as he wastold that the blue-peter of Jack Tier was flying. 

The boat of the light-house, that in which Spike had landed in questof Rose, was lying alongside of the schooner, and sufficientlyexplained the manner in which the mate had left the brig. This boat, in fact, had been fastened astern, in the hurry of getting fromunder the sloop-of-war's fire, and Mulford had taken the opportunityof the consternation and frantic efforts produced by the explosionof the last shell thrown, to descend from his station on thecoach-house into this boat, to cut the painter, and to let the Swashglide away from him. This the vessel had done with great rapidity, leaving him unseen under the cover of her stern. As soon as in theboat, the mate had seized an oar, and sculled to an islet that waswithin fifty yards, concealing the boat behind a low hummock thatformed a tiny bay. All this was done so rapidly, that united to theconfusion on board the Swash, no one discovered the mate or theboat. Had he been seen, however, it is very little probable thatSpike would have lost a moment of time, in the attempt to recovereither. But he was not seen, and it was the general opinion on boardthe Swash, for quite an hour, that her handsome mate had beenknocked overboard and killed, by a fragment of the shell that hadseemed to explode almost in the ears of her people. When the reefwas doubled, however, and Spike made his preparations for meetingthe rough water, he hove to, and ordered his own yawl, which wasalso towing astern, to be hauled up alongside, in order to behoisted in. Then, indeed, some glimmerings of the truth were shed onthe crew, who missed the light-house boat. Though many contendedthat its painter must also have been cut by a fragment of the shell, and that the mate had died loyal to roguery and treason. Mulford wasmuch liked by the crew, and he was highly valued by Spike, onaccount of his seamanship and integrity, this latter being a qualitythat is just as necessary for one of the captain's character to meetwith in those he trusts as to any other man. But Spike thoughtdifferently of the cause of Mulford's disappearance, from his crew. He ascribed it altogether to love for Rose, when, in truth, it oughtin justice to have been quite as much imputed to a determination tosail no longer with a man who was clearly guilty of treason. Ofsmuggling, Mulford had long suspected Spike, though he had no directproof of the fact; but now he could not doubt that he was not onlyengaged in supplying the enemy with the munitions of war, but wasactually bargaining to sell his brig for a hostile cruiser, andpossibly to transfer himself and crew along with her. 

It is scarcely necessary to speak of the welcome Mulford receivedwhen he reached the islet of the tent. He and Rose had a longprivate conference, the result of which was to let the handsome mateinto the secret of his pretty companion's true feelings towardhimself. She had received him with tears, and a betrayal of emotionthat gave him every encouragement, and now she did not deny herpreference. In that interview the young people plighted to eachother their troth. Rose never doubted of obtaining her aunt'sconsent in due time, all her prejudices being in favour of the seaand sailors; and should she not, she would soon be her own mistress, and at liberty to dispose of herself and her pretty little fortuneas she might choose. But a cypher as she was, in all questions ofreal moment, Mrs. Budd was not a person likely to throw any realobstacle in the way of the young people's wishes; the true groundsof whose present apprehensions were all to be referred to Spike, hisintentions, and his well-known perseverance. Mulford was convincedthat the brig would be back in quest of the remaining doubloons, assoon as she could get clear of the sloop-of-war, though he was notaltogether without a hope that the latter, when she found itimpossible to overhaul her chase, might also return in order toascertain what discoveries could be made in and about the schooner. The explosion of the powder, on the islet, must have put theman-of-war's men in possession of the secret of the real quality ofthe flour that had composed her cargo, and it doubtless had awakenedall their distrust on the subject of the Swash's real business inthe Gulf. Under all the circumstances, therefore, it did appearquite as probable that one of the parties should reappear at thescene of their recent interview as the other. 

Bearing all these things in mind, Mulford had lost no time incompleting his own arrangements. He felt that he had some atonementto make to the country, for the part he had seemingly taken in thelate events, and it occurred to him, could he put the schooner in astate to be moved, then place her in the hands of the authorities, his own peace would be made, and his character cleared. Rose nosooner understood his plans and motives, than she entered into themwith all the ardour and self-devotion of her sex; for the singlehour of confidential and frank communication which had just passed, doubled the interest she felt in Mulford and in all that belonged tohim. Jack Tier was useful on board a vessel, though his want ofstature and force rendered him less so than was common withsea-faring men. His proper sphere certainly had been the cabins, where his usefulness was beyond all cavil; but he was now veryserviceable to Mulford on the deck of the schooner. The first twodays, Mrs. Budd had been left on the islet, to look to the concernsof the kitchen, while Mulford, accompanied by Rose, Biddy and JackTier, had gone off to the schooner, and set her pumps in motionagain. It was little that Rose could do, or indeed attempt to do, atthis toil, but the pumps being small and easily worked, Biddy andJack were of great service. By the end of the second day the pumpssucked; the cargo that remained in the schooner, as well as the formof her bottom, contributing greatly to lessen the quantity of thewater that was to be got out of her. 

Then it was that the doubloons fell into Mulford's hands, along witheverything else that remained below decks. It was perhaps fortunatethat the vessel was thoroughly purified by her immersion, and thearticles that were brought on deck to be dried were found in acondition to give no great offence to those who removed them. Byleaving the hatches off, and the cabin doors open, the warm winds ofthe trades effectually dried the interior of the schooner in thecourse of a single night; and when Mulford repaired on board of her, on the morning of the third day, he found her in a condition to befitted for his purposes. On this occasion Mrs. Budd had expressed awish to go off to look at her future accommodations, and Jack wasleft on the islet to cook the dinner, which will explain the actualstate of things as described in the opening of this chapter. 

As those who toil usually have a relish for their food, theappearance of the blue-peter was far from being unwelcome to thoseon board of the schooner. They got into the boat, and were sculledashore by Mulford, who, seaman-like, used only one hand inperforming this service. In a very few minutes they were all seatedat the little table, which was brought out into the tent-verandahfor the enjoyment of the breeze. 

"So far, well, " said Mulford, after his appetite was mainlyappeased; Rose picking crumbs, and affecting to eat, merely to havethe air of keeping him company; one of the minor proofs of thelittle attentions that spring from the affections. "So far, well. The sails are bent, and though they might be never and better, theycan be made to answer. It was fortunate to find anything like asecond suit on board a Mexican craft of that size at all. As it is, we have foresail, mainsail, and jib, and with that canvas I think wemight beat the schooner down to Key West in the course of a day anda night. If I dared to venture outside of the reef, it might be donesooner even, for they tell me there is a four-knot current sometimesin that track; but I do not like to venture outside, soshort-handed. The current inside must serve our turn, and we shallget smooth water by keeping under the lee of the rocks. I only hopewe shall not get into an eddy as we go further from the end of thereef, and into the bight of the coast. "

"Is there danger of that?" demanded Rose, whose quick intellect hadtaught her many of these things, since her acquaintance withvessels. 

"There may be, looking at the formation of the reef and islands, though I know nothing of the fact by actual observation. This is myfirst visit in this quarter. "

"Eddies are serious matters, " put in Mrs. Budd, "and my poor husbandcould not abide them. Tides are good things; but eddies are verydisagreeable. "

"Well, aunty, I should think eddies might sometimes be as welcome astides. It must depend, however, very much on the way one wishes togo. "

"Rose, you surprise me! All that you have read, and all that youhave heard, must have shown you the difference. Do they not say `aman is floating with the tide, ' when things are prosperous withhim--and don't ships drop down with the tide, and beat the wind withthe tide? And don't vessels sometimes `tide it up to town, ' as it iscalled, and is n't it thought an advantage to have the tide withyou?"

"All very true, aunty; but I do not see how that makes eddies anythe worse. "

"Because eddies are the opposite of tides, child. When the tide goesone way, the eddy goes another--is n't it so, Harry Mulford? Younever heard of one's floating in an eddy. "

"That's what we mean by an eddy, Mrs. Budd, " answered the handsomemate, delighted to hear Rose's aunt call him by an appellation sokind and familiar, --a thing she had never done previously to theintercourse which had been the consequence of their presentsituation. "Though I agree with Rose in thinking an eddy may be agood or a bad thing, and very much like a tide, as one wishes tosteer. "

"You amaze me, both of you! Tides are always spoken of favourably, but eddies never. If a ship gets ashore, the tide can float her off;that I've heard a thousand times. Then, what do the newspapers sayof President--, and Governor--, and Congressman--? Why, that theyall `float in the tide of public opinion, ' and that must meansomething particularly good, as they are always in office. No, no, Harry; I'll acknowledge that you do know something about ships; agood deal, considering how young you are; but you have something tolearn about eddies. Never trust one as long as you live. "

Mulford was silent, and Rose took the occasion to change thediscourse. 

"I hope we shall soon be able to quit this place, " she said; "for Iconfess to some dread of Captain Spike's return. "

"Captain Stephen Spike has greatly disappointed me, " observed theaunt, gravely. "I do not know that I was ever before deceived injudging a person. I could have sworn he was an honest, frank, well-meaning sailor--a character, of all others, that I love; but ithas turned out otherwise. "

"He's a willian!" mutttered Jack Tier. 

Mulford smiled; at which speech we must leave to conjecture; but heanswered Rose, as he ever did, promptly and with pleasure. 

"The schooner is ready, and this must be our last meal ashore, " hesaid. "Our outfit will be no great matter; but if it will carry usdown to Key West, I shall ask no more of it. As for the return ofthe Swash, I look upon it as certain. She could easily get clear ofthe sloop-of-war, with the start she had, and Spike is a man thatnever yet abandoned a doubloon, when he knew where one was to befound. "

"Stephen Spike is like all his fellow-creatures, " put in Jack Tier, pointedly. "He has his faults, and he has his virtues. "

"Virtue is a term I should never think of applying to such a man, "returned Mulford, a little surprised at the fellow's earnestness. "The word is a big one, and belongs to quite another class ofpersons. " Jack muttered a few syllables that were unintelligible, when again the conversation changed. 

Rose now inquired of Mulford as to their prospects of getting to KeyWest. He told her that the distance was about sixty miles; theirroute lying along the north or inner side of the Florida Reef. Thewhole distance was to be made against the trade-wind, which was thenblowing about an eight-knot breeze, though, bating eddies, theymight expect to be favoured with the current, which was less stronginside than outside of the reef. As for handling the schooner, Mulford saw no great difficulty in that. She was not large, and wasboth lightly sparred and lightly rigged. All her top-hamper had beentaken down by Spike, and nothing remained but the plainest and mostreadily-managed gear. A fore-and-aft vessel, sailing close by thewind, is not difficult to steer; will almost steer herself, indeed, in smooth water. Jack Tier could take his trick at the helm, in anyweather, even in running before the wind, the time when it is mostdifficult to guide a craft, and Rose might be made to understand theuse of the tiller, and taught to govern the motions of a vessel sosmall and so simply rigged, when on a wind and in smooth water. Onthe score of managing the schooner, therefore, Mulford thought therewould be little cause for apprehension. Should the weather continuesettled, he had little doubt of safely landing the whole party atKey West, in the course of the next four-and-twenty hours. Shortsail he should be obliged to carry, as well on account of thegreater facility of managing it, as on account of the circumstancethat the schooner was now in light ballast trim, and would not bearmuch canvas. He thought that the sooner they left the islets thebetter, as it could not be long ere the brig would be seen hoveringaround the spot. All these matters were discussed as the party stillsat at table; and when they left it, which was a few minutes later, it was to remove the effects they intended to carry away to theboat. This was soon done, both Jack Tier and Biddy proving veryserviceable, while Rose tripped backward and forward, with a stepelastic as a gazelle's, carrying light burdens. In half an hour theboat was ready. "Here lies the bag of doubloons still, " saidMulford, smiling. "Is it to be left, or shall we give it up to theadmiralty court at Key West, and put in a claim for salvage?"

"Better leave it for Spike, " said Jack unexpectedly. "Should he comeback, and find the doubloons, he may be satisfied, and not look forthe schooner. On the other hand, when the vessel is missing, he willthink that the money is in her. Better leave it for old Stephen. "

"I do not agree with you, Tier, " said Rose, though she looked asamicably at the steward's assistant, as she thus opposed hisopinion, as if anxious to persuade rather than coerce. "I do notquite agree with you. This money belongs to the Spanish merchant;and, as we take away with us his vessel, to give it up to theauthorities at Key West, I do not think we have a right to put hisgold on the shore and abandon it. "

This disposed of the question. Mulford took the bag, and carried itto the boat, without waiting to ascertain if Jack had any objection;while the whole party followed. In a few minutes everybody andeverything in the boat were transferred to the deck of the schooner. As for the tent, the old sails of which it was made, the furnitureit contained, and such articles of provisions as were not wanted, they were left on the islet, without regret. The schooner hadseveral casks of fresh water, which were found in her hold, and shehad also a cask or two of salted meats, besides several articles offood more delicate, that had been provided by Se¤or Montefalderonfor his own use, and which had not been damaged by the water. A kegof Boston crackers were among these eatables, quite half of whichwere still in a state to be eaten. They were Biddy's delight; and itwas seldom that she could be seen when not nibbling at one of them. The bread of the crew was hopelessly damaged. But Jack had made anample provision of bread when sent ashore, and there was still ahundred barrels of the flour in the schooner's hold. One of thesehad been hoisted on deck by Mulford, and opened. The injured flourwas easily removed, leaving a considerable quantity fit for the usesof the kitchen. As for the keg of gunpowder, it was incontinentlycommitted to the deep. 

Thus provided for, Mulford decided that the time had arrived when heought to quit his anchorage. He had been employed most of thatmorning in getting the schooner's anchor, a work of great toil tohim, though everybody had assisted. He had succeeded, and the vesselnow rode by a kedge, that he could easily weigh by means of a decktackle. It remained now, therefore, to lift this kedge and to standout of the bay of the islets. No sooner was the boat secured astern, and its freight disposed of, than the mate began to make sail. Inorder to hoist the mainsail well up, he was obliged to carry thehalyards to the windlass. Thus aided, he succeeded without muchdifficulty. He and Jack Tier and Biddy got the jib hoisted by hand;and as for the fore-sail, that would almost set itself. Of course, it was not touched until the kedge was aweigh. Mulford found littledifficulty in lifting the last, and he soon had the satisfaction offinding his craft clear of the ground. As Jack Tier was every waycompetent to take charge of the forecastle, Mulford now sprang aft, and took his own station at the helm; Rose acting as his prettyassistant on the quarter-deck. 

There is little mystery in getting a fore-and-aft vessel under way. Her sails fill almost as a matter of course, and motion follows as anecessary law. Thus did it prove with the Mexican schooner, whichturned out to be a fast-sailing and an easily-worked craft. She was, indeed, an American bottom, as it is termed, having been originallybuilt for the Chesapeake; and, though not absolutely what isunderstood by a Baltimore clipper, so nearly of that mould andnature as to possess some of the more essential qualities. Asusually happens, however, when a foreigner gets hold of an Americanschooner, the Mexicans had shortened her masts and lessened hercanvas. This circumstance was rather an advantage to Mulford, whowould probably have had more to attend to than he wished under theoriginal rig of the craft. 

Everybody, even to the fastidious Mrs. Budd, was delighted with theeasy and swift movement of the schooner. Mulford, now he had got herunder canvas, handled her without any difficulty, letting her standtoward the channel through which he intended to pass, with hersheets just taken in, though compelled to keep a little off, inorder to enter between the islets. No difficulty occurred, however, and in less than ten minutes the vessel was clear of the channels, and in open water. The sheets were now flattened in, and theschooner brought close by the wind. A trial of the vessel on thismode of sailing was no sooner made, than Mulford was induced toregret he had taken so many precautions against any increasing powerof the wind. To meet emergencies, and under the notion he shouldhave his craft more under command, the young man had reefed hismainsail, and taken the bonnets off of the foresail and jib. As theschooner stood up better than he had anticipated, the mate felt asall seamen are so apt to feel, when they see that their vesselsmight be made to perform more than is actually got out of them. Asthe breeze was fresh, however, he determined not to let out thereef; and the labour of lacing on the bonnets again was too great tobe thought of just at that moment. 

We all find relief on getting in motion, when pressed bycircumstances. Mulford had been in great apprehension of there-appearance of the Swash all that day; for it was about the timewhen Spike would be apt to return, in the event of his escaping fromthe sloop-of-war, and he dreaded Rose's again falling into the handsof a man so desperate. Nor is it imputing more than a very naturalcare to the young man, to say that he had some misgivings concerninghimself. Spike, by this time, must be convinced that his business inthe Gulf was known; and one who had openly thrown off his service, as his mate had done, would unquestionably be regarded as a traitorto his interests, whatever might be the relation in which he wouldstand to the laws of the country. It was probable such an allegedoffender would not be allowed to appear before the tribunals of theland, to justify himself and to accuse the truly guilty, if it werein the power of the last to prevent it. Great, therefore, was thesatisfaction of our handsome young mate when he found himself againfairly in motion, with a craft under him, that glided ahead in a wayto prove that she might give even the Swash some trouble to catchher, in the event of a trial of speed. 

Everybody entered into the feelings of Mulford, as the schoonerpassed gallantly out from between the islets, and entered the openwater. Fathom by fathom did her wake rapidly increase, until itcould no longer be traced back as far as the sandy beaches that hadjust been left. In a quarter of an hour more, the vessel had drawnso far from the land, that some of the smaller and lowest of theislets were getting to be indistinct. At that instant everybody hadcome aft, the females taking their seats on the trunk, which, inthis vessel as in the Swash herself, gave space and height to thecabin. 

"Well, " exclaimed Mrs. Budd, who found the freshness of the sea airinvigorating, as well as their speed exciting, "this is what I callmaritime, Rosy, dear. This is what is meant by the Maritime States, about which we read so much, and which are commonly thought to be soimportant. We are now in a Maritime State, and I feel perfectlyhappy after all our dangers and adventures!"

"Yes, aunty, and I am delighted that you are happy, " answered Rose, with frank affection. "We are now rid of that infamous Spike, andmay hope never to see his face more. "

"Stephen Spike has his good p'ints as well as another, " said JackTier, abruptly. 

"I know that he is an old shipmate of yours, Tier, and that youcannot forget how he once stood connected with you, and am sorry Ihave said so much against him, " answered Rose, expressing herconcern even more by her looks and tones, than by her words. 

Jack was mollified by this, and he let his feeling be seen, thoughhe said no more than to mutter, "He's a willian!" words that hadfrequently issued from his lips within the last day or two. 

"Stephen Spike is a capital seaman, and that is something in anyman, " observed the relict of Captain Budd. "He learned his tradefrom one who was every way qualified to teach him, and it's nowonder he should be expert. Do you expect, Mr. Mulford, to beat thewind the whole distance to Key West?"

It was not possible for any one to look more grave than the mate didhabitually, while the widow was floundering through her sea-terms. Rose had taught him that respect for her aunt was to be one of theconditions of her own regard, though Rose had never opened her lipsto him on the subject. 

"Yes, ma'am, " answered the mate, respectfully, "we are in thetrades, and shall have to turn to windward, every inch of the way toKey West. "

"Of what lock is this place the key, Rosy?" asked the aunt, innocently enough. "I know that forts and towns are sometimes calledkeys, but they always have locks of some sort or other. Now, Gibraltar is the key of the Mediterranean, as your uncle has told mefifty times; and I have been there, and can understand why it shouldbe, --but I do not know of what lock this West is the key. "

"It is not that sort of key which is meant, aunty, at all--but quitea different thing. The key meant is an island. "

"And why should any one be so silly as to call an island a key?"

"The place where vessels unload is sometimes called a key, " answeredMulford;--"the French calling it a quai, and the Dutch kaye. Isuppose our English word is derived from these. Now, a low, sandyisland, looking somewhat like keys, or wharves, seamen have giventhem this name. Key West is merely a low island. "

"Then there is no lock to it, or anything to be unfastened, " saidthe widow, in her most simple manner. 

"It may turn out to be the key to the Gulf of Mexico, one of thesedays, ma'am. Uncle Sam is surveying the reef, and intends to dosomething here, I believe. When Uncle Sam is really in earnest, heis capable of performing great things. "

Mrs. Budd was satisfied with this explanation, though she told Biddythat evening, that "locks and keys go together, and that the personwho christened the island to which they were going, must have beenvery weak in his upper story. " But these reflections on theintellects of her fellow-creatures were by no means uncommon withthe worthy relict; and we cannot say that her remarks made anyparticular impression on her Irish maid. 

In the mean time, the Mexican schooner behaved quite to Mulford'ssatisfaction. He thought her a little tender in the squalls, ofwhich they had several that afternoon; but he remarked to Rose, whoexpressed her uneasiness at the manner in which the vessel lay overin one of them, that "she comes down quite easy to her bearings, butit is hard forcing her beyond them. The vessel needs more cargo toballast her, though, on the whole, I find her as stiff as one couldexpect. I am now glad that I reefed, and reduced the head sails, though I was sorry at having done so when we first came out. At thisrate of sailing, we ought to be up with Key West by morning. "

But that rate of sailing did not continue. Toward evening, thebreeze lessened almost to a calm again, the late tornado appearingto have quite deranged the ordinary stability of the trades. Whenthe sun set, and it went down into the broad waters of the Gulf aflood of flame, there was barely a two-knot breeze, and Mulford hadno longer any anxiety on the subject of keeping his vessel on herlegs. His solicitude, now, was confined to the probability offalling in with the Swash. As yet, nothing was visible, either inthe shape of land or in that of a sail. Between the islets of theDry Tortugas and the next nearest visible keys, there is a space ofopen water, of some forty miles in width. The reef extends acrossit, of course; but nowhere does the rock protrude itself above thesurface of the sea. The depth of water on this reef variesessentially. In some places, a ship of size might pass on to it, ifnot across it; while in others a man could wade for miles. There isone deep and safe channel--safe to those who are acquainted withit--through the centre of this open space, and which is sometimesused by vessels that wish to pass from one side to the other; but itis ever better for those whose business does not call them in thatdirection, to give the rocks a good berth, more especially in thenight. 

Mulford had gleaned many of the leading facts connected with thechannels, and the navigation of those waters, from Spike and theolder seamen of the brig, during the time they had been lying at theTortugas. Such questions and answers are common enough on boardships, and, as they are usually put and given with intelligence, oneof our mate's general knowledge of his profession, was likely tocarry away much useful information. By conversations of this nature, and by consulting the charts, which Spike did not affect to concealafter the name of his port became known, the young man, in fact, hadso far made himself master of the subject, as to have tolerablyaccurate notions of the courses, distances, and generalpeculiarities of the reef. When the sun went down, he supposedhimself to be about half-way across the space of open water, andsome five-and-twenty miles dead to windward of his port ofdeparture. This was doing very well for the circumstances, andMulford believed himself and his companions clear of spike, when, asnight drew its veil over the tranquil sea, nothing was in sight. 

A very judicious arrangement was made for the watches on board theMexican schooner, on this important night. Mrs. Budd had a greatfancy to keep a watch, for once in her life, and, after the partyhad supped, and the subject came up in the natural course of things, a dialogue like this occurred:

"Harry must be fatigued, " said Rose, kindly, "and must want sleep. The wind is so light, and the weather appears to be so settled, thatI think it would be better for him to `turn in, ' as he callsit;"--here Rose laughed so prettily that the handsome mate wishedshe would repeat the words, --"better that he should `turn in' now, and we can call him, should there be need of his advice orassistance. I dare say Jack Tier and I can take very good care ofthe schooner until daylight. "

Mrs. Budd thought it would be no more than proper for one of herexperience and years to rebuke this levity, as well as to enlightenthe ignorance her niece had betrayed. 

"You should be cautious, my child, how you propose anything to bedone on a ship's board, " observed the aunt. "It requires greatexperience and a suitable knowledge of rigging to give maritimeadvice. Now, as might have been expected, considering your years, and the short time you have been at sea, you have made severalserious mistakes in what you have proposed. In the first place, there should always be a mate on the deck, as I have heard your deardeparted uncle say, again and again; and how can there be a mate onthe deck if Mr. Mulford `turns in, ' as you propose, seeing that he'sthe only mate we have. Then you should never laugh at any maritimeexpression, for each and all are, as a body might say, solemnized bystorms and dangers. That Harry is fatigued I think is very probable;and he must set our watches, as they call it, when he can make hisarrangements for the night, and take his rest as is usual. Here ismy watch to begin with; and I'll engage he does not find it twominutes out of the way, though yours, Rosy dear, like most girl'stime-pieces, is, I'll venture to say, dreadfully wrong. Where isyour chronometer, Mr. Mulford? let us see how this excellent watchof mine, which was once my poor departed Mr. Budd's, will agree withthat piece of your's, which I have heard you say is excellent. "

Here was a flight in science and nautical language that poor Mulfordcould not have anticipated, even in the captain's relict! That Mrs. Budd should mistake "setting the watch" for "setting our watches, "was not so very violent a blunder that one ought to be muchastonished at it in her; but that she should expect to find achronometer that was intended to keep the time of Greenwich, agreeing with a watch that was set for the time of New York, betrayed a degree of ignorance that the handsome mate was afraidRose would resent on him, when the mistake was made to appear. Asthe widow held out her own watch for the comparison, however, hecould not refuse to produce his own. By Mrs. Budd's watch it waspast seven o'clock, while by his own, or the Greenwich-setchronometer, it was a little past twelve. 

"How very wrong your watch is, Mr. Mulford, " cried the good lady, "notwithstanding all you have said in its favour. It's quite fivehours too fast, I do declare; and now, Rosy dear, you see theimportance of setting watches on a ship's board, as is done everyevening, my departed husband has often told me. "

"Harry's must be what he calls a dog-watch, aunty, " said Rose, laughing, though she scarce knew at what. 

"The watch goes, too, " added the widow, raising the chronometer toher ear, "though it is so very wrong. Well, set it, Mr. Mulford;then we will set Rose's, which I'll engage is half an hour out ofthe way, though it can never be as wrong as yours. "

Mulford was a good deal embarrassed, but he gained courage bylooking at Rose, who appeared to him to be quite as much mystifiedas her aunt. For once he hoped Rose was ignorant; for nothing wouldbe so likely to diminish the feeling produced by the exposure of theaunt's mistake, as to include the niece in the same category. 

"My watch is a chronometer, you will recollect, Mrs. Budd, " said theyoung man. 

"I know it; and they ought to keep the very best time--that I'vealways heard. My poor Mr. Budd had two, and they were as large ascompasses, and sold for hundreds after his lamented decease. "

"They were ship's chronometers, but mine was made for the pocket. Itis true, chronometers are intended to keep the most accurate time, and usually they do; this of mine, in particular, would not lose tenseconds in a twelvemonth, did I not carry it on my person. "

"No, no, it does not seem to lose any, Harry; it only gains, " criedRose, laughing. 

Mulford was now satisfied, notwithstanding all that had passed on aprevious occasion, that the laughing, bright-eyed, and quick-wittedgirl at his elbow, knew no more of the uses of a chronometer thanher unusually dull and ignorant aunt; and he felt himself relievedfrom all embarrassment at once. Though he dared not even seem todistrust Mrs. Budd's intellect or knowledge before Rose, he did notscruple to laugh at Rose herself, to Rose. With her there was nojealousy on the score of capacity, her quickness being almost asobvious to all who approached her as her beauty. 

"Rose Budd, you do not understand the uses of a chronometer, I see, "said the mate, firmly, "notwithstanding all I have told youconcerning them. "

"It is to keep time, Harry Mulford, is it not?"

"True, to keep time--but to keep the time of a particular meridian;you know what meridian means, I hope?"

Rose looked intently at her lover, and she looked singularly lovely, for she blushed slightly, though her smile was as open and amicableas ingenuousness and affection could make it. 

"A meridian means a point over our heads--the spot where the sun isat noon, " said Rose, doubtingly. 

"Quite right; but it also means longitude, in one sense. If you drawa line from one pole to the other, all the places it crosses are onthe same meridian. As the sun first appears in the east, it followsthat he rises sooner in places that are east, than in places thatare further west. Thus it is, that at Greenwich, in England, wherethere is an observatory made for nautical purposes, the sun risesabout five hours sooner than it does here. All this difference issubject to rules, and we know exactly how to measure it. "

"How can that be, Harry? You told me this but the other day, yethave I forgotten it. "

"Quite easily. As the earth turns round in just twenty-four hours, and its circumference is divided into three hundred and sixty equalparts, called degrees, we have only to divide 360 by 24, to know howmany of these degrees are included in the difference produced by onehour of time. There are just fifteen of them, as you will find bymultiplying 24 by 15. It follows that the sun rises just one hourlater, each fifteen degrees of longitude, as you go west, or onehour earlier each fifteen degrees of longitude as you go east. Having ascertained the difference by the hour, it is easy enough tocalculate for the minutes and seconds. "

"Yes, yes, " said Rose, eagerly, "I see all that--go on. "

"Now a chronometer is nothing but a watch, made with great care, soas not to lose or gain more than a few seconds in a twelvemonth. Itswhole merit is in keeping time accurately. "

"Still I do not see how that can be anything more than a very goodwatch. "

"You will see in a minute, Rose. For purposes that you willpresently understand, books are calculated for certain meridians, orlongitudes, as at Greenwich and Paris, and those who use the bookscalculated for Greenwich, get their chronometers set at Greenwich, and those who use the Paris, get their chronometers set to Paristime. When I was last in England, I took this watch to Greenwich, and had it set at the Observatory by the true solar time. Ever sinceit has been running by that time, and what you see here is the trueGreenwich time, after allowing for a second or two that it may havelost or gained. "

"All that is plain enough, " said the much interested Rose--"but ofwhat use is it all?"

"To help mariners to find their longitude at sea, and thus knowwhere they are. As the sun passes so far north, and so far south ofthe equator each year, it is easy enough to find the latitude, byobserving his position at noon-day; but for a long time seamen hadgreat difficulty in ascertaining their longitudes. That, too, isdone by observing the different heavenly bodies, and with greateraccuracy than by any other process; but this thought of measuringthe time is very simple, and so easily put in practice, that we allrun by it now. "

"Still I cannot understand it, " said Rose, looking so intently, soeagerly, and so intelligently into the handsome mate's eyes, that hefound it was pleasant to teach her other things besides how to love. 

"I will explain it. Having the Greenwich time in the watch, weobserve the sun, in order to ascertain the true time, wherever wemay happen to be. It is a simple thing to ascertain the true time ofday by an observation of the sun, which marks the hours in histrack; and when we get our observation, we have some one to note thetime at a particular instant on the chronometer. By noting the hour, minutes, and seconds, at Greenwich, at the very instant we observehere, when we have calculated from that observation the time here, we have only to add, or subtract, the time here from that ofGreenwich, to know precisely how far east or west we are fromGreenwich, which gives us our longitude. "

"I begin to comprehend it again, " exclaimed Rose, delighted at theacquisition in knowledge she had just made. "How beautiful it is, yet how simple--but why do I forget it?"

"Perfectly simple, and perfectly sure, too, when the chronometer isaccurate, and the observations are nicely made. It is seldom we aremore than eight or ten miles out of the way, and for them we keep alook-out. It is only to ascertain the time where you are, by meansthat are easily used, then look at your watch to learn the time ofday at Greenwich, or any other meridian you may have selected, andto calculate your distance, east or west, from that meridian, by thedifference in the two times. "

Rose could have listened all night, for her quick mind readilycomprehended the principle which lies at the bottom of this usefulprocess, though still ignorant of some of the details. This time shewas determined to secure her acquisition, though it is quiteprobable that, woman-like, they were once more lost, almost aseasily as made. Mulford, however, was obliged to leave her, to lookat the vessel, before he stretched himself on the deck, in an oldsail; it having been previously determined that he should sleepfirst, while the wind was light, and that Jack Tier, assisted by thefemales, should keep the first watch. Rose would not detain themate, therefore, but let him go his way, in order to see that allwas right before he took his rest. 

Mrs. Budd had listened to Mulford's second explanation of the commonmode of ascertaining the longitude, with all the attention of whichshe was capable; but it far exceeded the powers of her mind tocomprehend it. There are persons who accustom themselves to think sosuperficially, that it becomes a painful process to attempt to diveinto any of the arcana of nature, and who ever turn from suchinvestigations wearied and disgusted. Many of these persons, perhapsmost of them, need only a little patience and perseverance tocomprehend all the more familiar phenomena, but they cannot commandeven that much of the two qualities named to obtain the knowledgethey would fain wish to possess. Mrs. Budd did not belong to adivision as high in the intellectual scale as even this vapid class. Her intellect was unequal to embracing anything of an abstractedcharacter, and only received the most obvious impressions, and thosequite half the time it received wrong. The mate's reasoning, therefore, was not only inexplicable to her, but it sounded absurdand impossible. 

"Rosy, dear, " said the worthy relict, as soon as she saw Mulfordstretch his fine frame on his bed of canvas, speaking at the sametime in a low, confidential tone to her niece, "what was it thatHarry was telling you a little while ago? It sounded to me like ranknonsense; and men will talk nonsense to young girls, as I have sooften warned you, child. You must never listen to their nonsense, Rosy; but remember your catechism and confirmation vow, and be agood girl. "

To how many of the feeble-minded and erring do those offices of thechurch prove a stay and support, when their own ordinary powers ofresistance would fail them! Rose, however, viewed the matter just asit was, and answered accordingly. 

"But this was nothing of that nature, aunty, " she said, "and only anaccount of the mode of finding out where a ship is, when out ofsight of land, in the middle of the ocean. We had the same subjectup the other day. "

"And how did Harry tell you, this time, that was done, my dear?"

"By finding the difference in the time of day between twoplaces--just as he did before. "

"But there is no difference in the time of day, child, when theclocks go well. "

"Yes, there is, aunty dear, as the sun rises in one place before itdoes in another. "

"Rose you've been listening to nonsense now! Remember what I have sooften told you about young men, and their way of talking. I admitHarry Mulford is a respectable youth, and has respectableconnections, and since you like one another, you may have him, withall my heart, as soon as he gets a full-jiggered ship, for I amresolved no niece of my poor dear husband's shall ever marry a mate, or a captain even, unless he has a full-jiggered ship under hisfeet. But do not talk nonsense with him. Nonsense is nonsense, though a sensible man talks it. As for all this stuff about the timeof day, you can see it is nonsense, as the sun rises but once intwenty-four hours, and of course there cannot be two times, as youcall it. "

"But, aunty dear, it is not always noon at London when it is noon atNew York. "

"Fiddle-faddle, child; noon is noon, and there are no more two noonsthan two suns, or two times. Distrust what young men tell you, Rosy, if you would be safe, though they should tell you you are handsome. "

Poor Rose sighed, and gave up the explanation in despair. Then asmile played around her pretty mouth. It was not at her aunt thatshe smiled; this she never permitted herself to do, weak as was thatperson, and weak as she saw her to be; she smiled at therecollection how often Mulford had hinted at her good looks--forRose was a female, and had her own weaknesses, as well as another. But the necessity of acting soon drove these thoughts from her mind, and Rose sought Jack Tier, to confer with him on the subject oftheir new duties. 

As for Harry Mulford, his head was no sooner laid on its bunch ofsail than he fell into a profound sleep. There he lay, slumbering asthe seaman slumbers, with no sense of surrounding things. Theimmense fatigues of that and of the two preceding days, --for he hadtoiled at the pumps even long after night had come, until the vesselwas clear, --weighed him down, and nature was now claiming herinfluence, and taking a respite from exertion. Had he been left tohimself, it is probable the mate would not have arisen until the sunhad reappeared some hours. 

It is now necessary to explain more minutely the precise condition, as well as the situation of the schooner. On quitting his port, Mulford had made a stretch of some two leagues in length, toward thenorthward and eastward, when he tacked and stood to the southward. There was enough of southing in the wind, to make his last coursenearly due south. As he neared the reef, he found that he fell insome miles to the eastward of the islets, --proof that he was doingvery well, and that there was no current to do him any materialharm, if, indeed, there were not actually a current in his favour. He next tacked to the northward again, and stood in that directionuntil near night, when he once more went about. The wind was now solight that he saw little prospect of getting in with the reef again, until the return of day; but as he had left orders with Jack Tier tobe called at twelve o'clock, at all events, this gave him nouneasiness. At the time when the mate lay down to take his rest, therefore, the schooner was quite five-and-twenty miles to windwardof the Dry Tortugas, and some twenty miles to the northward of theFlorida Reef, with the wind quite light at east-south-east. Such, then, was the position or situation of the schooner. 

As respects her condition, it is easily described. She had but thethree sails bent, --mainsail, foresail, and jib. Her topmasts hadbeen struck, and all the hamper that belonged to them was below. Themainsail was single reefed, and the foresail and jib were withouttheir bonnets, as has already been mentioned. This was somewhatshort canvas, but Mulford knew that it would render his craft moremanageable in the event of a blow. Usually, at that season and inthat region, the east trades prevailed with great steadiness, sometimes diverging a little south of east, as at present, andgenerally blowing fresh. But, for a short time previously to, andever since the tornado, the wind had been unsettled, the oldcurrents appearing to regain their ascendancy by fits, and thenlosing it, in squalls, contrary currents, and even by short calms. 

The conference between Jack Tier and Rose was frank andconfidential. 

"We must depend mainly on you, " said the latter, turning to looktoward the spot where Mulford lay, buried in the deepest sleep thathad ever gained power over him. "Harry is so fatigued! It would beshameful to awaken him a moment sooner than is necessary. "

"Ay, ay; so it is always with young women, when they lets a youngman gain their ears, " answered Jack, without the leastcircumlocution; "so it is, and so it always will be, I'm afeard. Nevertheless, men is willians. "

Rose was not affronted at this plain allusion to the power thatMulford had obtained over her feelings. It would seem that Jack hadgot to be so intimate in the cabins, that his sex was, in a measure, forgotten; and it is certain that his recent services were not. Without a question, but for his interference, the pretty Rose Buddwould, at that moment, have been the prisoner of Spike, and mostprobably the victim of his design to compel her to marry him. 

"All men are not Stephen Spikes, " said Rose, earnestly, "and leastof all is Harry Mulford to be reckoned as one of his sort. But, wemust manage to take care of the schooner the whole night, and letHarry get his rest. He wished to be called at twelve, but we caneasily let the hour go by, and not awaken him. "

"The commanding officer ought not to be sarved so, Miss Rose. Whathe says is to be done. "

"I know it, Jack, as to ordinary matters; but Harry left theseorders that we might have our share of rest, and for no other reasonat all. And what is to prevent our having it? We are four, and candivide ourselves into two watches; one watch can sleep while theother keeps a look-out. "

"Ay, ay, and pretty watches they would be! There's Madam Budd, now;why, she's quite a navigator, and knows all about weerin' andhaulin', and I dares to say could put the schooner about, to keepher off the reef, on a pinch; though which way the craft would comeround, could best be told a'ter it has been done. It's as much asI'd undertake myself, Miss Rose, to take care of the schooner, should it come on to blow; and as for you, Madam Budd, and thatsqualling Irishwoman, you'd be no better than so many housewivesashore. "

"We have strength, and we have courage, and we can pull, as you haveseen. I know very well which way to put the helm now, and Biddy isas strong as you are yourself, and could help me all I wished. Thenwe could always call you, at need, and have your assistance. Nay, Harry himself can be called, if there should be a real necessity forit, and I do wish he may not be disturbed until there is thatnecessity. "

It was with a good deal of reluctance that Jack allowed himself tobe persuaded into this scheme. He insisted, for a long time, that anofficer should be called at the hour mentioned by himself, anddeclared he had never known such an order neglected, "marchant-man, privateer, or man-of-war. " Rose prevailed over his scruples, however, and there was a meeting of the three females to make thefinal arrangements. Mrs. Budd, a kind-hearted woman, at the worst, gave her assent most cheerfully, though Rose was a little startledwith the nature of the reasoning, with which it was accompanied. 

"You are quite right, Rosy dear, " said the aunt, "and the thing isvery easily done. I've long wanted to keep one watch, at sea; justone watch; to complete my maritime education. Your poor uncle usedto say, `Give my wife but one night-watch, and you'd have as good aseaman in her as heart could wish. ' I'm sure I've had night-watchesenough with him and his ailings; but it seems that they were not thesort of watches he meant. Indeed, I did n't know till this eveningthere were so many watches in the world, at all. But this is justwhat I want, and just what I'm resolved to have. Tier shall commandone watch and I'll command the other. Jack's shall be the`dog-watch, ' as they call it, and mine shall be the `middle-watch, 'and last till morning. You shall be in Jack's watch, Rose, and Biddyshall be in mine. You know a good deal that Jack do n't know, andBiddy can do a good deal I'm rather too stout to do. I do n't likepulling ropes, but as for ordering, I'll turn my back on nocaptain's widow out of York. "

Rose had her own misgivings on the subject of her aunt's issuingorders on such a subject to any one, but she made the best ofnecessity, and completed the arrangements without furtherdiscussion. Her great anxiety was to secure a good night's rest forHarry, already feeling a woman's care in the comfort and ease of theman she loved. And Rose did love Harry Mulford warmly and sincerely. If the very decided preference with which she regarded him beforethey sailed, had not absolutely amounted to passion, it had come sovery near it as to render that access of feeling certain, under theinfluence of the association and events which succeeded. We have notthought it necessary to relate a tithe of the interviews andintercourse that had taken place between the handsome mate and thepretty Rose Budd, during the month they had now been shipmates, having left the reader to imagine the natural course of things, under such circumstances. Nevertheless, the plighted troth had notbeen actually given until Harry joined her on the islet, at a momentwhen she fancied herself abandoned to a fate almost as serious asdeath. Rose had seen Mulford quit the brig, had watched the mode andmanner of his escape, and in almost breathless amazement, and felthow dear to her he had become, by the glow of delight which warmedher heart, when assured that he could not, would not, forsake her, even though he remained at the risk of life. She was now, true tothe instinct of her sex, mostly occupied in making such a return foran attachment so devoted as became her tenderness and the habits ofher mind. 

As Mrs. Budd chose what she was pleased to term the `middle-watch, 'giving to Jack Tier and Rose her `dog-watch, ' the two last werefirst on duty. It is scarcely necessary to say, the captain's widowgot the names of the watches all wrong, as she got the names ofeverything else about a vessel; but the plan was to divide the nightequally between these quasi mariners, giving the first half to thosewho were first on the look-out, and the remainder to theirsuccessors. It soon became so calm, that Jack left the helm, andcame and sat by Rose, on the trunk, where they conversedconfidentially for a long time. Although the reader will, hereafter, be enabled to form some plausible conjectures on the subject of thisdialogue, we shall give him no part of it here. All that need now besaid, is to add, that Jack did most of the talking, that his pastlife was the principal theme, and that the terrible Stephen Spike, he from whom they were now so desirous of escaping, was largelymixed up with the adventures recounted. Jack found in his companiona deeply interested listener, although this was by no means thefirst time they had gone over together the same story and discussedthe same events. The conversation lasted until Tier, who watched theglass, seeing that its sands had run out for the last time, announced the hour of midnight. This was the moment when Mulfordshould have been called, but when Mrs. Budd and Biddy Noon wereactually awakened in his stead. 

"Now, dear aunty, " said Rose, as she parted from the new watch to goand catch a little sleep herself, "remember you are not to awakenHarry first, but to call Tier and myself. It would have done yourheart good to have seen how sweetly he has been sleeping all thistime. I do not think he has stirred once since his head was laid onthat bunch of sails, and there he is, at this moment, sleeping likean infant!"

"Yes, " returned the relict, "it is always so with your true maritimepeople. I have been sleeping a great deal more soundly, the whole ofthe dog-watch, than I ever slept at home, in my own excellent bed. But it's your watch below, Rosy, and contrary to rule for you tostay on the deck, after you've been relieved. I've heard this athousand times. "

Rose was not sorry to lie down; and her head was scarcely on itspillow, in the cabin, before she was fast asleep. As for Jack, hefound a place among Mulford's sails, and was quickly in the samestate. 

To own the truth, Mrs. Budd was not quite as much at ease, in hernew station, for the first half hour, as she had fancied to herselfmight prove to be the case. It was a flat calm, it is true; but thewidow felt oppressed with responsibility and the novelty of hersituation. Time and again had she said, and even imagined, sheshould be delighted to fill the very station she then occupied, orto be in charge of a deck, in a "middle watch. " In this instance, however, as in so many others, reality did not equal anticipation. She wished to be doing everything, but did not know how to doanything. As for Biddy, she was even worse off than her mistress. Amonth's experience, or for that matter a twelvemonth's, could notunravel to her the mysteries of even a schooner's rigging. Mrs. Buddhad placed her "at the wheel, " as she called it, though the vesselhad no wheel, being steered by a tiller on deck, in the 'long-shorefashion. In stationing Biddy, the widow told her that she was toplay "tricks at the wheel, " leaving it to the astounded Irishwoman's imagination to discover what those tricks were. Failing inascertaining what might be the nature of her "tricks at the wheel, "Biddy was content to do nothing, and nothing, under thecircumstances, was perhaps the very best thing she could have done. 

Little was required to be done for the first four hours of Mrs. Budd's watch. All that time, Rose slept in her berth, and Mulfordand Jack Tier on their sail, while Biddy had played the wheel a"trick, " indeed, by lying down on deck, and sleeping, too, assoundly as if she were in the county Down itself. But there was tobe an end of this tranquillity. Suddenly the wind began to blow. Atfirst, the breeze came in fitful puffs, which were neither verystrong nor very lasting. This induced Mrs. Budd to awaken Biddy. Luckily, a schooner without a topsail could not very well be takenaback, especially as the head-sheets worked on travellers, and Mrs. Budd and her assistant contrived to manage the tiller very well forthe first hour that these varying puffs of wind lasted. It is true, the tiller was lashed, and it is also true, the schooner ran in alldirections, having actually headed to all the cardinal points of thecompass, under her present management. At length, Mrs. Budd becamealarmed. A puff of wind came so strong, as to cause the vessel tolie over so far as to bring the water into the lee scuppers. Shecalled Jack Tier herself, therefore, and sent Biddy down to awakenRose. In a minute, both these auxiliaries appeared on deck. The windjust then lulled, and Rose, supposing her aunt was frightened attrifles, insisted on it that Harry should be permitted to sleep on. He had turned over once, in the course of the night, but not oncehad he raised his head from his pillow. 

As soon as reinforced, Mrs. Budd began to bustle about, and to givecommands, such as they were, in order to prove that she wasunterrified. Jack Tier gaped at her elbow, and by way of somethingto do, he laid his hand on the painter of the Swash's boat, whichboat was towing astern, and remarked that "some know-nothing hadbelayed it with three half-hitches. " This was enough for the relict. She had often heard the saying that "three half-hitches lost theking's long-boat, " and she busied herself, at once, in repairing soimminent an evil. It was far easier for the good woman to talk thanto act; she became what is called "all fingers and thumbs, " and inloosening the third half-hitch, she cast off the two others. At thatinstant, a puff of wind struck the schooner again, and the end ofthe painter got away from the widow, who had a last glimpse at theboat, as the vessel darted ahead, leaving its little tender tovanish in the gloom of the night. 

Jack was excessively provoked at this accident, for he had foreseenthe possibility of having recourse to that boat yet, in order toescape from Spike. By abandoning the schooner, and pulling on to thereef, it might have been possible to get out of their pursuer'shands, when all other means should fail them. As he was at thetiller, he put his helm up, and ran off, until far enough to leewardto be to the westward of the boat, when he might tack, fetch andrecover it. Nevertheless, it now blew much harder than he liked, forthe schooner seemed to be unusually tender. Had he had the force todo it, he would have brailed the foresail. He desired Rose to callMulford, but she hesitated about complying. 

"Call him--call the mate, I say, " cried out Jack, in a voice thatproved how much he was in earnest. "These puffs come heavy, I cantell you, and they come often, too. Call him--call him, at once, Miss Rose, for it is time to tack if we wish to recover the boat. Tell him, too, to brail the foresail, while we are in stays--that'sright; another call will start him up. "

The other call was given, aided by a gentle shake from Rose's hand. Harry was on his feet in a moment. A passing instant was necessaryto clear his faculties, and to recover the tenor of his thoughts. During that instant, the mate heard Jack Tier's shrill cry of "Harda-lee--get in that foresail--bear a-hand--in with it, I say!"

The wind came rushing and roaring, and the flaps of the canvas wereviolent and heavy. 

"In with the foresail, I say, " shouted Jack Tier. "She files roundlike a top, and will be off the wind on the other tack presently. Bear a-hand!--bear a-hand! It looks black as night to windward. "

Mulford then regained all his powers. He sprang to the fore-sheet, calling on the others for aid. The violent surges produced by thewind prevented his grasping the sheet as soon as he could wish, andthe vessel whirled round on her heel, like a steed that isfrightened. At that critical and dangerous instant, when theschooner was nearly without motion through the water, a squallstruck the flattened sails, and bowed her down as the willow bendsto the gale. Mrs. Budd and Biddy screamed as usual, and Jack shouteduntil his voice seemed cracked, to "let go the head-sheets. " Mulforddid make one leap forward, to execute this necessary office, whenthe inclining plane of the deck told him it was too late. The windfairly howled for a minute, and over went the schooner, the remainsof her cargo shifting as she capsized, in a way to bring her verynearly bottom upward. 

1. We suppress the names used by Mrs. Budd, out of delicacy to theindividuals mentioned, who are still living. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

 Ay, fare you well, fair gentleman. 

As You Like it. 

While the tyro believes the vessel is about to capsize at every puffof wind, the practised seaman alone knows when danger truly besetshim in this particular form. Thus it was with Harry Mulford, whenthe Mexican schooner went over, as related in the close of thepreceding chapter. He felt no alarm until the danger actually came. Then, indeed, no one there was so quickly, or so thoroughly apprizedof what the result would be, and he directed all his exertions tomeet the exigency. While there was the smallest hope of success, hedid not lessen, in the least, his endeavours to save the vessel;making almost superhuman efforts to cast off the fore-sheet, so asto relieve the schooner from the pressure of one of her sails. But, no sooner did he hear the barrels in the hold surging to leeward, and feel by the inclination of the deck beneath his feet, thatnothing could save the craft, than he abandoned the sheet, andsprang to the assistance of Rose. It was time he did; for, havingfollowed him into the vessel's lee-waist, she was the first to besubmerged in the sea, and would have been hopelessly drowned, butfor Mulford's timely succour. Women might swim more readily thanmen, and do so swim, in those portions of the world where the lawsof nature are not counteracted by human conventions. Rose Budd, however, had received the vicious education which civilized societyinflicts on her sex, and, as a matter of course, was totallyhelpless in an element in which it was the design of DivineProvidence she should possess the common means of sustainingherself, like every other being endued with animal life. Not so withMulford: he swam with ease and force, and had no difficulty insustaining Rose until the schooner had settled into her new berth, or in hauling her on the vessel's bottom immediately after. 

Luckily, there was no swell, or so little as not to endanger thosewho were on the schooner's bilge; and Mulford had no sooner placedher in momentary safety at least, whom he prized far higher than hisown life, than he bethought him of his other companions. Jack Tierhad hauled himself up to windward by the rope that steadied thetiller, and he had called on Mrs. Budd to imitate his example. Itwas so natural for even a woman to grasp anything like a rope atsuch a moment, that the widow instinctively obeyed, while Biddyseized, at random, the first thing of the sort that offered. Owingto these fortunate chances, Jack and Mrs. Budd succeeded in reachingthe quarter of the schooner, the former actually getting up on thebottom of the wreck, on to which he was enabled to float the widow, who was almost as buoyant as cork, as indeed was the case with Jackhimself. All the stern and bows of the vessel were under water, inconsequence of her leanness forward and aft; but though submerged, she offered a precarious footing, even in these extremities, to suchas could reach them. On the other hand, the place where Rose stood, or the bilge of the vessel, was two or three feet above the surfaceof the sea, though slippery and inclining in shape. 

It was not half a minute from the time that Mulford sprang to Rose'ssuccour, ere he had her on the vessel's bottom. In another halfminute, he had waded down on the schooner's counter, where Jack Tierwas lustily calling to him for "help!" and assisted the widow to herfeet, and supported her until she stood at Rose's side. Leaving thelast in her aunt's arms, half distracted between dread and joy, heturned to the assistance of Biddy. The rope at which the Irish womanhad caught, was a straggling end that had been made fast to the mainchannels of the schooner, for the support of a fender, and had beenhauled partly in-board to keep it out of the water. Biddy had foundno difficulty in dragging herself up to the chains, therefore; andhad she been content to sustain herself by the rope, leaving as muchof her body submerged as comported with breathing, her task wouldhave been easy. But, like most persons who do not know how to swim, the good woman was fast exhausting her strength, by vain efforts towalk on the surface of an element that was never made to sustainher. Unpractised persons, in such situations, cannot be taught tobelieve that their greatest safety is in leaving as much of theirbodies as possible beneath the water, keeping the mouth and nosealone free for breath. But we have seen even instances in which men, who were in danger of drowning, seemed to believe it might bepossible for them to craw! over the waves on their hands and knees. The philosophy of the contrary course is so very simple, that onewould fancy a very child might be made to comprehend it; yet, it israre to find one unaccustomed to the water, and who is suddenlyexposed to its dangers, that does not resort, under the pressure ofpresent alarm, to the very reverse of the true means to save his orher life. 

Mulford had no difficulty in finding Bridget, whose exclamations of"murther!" "help!" "he-l-lup!" "Jasus!" and other similar cries, ledhim directly to the spot, where she was fast drowning herself by herown senseless struggles. Seizing her by the arm, the active youngmate soon placed her on her feet, though her cries did not ceaseuntil she was ordered by her mistress to keep silence. 

Having thus rescued the whole of his companions from immediatedanger, Mulford began to think of the future. He was seized withsudden surprise that the vessel did not sink, and for a minute hewas unable to account for the unusual fact. On the former occasion, the schooner had gone down almost as soon as she fell over; but nowshe floated with so much buoyancy as to leave most of her keel andall of her bilge on one side quite clear of the water. As one of themain hatches was off, and the cabin-doors, and booby-hatch doorsforward were open, and all were under water, it required a littlereflection on the part of Mulford to understand on what circumstanceall their lives now depended. The mate soon ascertained the truth, however, and we may as well explain it to the reader in our ownfashion, in order to put him on a level with the young seaman. 

The puff of wind, or little squall, had struck the schooner at themost unfavourable moment for her safety. She had just lost her wayin tacking, and the hull not moving ahead, as happens when a craftis thus assailed with the motion on her, all the power of the windwas expended in the direction necessary to capsize her. Anotherdisadvantage arose from the want of motion. The rudder, which actssolely by pressing against the water as the vessel meets it, wasuseless, and it was not possible to luff, and throw the wind fromthe sails, as is usually practised by fore-and-aft rigged craft, inmoments of such peril. In consequence of these united difficulties, the shifting of the cargo in the hold, the tenderness of the craftitself, and the force of the squall, the schooner had gone so farover as to carry all three of the openings to her interior suddenlyunder water, where they remained, held by the pressure of the cargothat had rolled to leeward. Had not the water completely coveredthese openings, or hatches, the schooner must have sunk in a minuteor two, or by the time Mulford had got all his companions safe onher bilge. But they were completely submerged, and so continued tobe, which circumstance alone prevented the vessel from sinking, asthe following simple explanation will show. 

Any person who will put an empty tumbler, bottom upwards, into abucket of water, will find that the water will not rise within thetumbler more than an inch at most. At that point it is arrested bythe resistance of the air, which, unable to escape, and compressedinto a narrow compass, forms a body that the other fluid cannotpenetrate. It is on this simple and familiar principle, that thechemist keeps his gases, in inverted glasses, placing them onshelves, slightly submerged in water. Thus it was, then, that theschooner continued to float, though nearly bottom upward, and withthree inlets open, by which the water could and did penetrate. Aconsiderable quantity of the element had rushed in at the instant ofcapsizing, but meeting with resistance from the compressed and pentair, its progress had been arrested, and the wreck continued tofloat, sustained by the buoyancy that was imparted to it, incontaining so large a body of a substance no heavier thanatmospheric air. After displacing its weight of water, enough ofbuoyancy remained to raise the keel a few feet above the level ofthe sea. 

As soon as Mulford had ascertained the facts of their situation, hecommunicated them to his companions, encouraging them to hope foreventual safety. It was true, their situation was nearly desperate, admitting that the wreck should continue to float for ever, sincethey were almost without food, or anything to drink, and had nomeans of urging the hull through the water. They must float, too, atthe mercy of the winds and waves, and should a sea get up, it mightsoon be impossible for Mulford himself to maintain his footing onthe bottom of the wreck. All this the young man had dimly shadowedforth to him, through his professional experience; but the certaintyof the vessel's not sinking immediately had so far revived hisspirits, as to cause him to look on the bright side of the future, pale as that glimmering of hope was made to appear whenever reasoncast one of its severe glances athwart it. 

Harry had no difficulty in making Rose comprehend their precisesituation. Her active and clear mind understood at once the causesof their present preservation, and most of the hazards of thefuture. It was not so with Jack Tier. He was composed, evenresigned; but he could not see the reason why the schooner stillfloated. 

"I know that the cabin-doors were open, " he said, "and if theywasn't, of no great matter would it be, since the joints ar'n'tcaulked, and the water would run through them as through a sieve. I'm afeard, Mr. Mulford, we shall find the wreck going from underour feet afore long, and when we least wish it, perhaps. "

"I tell you the wreck will float so long as the air remains in itshold, " returned the mate, cheerfully. "Do you not see how buoyant itis?--the certain proof that there is plenty of air within. So longas that remains, the hull must float. "

"I've always understood, " said Jack, sticking to his opinion, "thatwessels floats by vartue of water, and not by vartue of air; and, that when the water gets on the wrong side on 'em, there's littlehope left of keepin' 'em up. "

"What has become of the boat?" suddenly cried the mate. "I have beenso much occupied as to have forgotten the boat. In that boat wemight all of us still reach Key West. I see nothing of the boat!"

A profound silence succeeded this sudden and unexpected question. All knew that the boat was gone, and all knew that it had been lostby the widow's pertinacity and clumsiness; but no one felt disposedto betray her at that grave moment. Mulford left the bilge, andwaded as far aft as it was at all prudent for him to proceed, in thevain hope that the boat might be there, fastened by its painter tothe schooner's tafferel, as he had left it, but concealed from viewby the darkness of the night. Not finding what he was after, hereturned to his companions, still uttering exclamations of surpriseat the unaccountable loss of the boat. Rose now told him that theboat had got adrift some ten or fifteen minutes before the accidentbefell them, and that they were actually endeavouring to recover itwhen the squall which capsized the schooner struck them. 

"And why did you not call me, Rose?" asked Harry, with a little ofgentle reproach in his manner. "It must have soon been my watch ondeck, and it would have been better that I should lose half an hourof my watch below, than that we should lose the boat. "

Rose was now obliged to confess that the time for calling him hadlong been past, and that the faint streak of light, which was justappearing in the east, was the near approach of day. Thisexplanation was made gently, but frankly; and Mulford experienced aglow of pleasure at his heart, even in that moment of jeopardy, whenhe understood Rose's motive for not having him disturbed. As theboat was gone, with little or no prospect of its being recoveredagain, no more was said about it; and the window, who had stood onthorns the while, had the relief of believing that her awkwardnesswas forgotten. 

It was such a relief from an imminent danger to have escaped fromdrowning when the schooner capsized, that those on her bottom didnot, for some little time, realize all the terrors of their actualsituation. The inconvenience of being wet was a trifle not to bethought of, and, in fact, the light summer dresses worn by all, linen or cotton as they were entirely, were soon effectually driedin the wind. The keel made a tolerably convenient seat, and thewhole party placed themselves on it to await the return of day, inorder to obtain a view of all that their situation offered in theway of a prospect. While thus awaiting, a broken and short dialogueoccurred. 

"Had you stood to the northward the whole night?" asked Mulford, gloomily, of Jack Tier; for gloomily he began to feel, as all thefacts of their case began to press more closely on his mind. "If so, we must be well off the reef, and out of the track of wreckers andturtlers. How had you the wind, and how did you head before theaccident happened?"

"The wind was light the whole time, and for some hours it was nearlycalm, " answered Jack, in the same vein; "I kept the schooner's headto the nor'ard, until I thought we were getting too far off ourcourse, and then I put her about. I do not think we could have beenany great distance from the reef, when the boat got away from us, and I suppose we are in its neighbourhood now, for I was tacking tofall in with the boat when the craft went over. "

"To fall in with the boat! Did you keep off to leeward of it, then, that you expected to fetch it by tacking?"

"Ay, a good bit; and I think the boat is now away here to windwardof us, drifting athwart our bows. "

This was important news to Mulford. Could he only get that boat, thechances of being saved would be increased a hundred fold, nay, wouldalmost amount to a certainty; whereas, so long as the wind held tothe southward and eastward, the drift of the wreck must be towardthe open water, and consequently so much the further removed fromthe means of succor. The general direction of the trades, in thatquarter of the world, is east, and should they get round into theirold and proper quarter, it would not benefit them much; for the reefrunning south-west, they could scarcely hope to hit the Dry Tortugasagain, in their drift, were life even spared them sufficiently longto float the distance. Then there might be currents, about whichMulford knew nothing with certainty; they might set them in anydirection; and did they exist, as was almost sure to be the case, were much more powerful than the wind in controlling the movementsof a wreck. 

The mate strained his eyes in the direction pointed out by JackTier, in the hope of discovering the boat through the haze of themorning, and he actually did discern something that, it appeared tohim, might be the much desired little craft. If he were right, therewas every reason to think the boat would drift down so near them asto enable him to recover it by swimming. This cheering intelligencewas communicated to his companions, who received it with gratitudeand delight. But the approach of day gradually dispelled that hope, the object which Mulford had mistaken for the boat, within twohundred yards of the wreck, turning out to be a small, low, but barehummock of the reef, at a distance of more than two miles. 

"That is a proof that we are not far from the reef, at least, " criedMulford, willing to encourage those around him all he could, andreally much relieved at finding himself so near even this isolatedfragment of terra firma. "This fact is the next encouraging thing tofinding ourselves near the boat, or to falling in with a sail. "

"Ay, ay, " said Jack, gloomily; "boat or no boat, 't will make nogreat matter of difference now. There's customers that'll be sartainto take all the grists you can send to their mill. "

"What things are those glancing about the vessel?" cried Rose, almost in the same breath; "those dark, sharp-looking sticks--see, there are five or six of them! and they move as if fastened tosomething under the water that pulls them about. "

"Them's the customers I mean, Miss Rose, " answered Jack, in the samestrain as that in which he had first spoken; "they're the same thingat sea as lawyers be ashore, and seem made to live on other folks. Them's sharks. "

"And yonder is truly the boat!" added Mulford, with a sigh thatalmost amounted to a groan. The light had, by this time, so farreturned as to enable the party not only to see the fins of half adozen sharks, which were already prowling about the wreck, thealmost necessary consequence of their proximity to a reef in thatlatitude, but actually to discern the boat drifting down towardthem, at a distance that promised to carry it past, within the reachof Mulford's powers of swimming, though not as near as he could havewished, even under more favourable circumstances. Had theirextremity been greater, or had Rose begun to suffer from hunger orthirst, Mulford might have attempted the experiment of endeavoringto regain the boat, though the chances of death by means of thesharks would be more than equal to those of escape; but still fresh, and not yet feeling even the heat of the sun of that low latitude, he was not quite goaded into such an act of desperation. All thatremained for the party, therefore, was to sit on the keel of thewreck, and gaze with longing eyes at a little object floating past, which, once at their command, might so readily be made to save themfrom a fate that already began to appear terrible in theperspective. Near an hour was thus consumed, ere the boat was abouthalf a mile to leeward; during which scarcely an eye was turned fromit for one instant, or a word was spoken. 

"It is beyond my reach now, " Mulford at length exclaimed, sighingheavily, like one who became conscious of some great andirretrievable loss. "Were there no sharks, I could hardly venture toattempt swimming so far, with the boat drifting from me at the sametime. "

"I should never consent to let you make the trial, Harry, " murmuredRose, "though it were only half as far. "

Another pause succeeded. 

"We have now the light of day, " resumed the mate, a minute or twolater, "and may see our true situation. No sail is in sight, and thewind stands steadily in its old quarter. Still I do not think weleave the reef. There, you may see breakers off here at thesouthward, and it seems as if more rocks rise above the sea, in thatdirection. I do not know that our situation would be any the better, however, were we actually on them, instead of being on this floatingwreck. "

"The rocks will never sink, " said Jack Tier, with so much emphasisas to startle the listeners. 

"I do not think this hull will sink until we are taken off it, orare beyond caring whether it sink or swim, " returned Mulford. 

"I do not know that, Mr. Mulford. Nothing keeps us up but the air inthe hold, you say. "

"Certainly not; but that air will suffice as long as it remainsthere. "

"And what do you call these things?" rejoined the assistant steward, pointing at the water near him, in or on which no one else sawanything worthy of attention. 

Mulford, however, was not satisfied with a cursory glance, but wentnearer to the spot where Tier was standing. Then, indeed, he saw towhat the steward alluded, and was impressed by it, though he saidnothing. Hundreds of little bubbles rose to the surface of thewater, much as one sees them rising in springs. These bubbles areoften met with in lakes and other comparatively shallow waters, butthey are rarely seen in those of the ocean. The mate understood, ata glance, that those he now beheld were produced by the air whichescaped from the hold of the wreck; in small quantities at a time, it was true, but by a constant and increasing process. The greatpressure of the water forced this air through crevices so minutethat, under ordinary circumstances, they would have provedimpenetrable to this, as they were still to the other fluid, thoughthey now permitted the passage of the former. It might take a longtime to force the air from the interior of the vessel by such means, but the result was as certain as it might be slow. As constantdropping will wear a stone, so might the power that kept the wreckafloat be exhausted by the ceaseless rising of these minuteair-bubbles. 

Although Mulford was entirely sensible of the nature of this newsource of danger, we cannot say he was much affected by it at themoment. It seemed to him far more probable that they must die ofexhaustion, long before the wreck would lose all of its buoyancy bythis slow process, than that even the strongest of their numbercould survive for such a period. The new danger, therefore, lostmost of its terrors under this view of the subject, though itcertainly did not add to the small sense of security that remained, to know that inevitably their fate must be sealed through itsagency, should they be able to hold out for a sufficient timeagainst hunger and thirst. It caused Mulford to muse in silence formany more minutes. 

"I hope we are not altogether without food, " the mate at lengthsaid. "It sometimes happens that persons at sea carry pieces ofbiscuit in their pockets, especially those who keep watch at night. The smallest morsel is now of the last importance. "

At this suggestion, every one set about an examination. The resultwas, that neither Mrs. Budd nor Rose had a particle of food, of anysort, about their persons. Biddy produced from her pockets, however, a whole biscuit, a large bunch of excellent raisins that she hadfilched from the steward's stores, and two apples, --the last beingthe remains of some fruit that Spike had procured a month earlier inNew York. Mulford had half a biscuit, at which he had beenaccustomed to nibble in his watches; and Jack lugged out, along witha small plug of tobacco, a couple of sweet oranges. Here, then, waseverything in the shape of victuals or drink, that could be foundfor the use of five persons, in all probability for many days. Theimportance of securing it for equal distribution, was so obvious, that Mulford's proposal to do so met with a common assent. The wholewas put in Mrs. Budd's bag, and she was intrusted with the keepingof this precious store. 

"It may be harder to abstain from food at first, when we have notsuffered from its want, than it will become after a littleendurance, " said the mate. "We are now strong, and it will be wiserto fast as long as we conveniently can, to-day, and relieve ourhunger by a moderate allowance toward evening, than to waste ourmeans by too much indulgence at a time when we are strong. Weaknesswill be sure to come if we remain long on the wreck. "

"Have you ever suffered in this way, Harry?" demanded Rose, withinterest. 

"I have, and that dreadfully. But a merciful Providence came to myrescue then, and it may not fail me now. The seaman is accustomed tocarry his life in his hand, and to live on the edge of eternity. "

The truth of this was so apparent as to produce a thoughtfulsilence. Anxious glances were cast around the horizon from time totime, in quest of any sail that might come in sight, but uselessly. None appeared, and the day advanced without bringing the slightestprospect of relief. Mulford could see, by the now almost sunkenhummocks, that they were slowly drifting along the reef, toward thesouthward and eastward, a current no doubt acting slightly from thenorth-west. Their proximity to the reef, however, was of noadvantage, as the distance was still so great as to render anyattempt to reach it, even on the part of the mate, unavailable. Norwould he have been any better off could he have gained a spot on therocks that was shallow enough to admit of his walking, since wadingabout in such a place would have been less desirable than to befloating where he was. 

The want of water to drink threatened to be the great evil. Of this, the party on the wreck had not a single drop! As the warmth of theday was added to the feverish feeling produced by excitement, theyall experienced thirst, though no one murmured. So utterly withoutmeans of relieving this necessity did each person know them all tobe, that no one spoke on the subject at all. In fact, shipwrecknever produced a more complete destitution of all the ordinaryagents of helping themselves, in any form or manner, than was thecase here. So sudden and complete had been the disaster, that not asingle article, beyond those on the persons of the sufferers, cameeven in view. The masts, sails, rigging, spare spars, in a word, everything belonging to the vessel was submerged and hidden fromtheir sight, with the exception of a portion of the vessel's bottom, which might be forty feet in length, and some ten or fifteen inwidth, including that which was above water on both sides of thekeel, though one only of these sides was available to the females, as a place to move about on. Had Mulford only a boat-hook, he wouldhave felt it a relief; for not only did the sharks increase innumber, but they grew more audacious, swimming so near the wreckthat, more than once, Mulford apprehended that some one of theboldest of them might make an effort literally to board them. It istrue, he had never known of one of these fishes attempting to quithis own element in pursuit of his prey; but such things werereported, and those around the wreck swam so close, and seemed soeager to get at those who were on it, that there really might besome excuse for fancying they might resort to unusual means ofeffecting their object. It is probable that, like all other animals, they were emboldened by their own numbers, and were acting in a sortof concert, that was governed by some of the many mysterious laws ofnature that have still escaped human observation. 

Thus passed the earlier hours of that appalling day. Toward noon, Mulford had insisted on the females dividing one of the orangesbetween them, and extracting its juice by way of assuaging theirthirst. The effect was most grateful, as all admitted, and even Mrs. Budd urged Harry and Tier to take a portion of the remaining orange;but this both steadily refused. Mulford did consent to receive asmall portion of one of the apples, more with a view of moisteninghis throat than to appease his hunger, though it had, in a slightdegree, the latter effect also. As for Jack Tier, he declined eventhe morsel of apple, saying that tobacco answered his purpose, asindeed it temporarily might. 

It was near sunset, when the steward's assistant called Mulfordaside, and whispered to him that he had something private tocommunicate. The mate bade him say on, as they were out of ear-shotof their companions. 

"I've been in sitiations like this afore, " said Jack, "and onel'arns exper'ence by exper'ence. I know how cruel it is on thefeelin's to have the hopes disapp'inted in these cases, andtherefore shall proceed with caution. But, Mr. Mulford, there's asail in sight, if there is a drop of water in the Gulf!"

"A sail, Jack! I trust in Heaven you are not deceived!"

"Old eyes are true eyes in such matters, sir. Be careful not tostart the women. They go off like gunpowder, and, Lord help 'em!have no more command over themselves, when you loosen 'em once, thanso many flying-fish with a dozen dolphins a'ter them. Look hereaway, sir, just clear of the Irishwoman's bonnet, a little broad off thespot where the reef was last seen--if that an't a sail, my flame isnot Jack Tier. "

A sail there was, sure enough! It was so very distant, however, asto render its character still uncertain, though Mulford fancied itwas a square-rigged vessel heading to the northward. By itsposition, it must be in one of the channels of the reef, and by itscourse, if he were not deceived, it was standing through, from themain passage along the southern side of the rocks, to come out onthe northern. All this was favourable, and at first the young matefelt such a throbbing of the heart as we all experience when greatand unexpected good intelligence is received. A moment's reflection, however, made him aware how little was to be hoped for from thisvessel. In the first place, her distance was so great as to renderit uncertain even which way she was steering. Then, there was theprobability that she would pass at so great a distance as to renderit impossible to perceive an object as low as the wreck, and theadditional chance of her passing in the night. Under all thecircumstances, therefore, Mulford felt convinced that there was verylittle probability of their receiving any succour from the strangesail; and he fully appreciated Jack Tier's motive in forbearing togive the usual call of "Sail, ho!" when he made this discovery. Still, he could not deny himself the pleasure of communicating toRose the cheering fact that a vessel was actually in sight. Shecould not reason on the circumstances as he had done, and might atleast pass several hours of comparative happiness by believing thatthere was some visible chance of delivery. 

The females received the intelligence with very different degrees ofhope. Rose was delighted. To her their rescue appeared an event sovery probable now, that Harry Mulford almost regretted he had givenrise to an expectation which he himself feared was to bedisappointed. The feelings of Mrs. Budd were more suppressed. Thewreck and her present situation were so completely at variance withall her former notions of the sea and its incidents, that she wasalmost dumb-founded, and feared either to speak or to think. Biddydiffered from either of her mistresses--the young or the old; sheappeared to have lost all hope, and her physical energy was fastgiving way under her profound moral debility. 

From the return of light that day, Mulford had thought, if it wereto prove that Providence had withdrawn its protecting hand fromthem, Biddy, who to all appearance ought to be the longest liveramong the females at least, would be the first to sink under hersufferings. Such is the influence of moral causes on the mereanimal. 

Rose saw the night shut in around them, amid the solemn solitude ofthe ocean, with a mingled sensation of awe and hope. She had prayeddevoutly, and often, in the course of the preceding day, and herdevotions had contributed to calm her spirits. Once or twice, whilekneeling with her head bowed to the keel, she had raised her eyestoward Harry with a look of entreaty, as if she would implore him tohumble his proud spirit and place himself at her side, and ask thatsuccour from God which was so much needed, and which indeed it beganmost seriously to appear that God alone could yield. The young matedid not comply, for his pride of profession and of manhood offeredthemselves as stumbling-blocks to prevent submission to his secretwishes. Though he rarely prayed, Harry Mulford was far from being anunbeliever, or one altogether regardless of his duties andobligations to his Divine Creator. On the contrary, his heart wasmore disposed to resort to such means of self-abasement andsubmission, than he put in practice, and this because he had beentaught to believe that the Anglo-Saxon mariner did not call onHercules, on every occasion of difficulty and distress thatoccurred, as was the fashion with the Italian and Romish seamen, buthe put his own shoulder to the wheel, confident that Hercules wouldnot forget to help him who knew how to help himself. But Harry hadgreat difficulty in withstanding Rose's silent appeal that evening, as she knelt at the keel for the last time, and turned her gentleeyes upward at him, as if to ask him once more to take his place ather side. Withstand the appeal he did, however, though in his inwardspirit he prayed fervently to God to put away this dreadfulaffliction from the young and innocent creature before him. Whenthese evening devotions were ended, the whole party becamethoughtful and silent. 

It was necessary to sleep, and arrangements were made to do so, ifpossible, with a proper regard for their security. Mulford and Tierwere to have the look-out, watch and watch. This was done that novessel might pass near them unseen, and that any change in theweather might be noted and looked to. As it was, the wind hadfallen, and seemed about to vary, though it yet stood in its oldquarter, or a little more easterly, perhaps. As a consequence, thedrift of the wreck, insomuch as it depended on the currents of theair, was more nearly in a line with the direction of the reef, andthere was little ground for apprehending that they might be drivenfurther from it in the night. Although that reef offered in realityno place of safety, that was available to his party, Mulford felt itas a sort of relief, to be certain that it was not distant, possiblyinfluenced by a vague hope that some passing wrecker or turtlermight yet pick them up. 

The bottom of the schooner and the destitute condition of the partyadmitted of only very simple arrangements for the night. The femalesplaced themselves against the keel in the best manner they could, and thus endeavoured to get a little of the rest they so muchneeded. The day had been warm, as a matter of course, and thecontrast produced by the setting of the sun was at first ratheragreeable than otherwise. Luckily Rose had thrown a shawl over hershoulders, not long before the vessel capsized, and in this shawlshe had been saved. It had been dried, and it now served for a lightcovering to herself and her aunt, and added essentially to theircomfort. As for Biddy, she was too hardy to need a shawl, and sheprotested that she should not think of using one, had she beenbetter provided. The patient, meek manner in which that humble, butgenerous-hearted creature submitted to her fate, and the earnestnesswith which she had begged that "Miss Rosy" might have her morsel ofthe portion of biscuit each received for a supper, had sensiblyimpressed Mulford in her favour; and knowing how much more necessaryfood was to sustain one of her robust frame and sturdy habits, thanto Rose, he had contrived to give the woman, unknown to herself, adouble allowance. Nor was it surprising that Biddy did not detectthis little act of fraud in her favour, for this double allowancewas merely a single mouthful. The want of water had made itself muchmore keenly felt than the want of food, for as yet anxiety, excitement and apprehension prevented the appetite from being muchawakened, while the claims of thirst were increased rather than thereverse, by these very causes. Still, no one had complained, on thisor any other account, throughout the whole of the long and weary daywhich had passed. 

Mulford took the first look-out, with the intention of catching alittle sleep, if possible, during the middle hours of the night, andof returning to his duty as morning approached. For the first hournothing occurred to divert his attention from brooding on themelancholy circumstances of their situation. It seemed as if allaround him had actually lost the sense of their cares in sleep, andno sound was audible amid that ocean waste, but the light washing ofthe water, as the gentle waves rolled at intervals against theweather side of the wreck. It was now that Mulford found a momentfor prayer, and seated on the keel, that he called on the Divineaid, in a fervent but silent petition to God, to put away this trialfrom the youthful and beautiful Rose, at least, though he himselfperished. It was the first prayer that Mulford had made in manymonths, or since he had joined the Swash--a craft in which that dutywas very seldom thought of. 

A few minutes succeeded this petition, when Biddy spoke. 

"Missus--Madam Budd--dear Missus"--half whispered the Irish woman, anxious not to disturb Rose, who lay furthest from her--"Missus, bees ye asleep at sich a time as this?"

"No, Biddy; sleep and I are strangers to each other, and are likelyto be till morning. What do you wish to say?"

"Anything is better than my own t'oughts, missus dear, and I wantsto talk to ye. Is it no wather at all they'll give us so long as westay in this place?"

"There is no one to give it to us but God, poor Biddy, and he alonecan say what, in his gracious mercy, it may please him to do. Ah!Biddy, I fear me that I did an unwise and thoughtless thing, tobring my poor Rose to such a place as this. Were it to be done overagain, the riches of Wall Street would not tempt me to be guilty ofso wrong a thing!"

The arm of Rose was thrown around her aunt's neck, and its gentlepressure announced how completely the offender was forgiven. 

"I's very sorry for Miss Rose, " rejoined Biddy "and I suffers somuch the more meself in thinking how hard it must be for the like ofher to be wantin' in a swallow of fresh wather. "

"It is no harder for me to bear it, poor Biddy, " answered the gentlevoice of our heroine, "than it is for yourself. "

"Is it meself then? Sure am I, that if I had a quar-r-t of good, swate wather from our own pump, and that's far betther is it thanthe Crothon the best day the Crothon ever seed--but had I a quar-r-tof it, every dhrap would I give to you, Miss Rose, to app'ase yourthirst, I would. "

"Water would be a great relief to us all, just now, my excellentBiddy, " answered Rose, "and I wish we had but a tumbler full of thatyou name, to divide equally among the whole five of us. "

"Is it divide? Then it would be ag'in dividin' that my voice wouldbe raised, for that same ra'son that the tumbler would never hold asmuch as you could dhrink yourself, Miss Rose. "

"Yet the tumbler full would be a great blessing for us all, justnow, " murmured Mrs. Budd. 

"And is n't mutthon good 'atin', ladies! Och! if I had but a goodswate pratie, now, from my own native Ireland, and a dhrap of milkto help wash it down! It's mighty little that a body thinks of sichthrifles when there's abundance of them; but when there's none atall, they get to be stronger in the mind than riches and honours. "

"You say the truth, Biddy, " rejoined the mistress, "and there is apleasure in talking of them, if one can't enjoy them. I've beenthinking all the afternoon, Rose, what a delicious food is a goodroast turkey, with cranberry sauce; and I wonder, now, that I havenot been more grateful for the very many that Providence hasbestowed on me in my time. My poor Mr. Budd was passionately fond ofmutton, and I used wickedly to laugh at his fondness for it, sometimes, when he always had his answer ready, and that was thatthere are no sheep at sea. How true that is, Rosy dear! there areindeed no sheep at sea!"

"No, aunty, " answered Rose's gentle voice from beneath theshawl;--"there are no such animals on the ocean, but God is with ushere as much as he would be in New York. "

A long silence succeeded this simple remark of his well beloved, andthe young mate hoped that there would be no more of a dialogue, every syllable of which was a dagger to his feelings. But nature wasstronger than reflection in Mrs. Budd and Biddy, and the latterspoke again, after a pause of near a quarter of an hour. 

"Pray for me, Missus, " she said, moaningly, "that I may sleep. A bitof sleep would do a body almost as much good as a bit of bread--Iwon't say as much as a dhrap of wather. "

"Be quiet, Biddy, and we will pray for you, " answered Rose, whofancied by her breathing that her aunt was about to forget hersufferings for a brief space, in broken slumbers. 

"Is it for you I'll do that--and sure will I, Miss Rose. Niver wouldI have quitted Ireland, could I have thought there was sich a spoton this earth as a place where no wather was to be had. "

This was the last of Biddy's audible complaints, for the remainderof this long and anxious watch of Mulford. He then set himself aboutan arrangement which shall be mentioned in its proper place. Attwelve o'clock, or when he thought it was twelve, he called JackTier, who in turn called the mate again at four. 

"It looks dark and threatening, " said Mulford, as he rose to hisfeet and began to look about him once more, "though there does notappear to be any wind. "

"It's a flat calm, Mr. Mate, and the darkness comes from yondercloud, which seems likely to bring a little rain. "

"Rain! Then God is indeed with us here. You are right, Jack; rainmust fall from that cloud. We must catch some of it, if it be only adrop to cool Rose's parched tongue. "

"In what?" answered Tier, gloomily. "She may wring her clothes whenthe shower is over, and in that way get a drop. I see no othermethod. "

"I have bethought me of all that, and passed most of my watch inmaking the preparations. "

Mulford then showed Tier what he had been about, in the long andsolitary hours of the first watch. It would seem that the young manhad dug a little trench with his knife, along the schooner's bottom, commencing two or three feet from the keel, and near the spot whereRose was lying, and carrying it as far as was convenient toward therun, until he reached a point where he had dug out a sort ofreservoir to contain the precious fluid, should any be sent them byProvidence. While doing this, there were no signs of rain; but theyoung man knew that a shower alone could save them from insanity, ifnot from death; and in speculating on the means of profiting by one, should it come, he had bethought him of this expedient. The largeknife of a seaman had served him a good turn, in carrying on hiswork, to complete which there remained now very little to do, andthat was in enlarging the receptacle for the water. The hole wasalready big enough to contain a pint, and it might easily besufficiently enlarged to hold double that quantity. 

Jack was no sooner made acquainted with what had been done, than heout knife and commenced tearing splinter after splinter from theplanks, to help enlarge the reservoir. This could only be done bycutting on the surface, for the wood was not three inches inthickness, and the smallest hole through the plank, would have ledto the rapid escape of the air and to the certain sinking of thewreck. It required a good deal of judgment to preserve the necessarylevel also, and Mulford was obliged to interfere more than once toprevent his companion from doing more harm than good. He succeeded, however, and had actually made a cavity that might contain more thana quart of water, when the first large drop fell from the heavens. This cavity was not a hole, but a long, deep trench--deep for thecircumstances--so nicely cut on the proper level, as to admit of itsholding a fluid in the quantity mentioned. 

"Rose--dearest--rise, and be ready to drink, " said Mulford, tenderlydisturbing the uneasy slumbers of his beloved. "It is about to rain, and God is with us here, as he might be on the land. "

"Wather!" exclaimed Biddy, who was awoke with the same call. "What ablessed thing is good swate wather, and sure am I we ought all to bethankful that there is such a precious gift in the wor-r-ld. "

"Come, then, " said Mulford, hurriedly, "it will soon rain--I hear itpattering on the sea. Come hither, all of you, and drink, as amerciful God furnishes the means. "

This summons was not likely to be neglected. All arose in haste, andthe word "water" was murmured from every lip. Biddy had lessself-command than the others, and she was heard saying aloud, --"Och!and did n't I dhrame of the blessed springs and wells of Ireland thenight, and haven't I dhrunk at 'em all? but now it's over, and I amawake, no good has't done me, and I'm ready to die for one dhrap ofwather. "

That drop soon came, however, and with it the blessed relief whichsuch a boon bestows. Mulford had barely time to explain hisarrangements, and to place the party on their knees, along hislittle reservoir and the gutter which led to it, when the patteringof the rain advanced along the sea, with a deep rushing sound. Presently, the uplifted faces and open mouths caught a few heavystraggling drops, to cool the parched tongues, when the water cametumbling down upon them in a thousand little streams. There wasscarcely any wind, and merely the skirt of a large black cloudfloated over the wreck, on which the rain fell barely one minute. But it fell as rain comes down within the tropics, and in sufficientquantities for all present purposes. Everybody drank, and foundrelief, and, when all was over, Mulford ascertained by examinationthat his receptacle for the fluid was still full to overflowing. Theabstinence had not been of sufficient length, nor the quantity takenof large enough amount, to produce injury, though the thirst wasgenerally and temporarily appeased. It is probable that the coolnessof the hour, day dawning as the cloud moved past, and thecircumstance that the sufferers were wetted to their skins, contributed to the change. 

"Oh, blessed, blessed wather!" exclaimed Biddy, as she rose from herknees; "America, afther all, isn't as dhry a country as some say. I've niver tasted swater wather in Ireland itself!"

Rose murmured her thanksgiving in more appropriate language. A fewexclamations also escaped Mrs. Budd, and Jack Tier had hissententious eulogy on the precious qualities of sweet water. 

The wind rose as the day advanced, and a swell began to heave thewreck with a power that had hitherto been dormant. Mulfordunderstood this to be a sign that there had been a blow at somedistance from them, that had thrown the sea into a state ofagitation, which extended itself beyond the influence of the wind. Eagerly did the young mate examine the horizon, as the curtain ofnight arose, inch by inch, as it might be, on the watery panorama, in the hope that a vessel of some sort or other might be broughtwithin the view. Nor was he wholly disappointed. The strange sailseen the previous evening was actually there; and what was more, sonear as to allow her hull to be distinctly visible. It was a ship, under her square canvas, standing from between divided portions ofthe reef, as if getting to the northward, in order to avoid theopposing current of the Gulf Stream. Vessels bound to Mobile, NewOrleans, and other ports along the coast of the Republic, in thatquarter of the ocean, often did this; and when the young mate firstcaught glimpses of the shadowy outline of this ship, he supposed itto be some packet, or cotton-droger, standing for her port on thenorthern shore. But a few minutes removed the veil, and with it theerror of this notion. A seaman could no longer mistake the craft. Her length, her square and massive hamper, with the symmetry of herspars, and the long, straight outline of the hull, left no doubtthat it was a cruiser, with her hammocks unstowed. Mulford nowcheerfully announced to his companions, that the ship they soplainly saw, scarcely a gun-shot distant from them, was thesloop-of-war which had already become a sort of an acquaintance. 

"If we can succeed in making them see our signal, " cried Mulford, "all will yet be well. Come, Jack, and help me to put abroad thisshawl, the only ensign we can show. "

The shawl of Rose was the signal spread. Tier and Mulford stood onthe keel, and holding opposite corners, let the rest of the clothblow out with the wind. For near an hour did these two extend theirarms, and try all possible expedients to make their signalconspicuous. But, unfortunately, the wind blew directly toward thecruiser, and instead of exposing a surface of any breadth to thevision of those on board her, it must, at most, have offered littlemore than a flitting, waving line. 

As the day advanced, sail was made on the cruiser. She had stoodthrough the passage, in which she had been becalmed most of thenight, under short canvas; but now she threw out fold after fold ofher studding-sails, and moved away to the westward, with the statelymotion of a ship before the wind. No sooner had she got far enoughto the northward of the reef, than she made a deviation from hercourse as first seen, turning her stern entirely to the wreck, andrapidly becoming less and less distinct to the eyes of those whofloated on it. 

Mulford saw the hopelessness of their case, as it respected relieffrom this vessel; still, he persevered in maintaining his positionon the keel, tossing and waving the shawl, in all the variationsthat his ingenuity could devise. He well knew, however, that theirchances of being seen would have been trebled could they have beenahead instead of astern of the ship. Mariners have few occasions tolook behind them, while a hundred watchful eyes are usually turnedahead, more especially when running near rocks and shoals. Mrs. Buddwept like an infant when she saw the sloop-of-war gliding away, reaching a distance that rendered sight useless, in detecting anobject that floated as low on the water as the wreck. As for Biddy, unable to control her feelings, the poor creature actually called tothe crew of the departing vessel, as if her voice had the power tomake itself heard, at a distance which already exceeded two leagues. It was only by means of the earnest remonstrances of Rose, that thefaithful creature could be quieted. 

"Why will ye not come to our relaif?" she cried at the top of hervoice. "Here are we, helpless as new-born babies, and ye sailingaway from us in a conthrary way! D'ye not bethink you of the missus, who is much of a sailor, but not sich a one as to sail on a wrack;and poor Miss Rose, who is the char-rm and delight of all eyes. Onlycome and take off Miss Rose, and lave the rest of us, if ye solikes; for it's a sin and a shame to lave the likes of her to die inthe midst of the ocean, as if she was no betther nor a fish. Then itwill be soon that we shall ag'in feel the want of wather, and that, too, with nothing but wather to be seen on all sides of us. "

"It is of no use, " said Harry, mournfully, stepping down from thekeel, and laying aside the shawl. "They cannot see us, and thedistance is now so great as to render it certain they never will. There is only one hope left. We are evidently set to and fro by thetides, and it is possible that by keeping in or near this passage, some other craft may appear, and we be more fortunate. The relief ofthe rain is a sign that we are not forgotten by Divine Providence, and with such a protector we ought not to despair. "

A gloomy and scanty breaking of the fast succeeded. Each person hadone large mouthful of bread, which was all that prudence wouldauthorize Mulford to distribute. He attempted a pious fraud, however, by placing his own allowance along with that of Rose's, under the impression that her strength might not endure privation aswell as his own. But the tender solicitude of Rose was not to bethus deceived. Judging of his wishes and motives by her own, she atonce detected the deception, and insisted on retaining no more thanher proper share. When this distribution was completed, and themeagre allowance taken, only sufficient bread remained to make onemore similar scanty meal, if meal a single mouthful could be termed. As for the water, a want of which would be certain to be felt assoon as the sun obtained its noon-day power, the shawl was extendedover it, in a way to prevent evaporation as much as possible, and atthe same time to offer some resistance to the fluid's being washedfrom its shallow receptacle by the motion of the wreck, which wassensibly increasing with the increase of the wind and waves. 

Mulford had next an anxious duty to perform. Throughout the whole ofthe preceding day he had seen the air escaping from the hull, in anincessant succession of small bubbles, which were formidable throughtheir numbers, if not through their size. The mate was aware thatthis unceasing loss of the buoyant property of the wreck, musteventually lead to their destruction, should no assistance come, andhe had marked the floating line, on the bottom of the vessel withhis knife, ere darkness set in, on the previous evening. No soonerdid his thoughts recur to this fact, after the excitement of thefirst hour of daylight was over, than he stepped to the differentplaces thus marked, and saw, with an alarm that it would bedifficult to describe, that the wreck had actually sunk into thewater several inches within the last few hours. This was, indeed, menacing their security in a most serious manner, setting a limit totheir existence, which rendered all precaution on the subject offood and water useless. By the calculations of the mate, the wreckcould not float more than eight-and-forty hours, should it continueto lose the air at the rate at which it had been hitherto lost. Badas all this appeared, things were fated to become much more serious. The motion of the water quite sensibly increased, lifting the wreckat times in a way greatly to increase the danger of their situation. The reader will understand this movement did not proceed from thewaves of the existing wind, but from what is technically called aground-swell, or the long, heavy undulations that are left by thetempest that is past, or by some distant gale. The waves of thepresent breeze were not very formidable, the reef making a lee;though they might possibly become inconvenient from breaking on theweather side of the wreck, as soon as the drift carried the latterfairly abreast of the passage already mentioned. But the dangersthat proceeded from the heavy ground-swell, which now began to givea considerable motion to the wreck, will best explain itself bynarrating the incidents as they occurred. 

Harry had left his marks, and had taken his seat on the keel atRose's side, impatiently waiting for any turn that Providence mightnext give to their situation, when a heavy roll of the wreck firstattracted his attention to this new circumstance. 

"If any one is thirsty, " he observed quietly, "he or she had betterdrink now, while it may be done. Two or three more such rolls asthis last will wash all the water from our gutters. "

"Wather is a blessed thing, " said Biddy, with a longing expressionof the eyes, "and it would be betther to swallow it than to let itbe lost. "

"Then drink, for Heaven's sake, good woman--it may be the lastoccasion that will offer. "

"Sure am I that I would not touch a dhrap, while the missus and MissRosy was a sufferin'. "

"I have no thirst at all, " answered Rose, sweetly, "and have alreadytaken more water than was good for me, with so little food on mystomach. "

"Eat another morsel of the bread, beloved, " whispered Harry, in amanner so urgent that Rose gratefully complied. "Drink, Biddy, andwe will come and share with you before the water is wasted by thisincreasing motion. "

Biddy did as desired, and each knelt in turn and took a little ofthe grateful fluid, leaving about a gill in the gutters for the useof those whose lips might again become parched. 

"Wather is a blessed thing, " repeated Biddy, for the twentiethtime--"a blessed, blessed thing is wather!"

A little scream from Mrs. Budd, which was dutifully taken up by themaid, interrupted the speech of the latter, and every eye was turnedon Mulford, as if to ask an explanation of the groaning sound thathad been heard within the wreck. The young mate comprehended onlytoo well. The rolling of the wreck had lifted a portion of the openhatchway above the undulating surface of the sea, and a largequantity of the pent air within the hold had escaped in a body. Theentrance of water to supply the vacuum had produced the groan. Mulford had made new marks on the vessel's bottom with his knife, and he stepped down to them, anxious and nearly heart-broken, tonote the effect. That one surging of the wreck had permitted airenough to escape to lower it in the water several inches. As yet, however, the visible limits of their floating foundation had notbeen sufficiently reduced to attract the attention of the females;and the young man said nothing on the subject. He thought that JackTier was sensible of the existence of this new source of danger, butif he were, that experienced mariner imitated his own reserve, andmade no allusion to it. Thus passed the day. Occasionally the wreckrolled heavily, when more air escaped, the hull settling lower andlower in the water as a necessary consequence. The little bubblescontinued incessantly to rise, and Mulford became satisfied thatanother day must decide their fate. Taking this view of theirsituation, he saw no use in reserving their food, but encouraged hiscompanions to share the whole of what remained at sunset. Littlepersuasion was necessary, and when night once more came to envelopethem in darkness, not a mouthful of food or a drop of water remainedto meet the necessities of the coming morn. It had rained again fora short time, in the course of the afternoon, when enough water hadbeen caught to allay their thirst, and what was almost of as muchimportance to the females now, a sufficiency of sun had succeeded todry their clothes, thus enabling them to sleep without enduring thechilling damps that might otherwise have prevented it. The wind hadsensibly fallen, and the ground-swell was altogether gone, butMulford was certain that the relief had come too late. So much airhad escaped while it lasted as scarce to leave him the hope that thewreck could float until morning. The rising of the bubbles was nowincessant, the crevices by which they escaped having most probablyopened a little, in consequence of the pressure and the unceasingaction of the currents, small as the latter were. 

Just as darkness was shutting in around them for the second time, Rose remarked to Mulford that it seemed to her that they had not aslarge a space for their little world as when they were first placedon it. The mate, however, successfully avoided an explanation; andwhen the watch was again set for the night, the females lay down toseek their repose, more troubled with apprehensions for a morrow ofhunger and thirst, than by any just fears that might so well havearisen from the physical certainty that the body which alone keptthem from being engulfed in the sea, could float but a few hourslonger. This night Tier kept the look-out until Jupiter reached thezenith, when Mulford was called to hold the watch until lightreturned. 

It may seem singular that any could sleep at all in such asituation. But we get accustomed, in an incredibly short time, tothe most violent changes; and calamities that seem insupportable, when looked at from a distance, lose half their power if met andresisted with fortitude. The last may, indeed, be too insignificanta word to be applied to all of the party on the wreck, on theoccasion of which we are writing, though no one of them all betrayedfears that were troublesome. Of Mulford it is unnecessary to speak. His deportment had been quiet, thoughtful, and full of a manlyinterest in the comfort of others, from the first moment of thecalamity. That Rose should share the largest in his attentions wasnatural enough, but he neglected no essential duty to hercompanions. Rose, herself, had little hope of being rescued. Hernaturally courageous character, however, prevented any undueexhibitions of despair, and now it was that the niece became theprincipal support of the aunt, completely changing the relationsthat had formerly existed between them. Mrs. Budd had lost all thelittle buoyancy of her mind. Not a syllable did she now utterconcerning ships and their manoeuvres. She had been, at first, alittle disposed to be querulous and despairing, but the soothing andpious conversation of Rose awakened a certain degree of resolutionin her, and habit soon exercised its influence over even herinactive mind. Biddy was a strange mixture of courage, despair, humility, and consideration for others. Not once had she taken hersmall allowance of food without first offering it, and that, too, inperfect good faith, to her "Missus and Miss Rosy;" yet her moaningsfor this sort of support, and her complaints of bodily sufferingmuch exceeded that of all the rest of the party put together. As forJack Tier, his conduct singularly belied his appearance. No onewould have expected any great show of manly resolution from thelittle rotund, lymphatic figure of Tier; but he had manifested acalmness that denoted either great natural courage, or a resolutionderived from familiarity with danger. In this particular, evenMulford regarded his deportment with surprise, not unmingled withrespect. 

"You have had a tranquil watch, Jack, " said Harry, when he wascalled by the person named, and had fairly aroused himself from hisslumbers. "Has the wind stood as it is since sunset?"

"No change whatever, sir. It has blown a good working breeze thewhole watch, and what is surprising not as much lipper has got up aswould frighten a colt on a sea-beach. "

"We must be near the reef, by that. I think the only currents wefeel come from the tide, and they seem to be setting us back andforth, instead of carrying us in any one settled direction. "

"Quite likely, sir; and this makes my opinion of what I saw an hoursince all the more probable. "

"What you saw! In the name of a merciful Providence, Tier, do nottrifle with me! Has any thing been seen near by?"

"Don't talk to me of your liquors and other dhrinks, " murmured Biddyin her sleep. "It's wather that is a blessed thing; and I wish Ilived, the night and the day, by the swate pump that's in our ownyard, I do. "

"The woman has been talking in her sleep, in this fashion, most ofthe watch, " observed Jack, coolly, and perhaps a littlecontemptuously. "But, Mr. Mulford, unless my eyes have cheated me, we are near that boat again. The passage through the reef is closeaboard us, here, on our larboard bow, as it might be, and thecurrent has sucked us in it in a fashion to bring it in a sort ofathwart-hawse direction to us. "

"If that boat, after all, should be sent by Providence to ourrelief! How long is it since you saw it, Jack. "

"But a bit since, sir; or, for that matter, I think I see it now. Look hereaway, sir, just where the dead-eyes of the fore-riggingwould bear from us, if the craft stood upon her legs, as she oughtto do. If that isn't a boat, it's a rock out of water. "

Mulford gazed through the gloom of midnight, and saw, or fancied hesaw, an object that might really be the boat. It could not be verydistant either; and his mind was instantly made up as to the coursehe would pursue. Should it actually turn out to be that which he nowso much hoped for, and its distance in the morning did not prove toogreat for human powers, he was resolved to swim for it at the hazardof his life. In the meantime, or until light should return, thereremained nothing to do but to exercise as much patience as could besummoned, and to confide in God, soliciting his powerful succour bysecret prayer. 

Mulford was no sooner left alone, as it might be, by Tier's seekinga place in which to take his rest, than he again examined the stateof the wreck. Little as he had hoped from its long-continuedbuoyancy, he found matters even worse than he apprehended they wouldbe. The hull had lost much air, and had consequently sunk in thewater in an exact proportion to this loss. The space that wasactually above the water, was reduced to an area not more than sixor seven feet in one direction, by some ten or twelve in the other. This was reducing its extent, since the evening previous, by fullyone-half; and there could be no doubt that the air was escaping, inconsequence of the additional pressure, in a ratio that increased bya sort of arithmetical progression. The young man knew that thewhole wreck, under its peculiar circumstances, might sink entirelybeneath the surface, and yet possess sufficient buoyancy to sustainthose that were on it for a time longer, but this involved theterrible necessity of leaving the females partly submergedthemselves. 

Our mate heard his own heart beat, as he became satisfied of theactual condition of the wreck, and of the physical certainty thatexisted of its sinking, at least to the point last mentioned, erethe sun came to throw his glories over the last view that thesufferers would be permitted to take of the face of day. It appearedto him that no time was to be lost. There lay the dim and shapelessobject that seemed to be the boat, distant, as he thought, about amile. It would not have been visible at all but for the perfectsmoothness of the sea, and the low position occupied by theobserver. At times it did disappear altogether, when it would riseagain, as if undulating in the ground-swell. This last circumstance, more than any other, persuaded Harry that it was not a rock, butsome floating object that he beheld. Thus encouraged, he delayed nolonger. Every moment was precious, and all might be lost byindecision. He did not like the appearance of deserting hiscompanions, but, should he fail, the motive would appear in the act. Should he fail, every one would alike soon be beyond the reach ofcensure, and in a state of being that would do full justice to all. 

Harry threw off most of his clothes, reserving only his shirt and apair of light summer trowsers. He could not quit the wreck, however, without taking a sort of leave of Rose. On no account would he awakeher, for he appreciated the agony she would feel during the periodof his struggles. Kneeling at her side, he made a short prayer, thenpressed his lips to her warm cheek, and left her. Rose murmured hisname at that instant, but it was as the innocent and young betraytheir secrets in their slumbers. Neither of the party awoke. 

It was a moment to prove the heart of man, that in which HarryMulford, in the darkness of midnight, alone, unsustained by anyencouraging eye, or approving voice, with no other aid than his ownstout arm, and the unknown designs of a mysterious Providence, committed his form to the sea. For an instant he paused, after hehad waded down on the wreck to a spot where the water alreadymounted to his breast, but it was not in misgivings. He calculatedthe chances, and made an intelligent use of such assistance as couldbe had. There had been no sharks near the wreck that day, but asplash in the water might bring them back again in a crowd. Theywere probably prowling over the reef, near at hand. The mate usedgreat care, therefore, to make no noise. There was the distantobject, and he set it by a bright star, that wanted about an hourbefore it would sink beneath the horizon. That star was his beacon, and muttering a few words in earnest prayer, the young man threw hisbody forward, and left the wreck, swimming lightly but with vigour. 

JACK TIER. 

CHAPTER I. 

 The night has been unruly: where we lay, Our chimneys were blown down: and, as they say, Lamentings heard i' the air; strange screams of death; And prophesying, with accents terrible, Of dire combustion, and confused events, New hatched to the woful time. 

_Macbeth_. 

It is seldom that man is required to make an exertion as desperateand appalling, in all its circumstances, as that on which HarryMulford was now bent. The night was starlight, it was true, and itwas possible to see objects near by with tolerable distinctness;still, it was midnight, and the gloom of that hour rested on theface of the sea, lending its solemn mystery and obscurity to theother trying features of the undertaking. Then there was theuncertainty whether it was the boat at all, of which he was inpursuit; and, if the boat, it might drift away from him as fast ashe could follow it. Nevertheless, the perfect conviction that, without some early succour, the party on the wreck, including RoseBudd, must inevitably perish, stimulated him to proceed, and apassing feeling of doubt, touching the prudence of his course, thatcame over the young mate, when he was a few yards from the wreck, vanished under a vivid renewal of this last conviction. On he swam, therefore, riveting his eye on the "thoughtful star" that guided hiscourse, and keeping his mind as tranquil as possible, in order thatthe exertions of his body might be the easier. 

Mulford was an excellent swimmer. The want of food was a seriousobstacle to his making one of his best efforts, but, as yet, he wasnot very sensible of any great loss of strength. Understanding fullythe necessity of swimming easily, if he would swim long, he did notthrow out all his energy at first, but made the movements of hislimbs as regular, continued, and skilful as possible. No strengthwas thrown away, and his progress was in proportion to the prudenceof this manner of proceeding. For some twenty minutes he held on hiscourse, in this way, when he began to experience a little of thatweariness which is apt to accompany an unremitted use of the sameset of muscles, in a monotonous and undeviating mode. Accustomed toall the resources of his art, he turned on his back, for the doublepurpose of relieving his arms for a minute, and of getting a glimpseof the wreck, if possible, in order to ascertain the distance he hadovercome. Swim long in this new manner, however, he could not withprudence, as the star was necessary in order to keep the direct lineof his course. It may be well to explain to some of our readers, that, though the surface of the ocean may be like glass, assometimes really happens, it is never absolutely free from the long, undulating motion that is known by the name of a "ground swell. "This swell, on the present occasion, was not very heavy, but it wassufficient to place our young mate, at moments, between two darkmounds of water, that limited his view in either direction to someeighty or a hundred yards; then it raised him on the summit of arounded wave, that enabled him to see, far as his eye could reachunder that obscure light. Profiting by this advantage, Mulford nowlooked behind him, in quest of the wreck, but uselessly. It mighthave been in the trough, while he was thus on the summit of thewaves, or it might be that it floated so low as to be totally lostto the view of one whose head was scarcely above the surface of thewater. For a single instant, the young man felt a chill at hisheart, as he fancied that the wreck had already sunk; but it passedaway when he recalled the slow progress by which the air escaped, and he saw the certainty that the catastrophe, however inevitable, could not yet have really arrived. He waited for another swell tolift him on its summit, when, by "treading water, " he raised hishead and shoulders fairly above the surface of the sea, and strainedhis eyes in another vain effort to catch a glimpse of the wreck. Hecould not see it. In point of fact, the mate had swum much furtherthan he had supposed, and was already so distant as to render anysuch attempt hopeless. He was fully a third of a mile distant fromthe point of his departure. 

Disappointed, and in a slight degree disheartened, Mulford turned, and swam in the direction of the sinking star. He now lookedanxiously for the boat. It was time that it came more plainly intoview, and a new source of anxiety beset him, as he could discover nosigns of its vicinity. Certain that he was on the course, aftermaking a due allowance for the direction of the wind, thestout-hearted young man swam on. He next determined not to annoyhimself by fruitless searches, or vain regrets, but to swim steadilyfor a certain time, a period long enough to carry him a materialdistance, ere he again looked for the object of his search. 

For twenty minutes longer did that courageous and active youthstruggle with the waste of waters, amid the obscurity and solitudeof midnight. He now believed himself near a mile from the wreck, andthe star which had so long served him for a beacon was getting nearto the horizon. He took a new observation of another of the heavenlybodies nigh it, to serve him in its stead when it should disappearaltogether, and then he raised himself in the water, and lookedabout again for the boat. The search was in vain. No boat was verynear him, of a certainty, and the dreadful apprehension began topossess his mind, of perishing uselessly in that waste of gloomywaters. While thus gazing about him, turning his eyes in everyquarter, hoping intently to catch some glimpse of the much-desiredobject in the gloom, he saw two dark, pointed objects, thatresembled small stakes, in the water within twenty feet of him. Mulford knew them at a glance, and a cold shudder passed through hisframe, as he recognised them. They were, out of all question, thefins of an enormous shark; an animal that could not measure lessthan eighteen or twenty feet in length. 

It is scarcely necessary to say, that when our young mate discoveredthe proximity of this dangerous animal, situated as he was, he gavehimself up for lost. He possessed his knife, however, and had heardof the manner in which even sharks were overcome, and that too intheir own element, by the skilful and resolute. At first, he wasresolved to make one desperate effort for life, before he submittedto a fate as horrible as that which now menaced him; but themovements of his dangerous neighbour induced him to wait. It did notapproach any nearer, but continued swimming back and fro, on thesurface of the water, according to the known habits of the fish, asif watching his own movements. There being no time to be wasted, ouryoung mate turned on his face, and began again to swim in thedirection of the setting star, though nearly chilled by despair. Forten minutes longer did he struggle on, beginning to feel exhaustion, however, and always accompanied by those two dark, sharp and glidingfins. There was no difficulty in knowing the position of the animal, and Mulford's eyes were oftener on those fins than on the beaconbefore him. Strange as it may appear, he actually became accustomedto the vicinity of this formidable creature, and soon felt hispresence a sort of relief against the dreadful solitude of hissituation. He had been told by seamen of instances, and had oncewitnessed a case himself, in which a shark had attended a swimmingman for a long distance, either forbearing to do him harm, fromrepletion, or influenced by that awe which nature has instilled intoall of the inferior, for the highest animal of the creation. Hebegan to think that he was thus favoured, and really regarded theshark as a friendly neighbour, rather than as a voracious foe. Inthis manner did the two proceed, nearly another third of a mile, thefins sometimes in sight ahead, gliding hither and thither, andsometimes out of view behind the swimmer, leaving him in dreadfuldoubts as to the movements of the fish, when Mulford suddenly feltsomething hard hit his foot. Believing it to be the shark, dippingfor his prey, a slight exclamation escaped him. At the next instantboth feet hit the unknown substance again, and he stood erect, thewater no higher than his waist! Quick, and comprehending everythingconnected with the sea, the young man at once understood that he wason a part of the reef where the water was so shallow as to admit ofhis wading. 

Mulford felt that he had been providentially rescued from death. Hisstrength had been about to fail him, when he was thus led, unknownto himself, to a spot where his life might yet be possibly prolongedfor a few more hours, or days. He had leisure to look about him, andto reflect on what was next to be done. Almost unwittingly, heturned in quest of his terrible companion, in whose voracious mouthhe had actually believed himself about to be immolated, a fewseconds before. There the two horn-like fins still were, glidingabout above the water, and indicating the smallest movement of theirformidable owner. The mate observed that they went a short distanceahead of him, describing nearly a semi-circle, and then returned, doing the same thing in his rear, repeating the movementsincessantly, keeping always on his right. This convinced him thatshoaler water existed on his left hand, and he waded in thatdirection, until he reached a small spot of naked rock. 

For a time, at least, he was safe! The fragment of coral on whichthe mate now stood, was irregular in shape, but might have containeda hundred feet square in superficial measurement, and was so littleraised above the level of the water as not to be visible, even bydaylight, at the distance of a hundred yards. Mulford found it wasperfectly dry, however, an important discovery to him, as by a closecalculation he had made of the tides, since quitting the DryTortugas, he knew it must be near high water. Could he have eventhis small portion of bare rock secure, it made him, for the moment, rich as the most extensive landholder living. A considerablequantity of sea-weed had lodged on the rock, and, as most of thiswas also quite dry, it convinced the young sailor that the place wasusually bare. But, though most of this sea-weed was dry, there wereportions of the more recent accessions there that still lay in, orquite near to the water, which formed exceptions. In handling theseweeds, in order to ascertain the facts, Mulford caught a smallshell-fish, and finding it fresh and easy to open, he swallowed itwith the eagerness of a famishing man. Never had food proved half sograteful to him as that single swallow of a very palatabletestaceous animal. By feeling further, he found several others ofthe same family, and made quite as large a meal, as, under thecircumstances, was probably good for him. Then, grateful for hisescape, but overcome by fatigue, he hastily arranged a bed ofsea-weed, drew a portion of the plant over his body, to keep himwarm, and fell into a deep sleep that lasted for hours. 

Mulford did not regain his consciousness until the rays of therising sun fell upon his eye-lids, and the genial warmth of thegreat luminary shed its benign influence over his frame. At firsthis mind was confused, and it required a few seconds to bring aperfect recollection of the past, and a true understanding of hisreal situation. They came, however, and the young man moved to thehighest part of his little domain, and cast an anxious, hurried lookaround in quest of the wreck. A knowledge of the course in which hehad swum, aided by the position of the sun, told him on what part ofthe naked waste to look for the object he sought. God had not yetforsaken them! There was the wreck; or, it might be more exact tosay, there were those whom the remaining buoyancy of the wreck stillupheld from sinking into the depths of the gulf. In point of fact, but a very little of the bottom of the vessel actually remainedabove water, some two or three yards square at most, and that littlewas what seamen term nearly awash. Two or three hours must bury thatsmall portion of the still naked wood beneath the surface of thesea, though sufficient buoyancy might possibly remain for the entireday still to keep the living from death. 

There the wreck was, however, yet floating; and, though not visibleto Mulford, with a small portion of it above water. He saw the fourpersons only; and what was more, they saw him. This was evident byJack Tier's waving his hat like a man cheering. When Mulfordreturned this signal, the shawl of Rose was tossed into the air, ina way to leave no doubt that he was seen and known. The explanationof this early recognition and discovery of the young mate was verysimple. Tier was not asleep when Harry left the wreck, though, seeing the importance of the step the other was taking, he hadfeigned to be so. When Rose awoke, missed her lover, and was toldwhat had happened, her heart was kept from sinking by hisencouraging tale and hopes. An hour of agony had succeeded, nevertheless, when light returned and no Mulford was to be seen. Thedespair that burst upon the heart of our heroine was followed by thejoy of discovering him on the rock. 

It is scarcely necessary to say how much the parties were relievedon ascertaining their respective positions. Faint as were the hopesof each of eventual delivery, the two or three minutes thatsucceeded seemed to be minutes of perfect happiness. After this rushof unlooked-for joy, Mulford continued his intelligent examinationof surrounding objects. 

The wreck was fully half a mile from the rock of the mate, but muchnearer to the reef than it had been the previous night. "Could itbut ground on the rocks, " thought the young man, "it would be a mostblessed event. " The thing was possible, though the first half hourof his observations told him that its drift was in the direction ofthe open passage so often named, rather than toward the nearestrocks. Still, that drift brought Rose each minute nearer and nearerto himself again. In looking round, however, the young man saw theboat. It was a quarter of a mile distant, with open water betweenthem, apparently grounded on a rock, for it was more within the reefthan he was himself. He must have passed it in the dark, and theboat had been left to obey the wind and currents, and to drift tothe spot where it then lay. 

Mulford shouted aloud when he saw the boat, and at once determinedto swim in quest of it, as soon as he had collected a littlerefreshment from among the sea-weed. On taking a look at his rock bydaylight, he saw that its size was quadrupled to the eye by thefalling of the tide, and that water was lying in several of thecavities of its uneven surface. At first he supposed this to besea-water, left by the flood; but, reflecting a moment, heremembered the rain, and hoped it might be possible that one littlecavity, containing two or three gallons of the fluid, would turn outto be fresh. Kneeling beside it, he applied his lips in feverishhaste, and drank the sweetest draught that had ever passed his lips. Slaking his thirst, which had begun again to be painfully severe, hearose with a heart overflowing with gratitude--could he only getRose to that narrow and barren rock, it would seem to be an earthlyparadise. Mulford next made his scanty, but, all things considered, sufficient meal, drank moderately afterward, and then turned hisattention and energies toward the boat, which, though now agroundand fast, might soon float on the rising tide, and drift once morebeyond his reach. It was his first intention to swim directly forhis object; but, just when about to enter the water, he saw withhorror the fins of at least a dozen sharks, which were prowlingabout in the deeper water of the reef, and almost encircling hishold. To throw himself in the midst of such enemies would bemadness, and he stopped to reflect, and again to look about him. Forthe first time that morning, he took a survey of the entire horizon, to see if anything were in sight; for, hitherto, his thoughts hadbeen too much occupied with Rose and her companions, to rememberanything else. To the northward and westward he distinctly saw theupper sails of a large ship, that was standing on a wind to thenorthward and eastward. As there was no port to which a vessel ofthat character would be likely to be bound in the quarter of theGulf to which such a course would lead, Mulford at once inferred itwas the sloop-of-war, which, after having examined the islets, atthe Dry Tortugas, and finding them deserted, was beating up, eitherto go into Key West, or to pass to the southward of the reef again, by the passage through which she had come as lately as the previousday. This was highly encouraging; and could he only get to the boat, and remove the party from the wreck before it sunk, there was nowevery prospect of a final escape. 

To the southward, also, the mate fancied he saw a sail. It wasprobably a much smaller vessel than the ship in the north-west, andat a greater distance. It might, however, be the lofty sails of somelarge craft; standing along the reef, going westward, bound to NewOrleans, or to that new and important port, Point Isabel: or itmight be some wrecker, or other craft, edging away into the passage. As it was, it appeared only as a speck in the horizon; and was toofar off to offer much prospect of succour. 

Thus acquainted with the state of things around him, Mulford gavehis attention seriously to his duties. He was chiefly afraid thatthe returning tide might lift the boat from the rock on which it hadgrounded, and that it would float beyond his reach. Then there wasthe frightful and ever-increasing peril of the wreck, and thedreadful fate that so inevitably menaced those that it held, werenot relief prompt. This thought goaded him nearly to desperation, and he felt at moments almost ready to plunge into the midst of thesharks, and fight his way to his object. 

But reflection showed him a less hazardous way of making an effortto reach the boat. The sharks' fins described a semicircle only, ashad been the case of his single attendant during the night, and hethought that the shealness of the water prevented their goingfurther than they did, in a south-easterly direction, which was thatof the boat. He well knew that a shark required sufficient water tosink beneath its prey, ere it made its swoop, and that it uniformlyturned on its back, and struck upward whenever it gave one of itsvoracious bites. This was owing to the greater length of its upperthan of its lower jaw, and Mulford had heard it was a physicalnecessity of its formation. Right or wrong, he determined to act onthis theory, and began at once to wade along the part of the reefthat his enemies seemed unwilling to approach. 

Had our young mate a weapon of any sort larger than his knife, hewould have felt greater confidence in his success. As it was, however, he drew that knife, and was prepared to sell his lifedearly should a foe assail him. No sooner was his step heard in thewater, than the whole group of sharks were set in violent motion, glancing past, and frequently quite near him, as if aware theirintended prey was about to escape. Had the water deepened much, Harry would have returned at once, for a conflict with such numberswould have been hopeless; but it did not; on the contrary, itshoaled again, after a very short distance, at which it had beenwaist-deep; and Mulford found himself wading over a long, broadsurface of rock, and that directly toward the boat, through waterthat seldom rose above his knees, and which, occasionally, scarcecovered his feet. There was no absolutely naked rock near him, butthere seemed to be acres of that which might be almost said to beawash. Amid the greedy throng that endeavoured to accompany him, themate even fancied he recognised the enormous fins of his oldcompanion, who sailed to and fro in the crowd in a stately manner, as if merely a curious looker-on of his own movements. It was thesmaller, and probably the younger sharks, that betrayed the greatesthardihood and voracity. One or two of these made fierce swoopstoward Harry, as if bent on having him at every hazard; but theyinvariably glided off when they found their customary mode of attackresisted by the shoalness of the water. 

Our young mate got ahead but slowly, being obliged to pay a cautiousattention to the movements of his escort. Sometimes he was compelledto wade up to his arms in order to cross narrow places, that hemight get on portions of the rock that were nearly bare; and once hewas actually compelled to swim eight or ten yards. Nevertheless, hedid get on, and after an hour of this sort of work, he found himselfwithin a hundred yards of the boat, which lay grounded near a lowpiece of naked rock, but separated from it by a channel of deepwater, into which all the sharks rushed in a body, as if expresslyto cut off his escape. Mulford now paused to take breath, and toconsider what ought to be done. On the spot where he stood he wasquite safe, though ancle-deep in the sea, the shallow waterextending to a considerable distance on all sides of him, with thesingle exception of the channel in his front. He stood on the veryverge of that channel, and could see in the pellucid element beforehim, that it was deep enough to float a vessel of some size. 

To venture into the midst of twenty sharks required desperation, andHarry was not yet reduced to that. He had been so busy in making hisway to the point where he stood as to have no leisure to look forthe wreck; but he now turned his eyes in quest of thatall-interesting object. He saw the shawl fluttering in the breeze, and that was all he could see. Tier had contrived to keep it flyingas a signal where he was to be found, but the hull of the schoonerhad sunk so low in the water that they who were seated on its keelwere not visible even at the short distance which now separated themfrom Mulford. Encouraged by this signal, and animated by the revivedhope of still saving his companions, Harry turned toward thechannel, half inclined to face every danger rather than to wait anylonger. At that moment the fins were all gliding along the channelfrom him, and in the same direction. Some object drew the sharksaway in a body, and the young mate let himself easily into thewater, and swam as noiselessly as he could toward the boat. 

It was a fearful trial, but Mulford felt that everything depended onhis success. Stimulated by his motive, and strengthened by the foodand water taken an hour before, never had he shown so much skill andpower in the water. In an incredibly short period he was half-wayacross the channel, still swimming strong and unharmed. A fewstrokes more sent him so near the boat that hope took fullpossession of his soul, and he shouted in exultation. Thatindiscreet but natural cry, uttered so near the surface of the sea, turned every shark upon him, as the pack springs at the fox in view. Mulford was conscious of the folly of his cry the instant it escapedhim, and involuntarily he turned his head to note the effect on hisenemies. Every fin was gliding toward him--a dark array of swift andfurious foes. Ten thousand bayonets, levelled in their line, couldnot have been one-half as terrible, and the efforts of the young manbecame nearly frantic. But strong as he was, and ready in theelement, what is the movement of a man in the water compared to thatof a vigorous and voracious fish? Mulford could see those finscoming on like a tempest, and he had just given up all hope, and wasfeeling his flesh creep with terror, when his foot hit the rock. Giving himself an onward plunge, he threw his body upward toward theboat, and into so much shoaler water, at least a dozen feet by thatsingle effort. Recovering his legs as soon as possible, he turned tolook behind him. The water seemed alive with fins, each pair glidingback and forth, as the bull-dog bounds in front of the ox's muzzle. Just then a light-coloured object glanced past the young man, sonear as almost to touch him. It was a shark that had actually turnedon its back to seize its prey, and was only prevented fromsucceeding by being driven from the line of its course by hittingthe slimy rock, over which it was compelled to make its plunge. Themomentum with which it came on, added to the inclination of therock, forced the head and half of the body of this terribleassailant into the air, giving the intended victim an opportunity ofseeing from what a fate he had escaped. Mulford avoided this fishwithout much trouble, however, and the next instant he threw himselfinto the boat, on the bottom of which he lay panting with theviolence of his exertions, and unable to move under the reactionwhich now came over his system. 

The mate lay in the bottom of the boat, exhausted and unable torise, for several minutes; during that space he devoutly returnedthanks to God for his escape, and bethought him of the course he wasnext to pursue, in order to effect the rescue of his companions. Theboat was larger than common. It was also well equipped--a mast andsail lying along with the oars, on its thwarts. The rock placedHarry to windward of the wreck, and by the time he felt sufficientlyrevived to rise and look about him, his plan of proceeding was fullyarranged in his own mind. Among other things that he saw, as hestill lay in the bottom of the boat, was a breaker which he knewcontained fresh water, and a bread-bag. These were provisions thatit was customary for the men to make, when employed on boat duty;and the articles had been left where he now saw them, in the hurryof the movements, as the brig quitted the islets. 

Harry rose the instant he felt his strength returning. Striking thebreaker with his foot, and feeling the basket with a hand, heascertained that the one held its water, and the other its bread. This was immense relief, for by this time the sufferings of theparty on the wreck must be returning with redoubled force. The matethen stepped the mast, and fitted the sprit to the sail, knowingthat the latter would be seen fluttering in the wind by those on thewreck, and carry joy to their hearts. After this considerate act, hebegan to examine into the position of the boat. It was stillaground, having been left by the tide; but the water had alreadyrisen several inches, and by placing himself on a gunwale, so as tobring the boat on its bilge, and pushing with an oar, he soon got itinto deep water. It only remained to haul aft the sheet, and rightthe helm, to be standing through the channel, at a rate thatpromised a speedy deliverance to his friends, and, most of all, toRose. 

Mulford glanced past the rocks and shoals, attended by the wholecompany of the sharks. They moved before, behind, and on each sideof him, as if unwilling to abandon their prey, even after he had gotbeyond the limits of their power to do him harm. It was not an easything to manage the boat in that narrow and crooked channel, with noother guide for the courses than the eye, and it required so much ofthe mate's vigilance to keep clear of the sharp angles of the rocks, that he could not once cast his eyes aside, to look for thefluttering shawl, which now composed the standing signal of thewreck. At length the boat shot through the last passage of the reef, and issued into open water. Mulford knew that he must come out halfa mile at least to leeward of his object, and, without even raisinghis head, he flattened in the sheet, put his helm down, and luffedclose to the wind. Then, and then only, did he venture to lookaround him. 

Our mate felt his heart leap toward his mouth, as he observed thepresent state of the wreck. It was dead to windward of him, in thefirst place, and it seemed to be entirely submerged. He saw theshawl fluttering as before; for Tier had fastened one corner to abutton-hole of his own jacket, and another to the dress of Biddy, leaving the part which might be called the fly, to rise at momentsalmost perpendicularly in the air, in a way to render it visible atsome distance. He saw also the heads and the bodies of those on theschooner's bottom, but to him they appeared to be standing in, oron, the water. The distance may have contributed a little to thisappearance, but no doubt remained that so much air had escaped fromthe hold of the vessel, as to permit it to sink altogether beneaththe surface of the sea. It was time, indeed, to proceed to therelief of the sufferers. 

Notwithstanding the boat sailed particularly fast, and workedbeautifully, it could not equal the impatience of Mulford to get on. Passing away to the north-east a sufficient distance, as he thought, to weather on the wreck, the young man tacked at last, and had thehappiness to see that every foot he proceeded was now in a directline toward Rose. It was only while tacking he perceived that allthe fins had disappeared. He felt little doubt that they haddeserted him, in order to push for the wreck, which offered so muchlarger, and so much more attainable prey. This increased hisfeverish desire to get on, the boat seeming to drag, in his eyes, atthe very moment it was leaving a wake full of eddies and littlewhirlpools. The wind was steady, but it seemed to Mulford that theboat was set to leeward of her course by a current, though thiscould hardly have been the case, as the wreck, the sole mark of hisprogress, would have had at least as great a drift as the boat. Atlength Mulford--to him it appeared to be an age; in truth it wasafter a run of about twenty minutes--came near the goal he soearnestly sought, and got an accurate view of the state of thewreck, and of those on it. The hull of the schooner had, in truth, sunk entirely beneath the surface of the sea; and the party itsustained stood already knee-deep in the water. This wassufficiently appalling; but the presence of the sharks, who werecrowding around the spot, rendered the whole scene frightful. To theyoung mate it seemed as if he must still be too late to save Rosefrom a fate more terrible than drowning, for his boat fell so far toleeward as to compel him to tack once more. As he swept past thewreck, he called out to encourage his friends, begging them to be ofgood heart for five minutes longer, when he should be able to reachthem. Rose held out her arms entreatingly, and the screams of Mrs. Budd and Biddy, which were extorted by the closer and closerapproach of the sharks, proclaimed the imminency of the danger theyran, and the importance of not losing a moment of time. 

Mulford took his distance with a seaman's eye, and the boat wentabout like a top. The latter fell off, and the sail filled on theother tack. Then the young mariner saw, with a joy no descriptioncan pourtray, that he looked to windward of the fluttering shawl, toward which his little craft was already flying. He afterwardbelieved that shawl alone prevented the voracious party of fish fromassailing those on the wreck, for, though there might not yet besufficient depth of water to allow of their customary mode ofattack, creatures of their voracity did not always wait for suchconveniences. But the boat was soon in the midst of the fins, scattering them in all directions; and Mulford let go his sheet, puthis helm down, and sprang forward to catch the extended arms ofRose. 

It might have been accident, or it might have been the result ofskill and interest in our heroine, but certain it is, that the bowsof the boat came on the wreck precisely at the place where Rosestood, and her hand was the first object that the young man touched. 

"Take my aunt first, " cried Rose, resisting Mulford's efforts tolift her into the boat; "she is dreadfully alarmed, and can standwith difficulty. "

Although two of Rose's activity and lightness might have been drawninto the boat, while the process was going on in behalf of thewidow, Mulford lost no time in discussion, but did as he wasdesired. First directing Tier to hold on to the painter, he appliedhis strength to the arms of Mrs. Budd, and, assisted by Rose andBiddy, got her safely into the boat, over its bows. Rose now waitednot for assistance, but followed her aunt with a haste that provedfear lent her strength in despite her long fast. Biddy came next, though clumsily, and not without trouble, and Jack Tier followed theinstant he was permitted so to do. Of course, the boat, no longerheld by its painter, drifted away from the spot, and the hull of theschooner, relieved from the weight of four human beings, rose sonear the surface again as to bring a small line of its keel out ofwater. No better evidence could have been given of the triflingpower which sustained it, and of the timely nature of the succourbrought by Mulford. Had the boat remained near the schooner, itwould have been found half an hour later that the hull had sunkslowly out of sight, finding its way, doubtless, inch by inch, toward the bottom of the Gulf. 

By this time the sun was well up, and the warmth of the hour, season, and latitude, was shed on the sufferers. There was an oldsail in the boat, and in this the party dried their limbs and feet, which were getting to be numb by their long immersion. Then the mateproduced the bag and opened it, in quest of bread. A small portionwas given to each, and, on looking farther, the mate discovered thata piece of boiled ship's beef had been secreted in this receptacle. Of this also he gave each a moderate slice, taking a larger portionfor himself, as requiring less precaution. The suffering of theparty from hunger was far less than that they endured from thirst. Neither had been endured long enough seriously to enfeeble them orrender a full meal very dangerous, but the thirst had been much thehardest to be borne. Of this fact Biddy soon gave audible evidence. 

"The mate is good, " she said, "and the bread tastes swate andrefreshing, but wather is a blessed thing. Can you no give us onedhrap of the wather that falls from heaven, Mr. Mulford; for thiswather of the saa is of no use but to drown Christians in?"

In an instant the mate had opened a breaker, and filled the tin potwhich is almost always to be found in a boat. Biddy said no more, but her eyes pleaded so eloquently, that Rose begged the faithfulcreature might have the first drink. One eager swallow went down, and then a cry of disappointment succeeded. The water was salt, andhad been put in the breaker for ballast. The other breaker was triedwith the same success. 

"It is terrible to be without one drop of water, " murmured Rose, "and this food makes it more necessary than ever. "

"Patience, patience, dearest Rose--patience for ten minutes, and youshall all drink, " answered the mate, filling the sail and keepingthe boat away while speaking. "There is water, God be praised, onthe rock to which I first swam, and we will secure it before anotherday's sun help to make it evaporate. "

This announcement quieted the longings of those who endured a thirstwhich disappointment rendered doubly hard to bear; and away the boatglided toward the rock. As he now flew over the distance, lessenedmore than one-half by the drift of the wreck, Mulford recalled thescene through which he had so painfully passed the previous night. As often happens, he shuddered at the recollection of things which, at the moment, a desperate resolution had enabled him to encounterwith firmness. Still, he thought nothing less than the ardent desireto save Rose could have carried him through the trial with thesuccess which attended his struggles. The dear being at his sideasked a few explanations of what had passed; and she bowed her headand wept, equally with pain and delight, as imagination pictured toher the situation of her betrothed, amid that waste of water, withhis fearful companions, and all in the hours of deep night. 

But that was over now. There was the rock--the blessed rock on whichMulford had so accidentally struck, close before them--and presentlythey were all on it. The mate took the pot and ran to the littlereservoir, returning with a sweet draught for each of the party. 

"A blessed, blessed thing, is wather!" exclaimed Biddy, this timefinding the relief she sought, "and a thousand blessings on _you, _Mr. Mulford, who have niver done us anything but good. "

Rose looked a still higher eulogy on the young man, and even Mrs. Budd had something commendatory and grateful to say. Jack Tier wassilent, but he had all his eyes about him, as he now proved. 

"We've all on us been so much taken up with our own affairs, "remarked the steward's assistant, "that we've taken but littlenotice of the neighbourhood. If that is n't the brig, Mr. Mulford, running through this very passage, with stun'sails set alow andaloft, I do n't know the Molly Swash when I see her!"

"The brig!" exclaimed the mate, recollecting the vessels he had seenat the break-of-day, for the first time in hours. "Can it bepossible that the craft I made out to the southward, is the brig?"

"Look, and judge for yourself, sir. There she comes, like arace-horse, and if she holds her present course, she must passsomewhere within a mile or so of us, if we stay where we are. "

Mulford did look, as did all with him. There was the Swash, sureenough, coming down before the wind, and under a cloud of canvas. She might be still a league, or a league and a half distant, but, atthe rate at which she was travelling, that distance would soon bepast. She was running through the passage, no doubt with a view toproceed to the Dry Tortugas, to look after the schooner, Spikehaving the hope that he had dodged his pursuers on the coast ofCuba. The mate now looked for the ship, in the north-western board, believing, as he did, that she was the sloop-of-war. That vessel hadgone about, and was standing to the southward, on a taut bowline. She was still a long way off, three or four leagues at least, butthe change she had made in her position, since last seen, provedthat she was a great sailer. Then she was more than hull down, whereas, now, she was near enough to let the outline of a long, straight fabric be discovered beneath her canvas. 

"It is hardly possible that Spike should not see the vessel here inthe northern board, " Mulford observed to Tier, who had beenexamining the ship with him. "The lookout is usually good on boardthe Swash, and, just now, should certainly be as good as common. Spike is no dawdler with serious business before him. "

"He's a willain!" muttered Jack Tier. 

The mate regarded his companion with some surprise. Jack was a veryinsignificant-looking personage in common, and one would scarcelypause to give him a second look, unless it might be to laugh at hisrotundity and little waddling legs. But, now, the mate fancied hewas swelling with feelings that actually imparted somewhat more thanusual stature and dignity to his appearance. His face was full ofindignation, and there was something about the eye, that to Mulfordwas inexplicable. As Rose, however, had related to him the scenethat took place on the islet, at the moment when Spike wasdeparting, the mate supposed that Jack still felt a portion of theresentment that such a collision would be apt to create. From theexpression of Jack's countenance at that instant, it struck himSpike might not be exactly safe, should accident put it in the powerof the former to do him an injury. 

It was now necessary to decide on the course that ought to bepursued. The bag contained sufficient food to last the party severaldays, and a gallon of water still remained in the cavity of therock. This last was collected and put in one of the breakers, whichwas emptied of the salt water in order to receive it. As water, however, was the great necessity in that latitude, Mulford did notdeem it prudent to set sail with so small a supply, and heaccordingly commenced a search, on some of the adjacent rocks, JackTier accompanying him. They succeeded in doubling their stock ofwater, and collected several shell-fish, that the females foundexceedingly grateful and refreshing. On the score of hunger andthirst, indeed, no one was now suffering. By judiciously sipping alittle water at a time, and retaining it in the mouth beforeswallowing, the latter painful feeling had been gotten rid of; andas for food, there was even more than was actually needed, and thatof a very good quality. It is probable that standing in the waterfor hours, as Rose, and her aunt, and Biddy had been obliged to do, had contributed to lessen the pain endured from thirst, though theyhad all suffered a good deal from that cause, especially while thesun shone. 

Mulford and Tier were half an hour in obtaining the water. By theend of that period the brigantine was so near as to render her hulldistinctly visible. It was high time to decide on their futurecourse. The sail had been brailed when the boat reached the rock, and the boat itself lay on the side of the latter opposite to thebrig, and where no part of it could be seen to those on board theSwash, with the exception of the mast. Under the circumstances, therefore, Mulford thought it wisest to remain where they were, andlet the vessel pass, before they attempted to proceed toward KeyWest, their intended place of refuge. In order to do this, however, it was necessary to cause the whole party to lie down, in such a wayas to be hid by the inequalities in the rock, as it was now veryevident the brig would pass within half a mile of them. Hitherto, itwas not probable that they had been seen, and by using due caution, the chances of Spike's overlooking them altogether amounted nearlyto certainty. 

The necessary arrangements were soon made, the boat's mastsunstepped, the party placed behind their covers, and the femalescomfortably bestowed in the spare sail, where they might got alittle undisturbed sleep after the dreadful night, or morning, theyhad passed. Even Jack Tier lay down to catch his nap, as the mostuseful manner of bestowing himself for a couple of hours; the timeMulford had mentioned as the period of their stay where they were. 

As for the mate, vigilance was his portion, and he took hisposition, hid like all the rest, where he could watch the movementsof his old craft. In about twenty minutes, the brig was quite near;so near that Mulford not only saw the people on board her, whoshowed themselves in the rigging, but fancied he could recognisetheir persons. As yet, nothing had occurred in the way of change, but, just as the Swash got abreast of the rock, she began to take inher studding-sails, and that hurriedly, as is apt to occur on boarda vessel in sudden emergencies. Our young man was a little alarmedat first, believing that they might have been discovered, but he wassoon induced to think that the crew of the brigantine had just thenbegun to suspect the character of the ship to the northward. Thatvessel had been drawing near all this time, and was now only somethree leagues distant. Owing to the manner in which she headed, orbows on, it was not a very easy matter to tell the character of thisstranger, though the symmetry and squareness of his yards renderedit nearly certain he was a cruiser. Though Spike could not expect tomeet his old acquaintance here, after the chase he had so lately ledher, down on the opposite coast, he might and would have hismisgivings, and Mulford thought it was his intention to haul upclose round the northern angle of the reef, and maintain hisadvantage of the wind, over the stranger. If this were actuallydone, it might expose the boat to view, for the brig would passwithin a quarter of a mile of it, and on the side of the rock onwhich it lay. It was too late, however, to attempt a change, sincethe appearance of human beings in such a place would be certain todraw the brig's glasses on them, and the glasses must at once letSpike know who they were. It remained, therefore, only to await theresult as patiently as possible. 

A very few minutes removed all doubt. The brig hauled as close roundthe reef as she dared to venture, and in a very short time the boatlay exposed to view to all on board her. The vessel was now so nearthat Mulford plainly saw the boatswain get upon the coach-house, orlittle hurricane-house deck, where Spike stood examining the shipwith his glass, and point out the boat, where it lay at the side ofthe rock. In an instant, the glass was levelled at the spot, and themovements on board the brig immediately betrayed to Mulford that theboat was recognised. Sail was shortened on board the Swash, and menwere seen preparing to lower her stern boat, while everythingindicated that the vessel was about to be hove-to. There was no timenow to be lost, but the young man immediately gave the alarm. 

No sooner did the party arise and show themselves, than the crew ofthe Swash gave three cheers. By the aid of the glass, Spikedoubtless recognised their persons, and the fact was announced tothe men, by way of stimulating their exertions. This gave anadditional spur to the movements of those on the rock, who hastenedinto their own boat, and made sail as soon as possible. 

It was far easier to do all that has been described, than todetermine on the future course. Capture was certain if the fugitivesventured into the open water, and their only hope was to remain onthe reef. If channels for the passage of the boat could be found, escape was highly probable, as the schooner's boat could sail muchfaster than the brig's boat could row, fast as Mulford knew the lastto be. But the experience of the morning had told the mate that therock rose too near the surface, in many places, for the boat, smallas it was, to pass over it; and he must trust a great deal tochance. Away he went, however, standing along a narrow channel, through which the wind just permitted him to lay, with the sailoccasionally shaking. 

By this time the Swash had her boat in the water, manned with fourpowerful oars, Spike steering it in his own person. Our young mateplaced Tier in the bows, to point out the deepest water, and kepthis sail a rap full, in order to get ahead as fast as possible. Ahead he did get, but it was on a course that soon brought him outin the open water of the main passage through the reef, leavingSpike materially astern. The latter now rose in his boat, and made asignal with his hat, which the boatswain perfectly understood. Thelatter caused the brig to ware short round on her heel, and boardedhis foretack in chase, hauling up into the passage as soon as hecould again round the reef. Mulford soon saw that it would never dofor him to venture far from the rocks, the brig going two feet tohis one, though not looking quite as high as he did in the boat. Butthe Swash had her guns, and it was probable they would be usedrather than he should escape. When distant two hundred yards fromthe reef, therefore, he tacked. The new course brought the fugitivesnearly at right angles to that steered by Spike, who stood directlyon, as if conscious that, sooner or later, such a rencounter mustoccur. It would seem that the tide was setting through the passage, for when the boat of Mulford again reached the reef, it wasconsiderably to windward of the channel out of which she had issued, and opposite to another which offered very opportunely for herentrance. Into this new channel, then, the mate somewhat blindlyran, feeling the necessity of getting out of gun-shot of the brig atevery hazard. She at least could not follow him among the rocks, letSpike, in his boat, proceed as he might. 

According to appearances, Spike was not likely to be verysuccessful. He was obliged to diverge from his course, in order togo into the main passage at the very point where Mulford had justbefore done the same thing, and pull along the reef to windward, inorder to get into the new channel, into which the boat he waspursuing had just entered. This brought him not only astern again, but a long bit astern, inasmuch as he was compelled to make thecircuit described. On he went, however, as eager in the chase as thehound with his game in view. 

Mulford's boat seemed to fly, and glided ahead at least three feetto that of Spike's two. The direction of the channel it was in, brought it pretty close to the wind, but the water was quite smooth, and our mate managed to keep the sail full, and his little craft atthe same time quite near the weatherly side of the rocks. In thecourse of ten minutes the fugitives were fully a mile from the brig, which was unable to follow them, but kept standing off and on, inthe main passage, waiting the result. At one time Mulford thoughtthe channel would bring him out into open water again, on thenorthern side of the reef, and more than a mile to the eastward ofthe point where the ship-channel in which the Swash was plyingcommenced; but an accidental circumstance prevented his standing infar enough to ascertain the fact. That circumstance was as follows:

In running a mile and a half over the reef, in the manner described, Mulford had left the boat of Spike quite half a mile astern. He wasnow out of gun-shot from the brig, or at least beyond the range ofher grape, the only missile he feared, and so far to windward thathe kept his eye on every opening to the southward, which he fanciedmight allow of his making a stretch deeper into the mazes of thereef, among which he believed it easiest for him to escape, and toweary the oarsmen of his pursuers. Two or three of these openingsoffered as he glided along, but it struck him that they all lookedso high that the boat would not lay through them--an opinion inwhich he was right. At length he came abreast of one that seemedstraight and clear of obstacles as far as he could see, and throughwhich he might run with a flowing sheet. Down went his helm, andabout went his boat, running away to the southward as fast as ever. 

Had Spike followed, doubled the same shoal, and kept away again inthe same channel as had been done by the boat he chased, all hishopes of success must have vanished at once. This he did notattempt, therefore; but, sheering into one of the openings which themate had rejected, he cut off quite half a mile in his distance. This was easy enough for him to accomplish, as a row-boat would pulleven easier, near to the wind, than with the wind broad on its bow. In consequence of this short cut, therefore, Spike was actuallycrossing out into Mulford's new channel, just as the latter hadhandsomely cleared the mouth of the opening through which heeffected his purpose. 

It is scarcely necessary to say that the two boats must have beenfor a few minutes quite near to each other; so near, indeed, did thefugitives now pass to their pursuers, that it would have been easyfor them to have conversed, had they been so disposed. Not a wordwas spoken, however, but Mulford went by, leaving Spike about ahundred yards astern. This was a trying moment to the latter, andthe devil tempted him to seek his revenge. He had not come unarmedon his enterprise, but three or four loaded muskets lay in thestern-sheets of his yawl. He looked at his men, and saw that theycould not hold out much longer to pull as they had been pulling. Then he looked at Mulford's boat, and saw it gliding away from himat a rate that would shortly place it another half mile in advance. He seized a musket, and raised it to his shoulder, nay, was in theact of taking aim at his mate, when Rose, who watched his movements, threw herself before Harry, and if she did not actually save hislife, at least prevented Spike's attempt on it for that occasion. Inthe course of the next ten minutes the fugitives had again so fargained on their pursuers, that the latter began to see that theirefforts were useless. Spike muttered a few bitter curses, and toldhis men to lay on their oars. 

"It's well for the runaway, " he added, "that the gal put herselfbetween us, else would his grog have been stopped for ever. I'velong suspected this; but had I been sure of it, the Gulf Streamwould have had the keeping of his body, the first dark night we werein it together. Lay on your oars, men, lay on your oars; I'm afearedthe villian will get through our fingers, a'ter all. "

The men obeyed, and then, for the first time, did they turn theirheads, to look at those they had been so vehemently pursuing. Theother boat was quite half a mile from them, and it had again tacked. This last occurrence induced Spike to pull slowly ahead, in quest ofanother short passage to cut the fugitives off; but no such openingoffered. 

"There he goes about again, by George!" exclaimed Spike. "Give way, lads--give way; an easy stroke, for if he is embayed, he can'tescape us!"

Sure enough, poor Mulford _was_ embayed, and could see no outlet bywhich to pass ahead. He tacked his boat two or three times, and hewore round as often; but on every side shoals, or rocks thatactually rose above the surface of the water, impeded his course. The fact was not to be concealed; after all his efforts, and so manypromises of success, not only was his further progress ahead cutoff, but equally so was retreat. The passage was not wide enough toadmit the hope of getting by his pursuers, and the young man came tothe conclusion that his better course was to submit with dignity tohis fate. For himself he had no hope--he knew Spike's character toowell for that; but he did not apprehend any great immediate dangerto his companions. Spike had a coarse, brutal admiration for Rose!but her expected fortune, which was believed to be of more amountthan was actually the case, was a sort of pledge that he would notwillingly put himself in a situation that would prevent thepossibility of enjoying it. Strange, hurried, and somewhat confusedthoughts passed through Harry Mulford's mind, as he brailed hissail, and waited for his captors to approach and take possession ofhis boat and himself. This was done quietly, and with very few wordson the part of Spike. 

Mulford would have liked the appearance of things better had his oldcommander cursed him, and betrayed other signs of the fury that wasboiling in his very soul. On the contrary, never had Stephen Spikeseemed more calm, or under better self-command. He smiled, andsaluted Mrs. Budd, just as if nothing unpleasant had occurred, andalluded to the sharpness of the chase with facetiousness and seeminggood-humour. The females were deceived by this manner, and hoped, after all, that the worst that would happen would be a return totheir old position on board the Swash. This was being so much betteroff than their horrible situation on the wreck, that the change wasnot frightful to them. 

"What has become of the schooner, Mr. Mulford?" asked Spike, as theboats began to pass down the channel to return to the brig--two ofthe Swash's men taking their seats in that which had been captured, along with their commander, while the other two got a tow from theuse of the sail. "I see you have the boat here that we usedalongside of her, and suppose you know something of the craftitself. "

"She capsized with us in a squall, " answered the mate, "and we onlyleft the wreck this morning. "

"Capsized!--hum--that was a hard fate, to be sure, and denotes badseamanship. Now I've sailed all sorts of craft these forty years, orfive-and-thirty at least, and never cap-sized anything in my life. Stand by there for'ard to hold on by that rock. "

A solitary cap of the coral rose above the water two or three feet, close to the channel, and was the rock to which Spike alluded. Itwas only some fifty feet in diameter, and of an oval form, risingquite above the ordinary tides, as was apparent by its appearance. It is scarcely necessary to say it had no other fresh water thanthat which occasionally fell on its surface, which surface beingquite smooth, retained very little of the rain it received. The boatwas soon alongside of this rock, where it was held broadside-to bythe two seamen. 

"Mr. Mulford, do me the favour to step up here, " said Spike, leadingthe way on to the rock himself. "I have a word to say to you beforewe get on board the old Molly once more. "

Mulford silently complied, fully expecting that Spike intended toblow his brains out, and willing the bloody deed should be done in away to be as little shocking to Rose as circumstances would allow. But Spike manifested no such intention. A more refined cruelty wasuppermost in his mind; and his revenge was calculated, and took careto fortify itself with some of the quibbles and artifices of thelaw. He might not be exactly right in his legal reservations, but hedid not the less rely on their virtue. 

"Hark'e, Mr. Mulford, " said Spike, sharply, as soon as both were onthe rock, "you have run from my brig, thereby showing your distastefor her; and I've no disposition to keep a man who wishes to quitme. Here you are, sir, on _terrum firm, _ as the scholars call it;and here you have my full permission to remain. I wish you a goodmorning, sir; and will not fail to report, when we get in, that youleft the brig of your own pleasure. "

"You will not have the cruelty to abandon me on this naked rock, Captain Spike, and that without a morsel of food, or a drop ofwater. "

"Wather is a blessed thing!" exclaimed Biddy. "Do not think oflavin' the gentleman widout wather. "

"You left _me, _ sir, without food or water, and you can fit out yourown rock--yes, d--e, sir, you left me _under fire, _ and that is athing no true-hearted man would have thought of. Stand by to makesail, boys; and if he offer to enter the boat, pitch him out withthe boat-hooks. "

Spike was getting angry, and he entered the boat again, withoutperceiving that Rose had left it. Light of foot, and resolute ofspirit, the beautiful girl, handsomer than ever perhaps, by herexcited feelings and dishevelled hair, had sprung on the rock, asSpike stepped into the boat forward, and when the latter turnedround, after loosening the sail, he found he was drifting away fromthe very being who was the object of all his efforts. Mulford, believing that Rose was to be abandoned as well as himself, receivedthe noble girl in his arms, though ready to implore Spike, on hisknees, to return and at least to take her off. But Spike wanted nosolicitation on that point. He returned of his own accord, and hadjust reached the rock again when a report of a gun drew all eyestoward the brig. 

The Swash had again run out of the passage, and was beating up, close to the reef as she dared to go, with a signal flying. All theseamen at once understood the cause of this hint. The strange sailwas getting too near, and everybody could see that it was thesloop-of-war. Spike looked at Rose, a moment, in doubt. But Mulfordraised his beloved in his arms, and carried her to the side of therock, stepping on board the boat. 

Spike watched the movements of the young man with jealous vigilance, and no sooner was Rose placed on her seat, than he motionedsignificantly to the mate to quit the boat. 

"I cannot and will not voluntarily, Captain Spike, " answered Harry, calmly. "It would be committing a sort of suicide. "

A sign brought two of the men to the captain's assistance. While thelatter held Rose in her place, the sailors shoved Harry on the rockagain. Had Mulford been disposed to resist, these two men could notvery easily have ejected him from the boat, if they could have doneit at all; but he knew there were others in reserve, and feared thatblood might be shed, in the irritated state of Spike, in thepresence of Rose. While, therefore, he would not be accessary to hisown destruction, he would not engage in what he knew would prove notonly a most harassing, but a bootless resistance. The consequencewas that the boats proceeded, leaving him alone on the rock. 

It was perhaps fortunate for Rose that she fainted. Her conditionoccupied her aunt and Biddy, and Spike was enabled to reach his brigwithout any further interruption. Rose was taken on board stillnearly insensible, while her two female companions were so muchconfused and distressed, that neither could have given a reasonablyclear account of what had just occurred. Not so with Jack Tier, however. That singular being noted all that passed, seated in theeyes of the boat, away from the confusion that prevailed in itsstern-sheets, and apparently undisturbed by it. 

As the party was sailing back toward the brig, the lighthouse boattowing the Swash's yawl, Jack took as good an observation of thechannels of that part of the reef as his low position would allow. He tried to form in his mind a sort of chart of the spot, for, fromthe instant Mulford was thus deserted, the little fellow had formeda stern resolution to attempt his rescue. How that was to be done, however, was more than he yet knew; and when they reached the brig'sside, Tier may be said to have been filled with good intentions, rather than with any very available knowledge to enable him to putthem in execution. 

As respects the two vessels, the arrival of Spike on board his ownwas not a moment too soon. The Poughkeepsie, for the stranger to thenorthward was now ascertained to be that sloop-of-war, was withinlong gun-shot by this time, and near enough to make certain, bymeans of her glasses, of the character of the craft with which shewas closing. Luckily for the brig she lay in the channel so oftenmentioned, and through which both she and her present pursuer had solately come, on their way to the northward. This brought her towindward, as the wind then stood, with a clear passage before her. Not a moment was lost. No sooner were the females sent below, thansail was made on the brig, and she began to beat through thepassage, making long legs and short ones. She was chased, as amatter of course, and that hard, the difference in sailing betweenthe two crafts not being sufficiently great to render thebrigantine's escape by any means certain, while absolutely withinthe range of those terrible missiles that were used by theman-of-war's men. 

But Spike soon determined not to leave a point so delicate as thatof his own and his vessel's security to be decided by a meresuperiority in the way of heels. The Florida Reef, with all itsdangers, windings, and rocks, was as well known to him as theentrances to the port of New York. In addition to its largerchannels, of which there are three or four, through which ships ofsize can pass, it had many others that would admit only vessels of alighter draught of water. The brig was not flying light, it is true, but she was merely in good ballast trim, and passages would beavailable to her, into which the Poughkeepsie would not dare toventure. One of these lesser channels was favourably placed tofurther the escape of Spike, and he shoved the brig into it afterthe struggle had lasted less than an hour. This passage offered ashorter cut to the south side of the reef than the main channel, andthe sloop-of-war, doubtless perceiving the uselessness of pursuit, under such circumstances, wore round on her heel, and came downthrough the main channel again, just entering the open water, nearthe spot where the schooner had sunk, as the sun was setting. 

CHAPTER II. 

_Shallow. _ Did her grandsire leave her seven hundred pound?

_Evans. _ Ay, and her father is make her a petter penny. 

_Shallow. _ I know the young gentlewoman; she has good gifts. 

_Evans. _ Seven hundred pounds, and possibilities, is good gifts. 

Shakspeare. 

As for Spike, he had no intention of going to the southward of theFlorida Reef again until his business called him there. The lost bagof doubloons was still gleaming before his imagination, and nosooner did the Poughkeepsie bear up, than he shortened sail, standing back and forth in his narrow and crooked channel, ratherlosing ground than gaining, though he took great pains not to lethis artifice be seen. When the Poughkeepsie was so far to thenorthward as to render it safe, he took in everything but one or twoof his lowest sails, and followed easily in the same direction. Asthe sloop-of-war carried her light and loftier sails, she remainedvisible to the people of the Swash long after the Swash had ceasedto be visible to her. Profiting by this circumstance, Spike enteredthe main channel again some time before it was dark, and selected asafe anchorage there that was well known to him; a spot wheresufficient sand had collected on the coral to make good holdingground, and where a vessel would be nearly embayed, though always towindward of her channel going out, by the formation of the reef. Here he anchored, in order to wait until morning ere he venturedfurther north. During the whole of that dreadful day, Rose hadremained in her cabin, disconsolate, nearly unable, as she wasabsolutely unwilling to converse. Now it was that she felt the totalinsufficiency of a mind feeble as that of her aunt's to administerconsolation to misery like her own. Nevertheless, the affectionatesolicitude of Mrs. Budd, as well as that of the faithful creature, Biddy, brought some relief, and reason and resignation began slowlyto resume their influence. Yet was the horrible picture of Harry, dying by inches, deserted in the midst of the waters on his solitaryrock, ever present to her thoughts, until, once or twice, herfeelings verged on madness. Prayer brought its customary relief, however; and we do not think that we much exaggerate the fact, whenwe say that Rose passed fully one-half of that terrible afternoon onher knees. 

As for Jack Tier, he was received on board the brig much as ifnothing had happened. Spike passed and repassed him fifty times, without even an angry look, or a word of abuse; and thedeputy-steward dropped quietly into the duties of his office, without meeting with either reproach or hindrance. The onlyallusion, indeed, that was made to his recent adventures, took placein a conversation that was held on the subject in the galley, theinterlocutors being Jack himself, Josh, the steward, and Simon, thecook. 

"Where you been scullin' to, 'bout on dat reef, Jack, wid dem' erewomen, I won'er now?" demanded Josh, after tasting the cabin soup, in order to ascertain how near it was to being done. "It'ink it nogreat fun to dodge 'bout among dem rock in a boat, for anudderhurricane might come when a body least expeck him. "

"Oh, " said Jack, cavalierly, "two hurricanes no more come in onemonth, than two shot in the same hole. We've been turtlin', that'sall. I wish we had in your coppers, cook, some of the critturs thatwe fell in with in our cruise. "

"Wish'e had, master steward, wid all my heart, " answered the fat, glistening potentate of the galley. "But, hark'ee, Jack; what becameof our young mate, can 'e tell? Some say he get kill at'e DryTortugas, and some say he war' scullin' round in dat boat you hab, wid'e young woman, eh?"

"Ah, boys, " answered Jack, mournfully, "sure enough, what _has_become of him?"

"You know, why can't you tell? What good to hab secret amongfriend. "

"_Are_ ye his friends, lads? Do you really feel as if you could givea poor soul in its agony a helpin' hand?"

"Why not?" said Josh, in a reproachful way. "Misser Mulford'e bessmate dis brig ebber get; and I don't see why Cap'in Spike-want to berid of him. "

"Because he's a willian!" returned Jack between his grated teeth. "D'ye know what that means in English, master Josh; and can you andcook here, both of whom have sailed with the man years in and yearsout, say whether my words be true or not?"

"Dat as a body understand 'em. Accordin' to some rule, Stephen Spikenot a werry honest man; but accordin' to 'nudder some, he as good asany body else. "

"Yes, dat just be upshot of de matter, " put in Simon, approvingly. "De whole case lie in dat meanin'. "

"D'ye call it right to leave a human being to starve, or to sufferfor water, on a naked rock, in the midst of the ocean?"

"Who do dat?"

"The willian who is captain of this brig; and all because he thinksyoung eyes and bloomin' cheeks prefar young eyes and bloomin' cheeksto his own grizzly beard and old look-outs. "

"Dat bad; dat werry bad, " said Josh, shaking his head, a way ofdenoting dissatisfaction, in which Simon joined him; for no crimeappeared sufficiently grave in the eyes of these two sleek andwell-fed officials to justify such a punishment. "Dat mons'ous bad, and cap'in ought to know better dan do _dat_. I nebber starves amouse, if I catches him in de bread-locker. Now, dat a sort ofreason'ble punishment, too; but I nebber does it. If mouse eat mybread, it do seem right to tell mouse dat he hab enough, and dat hemust not eat any more for a week, or a mont', but it too cruel forme, and I nebber does it; no, I t'rows de little debil overboard, and lets him drown like a gentle'em. "

"Y-e-s, " drawled out Simon, in a philanthropical tone of voice, "dat'e best way. What good it do to torment a fellow critter? IfMisser Mulford run, why put him down run, and let him go, I say, on'y mulk his wages; but what good it do anybody to starve him? Nowdis is my opinion, gentle'em, and dat is, dat starwation be wuss dancholeric. Choleric kill, I knows, and so does starwation kill; butof de two, gib me de choleric fuss; if I gets well of dat, den trystarwation if you can. "

"I'm glad to hear you talk in this manner, my hearties, " put inJack; "and I hope I may find you accommodatin' in a plan I've got tohelp the maty out of this difficulty. As a friend of Stephen Spike'sI would do it; for it must be a terrible thing to die with such amurder on one's soul. Here's the boat that we pick'd up at thelight-house, yonder, in tow of the brig at this minute; and there'severything in her comfortable for a good long run, as I know fromhaving sailed in her; and what I mean is this: as we left Mr. Mulford, I took the bearings and distance of the rock he was on, d'ye understand, and think I could find my way back to it. You seethe brig is travelin' slowly north ag'in, and afore long we shall bein the neighbourhood of that very rock. We, cook and stewards, willbe called on to keep an anchor-watch, if the brig fetches up, as Iheard the captain tell the Spanish gentleman he thought she would;and then we can take the boat that's in the water and go and have ahunt for the maty. "

The two blacks looked at Tier earnestly; then they turned theirheads to look at each other. The idea struck each as bold and novel, but each saw serious difficulties in it. At length Josh, as becamehis superior station, took on himself the office of expressing theobjections that occurred to his mind. 

"Dat nebber do!" exclaimed the steward. "We be's quite willin' tosarve'e mate, who's a good gentle'em, and as nice a young man asever sung out, `hard a-lee, " but we must t'ink little bit of numberone; or, for dat matter, of number two, as Simon would beimplercated as well as myself. If Cap'in Spike once knew we've lenta hand in sich a job, he'd never overlook it. I knows him, _well;_and that is sayin' as much as need be said of any man's character. You nebber catch _me_ runnin' myself into his jaws; would ratherfight a shark widout any knife. No, no--I knows him _well_. Dencomes anudder werry unanswerable objecsh'un, and dat is, dat'e brigowe bot' Simon and I money. Fifty dollars, each on us, if she oweone cent. Now, do you t'ink in cander, Jack, dat two colour'gentle'em, like us, can t'row away our fortins like two sons of aYork merchant dat has inherited a hundred t'ousand dollar tudderday?"

"There is no occasion for running at all, or for losing your wages. "

"How you get'e mate off, den? Can he walk away on de water? If so, let him go widout us. A werry good gentle'em is Misser Mulford, butnot good enough to mulk Simon and me out of fifty dollar each. "

"You will not hear my project, Josh, and so will never know what Iwould be at. "

"Well, come, tell him jest as you surposes him. Now listen, Simon, so dat not a word be loss. "

"My plan is to take the boat, if we anchor, as anchor I know weshall, and go and find the rock and bring Mr. Mulford off; then wecan come back to the brig, and get on board ourselves, and let themate sail away in the boat by himself. On this plan nobody will run, and no wages be mulcted. "

"But dat take time and an anchor-watch last but two hour, surposin'even dat'ey puts all t'ree of us in de same watch. "

"Spike usually does that, you know. `Let the cook and the stewardskeep the midnight watch, ' he commonly says, `and that will give theforemost hands a better snooze. "'

"Yes, he do say _dat, _ Josh, " put in Simon, "most ebbery time wecomes-to. "

"I know he does, and surposes he will say it to-night, if hecomes-to to-night. But a two hour watch may not be long enough to doall you wants; and den, jest t'ink for a moment, should 'e cap'income on deck and hail'e forecastle, and find us all gone, I wouldn'tbe in your skin, Jack, for dis brig, in sich a kerlamity. I knowsCap'in Spike well; t'ree time I endebber to run myself, and eachtime he bring me up wid a round turn; so, now-a-days, I nebbert'inks of sich a projeck any longer. "

"But I do not intend to leave the forecastle without some one on itto answer a hail. No, all I want is a companion; for I do not liketo go out on the reef at midnight, all alone. If one of you will gowith me, the other can stay and answer the captain's hail, should hereally come on deck in our watch--a thing very little likely tohappen. When once his head is on his pillow, a'ter a hard day'swork, it's not very apt to be lifted ag'in without a call, or asquall. If you do know Stephen Spike _well, _ Josh, I know himbetter. "

"Well, Jack, dis here is a new idee, d'ye see, and a body must taketime to consider on it. If Simon and I do ship for dis v'y'ge, 'twill be for lub of Mr. Mulford, and not for _his_ money or_your'n"_. 

This was all the encouragement of his project Jack Tier couldobtain, on that occasion, from either his brother steward, or fromthe cook. These blacks were well enough disposed to rescue aninnocent and unoffending man from the atrocious death to which Spikehad condemned his mate, but neither lost sight of his own securityand interest. They promised Tier not to betray him, however; and hehad the fullest confidence in their pledges. They who live togetherin common, usually understand the feeling that prevails, on anygiven point, in their own set; and Jack felt pretty certain thatHarry was a greater favourite in and about the camboose than thecaptain. On that feeling he relied, and he was fain to wait thecourse of events, ere he came to any absolute conclusion as to hisown course. 

The interview in the galley took place about half an hour before thebrig anchored for the night. Tier, who often assisted on suchoccasions, went aloft to help secure the royal, one of the gasketsof which had got loose, and from the yard he had an excellentopportunity to take a look at the reef, the situation of the vessel, and the probable bearings of the rock on which poor Mulford had beendevoted to a miserable death. This opportunity was much increased bySpike's hailing him, while on the yard, and ordering him to take agood look at the sloop-of-war, and at the same time to ascertain ifany boats were "prowlin' about, in order to make a set upon us inthe night. " On receiving this welcome order, Jack answered with acheerful "Ay, ay, sir, " and standing up on the yard, he placed anarm around the mast, and remained for a long time making hisobservations. The command to look-out for boats would have been asufficient excuse had he continued on the yard as long as it waslight. 

Jack had no difficulty in finding the Poughkeepsie, which wasalready through the passage, and no longer visible from the deck. She appeared to be standing to the northward and westward, undereasy canvas, like a craft that was in no hurry. This fact wascommunicated to Spike in the usual way. The latter seemed pleased, and he answered in a hearty manner, just as if no difficulty hadever occurred between him and the steward's assistant. 

"Very well, Jack! bravo, Jack!--now take a good look for boats;you'll have light enough for that this half hour, " cried thecaptain. "If any are out, you'll find them pulling down the channel, or maybe they'll try to shorten the cut, by attempting to pullathwart the reef. Take a good and steady look for them, my man. "

"Ay, ay, sir; I'll do all I can with naked eyes, " answered Jack, "but I could do better, sir, if they would only send me up a glassby these here signal-halyards. With a glass, a fellow might speakwith some sartainty. "

Spike seemed struck with the truth of this suggestion; and he soonsent a glass aloft by the signal-halyards. Thus provided, Jackdescended as low as the cross-trees, where he took his seat, andbegan a survey at his leisure. While thus employed, the brig wassecured for the night, her decks were cleared, and the people wereordered to get their suppers, previously to setting an anchor-watch, and turning-in for the night. No one heeded the movements ofTier, --for Spike had gone into his own state-room, --with theexception of Josh and Simon. Those two worthies were still in thegalley, conversing on the subject of Jack's recent communications;and ever and anon one of them would stick his head out of the doorand look aloft, withdrawing it, and shaking it significantly, assoon as his observations were ended. 

As for Tier, he was seated quite at his ease; and having slung hisglass to one of the shrouds, in a way to admit of its being turnedas on a pivot, he had every opportunity for observing accurately, and at his leisure. The first thing Jack did, was to examine thechannel very closely, in order to make sure that no boats were init, after which he turned the glass with great eagerness toward thereef, in the almost hopeless office of ascertaining somethingconcerning Mulford. In point of fact, the brig had anchored quitethree leagues from the solitary rock of the deserted mate, and, favoured as he was by his elevation, Jack could hardly expect todiscern so small and low an object as that rock at so great adistance. Nevertheless, the glass was much better than common. Ithad been a present to Spike from one who was careful in hisselections of such objects, and who had accidentally been under aserious obligation to the captain. Knowing the importance of a goodlook, as regards the boats, Spike had brought this particularinstrument, of which, in common, he was very chary, from his ownstate-room, and sent it aloft, in order that Jack might have everyavailable opportunity of ascertaining his facts. It was this glass, then, which was the means of the important discoveries the littlefellow, who was thus perched on the fore-topmast cross-trees of theSwash, did actually succeed in making. 

Jack actually started, when he first ascertained how distinctly andnear the glass he was using brought distant objects. The gulls thatsailed across its disk, though a league off, appeared as if nearenough to be touched by the hand, and even their feathers gave outnot only their hues, but their forms. Thus, too, was it with thesurface of the ocean, of which the little waves that agitated thewater of the reef, might be seen tossing up and down, at more thantwice the range of the Poughkeepsie's heaviest gun. Naked rocks, lowand subdued as they were in colour, too, were to be noted, scatteredup and down in the panorama. At length Tier fancied his glasscovered a field that he recognized. It was distant, but might beseen from his present elevation. A second look satisfied him he wasright; and he next clearly traced the last channel in which they hadendeavoured to escape from Spike, or that in which the boat had beentaken. Following it along, by slowly moving the glass, he actuallyhit the rock on which Mulford had been deserted. It was peculiar inshape, size, and elevation above the water, and connected with thecircumstance of the channel, which was easily enough seen by thecolour of the water, and more easily from his height than if he hadbeen in it, he could not be mistaken. The little fellow's heart beatquick as he made the glass move slowly over its surface, anxiouslysearching for the form of the mate. It was not to be seen. A second, and a more careful sweep of the glass, made it certain that the rockwas deserted. 

Although a little reflection might have satisfied any one Mulfordwas not to be sought in that particular spot, so long after he hadbeen left there, Jack Tier felt grievously disappointed when he wasfirst made certain of the accuracy of his observations. A minutelater he began to reason on the matter, and he felt more encouraged. The rock on which the mate had been abandoned was smooth, and couldnot hold any fresh water that might have been left by the lateshowers. Jack also remembered that it had neither sea-weed norshell-fish. In short, the utmost malice of Spike could not haveselected, for the immolation of his victim, a more suitable place. Now Tier had heard Harry's explanation to Rose, touching the mannerin which he had waded and swum about the reef that very morning, andit at once occurred to him that the young man had too much energyand spirit to remain helpless and inactive to perish on a nakedrock, when there might be a possibility of at least prolongingexistence, if not of saving it. This induced the steward to turn theglass slowly over the water, and along all the ranges of visiblerock that he could find in that vicinity. For a long time the searchwas useless, the distance rendering such an examination not onlydifficult but painful. At length Jack, about to give up the matterin despair, took one sweep with the glass nearer to the brig, asmuch to obtain a general idea of the boat-channels of the reef, asin any hope of finding Mulford, when an object moving in the watercame within the field of the glass. He saw it but for an instant, asthe glass swept slowly past, but it struck him it was something thathad life, and was in motion. Carefully going over the same groundagain, after a long search, he again found what he so anxiouslysought. A good look satisfied him that he was right. It wascertainly a man wading along the shallow water of the reef, immersedto his waist--and it must be Mulford. 

So excited was Jack Tier by this discovery that he trembled like aleaf. A minute or two elapsed before he could again use the glass;and when he did, a long and anxious search was necessary before sosmall an object could be once more found. Find it he did, however, and then he got its range by the vessel, in a way to make sure ofit. Yes, it was a man, and it was Mulford. 

Circumstances conspired to aid Jack in the investigation thatsucceeded. The sun was near setting, but a stream of golden lightgleamed over the waters, particularly illuminating the portion whichcame within the field of the glass. It appeared then that Harry, inhis efforts to escape from the rock, and to get nearer to the edgeof the main channel, where his chances of being seen and rescuedwould be ten-fold what they were on his rock, had moved south, byfollowing the naked reef and the shallow places, and was actuallymore than a league nearer to the brig than he would have been had heremained stationary. There had been hours in which to make thischange, and the young man had probably improved them to the utmost. 

Jack watched the form that was wading slowly along with an interesthe had never before felt in the movements of any human being. Whether Mulford saw the brig or not, it was difficult to say. Shewas quite two leagues from him, and, now that her sails were furled, she offered but little for the eye to rest on at that distance. Atfirst, Jack thought the young man was actually endeavouring to getnearer to her, though it must have been a forlorn hope that shouldagain place him in the hands of Spike. It was, however, a moreprobable conjecture that the young man was endeavouring to reach themargin of the passage, where a good deal of rock was above water, and near to which he had already managed to reach. At one time Jacksaw that the mate was obliged to swim, and he actually lost sight ofhim for a time. His form, however, reappeared, and then it slowlyemerged from the water, and stood erect on a bare rock of someextent. Jack breathed freer at this; for Mulford was now on the verymargin of the channel, and might be easily reached by the boat, should he prevail on Josh, or Simon, to attempt the rescue. 

At first, Jack Tier fancied that Mulford had knelt to return thankson his arrival at a place of comparative safety; but a second looksatisfied him that Harry was drinking from one of the little poolsof fresh water left by the late shower. When he rose from drinking, the young man walked about the place, occasionally stooping, signsthat he was picking up shell-fish for his supper. Suddenly, Mulforddarted forward, and passed beyond the field of the glass. When Jackfound him again, he was in the act of turning a small turtle, usinghis knife on the animal immediately after. Had Jack been in dangerof starvation himself, and found a source of food as ample and asgrateful as this, he could scarcely have been more delighted. Thelight now began to wane perceptibly, still Harry's movements couldbe discerned. The turtle was killed and dressed, sufficiently atleast for the mate's purposes, and the latter was seen collectingsea-weed, and bits of plank, boards, and sticks of wood, of whichmore or less, in drifting past, had lodged upon the rocks. "Is itpossible, " thought Jack, "that he is so werry partic'lar he can'teat his turtle raw! Will he, indeed, venture to light a fire, or hashe the means?" Mulford was so particular, however, he did venture tolight a fire, and he had the means. This may be said to be the ageof matches--not in a connubial, though in an inflammatory sense--andthe mate had a small stock in a tight box that he habitually carriedon his person. Tier saw him at work over a little pile he had madefor a long time, the beams of day departing now so fast as to makehim fearful he should soon lose his object in the increasingobscurity of twilight. Suddenly a light gleamed, and the pile sentforth a clear flame. Mulford went to and fro, collecting materialsto feed his fire, and was soon busied in cooking his turtle. Allthis Tier saw and understood, the light of the flames coming inproper time to supply the vacuum left by the departure of that ofday. 

In a minute Tier had no difficulty in seeing the fire that Mulfordhad lighted on his low and insulated domains with the naked eye. Itgleamed brightly in that solitary place; and the steward was muchafraid it would be seen by some one on deck, get to be reported toSpike, and lead to Harry's destruction after all. The mate appearedto be insensible to his danger, however, occasionally casting pilesof dry sea-weed on his fire, in a way to cause the flames to flashup, as if kindled anew by gunpowder. It now occurred to Tier thatthe young man had a double object in lighting this fire, which wouldanswer not only the purposes of his cookery, but as a signal ofdistress to anything passing near. The sloop-of-war, though moredistant than the brig, was in his neighbourhood; and she mightpossibly yet send relief. Such was the state of things when Jack wasstartled by a sudden hail from below. It was Spike's voice, and cameup to him short and quick. 

"Fore-topmast cross-trees, there! What are ye about all this time, Master Jack Tier, in them fore-topmast cross-trees, I say?" demandedSpike. 

"Keeping a look-out for boats from the sloop-of-war, as you bade me, sir, " answered Jack, coolly. 

"D'ye see any, my man? Is the water clear ahead of us, or not?"

"It's getting to be so dark, sir, I can see no longer. While therewas day-light, no boat was to be seen. "

"Come down, man--come down; I've business for you below. The sloopis far enough to the nor'ard, and we shall neither see nor hear fromher to-night. Come down, I say, Jack--come down. "

Jack obeyed, and securing the glass, he began to descend therigging. He was soon as low as the top, when he paused a moment totake another look. The fire was still visible, shining like a torchon the surface of the water, casting its beams abroad like "a gooddeed in a naughty world. " Jack was sorry to see it, though he oncemore took its bearing from the brig, in order that he might knowwhere to find the spot, in the event of a search for it. When on thestretcher of the fore-rigging, Jack stopped and again looked for hisbeacon. It had disappeared, having sunk below the circular formationof the earth. By ascending two or three ratlins, it came into view, and by going down as low as the stretcher again, it disappeared. Trusting that no one, at that hour, would have occasion to go aloft, Jack now descended to the deck, and went aft with the spy-glass. 

Spike and the Señor Montefalderon were under the coach-house, no oneelse appearing on any part of the quarter-deck. The people wereeating their suppers, and Josh and Simon were busy in the galley. Asfor the females, they chose to remain in their own cabin, whereSpike was well pleased to leave them. 

"Come this way, Jack, " said the captain, in his best-humoured toneof voice, "I've a word to say to you. Put the glass in at mystate-room window, and come hither. "

Tier did as ordered. 

"So you can make out no boats to the nor'ard, ha, Jack! nothing tobe seen thereaway?"

"Nothing in the way of a boat, sir. "

"Ay, ay, I dare say there's plenty of water, and some rock. TheFlorida Reef has no scarcity of either, to them that knows where tolook for one, and to steer clear of the other. Hark'e, Jack; so yougot the schooner under way from the Dry Tortugas, and undertook tobeat her up to Key West, when she fancied herself a turtle, and overshe went with you--is that it, my man?"

"The schooner turned turtle with us, sure enough, sir; and we allcame near drowning on her bottom. "

"No sharks in that latitude and longitude, eh Jack?"

"Plenty on 'em, sir; and I thought they would have got us all, atone time. More than twenty set of fins were in sight at once, forseveral hours. "

"You could hardly have supplied the gentlemen with a leg, or an arm, each. But where was the boat all this time--you had the light-houseboat in tow, I suppose?"

"She had been in tow, sir; but Madam Budd talked so much dictionaryto the painter, that it got adrift. "

"Yet I found you all in it. "

"Very true, sir. Mr. Mulford swam quite a mile to reach the rocks, and found the boat aground on one on 'em. As soon as he got theboat, he made sail, and came and took us off. We had reason to thankGod he could do so. "

Spike looked dark and thoughtful. He muttered the words "swam, " and"rocks, " but was too cautious to allow any expressions to escapehim, that might betray to the Mexican officer that which wasuppermost in his mind. He was silent, however, for quite a minute, and Jack saw that he had awakened a dangerous source of distrust inthe captain's breast. 

"Well, Jack, " resumed Spike, after the pause, "can you tell usanything of the doubloons? I nat'rally expected to find them in theboat, but there were none to be seen. You scarcely pumped theschooner out, without overhauling her lockers, and falling in withthem doubloons. "

"We found them, sure enough, and had them ashore with us, in thetent, down to the moment when we sailed. "

"When you took them off to the schooner, eh? My life for it, thegold was not forgotten. "

"It was not, sure enough, sir; but we took it off with us to theschooner, and it went down in her when she finally sunk. "

Another pause, during which Señor Montefalderon and Captain Spikelooked significantly at each other. 

"Do you think, Jack, you could find the spot where the schooner wentdown?"

"I could come pretty near it, sir, though not on the very spotitself. Water leaves no mark over the grave of a sunken ship. "

"If you can take us within a reasonable distance, we might find itby sweeping for it. Them doubloons are worth some trouble; and theirrecovery would be better than a long v'y'ge to us, any day. "

"They would, indeed, Don Esteban, " observed the Mexican; "and mypoor country is not in a condition to bear heavy losses. If SeñorJack Tier can find the wreck, and we regain the money, ten of thosedoubloons shall be his reward, though I take them from my own share, much diminished as it will be. "

"You hear, Jack--here is a chance to make your fortune! You say yousailed with me in old times--and old times were good times with thisbrig, though times has changed; but if you sailed with me, in _old_times, you must remember that whatever the Swash touched she turnedto gold. "

"I hope you do n't doubt, Captain Spike, my having sailed in thebrig, not only in old times, but in her best times. "

Jack seemed hurt as he put this question, and Spike appeared indoubt. The latter gazed at the little, rotund, queer-looking figurebefore him, as if endeavouring to recognise him; and when he haddone, he passed his hand over his brow, like one who endeavoured torecall past objects by excluding those that are present. 

"You will then show us the spot where my unfortunate schooner didsink, Señor Jack Tier?" put in the Mexican. 

"With all my heart, señor, if it is to be found. I think I couldtake you within a cable's length of the place, though hunger, andthirst, and sharks, and the fear of drowning, will keep a fellowfrom having a very bright look-out for such a matter. "

"In what water do you suppose the craft to lie, Jack?" demanded thecaptain. 

"You know as much of that as I do myself, sir. She went down about acable's length from the reef, toward which she was a settin' at thetime; and had she kept afloat an hour longer, she might havegrounded on the rocks. "

"She 's better where she is, if we can only find her by sweeping. Onthe rocks we could do nothing with her but break her up, and ten toone the doubloons would be lost. By the way, Jack, do you happen toknow where that scoundrel of a mate of mine stowed the money?"

"When we left the island, I carried it down to the boat myself--anda good lift I had of it. As sure as you are there, señor, I wasobliged to take it on a shoulder. When it came out of the boat, Mr. Mulford carried it below; and I heard him tell Miss Rose, a'terwardsthat he had thrown it into a bread-locker. "

"Where we shall find it, Don Wan, notwithstanding all this veeringand hauling. The old brig has luck when, doubloons are in question, and ever has had since I've commanded her. Jack, we shall have tocall on the cook and stewards for an anchor-watch to-night. Thepeople are a good deal fagged with boxing about this reef so much, and I shall want 'em all as fresh to-morrow as they can be got. Youidlers had better take the middle watches, which will give thefore-castle chaps longer naps. "

"Ay, ay, sir; we'll manage that for 'em. Josh and Simon can go on attwelve, and I will take the watch at two, which will give the menall the rest they want, as I can hold out for four hours full. I'mas good for an anchor-watch as any man in the brig, Captain Spike. "

"That you are, Jack, and better than some on 'em. Take you allround, and round it is, you 're a rum 'un, my lad--the queerestlittle jigger that ever lay out on a royal-yard. "

Jack might have been a little offended at Spike's compliments, buthe was certainly not sorry to find him so good-natured, after allthat had passed. He now left the captain, and his Mexican companion, seemingly in close conference together, while he went below himself, and dropped as naturally into the routine of his duty, as if he hadnever left the brig. In the cabin he found the females, of course. Rose scarce raising her face from the shawl which lay on the bed ofher own berth. Jack busied himself in a locker near this berth, until an opportunity occurred to touch Rose, unseen by her aunt orBiddy. The poor heart-stricken girl raised her face, from which allthe colour had departed, and looked almost vacantly at Jack, as ifto ask an explanation. Hope is truly, by a most benevolent provisionof Providence, one of the very last blessings to abandon us. It isprobable that we are thus gifted, in order to encourage us to relyon the great atonement to the last moment, since, without thisnatural endowment to cling to hope, despair might well be the fateof millions, who, there is reason to think, reap the benefit of thatact of divine mercy. It would hardly do to say that anything likehope was blended with the look Rose now cast on Jack, but it wasanxious and inquiring. 

The steward bent his head to the locker, bringing his face quitenear to that of Rose, and whispered--"There is hope, Miss Rose--butdo not betray me. "

These were blessed words for our heroine to hear, and they producedan immediate and great revolution in her feelings. Commandingherself, however, she looked her questions, instead of trusting evento a whisper. Jack did not say any more, just then; but, shortlyafter, he called Rose, whose eyes were now never off him, into themain cabin, which was empty. It was so much pleasanter to sleep inan airy state-room on deck, that Señor Montefalderon, indeed, hadgiven up the use of this cabin, in a great measure, seldom appearingin it, except at meals, having taken possession of the desertedapartment of Mulford. Josh was in the galley, where he spent most ofhis time, and Rose and Jack had no one to disturb their conference. 

"He is safe, Miss Rose--God be praised!" whispered Jack. "Safe forthe present, at least; with food, and water, and fire to keep himwarm at night. "

It was impossible for Rose not to understand to whom there wasallusion, though her head became dizzy under the painful confusionthat prevailed in it. She pressed her temples with both hands, andasked a thousand questions with her eyes. Jack considerately handedher a glass of water before he proceeded. As soon as he found her alittle more composed, he related the facts connected with hisdiscovery of Mulford, precisely as they had occurred. 

"He is now on a large rock--a little island, indeed--where he issafe from the ocean unless it comes on to blow a hurricane, "concluded Jack, "has fresh water and fresh turtle in the bargain. Aman might live a month on one such turtle as I saw Mr. Mulfordcutting up this evening. "

"Is there no way of rescuing him from the situation you havementioned, Jack? In a year or two I shall be my own mistress, andhave money to do as I please with; put me only in the way of takingMr. Mulford from that rock, and I will share all I am worth on earthwith you, dear Jack. "

"Ay, so it is with the whole sex, " muttered Tier; "let them onlyonce give up their affections to a man, and he becomes dearer tothem than pearls and rubies! But you know me, Miss Rose, and know_why_ and _how well_ I would sarve you. My story and my feelin's areas much your secret, as your story and your feelin's is mine. Weshall pull together, if we do n't pull so very strong. Now, hearkento me, Miss Rose, and I will let you into the secret of my plan tohelp Mr. Mulford make a launch. "

Jack then communicated to his companion his whole project for thenight. Spike had, of his own accord, given to him and his twoassociates, Simon and Josh, the care of the brig between midnightand morning. If he could prevail on either of these men to accompanyhim, it was his intention to take the light-house boat, which wasriding by its painter astern of the brig, and proceed as fast asthey could to the spot whither Mulford had found his way. By hiscalculations, if the wind stood as it then was, little more than anhour would be necessary to reach the rock, and about as much more toreturn. Should the breeze lull, of which there was no great danger, since the easterly trades were again blowing, Jack thought he andJosh might go over the distance with the oars in about double thetime. Should both Josh and Simon refuse to accompany him, he thoughthe should attempt the rescue of the mate alone, did the wind stand, trusting to Mulford's assistance, should he need it, in getting backto the brig. 

"You surely would not come back here with Harry, did you once gethim safe from off that rock!" exclaimed Rose. 

"Why, you know how it is with me, Miss Rose, " answered Jack. "_My_business is here, on board the Swash, and I must attend to it. Nothing shall tempt me to give up the brig so long as she floats, and sartain folk float in her, unless it might be some such matteras that which happened on the bit of an island at the Dry Tortugas. Ah! he's a willian! But if I do come back, it will be only to getinto my own proper berth ag'in, and not to bring Mr. Mulford intothe lion's jaws. He will only have to put me back on board the Mollyhere, when he can make the best of his own way to Key West. Half anhour would place him out of harm's way; especially as I happen toknow the course Spike means to steer in the morning. "

"I will go with you, Jack, " said Rose, mildly, but with greatfirmness. 

"You, Miss Rose! But why should I show surprise! It's like all thesex, when they have given away their affections. Yes, woman will bewoman, put her on a naked rock, or put her in silks and satins inher parlour at home. How different is it with men! They dote for alittle while, and turn to a new face. It must be said, men'swillians!"

"Not Mulford, Jack--no, not Harry Mulford! A truer or a nobler heartnever beat in a human breast; and you and I will drown together, rather than he should not be taken from that rock. "

"It shall be as you say, " answered Jack, a little thoughtfully. "Perhaps it would be best that you should quit the brig altogether. Spike is getting desperate, and you will be safer with the youngmate than with so great an old willian. Yes, you shall go with me, Miss Rose; and if Josh and Simon both refuse, we will go alone. "

"With you, Jack, but not with Mr. Mulford. I cannot desert my aunt, nor can I quit the Swash alone in company with her mate. As forSpike, I despise him too much to fear him. He must soon go into portsomewhere, and at the first place where he touches we shall quithim. He dare not detain us--nay, he _cannot_--and I do not fear him. We will save Harry, but I shall remain with my aunt. "

"We'll see, Miss Rose, we'll see, " said Tier, smiling. "Perhaps ahandsome young man, like Mr. Mulford, will have better luck inpersuading you than an old fellow like me. If he should fail, 'twill be his own fault. "

So thought Jack Tier, judging of women as he had found them, but sodid not think Rose Budd. The conversation ended here, however, eachkeeping in view its purport, and the serious business that wasbefore them. 

The duty of the vessel went on as usual. The night promised to beclouded, but not very dark, as there was a moon. When Spike orderedthe anchor-watches, he had great care to spare his crew as much aspossible, for the next day was likely to be one of great toil tothem. He intended to get the schooner up again, if possible; andthough he might not actually pump her out so as to cause her tofloat, enough water was to be removed to enable him to get at thedoubloons. The situation of the bread-locker was known, and as soonas the cabin was sufficiently freed from water to enable one to moveabout in it, Spike did not doubt his being able to get at the gold. With his resources and ingenuity, the matter in his own mind wasreduced to one of toil and time. Eight-and-forty hours, and somehard labour, he doubted not would effect all he cared for. 

In setting the anchor-watches for the night, therefore, StephenSpike bethought him as much of the morrow as of the present moment. Don Juan offered to remain on deck until midnight, and as he was ascapable of giving an alarm as any one else, the offer was accepted. Josh and Simon were to succeed the Mexican, and to hold the lookoutfor two hours, when Jack was to relieve them, and to continue ondeck until light returned, when he was to give the captain a call. This arrangement made, Tier turned in at once, desiring the cook tocall him half an hour before the proper period of his watchcommenced. That half hour Jack intended to employ in exercising hiseloquence in endeavouring to persuade either Josh or Simon to be ofhis party. By eight o'clock the vessel lay in a profound quiet, Señor Montefalderon pacing the quarterdeck alone, while the deepbreathing of Spike was to be heard issuing through the open windowof his state-room; a window which it may be well to say to theuninitiated, opened in-board, or toward the deck, and not outboard, or toward the sea. 

For four solitary hours did the Mexican pace the deck of thestranger, resting himself for a few minutes at a time only, whenwearied with walking. Does the reader fancy that a man so situatedhad not plenty of occupation for his thoughts? Don JuanMontefalderon was a soldier and a gallant cavalier; and love ofcountry had alone induced him to engage in his present duties. Notthat patriotism which looks to political preferment through apopularity purchased by the valgar acclamation which attends successin arms, even when undeserved, or that patriotism which induces menof fallen characters to endeavour to retrieve former offences by theshortest and most reckless mode, or that patriotism which shouts"our country right or wrong, " regardless alike of God and hiseternal laws, that are never to be forgotten with impunity; but thepatriotism which would defend his home and fire-side, his altars andthe graves of his fathers, from the ruthless steps of the invader. We shall not pretend to say how far this gentleman entered into themerits of the quarrel between the two republics, which no arts ofEuropean jealousy can ever conceal from the judgment of truth, for, with him, matters had gone beyond the point when men feel thenecessity of reasoning, and when, perhaps, if such a condition ofthe mind is ever to be defended, he found his perfect justificationin feeling. He had travelled, and knew life by observation, and notthrough traditions and books. He had never believed, therefore, thathis countrymen could march to Washington, or even to the Sabine; buthe had hoped for better things than had since occurred. The warlikequalities of the Americans of the North, as he was accustomed tocall those who term themselves, _par excellence, _ Americans, a namethey are fated to retain, and to raise high on the scale of nationalpower and national pre-eminence, unless they fall by their ownhands, had taken him by surprise, as they have taken all but thosewho knew the country well, and who understood its people. Little hadhe imagined that the small, widely-spread body of regulars, thatfigured in the blue books, almanacs and army-registers of America, as some six or seven thousand men, scattered along frontiers of athousand leagues in extent, could, at the beck of the government, swell into legions of invaders, men able to carry war to thecapitals of his own states, thousands of miles from their doors, andformidable alike for their energy, their bravery, their readiness inthe use of arms, and their numbers. He saw what is perhaps justlycalled the boasting of the American character, vindicated by theirexploits; and marches, conquests and victories that, if sober truthwere alone to cover the pages of history, would far outdo in reallabour and danger the boasted passage of the Alps under Napoleon, and the exploits that succeeded it. 

Don Juan Montefalderon was a grave and thoughtful man, of pureIberian blood. He might have had about him a little of theexaltation of the Spanish character; the overflowings of a generouschivalry at the bottom; and, under its influence, he may have settoo high an estimate on Mexico and her sons, but he was not one toshut his eyes to the truth. He saw plainly that the northernneighbours of his country were a race formidable and enterprising, and that of all the calumnies that had been heaped upon them byrivalries and European superciliousness, that of their not beingmilitary by temperament was, perhaps, the most absurd of all. On thecontrary, he had himself, though anticipating evil, been astoundedby the suddenness and magnitude of their conquests, which in a fewshort months after the breaking out of hostilities, had overrunregions larger in extent than many ancient empires. All this hadbeen done, too, not by disorderly and barbarous hordes, seeking inother lands the abundance that was wanting at home; but with systemand regularity, by men who had turned the ploughshare into the swordfor the occasion, quitting abundance to encounter fatigue, famine, and danger. In a word, the Señor Montefalderon saw all the evilsthat environed his own land, and foresaw others, of a still gravercharacter that menaced the future. On matters such as these did hebrood in his walk, and bitter did he find the minutes of that sadand lonely watch. Although a Mexican, he could feel; although anavowed foe of this good republic of ours, he had his principles, hisaffections, and his sense of right. Whatever may be the merits ofthe quarrel, and we are not disposed to deny that our provocationhas been great, a sense of right should teach every man that whatmay be patriotic in an American, would not be exactly the same thingin a Mexican, and that we ought to respect in others sentiments thatare so much vaunted among ourselves. Midnight at length arrived, and, calling the cook and steward, the unhappy gentleman wasrelieved, and went to his berth to dream, in sorrow, over the samepictures of national misfortunes, on which, while waking, he hadbrooded in such deep melancholy. 

The watch of Josh and Simon was tranquil, meeting with nointerruption until it was time to summon Jack. One thing these menhad done, however, that was of some moment to Tier, under a pledgegiven by Josh, and which had been taken in return for a dollar inhand. They had managed to haul the light-house boat alongside, fromits position astern, and this so noiselessly as not to give thealarm to any one. There it lay, when Jack appeared, ready at themain-rigging, to receive him at any moment he might choose to enterit. 

A few minutes after Jack appeared on deck, Rose and Biddy camestealthily out of the cabin, the latter carrying a basket filledwith bread and broken meat, and not wanting in sundry littledelicacies, such as woman's hands prepare, and, in this instance, woman's tenderness had provided. The whole party met at the galley, a place so far removed from the state-rooms aft as to be out ofear-shot. Here Jack renewed his endeavours to persuade either Joshor Simon to go in the boat, but without success. The negroes hadtalked the matter over in their watch, and had come to theconclusion the enterprise was too hazardous. 

"I tell you, Jack, you does n't know Cap'in Spike as well as Idoes, " Josh said, in continuance of the discourse. "No, you does n'tknow him at all as well as I does. If he finds out that anybody hasquit dis brig dis werry night, woful will come! It no good to try torun; I run t'ree time, an' Simon here run twice. What good it alldo? We got cotched, and here we is, just as fast as ever. I knowsCap'in Spike, and does n't want to fall in athwart his hawse anymore. "

"Y-e-s, dat my judgment too, " put in the cook. "We wishes you well, Jack, and we wishes Miss Rose well, and Mr. Mulford well, but wecan't, no how, run ath'art hawse, as Josh says. Dat is my judgment, too. "

"Well, if your minds are made up to this, my darkies, I s'posethere'll be no changing them, " said Jack. "At all ewents you'll lendus a hand, by answering any hail that may come from aft, in mywatch, and in keepin' our secret. There's another thing you can dofor us, which may be of service. Should Captain Spike miss the boat, and lay any trap to catch us, you can just light this here bit oflantern and hang it over the brig's bows, where he'll not be likelyto see it, that we may know matters are going wrong, and give thecraft a wide berth. "

"Sartain, " said Josh, who entered heartily into the affair, so faras good wishes for its success were concerned, at the very momentwhen he had a most salutary care of his own back. "Sartain; we doall dat, and no t'ank asked. It no great matter to answer a hail, orto light a lantern and sling him over de bows; and if Captain Spikewant to know who did it, let him find out. "

Here both negroes laughed heartily, manifesting so little care tosuppress their mirth, that Rose trembled lest their noise shouldawaken Spike. Accustomed sounds, however, seldom produce this effecton the ears of the sleeper, and the heavy breathing from thestate-room, succeeded the merriment of the blacks, as soon as thelatter ceased. Jack now announced his readiness to depart. Somelittle care and management were necessary to get into the boatnoiselessly, more especially with Biddy. It was done however, withthe assistance of the blacks, who cast off the painter, when Jackgave the boat a shove to clear the brig, and suffered it to driftastern for a considerable distance before he ventured to cast loosethe sail. 

"I know Spike well, " said Jack, in answer to a remonstrance from theimpatient Rose concerning his delay: "A single flap of that canvaswould wake him up, with the brig anchored, while he would sleepthrough a salute of heavy guns if it came in regular course. Quickears has old Stephen, and it's best to humour them. In a minute morewe'll set our canvas and be off. "

All was done as Jack desired, and the boat got away from the brigunheard and undetected. It was blowing a good breeze, and Jack Tierhad no sooner got the sail on the boat, than away it started at aspeed that would have soon distanced Spike in his yawl, and with hisbest oarsmen. The main point was to keep the course, though thedirection of the wind was a great assistant. By keeping the windabeam, Jack thought he should be going toward the rock of Mulford. In one hour, or even in less time, he expected to reach it, and hewas guided by time, in his calculations, as much as by any othercriterion. Previously to quitting the brig, he had gone up a fewratlins of the fore-rigging to take the bearings of the fire onMulford's rock, but the light was no longer visible. As no star wasto be seen, the course was a little vague, but Jack was navigatorenough to understand that by keeping on the weather side of thechannel he was in the right road, and that his great danger ofmissing his object was in over-running it. 

So much of the reef was above water, that it was not difficult tosteer a boat along its margin. The darkness, to be sure, rendered ita little uncertain how near they were running to the rocks, but, onthe whole, Jack assured Rose he had no great difficulty in gettingalong. 

"These trades are almost as good as compasses, " he said, "and therocks are better, if we can keep close aboard them without going onto them. I do not know the exact distance of the spot we seek fromthe brig, but I judged it to be about two leagues, as I looked at itfrom aloft. Now, this boat will travel them two leagues in an hour, with this breeze and in smooth water. "

"I wish you had seen the fire again before we left the brig, " saidRose, too anxious for the result not to feel uneasiness on someaccount or other. 

"The mate is asleep, and the fire has burned down; that's theexplanation. Besides, fuel is not too plenty on a place like thatMr. Mulford inhabits just now. As we get near the spot, I shall lookout for embers, which may sarve as a light-house, or beacon, toguide us into port. "

"Mr. Mulford will be charmed to see us, now that we take himwather!" exclaimed Biddy. "Wather is a blessed thing, and it's hardwill be the heart that does not fale gratitude for a planty of swatewather. "

"The maty has plenty of food and water where he is, " said Jack. "I'll answer for both them sarcumstances. I saw him turn a turtle asplain as if I had been at his elbow, and I saw him drinking at ahole in the rock, as heartily as a boy ever pulled at a gimblet-holein a molasses hogs-head. "

"But the distance was so great, Jack, I should hardly think youcould have distinguished objects so small. "

"I went by the motions altogether. I saw the man, and I saw themovements, and I knowed what the last meant. It's true I couldn'tswear to the turtle, though I saw something on the rock that Iknowed, by the way in which it was handled, _must_ be a turtle. ThenI saw the mate kneel, and put his head low, and then I knowed he wasdrinking. "

"Perhaps he prayed, " said Rose, solemnly. 

"Not he. Sailors isn't so apt to pray, Miss Rose; not as apt as theyought to be. Women for prayers, and men for work. Mr. Mulford is noworse than many others, but I doubt if he be much given to _that_. "

To this Rose made no answer, but Biddy took the matter up, and, asthe boat went briskly ahead, she pursued the subject. 

"Then more is the shame for him, " said the Irish woman, "and MissRose, and missus, and even I prayin' _for_ him, all as if he was ourown brudder. It's seldom I ask anything for a heretic, but I couldnot forget a fine young man like Mr. Mulford, and Miss Rose sopartial to him, and he in so bad a way. He ought to be ashamed tomake his brags that he is too proud to pray. "

"Harry has made no such wicked boast, " put in Rose, mildly; "nor dowe know that he has not prayed for us, as well as for himself. Itmay all be a mistake of Jack's, you know. "

"Yes, " added Jack, coolly, "it _may_ be a mistake, a'ter all, for Iwas lookin' at the maty six miles off, and through a spy-glass. Noone can be sure of anything at such a distance. So overlook thematter, my good Biddy, and carry Mr. Mulford the nice things you'vemustered in that basket, all the same as if he was pope. "

"This is a subject we had better drop, " Rose quietly observed. 

"Anything to oblige you, Miss Rose, though religion is a matter itwould do me no harm to talk about once and awhile. It's many a longyear since I've had time and opportunity to bring my thoughts todwell on holy things. Ever since I left my mother's side, I've beena wanderer in my mind, as much as in my body. "

"Poor Jack! I understand and feel for your sufferings; but a bettertime will come, when you may return to the habits of your youth, andto the observances of your church. "

"I do n't know that, Miss Rose; I do n't know that, " answered Tier, placing the elbow of his short arm on the seemingly shorter leg, andbending his head so low as to lean his face on the palm of the hand, an attitude in which he appeared to be suffering keenly through hisrecollections. "Childhood and innocence never come back to us inthis world. What the grave may do, we shall all learn in time. "

"Innocence can return to all with repentance, Jack; and the heartthat prompts you to do acts as generous as this you are now engagedin, must contain some good seed yet. "

"If Jack will go to a praste and just confess, when he can find afather, it will do his sowl good, " said Biddy, who was touched bythe mental suffering of the strange little being at her side. 

But the necessity of managing the boat soon compelled its coxswainto raise his head, and to attend to his duty. The wind sometimescame in puffs, and at such moments Jack saw that the large sail ofthe light-house boat required watching, a circumstance that inducedhim to shake off his melancholy, and give his mind more exclusivelyto the business before him. As for Rose, she sympathised deeply withJack Tier, for she knew his history, his origin, the story of hisyouth, and the well-grounded causes of his contrition and regrets. From her, Jack had concealed nothing, the gentle commiseration ofone like Rose being a balm to wounds that had bled for long andbitter years. The great poet of our language, and the greatest thatever lived, perhaps, short of the inspired writers of the OldTestament, and old Homer and Dante, has well reminded us that the"little beetle, " in yielding its breath, can "feel a pang as greatas when a giant dies. " Thus is it, too, in morals. Abasement, andmisery, and poverty, and sin, may, and all do, contribute to lowerthe tone of our moral existence; but the principle that has beenplanted by nature, can be eradicated by nature only. It exists aslong as we exist; and if dormant for a time, under the pressure ofcircumstances, it merely lies, in the moral system, like the acorn, or the chestnut, in the ground, waiting its time and season tosprout, and bud, and blossom. Should that time never arrive, it isnot because the seed is not there, but because it is neglected. Thuswas it with the singular being of whose feelings we have justspoken. The germ of goodness had been implanted early in him, andwas nursed with tenderness and care, until, self-willed, andgoverned by passion; he had thrown off the connections of youth andchildhood, to connect himself with Spike--a connection that had lefthim what he was. Before closing our legend, we shall have occasionto explain it. 

"We have run our hour; Miss Rose, " resumed Jack, breaking acontinued silence, during which the boat had passed through a longline of water; "we have run our hour, and ought to be near the rockwe are in search of. But the morning is so dark that I fear we shallhave difficulty in finding it. It will never do to run past it, andwe must haul closer into the reef, and shorten sail, that we may besartain to make no such mistake. "

Rose begged her companion to omit no precaution, as it would bedreadful to fail in their search, after incurring so much risk intheir own persons. 

"Harry may be sleeping on the sea-weed of which you spoke, " sheadded, "and the danger of passing him will be much increased in sucha case. What a gloomy and frightful spot is this, in which toabandon a human being! I fear, Jack, that we have come faster thanwe have supposed, and may already have passed the rock. "

"I hope not, Miss Rose--it seemed to me a good two leagues to theplace where I saw him, and the boat is fast that will run twoleagues in an hour. "

"We do not know the time, Jack, and are obliged to guess at that aswell as at the distance. How very dark it is!"

Dark, in one sense, it was not, though Rose's apprehensions, doubtless, induced her to magnify every evil. The clouds certainlylessened the light of the moon; but there was still enough of thelast to enable one to see surrounding objects; and most especiallyto render distinct the character of the solitude that reigned overthe place. 

The proximity of the reef, which formed a weather shore to the boat, prevented anything like a swell on the water, notwithstanding thesteadiness and strength of the breeze, which had now blown for neartwenty-four hours. The same wind, in open water, would have raisedsea enough to cause a ship to pitch, or roll; whereas, thelight-house boat, placed where she was, scarce rose and fell underthe undulations of the channel through which she was glancing. 

"This is a good boat, and a fast boat too, " observed Jack Tier, after he had luffed up several minutes, in order to make sure of hisproximity to the reef; "and it might carry us all safe enough to KeyWest, or certainly back to the Dry Tortugas, was we inclined to tryour hands at either. "

"I cannot quit my aunt, " said Rose, quickly, "so we will not eventhink of any such thing. "

"No, 't would never do to abandon the missus, " said Biddy, "and sheon the wrack wid us, and falin' the want of wather as much asourselves. "

"We three have sartainly gone through much in company, " returnedJack, "and it ought to make us friends for life. "

"I trust it will, Jack; I hope, when we return to New York, to seeyou among us, anchored, as you would call it, for the rest of yourdays under my aunt's roof, or under my own, should I ever have one. "

"No, Miss Rose, my business is with the Swash and her captain. Ishall stick by both, now I've found 'em again, until they once moredesart me. A man's duty is _his_ duty, and a woman's duty is _her_duty. "

"You same to like the brig and her captain, Jack Tier, " observedBiddy, "and there's no use in gainsaying such a likin'. What _will_come to pass, must come to pass. Captain Spike is a mighty greatsailor, anyway. "

"He's a willian!" muttered Jack. 

"There!" cried Rose, almost breathless, "there is a rock above thewater, surely. Do not fly by it so swiftly, Jack, but let us stopand examine it. "

"There is a rock, sure enough, and a large piece it is, " answeredTier. "We will go alongside of it, and see what it is made of. Biddyshall be boat-keeper, while you and I, Miss Rose, explore. "

Jack had thrown the boat into the wind, and was shooting closealongside of the reef, even while speaking. The party found nodifficulty in landing; the margin of the rock admitting the boat tolie close alongside of it, and its surface being even and dry. Jackhad brailed the sail, and he brought the painter ashore, andfastened it securely to a fragment of stone, that made a verysufficient anchor. In addition to this precaution, a lazy painterwas put into Biddy's hands, and she was directed not to let go of itwhile her companions were absent. These arrangements concluded, Roseand Jack commenced a hurried examination of the spot. 

A few minutes sufficed to give our adventurers a tolerably accuratenotion of the general features of the place on which they hadlanded. It was a considerable portion of the reef that was usuallyabove water, and which had even some fragments of soil, or sand, onwhich was a stinted growth of bushes. Of these last, however, therewere very few, nor were there many spots of the sand. Drift-wood andsea-weed were lodged in considerable quantities about its margin, and, in places, piles of both had been tossed upon the rock itself, by the billows of former gales of wind. Nor was it long before Jackdiscovered a turtle that had been up to a hillock of sand, probablyto deposit its eggs. There was enough of the sportsman in Jack, notwithstanding the business he was on, to turn this animal; thoughwith what object, he might have been puzzled himself to say. Thisexploit effected, Jack followed Rose as fast as his short legs wouldpermit, our heroine pressing forward eagerly, though almost withouthope, in order to assertain if Mulford were there. 

"I am afraid this is not the rock, " said Rose, nearly breathlesswith her own haste, when Jack had overtaken her. "I see nothing ofhim, and we have passed over most of the place. "

"Very true, Miss Rose, " answered her companion, who was in a goodhumour on account of his capture of the turtle; "but there are otherrocks besides this. Ha! what was that, yonder, " pointing with afinger, "here, more toward the brig. As I'm a sinner, there was aflashing, as of fire. "

"If a fire, it must be that made by Harry. Let us go to the spot atonce. "

Jack led the way, and, sure enough, he soon reached a place wherethe embers of what had been a considerable body of fire, weresmouldering on the rock. The wind had probably caused some brand tokindle momentarily, which was the object that had caught Tier's eye. No doubt any longer remained of their having found the very placewhere the mate had cooked his supper, and lighted his beacon, thoughhe himself was not near it. Around these embers were all the signsof Mulford's having made the meal, of which Jack had seen thepreparations. A portion of the turtle, much the greater part of it, indeed, lay in its shell; and piles of wood and sea-weed, both dry, had been placed at hand, ready for use. A ship's topgallant-yard, with most of its rope attached, lay with a charred end near thefire, of where the fire had been, the wood having burned until theflames went out for want of contact with other fuel. There were manypieces of boards of pitch-pine in the adjacent heap, and two orthree beautiful planks of the same wood, entire. In short, from thecharacter and quantity of the materials of this nature that had thusbeen heaped together, Jack gave it as his opinion that some vessel, freighted with lumber, had been wrecked to windward, and that theadjacent rocks had been receiving the tribute of her cargo. Wrecksare of very, very frequent occurrence on the Florida Reef; and thereare always moments when such gleanings are to be made in some partof it or other. 

"I see no better way to give a call to the mate, Miss Rose, than tothrow some of this dry weed, and some of this lumber on the fire, "said Jack, after he had rummaged about the place sufficiently tobecome master of its condition. "There is plenty of amunition, andhere goes for a broadside. "

Jack had no great difficulty in effecting his object. In a fewminutes he succeeded in obtaining a flame, and then he fed it withsuch fragments of the brands and boards as were best adapted to hispurpose. The flames extended gradually, and by the time Tier haddragged the topgallant-yard over the pile, and placed severalplanks, on their edges, alongside of it, the whole was ready toburst into a blaze. The light was shed athwart the rock for a longdistance, and the whole place, which was lately so gloomy andobscure, now became gay, under the bright radiance of a blazingfire. 

"There is a beacon-light that might almost be seen on board!" saidJack, exulting in his success. If the mate is anywhere in thislatitude, he will soon turn up. "

"I see nothing of him, " answered Rose, in a melancholy voice. "Surely, surely, Jack, he cannot have left the rock just as we havecome to rescue him!"

Rose and her companion had turned their faces from the fire to lookin an opposite direction in quest of him they sought. Unseen bythem, a human form advanced swiftly toward the fire, from a point onits other side. It advanced nearer, then hesitated, afterward rushedforward with a tread that caused the two to turn, and at the nextmoment, Rose was clasped to the heart of Mulford. 

CHAPTER III. 

 I might have pass'd that lovely cheek, Nor, perchance, my heart have left me; But the sensitive blush that came trembling there, Of my heart it for ever bereft me. Who could blame had I loved that face, Ere my eyes could twice explore her; Yet it is for the fairy intelligence there, And her warm, warm heart I adore her. 

Wolfe. 

The stories of the respective parties who had thus so strangely meton that barren and isolated rock, were soon told. Harry confirmedall of Jack's statements as to his own proceedings, and Rose hadlittle more to say than to add how much her own affections had ledher to risk in his behalf. In a word, ten minutes made each fullyacquainted with the other's movements. Then Tier consideratelyretired to the boat, under the pretence of minding it, and seeingeverything ready for a departure, but as much to allow the loversthe ten or fifteen minutes of uninterrupted discourse that they nowenjoyed, as for any other reason. 

It was a strange scene that now offered on the rock. By this timethe fire was burning not only brightly, but fiercely, shedding itsbright light far and near. Under its most brilliant rays stood Harryand Rose, both smiling and happy, delighted in their meeting, and, for the moment, forgetful of all but their present felicity. Never, indeed, had Rose appeared more lovely than under thesecircumstances. Her face was radiant with those feelings which had sorecently changed from despair to delight--a condition that is evermost propitious to beauty; and charms that always appeared feminineand soft, now seemed elevated to a bright benignancy that might bestbe likened to our fancied images of angels. The mild, beaming, serene and intelligent blue eyes, the cheeks flushed with happiness, the smiles that came so easily, and were so replete with tenderness, and the rich hair, deranged by the breeze, and moistened by the airof the sea, each and all, perhaps, borrowed some additional lustrefrom the peculiar light under which they were exhibited. As forHarry, happiness had thrown all the disadvantages of exposure, wantof dress, and a face that had not felt the razor for six-and-thirtyhours, into the back-ground. When he left the wreck, he had castaside his cap and his light summer jacket, in order that they mightnot encumber him in swimming, but both had been recovered when hereturned with the boat to take off his friends. In his ordinary seaattire, then, he now stood, holding Rose's two hands in front of thefire, every garment clean and white as the waters of the ocean couldmake them, but all betraying some of the signs of his recent trials. His fine countenance was full of the love he bore for the intrepidand devoted girl who had risked so much in his behalf; and a paintermight have wished to preserve the expression of ardent, manlyadmiration which glowed in his face, answering to the gentlesympathy and womanly tenderness it met in that of Rose. 

The back-ground of this picture was the wide, even surface of thecoral reef, with its exterior setting of the dark and gloomy sea. Onthe side of the channel, however, appeared the boat, already winded, with Biddy still on the rock, looking kindly at the lovers by thefire, while Jack was holding the painter, beginning to manifest alittle impatience at the delay. 

"They'll stay there an hour, holding each other's hands, and lookinginto each other's faces, " half grumbled the little, rotund, assistant-steward, anxious to be on his way back to the brig, "unless a body gives 'em a call. Captain Spike will be in no verygood humour to receive you and me on board ag'in, if he should findout what sort of a trip we've been making hereaway. "

"Let 'em alone--let 'em alone, Jacky, " answered the good-natured andkind-hearted Irish woman. "It's happy they bees, jist now, and itdoes my eyes good to look at 'em. "

"Ay, they're happy enough, _now;_ I only hope it may last. "

"Last! what should help its lasting? Miss Rose is so good, and sohandsome--and she's a fortin', too; and the mate so nice a youngman. Think of the likes of them, Jack, wantin' the blessed gift ofwather, and all within one day and two nights. Sure it's Providencethat takes care of, and not we ourselves! Kings on their thrones isn't as happy as _them_ at this moment. "

"Men's willians!" growled Jack; "and more fools women for trustin''em. "

"Not sich a nice young man as our mate, Jacky; no, not he. Now themate of the ship I came from Liverpool in, this time ten yearsagone, he was a villain. He grudged us our potaties, and our ownbread; and he grudged us every dhrap of swate wather that went intoour mouths. Call him a villain, if you will, Jack; but niver callthe likes of Mr. Mulford by so hard a name. "

"I wish him well, and nothing else; and for that very reason mustput a stop to his looking so fondly into that young woman's face. Time wont stand still, Biddy, to suit the wishes of lovers; andStephen Spike is a man not to be trifled with. Halloo, there, maty!It's high time to think of getting under way. "

At this summons both Harry and Rose started, becoming aware of theprecious moments they were losing. Carrying a large portion of theturtle, the former moved toward the craft, in which all were seatedin less than three minutes, with the sail loose, and the boat inmotion. For a few moments the mate was so much occupied with Rose, that he did not advert to the course; but one of his experiencecould not long be misled on such a point, and he turned suddenly toTier, who was steering, to remonstrate. 

"How's this, Jack!" cried Mulford; "you've got the boat's head thewrong way. "

"Not I, sir. She's heading for the brig as straight as she can go. This wind favours us on both legs; and it's lucky it does, for'twill be hard on upon daylight afore we are alongside of her. You'llwant half an hour of dark, at the very least, to get a good start ofthe Swash, in case she makes sail a'ter you. "

"Straight for the brig!--what have we to do with the brig? Ourcourse is for Key West, unless it might be better to run down beforethe wind to the Dry Tortugas again, and look for the sloop-of-war. Duty, and perhaps my own safety, tells me to let Captain Mull knowwhat Spike is about with the Swash; and I shall not hesitate amoment about doing it, after all that has passed. Give me the helm, Jack, and let us ware short round on our heel. "

"Never, master maty--never. I must go back to the brig. Miss Rose, there, knows that my business is with Stephen Spike, and with himonly. "

"And I must return to my aunt, Harry, " put in Rose, herself. "Itwould never do for me to desert my aunt, you know. "

"And I have been taken from that rock, to be given up to the tendermercies of Spike again?"

This was said rather in surprise, than in a complaining way; and itat once induced Rose to tell the young man the whole of theirproject. 

"Never, Harry, never, " she said firmly. "It is our intention toreturn to the brig ourselves, and let you escape in the boatafterwards. Jack Tier is of opinion this can be done without muchrisk, if we use proper caution and do not lose too much time. On noaccount would I consent to place you in the hands of Spikeagain--death would be preferable to that, Harry!"

"And on no account can or will I consent to place _you_ again inthe hands of Spike, Rose, " answered the young man. "Now that we knowhis intentions, such an act would be almost impious. "

"Remember my aunt, dear Harry. What would be her situation in themorning, when she found herself deserted by her niece and Biddy--byme, whom she has nursed and watched from childhood, and whom sheloves so well. "

"I shall not deny your obligations to your aunt, Rose, and your dutyto her under ordinary circumstances. But these are not ordinarycircumstances; and it would be courting the direst misfortunes, nay, almost braving Providence, to place yourself in the hands of thatscoundrel again, now that you are clear of them. "

"Spike's a willian!" muttered Jack. 

"And my desartin' the missus would be a sin that no praste wouldoverlook aisily, " put in Biddy. "When Miss Rose told me of thisv'y'ge that she meant to make in the boat wid Jack Tier, I asked tocome along, that I might take care of her, and see that there wasplenty of wather; but ill-luck befall me if I would have t'ought ofsich a thing, and the missus desarted. "

"We can then run alongside of the brig, and put Biddy and Jack onboard of her, " said Mulford, reflecting a moment on what had justbeen said, "when you and I can make the best of our way to Key West, where the means of sending government vessels out after the Swashwill soon offer. In this way we can not only get our friends out ofthe lion's jaws, but keep out of them ourselves. "

"Reflect a moment, Harry, " said Rose, in a low voice, but notwithout tenderness in its tones; "it would not do for me to go offalone with you in this boat. "

"Not when you have confessed your willingness to go over the wideworld with me, Rose--with me, and with me only?"

"Not even then, Harry. I know you will think better of this, whenyour generous nature has time to reason with your heart, on myaccount. "

"I can only answer in your own words, Rose--never. If you return tothe Swash, I shall go on board with you, and throw defiance into thevery teeth of Spike. I know the men do not dislike me, and, perhaps, assisted by Señor Montefalderon, and a few friends among the people, I can muster a force that will prevent my being thrown into thesea. "

Rose burst into tears, and then succeeded many minutes, during whichMulford was endeavouring, with manly tenderness, to soothe her. Assoon as our heroine recovered her self-command, she began to discussthe matter at issue between them more coolly. For half an houreverything was urged by each that feeling, affection, delicacy, ordistrust of Spike could well urge, and Mulford was slowly gettingthe best of the argument, as well he might, the truth being mostlyof his side. Rose was bewildered, really feeling a strong reluctanceto quit her aunt, even with so justifiable a motive, but principallyshrinking from the appearance of going off alone in a boat, andalmost in the open sea, with Mulford. Had she loved Harry less, herscruples might not have been so active, but the consciousness of thestrength of her attachment, as well as her fixed intention to becomehis wife the moment it was in her power to give him her hand withthe decencies of her sex, contributed strangely to prevent heryielding to the young man's reasoning. On the subject of the aunt, the mate made out so good a case, that it was apparent to all in theboat Rose would have to abandon that ground of refusal. Spike had noobject to gain by ill-treating Mrs. Budd; and the probabilitycertainly was that he would get rid of her as soon as he could, andin the most easy manner. This was so apparent to all, that Harry hadlittle difficulty in getting Rose to assent to its probability. Butthere remained the reluctance to go off alone with the mate in aboat. This part of the subject was more difficult to manage than theother; and Mulford betrayed as much by the awkwardness with which hemanaged it. At length the discussion was brought to a close by JackTier suddenly saying, --

"Yonder is the brig; and we are heading for her as straight as ifshe was the pole, and the keel of this boat was a compass. I see howit is, Miss Rose, and a'ter all, I must give in. I suppose someother opportunity will offer for me to get on board of the brigag'in, and I'll trust to that. If you won't go off with the matealone, I suppose you'll not refuse to go off in my company. "

"Will you accompany us, Jack? This is more than I had hoped for!Yes, Harry, if Jack Tier will be of the party, I will trust my auntto Biddy, and go with you to Key West, in order to escape fromSpike. "

This was said so rapidly, and so unexpectedly, as to take Mulfordcompletely by surprise. Scarce believing what he heard, the youngman was disposed, at first, to feel hurt, though a moment'sreflection showed him that he ought to rejoice in the result let thecause be what it might. 

"More than I had hoped for!" he could not refrain from repeating alittle bitterly; "is Jack Tier, then, of so much importance, that_his_ company is thought preferable to mine!"

"Hush, Harry!" said Rose, laying her hand on Mulford's arm, by wayof strengthening her appeal. "Do not say _that_. You are ignorant ofcircumstances; at another time you shall know them, but not now. Letit be enough for the present, that I promise to accompany you ifJack will be of our party. "

"Ay, ay, Miss Rose, I will be of the party, seeing there is no otherway of getting the lamb out of the jaws of the wolf. A'ter all, itmay be the wisest thing I can do, though back to the Swash I mustand _will_ come, powder or no powder, treason or no treason, at thefirst opportunity. Yes, _my_ business is with the Molly, and to theMolly I shall return. It's lucky, Miss Rose, since you have made upyour mind to ship for this new cruise, that I bethought me oftelling Biddy to make up a bundle of duds for you. This carpet-baghas a change or two in it, and all owing to my forethought. Yourwoman said `Miss Rose will come back wid us, Jack, and what's theuse of rumplin' the clothes for a few hours' sail in the boat;' butI knew womankind better, and foreseed that if master mate fell inalongside of you ag'in, you would not be apt to part company verysoon. "

"I thank you, Jack, for the provision made for my comfort; thoughsome money would have added to it materially. My purse has a littlegold in it, but a very little, and I fear you are not much betteroff, Harry. It will be awkward to find ourselves in Key Westpenniless. "

"We shall not be quite that. I left the brig absolutely without acent, but foreseeing that necessity might make them of use, Iborrowed half a dozen of the doubloons from the bag of SeñorMontefalderon, and, fortunately, they are still in my pocket. All Iam worth in the world is in a bag of half-eagles, rather more than ahundred altogether, which I left in my chest, in my own state-roomaboard the brig. "

"You'll find that in the carpet-bag too, master mate, " said Jack, coolly. 

"Find what, man--not my money, surely?"

"Ay, every piece of it. Spike broke into your chest this a'ternoon, and made me hold the tools while he was doing it. He found the bag, and overhauled it--a hundred and seven half, eleven quarter, and onefull-grown eagle, was the count. When he had done the job, he putall back ag'in, a'ter giving me the full-grown eagle for my share ofthe plunder, and told me to say nothing of what I had seen. I didsay nothing, but I did a good bit of work, for, while he was atsupper. I confiserated that bag, as they call it--and you will findit there among Miss Rose's clothes, with the full-grown gentlemanback in his nest ag'in. "

"This is being not only honest, Tier, " cried Mulford, heartily, "butthoughtful. One-half that money shall be yours for this act. "

"I thank'e, sir; but I'll not touch a cent of it. It came hard, Iknow, Mr. Mulford; for my own hands have smarted too much with tar, not to know that the seaman `earns his money like the horse. '"

"Still it would not be `spending it like an ass, ' Jack, to give youa portion of mine. But there will be other opportunities to talk ofthis. It is a sign of returning to the concerns of life, Rose, thatmoney begins to be of interest to us. How little did we think of thedoubloons, or half-eagles, a few hours since, when on the wreck!"

"It was wather that we t'ought of then, " put in Biddy. "Goold isgood in a market, or in a town, or to send back to Ireland, to helpa body's aged fader or mudder in comfort wid; but wather is theblessed thing on a wrack!"

"The brig is coming quite plainly into view, and you had better giveme the helm, Jack. It is time to bethink us of the manner ofapproaching her, and how we are to proceed when alongside. "

This was so obviously true, that everybody felt disposed to forgetall other matters, in order to conduct the proceedings of the nexttwenty minutes, with the necessary prudence and caution. WhenMulford first took the helm, the brig was just coming clearly intoview, though still looking a little misty and distant. She mightthen have been half a league distant, and would not have beenvisible at all by that light, but for the circumstance that she hadno back-ground to swallow up her outlines. Drawn against clouds, above which the rays of the moon were shed, her tracery was to bediscerned, however, and, minute by minute, it was getting to be moreand more distinct, until it was now so plainly to be seen as toadmonish the mate of the necessity of preparation in the mannermentioned. 

Tier now communicated to the mate his own proposed manner ofproceeding. The brig tended to the trades, the tides having verylittle influence on her, in the bight of the reef where she lay. Asthe wind stood at about east south-east, the brig's stern pointed toabout west north-west, while the boat was coming down the passagefrom a direction nearly north from her, having, as a matter ofcourse, the wind just free enough to lay her course. Jack's plan wasto pass the brig to windward, and having got well on her bow, tobrail the sail, and drift down upon her, expecting to fall inalongside, abreast of the fore-chains, into which he had intended tohelp Biddy, and to ascend himself, when he supposed that Mulfordwould again make sail, and carry off his mistress. To this schemethe mate objected that it was awkward, and a little lubberly. Hesubstituted one in its place that differed in seamanship, and whichwas altogether better. Instead of passing to wind-ward, Mulfordsuggested the expediency of approaching to leeward, and of comingalongside under the open bow-port, letting the sheet fly andbrailing the sail, when the boat should be near enough to carry herto the point of destination without further assistance from hercanvass. 

Jack Tier took his officer's improvement on his own plan in perfectgood part, readily and cheerfully expressing his willingness to aidthe execution of it all that lay in his power. As the boat sailedunusually well, there was barely time to explain to each individualhis or her part in the approaching critical movements, ere thecrisis itself drew near; then each of the party became silent andanxious, and events were regarded rather than words. 

It is scarcely necessary to say that Mulford sailed a boat well. Heheld the sheet in his hand, as the little craft came up under thelee-quarter of the brig, while Jack stood by the brail. The eyes ofthe mate glanced over the hull of the vessel to ascertain, ifpossible, who might be stirring; but not a sign of life could hedetect on board her. This very silence made Mulford more distrustfuland anxious, for he feared a trap was set for him. He expected tosee the head of one of the blacks at least peering over thebulwarks, but nothing like a man was visible. It was too late topause, however, and the sheet was slowly eased off, Jack hauling onthe brail at the same time; the object being to prevent the sail'sflapping, and the sound reaching the ears of Spike. As Mulford usedgreat caution, and had previously schooled Jack on the subject, thisimportant point was successfully achieved. Then the mate put hishelm down, and the boat shot up under the brig's lee-bow. Jack wasready to lay hold of one of the bow-sprit shrouds, and presently theboat was breasted up under the desired port, and secured in thatposition. Mulford quitted the stern-sheets, and cast a look in upondeck. Nothing was to be seen, though he heard the heavy breathing ofthe blacks, both of whom were sound asleep on a sail that they hadspread on the forecastle. 

The mate whispered for Biddy to come to the port. This theIrishwoman did at once, having kissed Rose, and taken her leave ofher previously. Tier also came to the port, through which he passed, getting on deck with a view to assist Biddy, who was awkward, almostas a matter of course, to pass through the same opening. He had justsucceeded, when the whole party was startled, some of them almostpetrified, indeed, by a hail from the quarter-deck in thewell-known, deep tones of Spike. 

"For'ard, there?" hailed the captain. Receiving no answer, heimmediately repeated, in a shorter, quicker call, "Forecastle, there?"

"Sir, " answered Jack Tier, who by this time had come to his senses. 

"Who has the look-out on that forecastle?"

"I have it, sir--I, Jack Tier. You know, sir, I was to have it fromtwo 'till daylight. "

"Ay, ay, I remember now. How does the brig ride to her anchor?"

"As steady as a church, sir. She's had no more sheer the whole watchthan if she was moored head and starn. "

"Does the wind stand as it did?"

"No change, sir. As dead a trade wind as ever blowed. "

"What hard breathing is that I hear for'ard?"

"'T is the two niggers, sir. They've turned in on deck, and arenapping it off at the rate of six knots. There's no keepin' way witha nigger in snorin'. "

"I thought I heard loud whispering, too, but I suppose it was a sortof half-dream. I'm often in that way now-a-days. Jack!"

"Sir. "

"Go to the scuttle-butt and get me a pot of fresh water--my coppersare hot with hard thinking. "

Jack did as ordered, and soon stood beneath the coach-house deckwith Spike, who had come out of his state-room, heated and uneasy athe knew not what. The captain drank a full pint of water at a singledraught. 

"That's refreshing, " he said, returning Jack the tinpot, "and I feelthe cooler for it. How much does it want of daylight, Jack?"

"Two hours, I think, sir. The order was passed to me to have allhands called as soon as it was broad day. "

"Ay, that is right. We must get our anchor and be off as soon asthere is light to do it in. Doubloons may melt as well as flour, andare best cared for soon when cared for at all. "

"I shall see and give the call as soon as it is day. I hope, CaptainSpike, I can take the liberty of an old ship-mate, however, and sayone thing to you, which is this--look out for the Poughkeepsie, which is very likely to be on your heels when you least expect her. "

"That's your way of thinking, is it, Jack. Well, I thank you, oldone, for the hint, but have little fear of that craft. We've had ourlegs together, and I think the brig has the longest. "

As the captain said this, he gaped like a hound, and went into hisstate-room. Jack lingered on the quarter-deck, waiting to hear himfairly in his berth, when he made a sign to Biddy, who had got asfar aft as the galley, where she was secreted, to pass down into thecabin, as silently as possible. In a minute or two more, he movedforward, singing in a low, cracked voice, as was often his practice, and slowly made his way to the forecastle. Mulford was justbeginning to think the fellow had changed his mind, and meant tostick by the brig, when the little, rotund figure of theassistant-steward was seen passing through the port, and to dropnoiselessly on a thwart. Jack then moved to the bow, and cast offthe painter, the head of the boat slowly falling off under thepressure of the breeze on that part of her mast and sail which roseabove the hull of the Swash. Almost at the same moment, the mate letgo the stern-fast, and the boat was free. 

It required some care to set the sail without the canvas flapping. It was done, however, before the boat fairly took the breeze, whenall was safe. In half a minute the wind struck the sail, and awaythe little craft started, passing swiftly ahead of the brig. Soon asfar enough off, Mulford put up his helm and wore short round, bringing the boat's head to the northward, or in its properdirection; after which they flew along before the wind, which seemedto be increasing in force, with a velocity that really appeared todefy pursuit. All this time the brig lay in its silence andsolitude, no one stirring on board her, and all, in fact, Biddyalone excepted, profoundly ignorant of what had just been passingalongside of her. Ten minutes of running off with a flowing sheet, caused the Swash to look indistinct and hazy again; in ten minutesmore she was swallowed up, hull, spars, and all, in the gloom ofnight. 

Mulford and Rose now felt something like that security, without thesense of which happiness itself is but an uneasy feeling, renderingthe anticipations of evil the more painful by the magnitude of thestake. There they sat, now, in the stern-sheets by themselves, JackTier having placed himself near the bows of the boat, to look outfor rocks, as well as to trim the craft. It was not long before Rosewas leaning on Harry's shoulder, and ere an hour was past, she hadfallen into a sweet sleep in that attitude, the young man havingcarefully covered her person with a capacious shawl, the same thathad been used on the wreck. As for Jack, he maintained his post insilence, sitting with his arms crossed, and the hands thrust intothe breast of his jacket, sailor fashion, a picture of nauticalvigilance. It was some time after Rose had fallen asleep, that thissingular being spoke for the first time. 

"Keep her away a bit, maty, " he said, "keep her away, half a pointor so. She's been travelin' like a racer since we left the brig; andyonder's the first streak of day. "

"By the time we have been running, " observed Mulford, "I shouldthink we must be getting near the northern side of the reef. "

"All of that, sir, depend on it. Here's a rock close aboard on us, to which we're comin' fast--just off here, on our weather-bow, thatlooks to me like the place where you landed a'ter that swim, andwhere we had stowed ourselves when Stephen Spike made us out, andgave chase. "

"It is surprising to me, Jack, that you should have any fancy tostick by a man of Spike's character. He is a precious rascal, as weall can see, now, and you are rather an honest sort of fellow. "

"Do you love the young woman there, that's lying in your arms, as itmight be, and whom you say you wish to marry. "

"The question is a queer one, but it is easily answered. More thanmy life, Jack. "

"Well, how happens it that _you_ succeed, when the world has so manyother young men who might please her as well as yourself. "

"It may be that no other loves her as well, and she has had thesagacity to discover it. "

"Quite likely. So it is with me and Stephen Spike. I fancy a manwhom other folk despise and condemn. _Why_ I stand by him is my ownsecret; but stand by him I do and will. "

"This is all very strange, after your conduct on the island, andyour conduct to-night. I shall not disturb your secret, however, Jack, but leave you to enjoy it by yourself. Is this the rock ofwhich you spoke, that we are now passing?"

"The same; and there's the spot in which we was stowed when theymade us out from the brig; and here-away, a cable's length, more orless, the wreck of that Mexican craft must lie. "

"What is that rising above the water, thereaway, Jack; more on ourweather-beam?"

"I see what you mean, sir; it looks like a spar. By George! there'stwo on 'em; and they _do_ seem to be the schooner's masts. "

Sure enough! a second look satisfied Mulford that two mast-headswere out of water, and that within a hundred yards of the place theboat was running past. Standing on a short distance, or far enoughto give himself room, the mate put his helm down, and tacked theboat. The flapping of the sail, and the little movement of shiftingover the sheet, awoke Rose, who was immediately apprized of thediscovery. As soon as round, the boat went glancing up to the spars, and presently was riding by one, Jack Tier having caught hold of atopmast-shroud, when Mulford let fly his sheet again, and luffedshort up to the spot. By this time the increasing light wassufficiently strong to render objects distinct, when near by, and nodoubt remained any longer in the mind of Mulford about the twomast-heads being those of the unfortunate Mexican schooner. 

"Well, of all I have ever seen I've never see'd the like of thisafore!" exclaimed Jack. "When we left this here craft, sir, you'llremember, she had almost turned turtle, laying over so far as tobring her upper coamings under water; now she stands right side up, as erect as if docked! My navigation can't get along with this, Mr. Mulford, and it does seem like witchcraft. "

"It is certainly a very singular incident, Jack, and I have beentrying to come at its causes. "

"Have you succeeded, Harry?" asked Rose, by this time wide awake, and wondering like the others. 

"It must have happened in this wise. The wreck was abandoned by ussome little distance out here, to windward. The schooner's masts, ofcourse, pointed to leeward, and when she drifted in here, they havefirst touched on a shelving rock, and as they have been shoved up, little by little, they have acted as levers to right the hull, untilthe cargo has shifted back into its proper berth, which has suddenlyset the vessel up again. "

"Ay, ay, sir, " answered Jack, "all that might have happened had shebeen above water, or any part of her above water; but you'llremember, maty, that soon after we left her she went down. "

"Not entirely. The wreck settled in the water no faster after we hadleft it, than it had done before. It continued to sink, inch byinch, as the air escaped, and no faster after it had gone entirelyout of sight than before; not as fast, indeed, as the water becamedenser the lower it got. The great argument against my theory, isthe fact, that after the hull got beneath the surface, the windcould not act on it. This is true in one sense, however, and not inanother. The waves, or the pressure of the water produced by thewind, might act on the hull for some time after we ceased to see it. But the currents have set the craft in here, and the hull floatingalways, very little force would cant the craft. If the rock wereshelving and slippery, I see no great difficulty in the way; and thebarrels may have been so lodged, that a trifle would set themrolling back again, each one helping to produce a change that wouldmove another. As for the ballast, that, I am certain, could notshift, for it was stowed with great care. As the vessel righted, theair still in her moved, and as soon as the water permitted, itescaped by the hatches, when the craft went down, as a matter ofcourse. This air may have aided in bringing the hull upright by itsmovements in the water. "

This was the only explanation to which the ingenuity of Mulfordcould help him, under the circumstances, and it may have been theright one, or not. There lay the schooner, however, in some five orsix fathoms of water, with her two topmasts, and lower mast-headsout of the element, as upright as if docked! It may all haveoccurred as the mate fancied, or the unusual incident may have beenowing to some of the many mysterious causes which baffle inquiry, when the agents are necessarily hidden from examination. 

"Spike intends to come and look for this wreck, you tell me, Jack;in the hope of getting at the doubloons it contains?" said Mulford;when the boat had lain a minute or two longer, riding by themast-head. 

"Ay, ay, sir; that's his notion, sir, and he'll be in a great stew, as soon as he turns out, which must be about this time, and finds memissing; for I was to pilot him to the spot. "

"He'll want no pilot now. It will be scarcely possible to passanywhere near this and not see these spars. But this discoveryalmost induces me to change my own plans. What say _you, _ Rose? Wehave now reached the northern side of the reef, when it is time tohaul close by the wind, if we wish to beat up to Key West. There isa moral certainty, however, that the sloop-of-war is somewhere inthe neighbourhood of the Dry Tortugas, which are much the mosteasily reached, being to leeward. We might run down to thelight-house by mid-day, while it is doubtful if we could reach thetown until to-morrow morning. I should like exceedingly to have fiveminutes conversation with the commander of the Poughkeepsie. "

"Ay, to let him know where he will be likely to fall in with theMolly Swash and her traitor master, Stephen Spike, " cried Jack Tier. "Never mind, maty; let 'em come on; both the Molly and her masterhave got long legs and clean heels. Stephen Spike will show 'em howto thread the channels of a reef. "

"It is amazing to me, Jack, that you should stand by your oldcaptain in feeling, while you are helping to thwart him, all youcan, in his warmest wishes. "

"He's a willian!" muttered Jack--"a reg'lar willian is StephenSpike!"

"If a villain, why do you so evidently wish to keep him out of thehands of the law? Let him be captured and punished, as his crimesrequire. "

"Men's willians, all round, " still muttered Jack. "Hark'e, Mr. Mulford, I've sailed in the brig longer than you, and know'd her inher comeliest and best days--when she was young, and blooming, andlovely to the eye, as the young creature at your side--and it wouldgo to my heart to have anything happen to _her_. Then, I've know'dStephen a long time, too, and old shipmates get a feelin' for eachother, sooner or later. I tell you now, honestly, Mr. Mulford, Captain Adam Mull shall never make a prisoner of Stephen Spike, if Ican prevent it. "

The mate laughed at this sally, but Rose appeared anxious to changethe conversation, and she managed to open a discussion on thesubject of the course it might be best to steer. Mulford had severalexcellent reasons to urge for wishing to run down to the islets, allof which, with a single exception, he laid before his betrothed. Theconcealed reason was one of the strongest of them all, as usuallyhappens when there is a reason to conceal, but of that he took careto say nothing. The result was an acquiescence on the part of Rose, whose consent was yielded more to the influence of one particularconsideration than to all the rest united. That one was this: Harryhad pointed out to her the importance to himself of his appearingearly to denounce the character and movements of the brig, lest, through his former situation in her, his own conduct might beseriously called in question. 

As soon as the matter was determined, Jack was told to let go hishold, the sheet was drawn aft, and away sped the boat. No sooner didMulford cause the little craft to keep away than it almost flew, asif conscious it were bound to its proper home, skimming swiftly overthe waves, like a bird returning eagerly to its nest. An hour laterthe party breakfasted. While at this meal, Jack Tier pointed out tothe mate a white speck, in the south-eastern board, which he took tobe the brig coming through the passage, on her way to the wreck. 

"No matter, " returned the mate. "Though we can see her, she cannotsee us. There is that much advantage in our being small, Rose, if itdo prevent our taking exercise by walking the deck. "

Soon after, Mulford made a very distant sail in the north-westernboard, which he hoped might turn out to be the Poughkeepsie. It wasbut another speck, but its position was somewhat like that in whichhe had expected to meet the sloop-of-war. The two vessels were sofar apart that one could not be seen from the other, and there waslittle hope that the Poughkeepsie would detect Spike at his toil onthe wreck; but the mate fully expected that the ship would go intothe anchorage, among the islets, in order to ascertain what hadbecome of the schooner. If she did not go in herself, she would bealmost certain to send in a boat. 

The party from the brigantine had run down before the wind more thantwo hours before the light-house began to show itself, just risingout of the waves. This gave them the advantage of a beacon, Mulfordhaving steered hitherto altogether by the sun, the direction of thewind, and the treading of the reef. Now he had his port in sight, itbeing his intention to take possession of the dwelling of thelight-house keeper, and to remain in it, until a favourableopportunity occurred to remove Rose to Key West. The young man hadalso another important project in view, which it will be in seasonto mention as it reaches the moment of its fulfillment. 

The rate of sailing of the light-house boat, running before a brisktrade wind, could not be much less than nine miles in the hour. About eleven o'clock, therefore, the lively craft shot through oneof the narrow channels of the islets, and entered the haven. In afew minutes all three of the adventurers were on the little wharfwhere the light-house people were in the habit of landing. Roseproceeded to the house, while Harry and Jack remained to secure theboat. For the latter purpose a sort of slip, or little dock, hadbeen made, and when the boat was hauled into it, it lay so snug thatnot only was the craft secure from injury, but it was actually hidfrom the view of all but those who stood directly above it. 

"This is a snug berth for the boat, Jack, " observed the mate, whenhe had hauled it into the place mentioned, "and by unstepping themast, a passer-by would not suspect such a craft of lying in it. Whoknows what occasion there may be for concealment, and I'll e'en dothat thing. "

To a casual listener, Harry, in unstepping the mast, might haveseemed influenced merely by a motiveless impulse; but, in truth, alatent suspicion of Jack's intentions instigated him, and as he laidthe mast, sprit and sail on the thwarts, he determined, in his ownmind, to remove them all to some other place, as soon as anopportunity for doing so unobserved should occur. He and Jack nowfollowed Rose to the house. 

The islets were found deserted and tenantless. Not a human being hadentered the house since Rose left it, the evening she had remainedso long ashore, in company with her aunt and the SeñorMontefalderon. This our heroine knew from the circumstance offinding a slight fastening of the outer door in the precisesituation in which she had left it with her own hands. At first afeeling of oppression and awe prevailed with both Harry and Rose, when they recollected the fate of those who had so lately beentenants of the place; but this gradually wore off, and each soon gotto be more at home. As for Jack, he very coolly rummaged thelockers, as he called the drawers and closets of the place, and madehis preparations for cooking a very delicious repast, in which_callipash_ and _callipee_ were to be material ingredients. Thenecessary condiments were easily enough found in that place, turtlebeing a common dish there, and it was not long before steams thatmight have quickened the appetite of an alderman filled the kitchen. Rose rummaged, too, and found a clean table-cloth, plates, glasses, bowls, spoons, and knives; in a word, all that was necessary tospread a plain but plentiful board. While all this was doing, Harrytook some fishing-tackle, and proceeded to a favourable spot amongthe rocks. In twenty minutes he returned with a fine mess of thatmost delicious little fish that goes by the very unpoetical name of"hog-fish, " from the circumstance of its giving a grunt not unlikethat of a living porker, when rudely drawn from its proper element. Nothing was now wanting to not only a comfortable, but to what wasreally a most epicurian meal, and Jack just begged the lovers tohave patience for an hour or so, when he promised them dishes thateven New York could not furnish. 

Harry and Rose first retired to pay a little attention to theirdress, and then they joined each other in a walk. The mate had foundsome razors, and was clean shaved. He had also sequestered a shirt, and made some other little additions to his attire, that contributedto give him the appearance of being, that which he really was, avery gentleman-like looking young sailor. Rose had felt no necessityfor taking liberties with the effects of others, though a good dealof female attire was found in the dwelling. As was afterwardascertained, a family ordinarily dwelt there, but most of it hadgone to Key West, on a visit, at the moment when the man and boyleft in charge had fallen into the hands of the Mexicans, losingtheir lives in the manner mentioned. 

While walking together, Harry opened his mind to Rose, on thesubject which lay nearest to his heart, and which had been at thebottom of this second visit to the islets of the Dry Tortugas. During the different visits of Wallace to the brig, the boat's crewof the Poughkeepsie had held more or less discourse with the peopleof the Swash. This usually happens on such occasions, and althoughSpike had endeavoured to prevent it, when his brig lay in this bay, he had not been entirely successful. Such discourse is commonlyjocular, and sometimes witty; every speech, coming from which sideit may, ordinarily commencing with "shipmate, " though theinterlocutors never saw each other before that interview. In one ofthe visits an allusion was made to cargo, when "the pretty gal aft, "was mentioned as being a part of the cargo of the Swash. In answerto this remark, the wit of the Poughkeepsie had told the brig's man, "you had better send her on board us, for we carry a chaplain, aregular-built one, that will be a bishop some day or other, perhaps, and we can get her spliced to one of our young officers. " Thisremark had induced the sailor of the Molly to ask if a sloop-of-warreally carried such a piece of marine luxury as a chaplain, and theexplanation given went to say that the clergyman in question did notproperly belong to the Poughkeepsie, but was to be put on board afrigate, as soon as they fell in with one that he named. Now, allthis Mulford overheard, and he remembered it at a moment when itmight be of use. Situated as he and Rose were, he felt the wisdomand propriety of their being united, and his present object was topersuade his companion to be of the same way of thinking. He doubtednot that the sloop-of-war would come in, ere long, perhaps that veryday, and he believed it would be an easy matter to induce herchaplain to perform the ceremony. America is a country in whichevery facility exists, with the fewest possible impediments, togetting married; and, we regret to be compelled to add, to gettingunmarried also. There are no banns, no licenses, no consent ofparents even, usually necessary, and persons who are of the age ofdiscretion, which, as respects females and matrimony, is a verytender age indeed, may be married, if they see fit, almost withoutform or ceremony. There existed, therefore, no legal impediment tothe course Mulford desired to take; and his principal, if not hisonly difficulty, would be with Rose. Over her scruples he hoped toprevail, and not without reason, as the case he could and didpresent, was certainly one of a character that entitled him to beheard with great attention. 

In the first place, Mrs. Budd had approved of the connection, and itwas understood between them, that the young people were to be unitedat the first port in which a clergyman of their own persuasion couldbe found, and previously to reaching home. This had been the aunt'sown project, for, weak and silly as she was, the relict had awoman's sense of the proprieties. It had occured to her that itwould be more respectable to make the long journey which lay beforethem, escorted by a nephew and husband, than escorted by even anaccepted lover. It is true that she had never anticipated a marriagein a light-house, and under the circumstances in which Rose was nowplaced, though it might be more reputable that her niece should quitthe islets as the wife of Harry than as his betrothed. Then Mulfordstill apprehended Spike. In that remote part of the world, almostbeyond the confines of society, it was not easy to foretell whatclaims he might set up, in the event of his meeting them there. Armed with the authority of a husband, Mulford could resist him, inany such case, with far better prospects of success than if heshould appear only in the character of a suitor. 

Rose listened to these arguments, ardently and somewhat eloquentlyput, as a girl of her years and habits would be apt to listen to afavoured lover. She was much too sincere to deny her own attachment, which the events of the last few days had increased almost tointenseness, so apt is our tenderness to augment in behalf of thosefor whom we feel solicitude; and her judgment told her that the moresober part of Harry's reasoning was entitled to consideration. Ashis wife, her situation would certainly be much less equivocal andawkward, than while she bore a different name, and was admitted tobe a single woman, and it might yet be weeks before the duty sheowed her aunt would allow her to proceed to the north. But, afterall, Harry prevailed more through the influence of his hold onRose's affections, as would have been the case with almost everyother woman, than through any force of reasoning. He truly loved, and that made him eloquent when he spoke of love; sympathy in all heuttered being his great ally. When summoned to the house, by thecall of Jack, who announced that the turtle-soup was ready, theyreturned with the understanding that the chaplain of thePoughkeepsie should unite them, did the vessel come in, and wouldthe functionary mentioned consent to perform the ceremony. 

"It would be awkward--nay, it would be distressing, Harry, to havehim refuse, " said the blushing Rose, as they walked slowly back tothe house, more desirous to prolong their conversation than topartake of the bountiful provision of Jack Tier. The latter couldnot but be acceptable, nevertheless, to a young man like Mulford, who was in robust health, and who had fared so badly for the lasteight-and-forty hours. When he sat down to the table, therefore, which was covered by a snow-white cloth, with smoking and mostsavoury viands on it, it will not be surprising if we say it waswith a pleasure that was derived from one of the great necessitiesof our nature. 

Sancho calls for benediction "on the man who invented sleep. " Itwould have been more just to have asked this boon in behalf of himwho invented eating and turtle-soup. The wearied fall into sleep, asit might be unwittingly; sometimes against their will, and oftenagainst their interests; while many a man is hungry withoutpossessing the means of appeasing his appetite. Still more dailyfeel hunger without possessing turtle-soup. Certain persons imputethis delicious compound to the genius of some London alderman, butwe rather think unjustly. Aldermanic genius is easily excited andrendered active, no doubt, by strong appeals on such a theme, butour own experience inclines us to believe that the tropics usuallysend their inventions to the less fruitful regions of the earthalong with their products. We have little doubt, could the fact benow ascertained, that it would be found turtle-soup was originallyinvented by just some such worthy as Jack Tier, who in filling hiscoppers to tickle the captain's appetite, had used all thecondiments within his reach; ventured on a sort of Regent's punch;and, as the consequence, had brought forth the dish so ofteneulogized, and so well beloved. It is a little extraordinary that inParis, the seat of gastronomy, one rarely, if ever, hears of or seesthis dish; while in London it is to be met in almost as greatabundance as in one of our larger commercial towns. But so it is, and we cannot say we much envy a _cuisine_ its _patés, _ and_soufflets, _ and its _à la_ this and _à la_ thats, but which wasnever redolent with the odours of turtle-soup. 

"Upon my word, Jack, you have made out famously with your dinner, orsupper, whichever you may please to call it, " cried Mulford gaily, as he took his seat at table, after having furnished Rose with achair. "Nothing appears to be wanting; but here is good pilot bread, potatoes even, and other little niceties, in addition to the turtleand the fish. These good people of the light seem to have livedcomfortably, at any rate. "

"Why should they not, maty?" answered Jack, beginning to help tosoup. "Living on one of these islets is like living afloat. Everything is laid in, as for an outward bound craft; then the reefmust always furnish fish and turtle. I've overhauled the lockerspretty thoroughly, and find a plenty of stores to last _us_ a month. Tea, sugar, coffee, bread, pickles, potatoes, onions, and all otherknick-knacks. "

"The poor people who own these stores will be heavy-hearted enoughwhen they come to learn the reason why we have been put inundisturbed possession of their property, " said Rose. "We mustcontrive some means of repaying them for such articles as we mayuse, Harry. "

"That's easily enough done, Miss Rose. Drop one of the half-eaglesin a tea-pot, or a mug, and they'll be certain to fall in with itwhen they come back. Nothin' is easier than to pay a body's debts, when a body has the will and the means. Now, the worst enemy ofStephen Spike must own that his brig never quits port with unsettledbills. Stephen has his faults, like other mortals; but he has hisgood p'ints, too. "

"Still praising Spike, my good Jack, " cried the mate, a littleprovoked at this pertinacity in the deputy-steward, in sticking tohis ship and his shipmate. "I should have thought that you hadsailed with him long enough to have found him out, and to wish neverto put your foot in his cabin again. "

"Why, no, maty, a craft is a craft, and a body gets to like even thefaults of one in which a body has gone through gales, and squalls, with a whole skin. I like the Swash, and, for sartain things I likeher captain. "

"Meaning by that, it is your intention to get on board of the one, and to sail with the other, again, as soon as you can. "

"I do, Mr. Mulford, and make no bones in telling on't. You know thatI came here without wishing it. "

"Well, Jack, no one will attempt to control your movements, but youshall be left your own master. I feel it to be a duty, however, asone who may know more of the law than yourself, as well as more ofStephen Spike, to tell you that he is engaged in a treasonablecommerce with the enemy, and that he, and all who voluntarily remainwith him, knowing this fact, may be made to swing for it. "

"Then I'll swing for it, " returned Jack, sullenly. 

"There is a little obstinacy in this, my good fellow, and you mustbe reasoned out of it. I am under infinite obligations to you, Jack, and shall ever be ready to own them. Without you to sail the boat, Imight have been left to perish on that rock, --for God only knowswhether any vessel would have seen me in passing. Most of those whogo through that passage keep the western side of the reef aboard, they tell me, on account of there being better water on that side ofthe channel, and the chance of a man's being seen on a rock, byships a league or two off, would be small indeed. Yes, Jack, I owemy life to you, and am proud to own it. "

"You owe it to Miss Rose, maty, who put me up to the enterprise, andwho shared it with me. "

"To her I owe more than life, " answered Harry, looking at hisbeloved as she delighted in being regarded by him, "but even she, with all her wishes to serve me, would have been helpless withoutyour skill in managing a boat. I owe also to your good-nature thehappiness of having Rose with me at this moment; for without you shewould not have come. "

"I'll not deny it, maty--take another ladle-full of the soup, MissRosy: a quart of it would n't hurt an infant--I'll not deny it, Mr. Mulford--I know by the way you've got rid of the first bowl-fullthat _you_ are ready for another, and there it is--I'll not deny it, and all I can say is that you are heartily welcome to my sarvices. "

"I thank you, Jack; but all this only makes me more desirous ofbeing of use to you, now, when it's in my power. I wish you to stickby me, and not to return to the Swash. As soon as I get to New YorkI shall build or buy a ship, and the berth of steward in her shallalways be open to you. "

"Thank'e, maty; thank'e, with all my heart. It's something to knowthat a port is open to leeward, and, though I cannot _now_ acceptyour offer, the day _may_ come when I shall be glad to do so. "

"If you like living ashore better, our house will always be ready toreceive you. I should be glad to leave as handy a little fellow asyourself behind me whenever I went to sea. There are a hundredthings in which you might be useful, and fully earn your biscuit, soas to have no qualms about eating the bread of idleness. "

"Thank'e, thank'e, maty, " cried Jack, dashing a tear out of his eyewith the back of his hand, "thank'e, sir, from the bottom of myheart. The time _may_ come, but not now. My papers is signed forthis v'y'ge. Stephen Spike has a halter round his neck, as you sayyourself, and it's necessary for me to be there to look to't. We allhave our callin's and duties, and this is mine. I stick by the Mollyand her captain until both are out of this scrape, or both arecondemned. I know nothin' of treason; but if the law wants anothervictim, I must take my chance. "

Mulford was surprised at this steadiness of Jack's, in what hethought a very bad cause, and he was quite as much surprised thatRose did not join him, in his endeavours to persuade the steward notto be so foolhardy, as to endeavour to go back to the brig. Rose didnot, however; sitting silently eating her dinner the whole time, though she occasionally cast glances of interest at both thespeakers the while. In this state of things the mate abandoned theattempt, for the moment, intending to return to the subject, afterhaving had a private conference with his betrothed. 

Notwithstanding the little drawback just related, that was a happyas well as a delicious repast. The mate did full justice to thesoup, and afterward to the fish with the unpoetical name; and Roseate more than she had done in the last three days. The habits ofdiscipline prevented Jack from taking his seat at table, thoughpressed by both Rose and Harry to do so, but he helped himself tothe contents of a bowl and did full justice to his own art, on oneaside. The little fellow was delighted with the praises that werebestowed on his dishes; and for the moment, the sea, its dangers, its tornadoes, wrecks and races, were all forgotten in the securityand pleasures of so savoury a repast. 

"Folk ashore do n't know how sailors sometimes live, " said Jack, holding a large spoon filled with the soup ready to plunge into atolerably capacious mouth. 

"Or how they sometimes starve, " answered Rose. "Remember our ownsituation, less than forty-eight hours since!"

"All very true, Miss Rose; yet, you see, turtle-soup brings us up, a'ter all. Would you like a glass of wine, maty?"

"Very much indeed, Jack, after so luscious a soup; but wishing forit will not bring it here. "

"That remains to be seen, sir. I call this a bottle of somethingthat looks wery much like a wine. "

"Claret, as I live! Why, where should light-house keepers get thetaste for claret?"

"I've thought of that myself, Mr. Mulford, and have supposed thatsome of Uncle Sam's officers have brought the liquor to this part ofthe world. I understand a party on 'em was here surveyin' all lastwinter. It seems they come in the cool weather, and get their sightsand measure their distances, and go home in the warm weather, andwork out their traverses in the shade, as it might be. "

"This seems likely, Jack; but, come whence it may it is welcome, andwe will taste it. "

Mulford then drew the cork of this mild and grateful liquor, andhelped his companions and himself. In this age of moral _tours deforce, _ one scarcely dare say anything favourable of a liquid thateven bears the name of wine, or extol the shape of a bottle. It istruly the era of exaggeration. Nothing is treated in theold-fashioned, natural, common sense way. Virtue is no longervirtue, unless it get upon stilts; and, as for sin's being confinedto "transgression against the law of God, " audacious would be thewretch who should presume to limit the sway of the societies by anydogma so narrow! A man may be as abstemious as an anchorite and getno credit for it, unless "he sigu the pledge;" or, signing thepledge, he may get fuddled in corners, and be cited as a miracle ofsobriety. The test of morals is no longer in the abuse of the giftsof Providence, but in their use; prayers are deserting the closetfor the corners of streets, and charity (not the giving of alms) hasgot to be so earnest in the demonstration of its nature, as to bepretty certain to "begin at home, " and to end where it begins. Eventhe art of mendacity has been aroused by the great progress which ismaking by all around it, and many manifest the strength of theirambition by telling ten lies where their fathers would have beensatisfied with telling only one. This art has made an extraordinaryprogress within the last quarter of a century, aspiring to anascendency that was formerly conceded only to truth, until he whogains his daily bread by it has some such contempt for the sneakingwretch who does business on the small scale, as the slayer of histhousands in the field is known to entertain for him who kills onlya single man in the course of a long life. 

At the risk of damaging the reputations of our hero and heroine, weshall frankly aver the fact that both Harry and Rose partook of the_vin de Bordeaux, _ a very respectable bottle of _Medoc, _ by the way, which had been forgotten by Uncle Sam's people, in the course of thepreceding winter, agreeably to Jack Tier's conjecture. One glasssufficed for Rose, and, contrary as it may be to all modern theory, she was somewhat the better for it; while the mate and Jack Tierquite half emptied the bottle, being none the worse. There they sat, enjoying the security and abundance which had succeeded to theirlate danger, happy in that security, happy in themselves, and happyin the prospects of a bright future. It was just as practicable forthem to remain at the Dry Tortugas, as it was for the family whichordinarily dwelt at the light. The place was amply supplied witheverything that would be necessary for their wants, for months tocome, and Harry caused his betrothed to blush, as he whispered toher, should the chaplain arrive, he should delight in passing thehoney-moon where they then were. 

"I could tend the light, " he added, smiling, "which would be notonly an occupation, but a useful occupation; you could read allthose books from beginning to end, and Jack could keep us supliedwith fish. By the way, master steward, are you in the humour formotion, so soon after your hearty meal?"

"Anything to be useful, " answered Jack, cheerfully. 

"Then do me the favour to go up into the lantern of the light-house, and take a look for the sloop-of-war. If she's in sight at all, you'll find her off here to the northward; and while you are aloftyou may as well make a sweep of the whole horizon. There hangs thelight-house keeper's glass, which may help your eyes, by steppinginto the gallery outside of the lantern. "

Jack willingly complied, taking the glass and proceeding forthwithto the other building. Mulford had two objects in view in givingthis commission to the steward. He really wished to ascertain whatwas the chance of seeing the Poughkeepsie, in the neighbourhood ofthe islets, and felt just that indisposition to move himself, thatis apt to come over one who has recently made a very bountiful meal, while he also desired to have another private conversation withRose. 

A good portion of the time that Jack was gone, and he stayed quitean hour in the lantern, our lovers conversed as lovers are muchinclined to converse; that is to say, of themselves, their feelings, and their prospects. Mulford told Rose of his hopes and fears, whilehe visited at the house of her aunt, previously to sailing, and themanner in which his suspicions had been first awakened in referenceto the intentions of Spike--intentions, so far as they wereconnected with an admiration of his old commander's niece, andpossibly in connection also with the little fortune she was known topossess, but not in reference to the bold project to which he had, in fact, resorted. No distrust of the scheme finally put in practicehad ever crossed the mind of the young mate, until he received theunexpected order, mentioned in our opening chapter, to prepare thebrig for the reception of Mrs. Budd and her party. Harry confessedhis jealousy of one youth whom he dreaded far more even than he hadever dreaded Spike, and whose apparent favour with Rose, and actualfavour with her aunt, had given him many a sleepless night. 

They next conversed of the future, which to them seemed full offlowers. Various were the projects started, discussed, anddismissed, between them, the last almost as soon as proposed. On onething they were of a mind, as soon as proposed. Harry was to have aship as quick as one could be purchased by Rose's means, and thepromised bride laughingly consented to make one voyage to Europealong with her husband. 

"I wonder, dear Rose, my poverty has never presented anydifficulties in the way of our union, " said Harry, sensibly touchedwith the free way his betrothed disposed of her own money in hisbehalf; "but neither you nor Mrs. Budd has ever seemed to think ofthe difference there is between us in this respect. "

"What is the trifle I possess, Harry, set in the balance againstyour worth? My aunt, as you say, has thought I might even be thegainer by the exchange. "

"I am sure I feel a thousand times indebted to Mrs. Budd--"

"_Aunt_ Budd. You must learn to say, `_my_ Aunt Budd, ' Mr. HenryMulford, if you mean to live in peace with her unworthy niece. "

"_Aunt_ Budd, then, " returned Harry, laughing, for the laugh cameeasily that evening; "Aunt Budd, if you wish it, Rose. I can have noobjection to call any relative of yours, uncle or aunt. "

"I think we are intimate enough, now, to ask you a question or two, Harry, touching my aunt, " continued Rose, looking stealthily overher shoulder, as if apprehensive of being overheard. "You know howfond she is of speaking of the sea, and of indulging in nauticalphrases?"

"Any one must have observed that, Rose, " answered the young man, gazing up at the wall, in order not to be compelled to look thebeautiful creature before him in the eyes--"Mrs. Budd has verystrong tastes that way. "

"Now tell me, Harry--that is, answer me frankly--I mean--she is not_always_ right, is she?"

"Why, no; not absolutely so--that is, not absolutely _always_so--few persons are _always_ right, you know. "

Rose remained silent and embarrassed for a moment; after which shepursued the discourse. 

"But aunty does not know as much of the sea and of ships as shethinks she does?"

"Perhaps not. We all overrate our own acquirements. I dare say thateven I am not as good a seaman as I fancy myself to be. "

"Even Spike admits that you are what he calls `a prime seaman. ' Butit is not easy for a woman to get a correct knowledge of the use ofall the strange, and sometimes uncouth, terms that you sailors use. "

"Certainly not, and for that reason I would rather you should neverattempt it, Rose. We rough sons of the ocean would prefer to hearour wives make divers pretty blunders, rather than to be swaggeringabout like so many `old salts. '"

"Mr. Mulford! Does Aunt Budd swagger like an old salt?"

"Dearest Rose, I was not thinking of your aunt, but of _you_. Ofyou, as you are, feminine, spirited, lovely alike in form andcharacter, and of you a graduate of the ocean, and full of itslanguage and ideas. "

It was probable Rose was not displeased at this allusion to herself, for a smile struggled around her pretty mouth, and she did not lookat all angry. After another short pause, she resumed the discourse. 

"My aunt did not very clearly comprehend those explanations of yoursabout the time of day, and the longitude, " she said, "nor am I quitecertain that I did myself. "

"You understood them far better than Mrs. Budd, Rose. Women are solittle accustomed to _think_ on such subjects at all, that it is notsurprising they sometimes get confused. I do wish, however, thatyour aunt could be persuaded to be more cautious in the presence ofstrangers, on the subject of terms she does not understand. "

"I feared it might be so, Harry, " answered Rose, in a low voice, asif unwilling even he should know the full extent of her thoughts onthis subject; "but my aunt's heart is most excellent, though she maymake mistakes occasionally, I owe her a great deal, if notabsolutely my education, certainly my health and comfort throughchildhood, and more prudent, womanly advice than you may suppose, perhaps, since I have left school. How she became the dupe of Spike, indeed, is to me unaccountable; for in all that relates to health, she is, in general, both acute and skilful. "

"Spike is a man of more art than he appears to be to superficialobservers. On my first acquaintance with him, I mistook him for afrank, fearless but well-meaning sailor, who loved hazardous voyagesand desperate speculation--a sort of innocent gambler; but I havelearned to know better. His means are pretty much reduced to hisbrig, and she is getting old, and can do but little more service. His projects are plain enough, now. By getting you into his power, he hoped to compel a marriage, in which case both your fortune andyour aunt's would contribute to repair his. "

"He might have killed me, but I never would have married him, "rejoined Rose, firmly. "Is not that Jack coming down the steps ofthe light-house?"

"It is. I find that fellow's attachment to Spike very extraordinary, Rose. Can you, in any manner, account for it?"

Rose at first seemed disposed to reply. Her lips parted, as if aboutto speak, and closed again, as glancing her eyes toward the opendoor, she seemed to expect the appearance of the steward's little, rotund form on its threshold, which held her tongue-tied. A briefinterval elapsed, however, ere Jack actually arrived, and Rose, perceiving that Harry was curiously expecting her answer, saidhurriedly--"It may be hatred, not attachment. "

The next instant Jack Tier entered the room. He had been gone rathermore than an hour, not returning until just as the sun was about toset in a flame of fire. 

"Well, Jack, what news from the Poughkeepsie?" demanded the mate. "You have been gone long enough to make sure of your errand. Is itcertain that we are not to see the man-of-war's-men to-night. "

"Whatever you see, my advice to you is to keep close, and to be onyour guard, " answered Jack, evasively. 

"I have little fear of any of Uncle Sam's craft. A plain story, andan honest heart, will make all clear to a well-disposed listener. Wehave not been accomplices in Spike's treasons, and cannot be made toanswer for them. "

"Take my advice, maty, and be in no hurry to hail every vessel yousee. Uncle Sam's fellows may not always be at hand to help you. Doyou not know that this island will be tabooed to seamen for sometime to come?"

"Why so, Jack? The islet has done no harm, though others may haveperformed wicked deeds near it. "

"Two of the drowned men lie within a hundred yards of this spot, andsailors never go near new-made graves, if they can find any otherplace to resort to. "

"You deal in enigmas, Jack; and did I not know that you are verytemperate, I might suspect that the time you have been gone has beenpassed in the company of a bottle of brandy. "

"That will explain my meanin', " said Jack, laconically, pointing ashe spoke seemingly at some object that was to be seen without. 

The door of the house was wide open, for the admission of air. Itfaced the haven of the islets, and just as the mate's eyes wereturned to it, the end of a flying-jib-boom, with the sail down, andfluttering beneath it, was coming into the view. "The Poughkeepsie!"exclaimed Mulford, in delight, seeing all his hopes realized, whileRose blushed to the eyes. A pause succeeded, during which Mulforddrew aside, keeping his betrothed in the back-ground, and as muchout of sight as possible. The vessel was shooting swiftly into view, and presently all there could see it was the Swash. 

CHAPTER IV. 

 But no--he surely is not dreaming. Another minute makes it clear, A scream, a rush, a burning tear, From Inez' cheek, dispel the fear That bliss like his is only seeming. 

Washington Alston. 

A moment of appalled surprise succeeded the instant when Harry andRose first ascertained the real character of the vessel that hadentered the haven of the Dry Tortugas. Then the first turned towardJack Tier, and sternly demanded an explanation of his apparentfaithlessness. 

"Rascal, " he cried, "has this treachery been intended? Did you notsee the brig and know her?"

"Hush, Harry--_dear_ Harry, " exclaimed Rose, entreatingly. "My lifefor it, Jack has _not_ been faithless. "

"Why, then, has he not let us know that the brig was coming? Formore than an hour has he been aloft, on the look-out, and here arewe taken quite by surprise. Rely on it, Rose, he has seen theapproach of the brig, and might have sooner put us on our guard. "

"Ay, ay, lay it on, maty, " said Jack, coolly, neither angry normortified, so far as appearances went, at these expressions ofdissatisfaction; "my back is used to it. If I did n't know what itis to get hard raps on the knuckles, I should be but a youngsteward. But, as for this business, a little reflection will tellyou I am not to blame. "

"Give us your own explanations, for without them I shall trust youno longer. "

"Well, sir, what good would it have done, _had_ I told you the brigwas standing for this place? There she came down, like a race-horse, and escape for you was impossible. As the wind is now blowin', theMolly would go two feet to the boat's one, and a chase would havebeen madness. "

"I do n't know that, sirrah" answered the mate. " The boat might havegot into the smaller passages of the reef, where the brig could notenter, or she might have dodged about among these islets, until itwas night, and then escaped in the darkness. "

"I thought of all that, Mr. Mulford, but it came too late. When Ifirst went aloft, I came out on the north-west side of the lantern, and took my seat, to look out for the sloop-of-war, as you bade me, sir. Well, there I was sweepin' the horizon with the glass for thebetter part of an hour, sometimes fancyin' I saw her, and thengivin' it up; for to this moment I am not sartain there is n't asail off here to the westward, turning up toward the light on abowline; but if there be, she's too far off to know anythingpartic'lar about her. Well, sir, there I sat, looking for thePoughkeepsie, for the better part of an hour, when I thought I wouldgo round on t' other side of the lantern and take a look towindward. My heart was in my mouth, I can tell you, Miss Rose, whenI saw the brig; and I felt both glad and sorry. Glad on my ownaccount, and sorry on your'n. There she was, however, and no helpfor it, within two miles of this very spot, and coming down as ifshe despised touching the water at all. Now, what could I do? Therewas n't time, Mr. Mulford, to get the boat out, and the maststepped, afore we should have been within reach of canister, andStephen Spike would not have spared _that, _ in order to get youagain within his power. "

"Depend on it, Harry, this is all true, " said Rose, earnestly. "Iknow Jack well, and can answer for his fidelity. He wishes to, andif he can he _will_ return to the brig, whither he thinks his dutycalls him, but he will never willingly betray _us_--least of all, _me_. Do I speak as I ought, Jack?"

"Gospel truth, Miss Rose, and Mr. Mulford will get over this squall, as soon as he comes to think of matters as he ought. There 's myhand, maty, to show I bear no malice. "

"I take it, Jack, for I must believe you honest, after all you havedone for us. Excuse my warmth, which, if a little unreasonable, wassomewhat natural under the circumstances. I suppose our case is nowhopeless, and that we shall all be soon on board the brig again; forSpike will hardly think of abandoning me again on an islandprovisioned and fitted as is this!"

"It's not so sartain, sir, that you fall into his hands at all, " putin Jack. "The men of the brig will never come here of their ownaccord, depend on that, for sailors don't like graves. Spike hascome in here a'ter the schooner's chain, that he dropped into thewater when he made sail from the sloop-of-war, at the time he washere afore, and is not expectin' to find us here. No--no--he thinkswe are beatin' up toward Key West this very minute, if, indeed, hehas missed us at all. 'T is possible he believes the boat has gotadrift by accident, and has no thought of our bein' out of thebrig. "

"That is impossible, Jack. Do you suppose he is ignorant that Roseis missing?"

"Sartain of it, maty, if Mrs. Budd has read the letter well thatMiss Rose left for her, and Biddy has obeyed orders. If they'vefollowed instructions, Miss Rose is thought to be in her state-room, mournin' for a young man who was abandoned on a naked rock, and JackTier, havin' eat somethin' that has disagreed with him, is in hisberth. Recollect, Spike will not be apt to look into Miss Rose'sstate-room or my berth, to see if all this is true. The cook andJosh are both in my secret, and know I mean to come back, and whenthe fit is over I have only to return to duty, like any other hand. It is my calculation that Spike believes both Miss Rose and myselfon board the Molly at this very moment. "

"And the boat--what can he suppose has become of the boat?"

"Sartainly, the boat makes the only chance ag'in us. But the boatwas ridin' by its painter astarn, and accidents sometimes happen tosuch craft. Then we two are the wery last he will suspect of havin'made off in the boat by ourselves. There'll be Mrs. Budd and Biddyas a sort of pledge that Miss Rose is aboard, and as for Jack Tier, he is too insignificant to occupy the captain's thoughts just now. He will probably muster the people for'ard, when he finds the boatis gone, but I do not think he'll trouble the cabins orstate-rooms. "

Mulford admitted that this was _possible, _ though it scarcely seemedprobable to him. There was no help, however, for the actual state ofthings, and they all now turned their attention to the brig, and tothe movements of those on board her. Jack Tier had swung-to theouter-door of the house, as soon as the Swash came in view throughit, and fortunately none of the windows on that side of the buildinghad been opened at all. The air entered to windward, which was onthe rear of the dwelling, so that it was possible to be comfortableand yet leave the front, in view from the vessel, with its desertedair. As for the brig, she had already anchored and got both herboats into the water. The yawl was hauled alongside, in readinessfor any service that might be required of it, while the launch hadbeen manned at once, and was already weighing the anchor, andsecuring the chain to which Tier had alluded. All this served verymuch to lessen the uneasiness of Mulford and Rose, as it went far toprove that Spike had not come to the Dry Tortugas in quest of them, as, at first, both had very naturally supposed. It might, indeed, turn out that his sole object was to obtain this anchor and chain, with a view to use them in raising the ill-fated vessel that had nowtwice gone to the bottom. 

"I wish an explanation with you, Jack, on one other point, " said themate, after all three had been for sometime observing the movementson board and around the Swash. "Do you actually intend to get onboard the brig?"

"If it's to be done, maty. My v'y'ge is up with you and Miss Rose. Imay be said to have shipped for Key West and a market, and themarket's found at this port. "

"You will hardly leave us _yet, _ Jack, " said Rose, with a manner andemphasis that did not fail to strike her betrothed lover, though hecould in no way account for either. That Rose should not wish to beleft alone with him in that solitary place was natural enough; or, might rather be referred to education and the peculiar notions ofher sex; but he could not understand why so much importance shouldbe attached to the presence of a being of Jack Tier's mould andcharacter. It was true, that there was little choice, under presentcircumstances, but it occurred to Mulford that Rose had manifestedthe same strange predilection when there might have been somethingnearer to a selection. The moment, however, was not one for muchreflection on the subject. 

"You will hardly leave us yet, Jack?" said Rose, in the mannerrelated. 

"it's now or never, Miss Rose. If the brig once gets away from thisanchorage without me, I may never lay eyes on her ag'in. Her time isnearly up, for wood and iron wont hold together always, any morethan flesh and blood. Consider how many years I've been busy inhuntin' her up, and how hard 't will be to lose that which has givenme so many weary days and sleepless nights to find. "

Rose said no more. If not convinced, she was evidently silenced, while Harry was left to wonder and surmise, as best he might. Bothquitted the subject, to watch the people of the brig. By this timethe anchor had been lifted, and the chain was heaving in on boardthe vessel, by means of a line that had been got around its bight. The work went on rapidly, and Mulford observed to Rose that he didnot think it was the intention of Spike to remain long at theTortugas, inasmuch as his brig was riding by a very short range ofcable. This opinion was confirmed, half an hour later, when it wasseen that the launch was hooked on and hoisted in again, as soon asthe chain and anchor of the schooner were secured. 

Jack Tier watched every movement with palpable uneasiness. Hisapprehensions that Spike would obtain all he wanted, and be offbefore he could rejoin him, increased at each instant, and he didnot scruple to announce an intention to take the boat and goalongside of the Swash at every hazard, rather than be left. 

"You do not reflect on what you say, Jack, " answered Harry; "unless, indeed, it be your intention to betray us. How could you appear inthe boat, at this place, without letting it be known that we must behard by?"

"That don't follow at all, maty, " answered Jack. "Suppose I goalongside the brig and own to the captain that I took the boat lastnight, with the hope of findin' you, and that failin' to succeed, Ibore up for this port, to look for provisions and water. Miss Rosehe thinks on board at this moment, and in my judgment he would takeme at my word, give me a good cursing, and think no more about it. "

"It would never do, Jack, " interposed Rose, instantly. "It wouldcause the destruction of Harry, as Spike would not believe you hadnot found him, without an examination of this house. "

"What are they about with the yawl, Mr. Mulford?" asked Jack, whoseeye was never off the vessel for a single moment. "It's gettin' tobe so dark that one can hardly see the boat, but it seems as ifthey're about to man the yawl. "

"They are, and there goes a lantern into it. And that is Spikehimself coming down the brig's side this instant. "

"They can only bring a lantern to search this house, " exclaimedRose. "Oh! Harry, you are lost!"

"I rather think the lantern is for the light-house, " answeredMulford, whose coolness, at what was certainly a most trying moment, did not desert him. "Spike may wish to keep the light burning, foronce before, you will remember, he had it kindled after the keeperwas removed. As for his sailing, he would not be apt to sail untilthe moon rises; and in beating back to the wreck the light may serveto let him know the bearings and position of the reef. "

"There they come, " whispered Rose, half breathless with alarm. "Theboat has left the brig, and is coming directly hither!"

All this was true enough. The yawl had shoved off, and with two mento row it, was pulling for the wharf in front of the house, andamong the timbers of which lay the boat, pretty well concealedbeneath a sort of bridge. Mulford would not retreat, though helooked to the fastenings of the door as a means of increasing hischances of defence. In the stern-sheets of the boat sat two men, though it was not easy to ascertain who they were by the fadinglight. One was known to be Spike, however, and the other, it wasconjectured, must be Don Juan Montefalderon, from the circumstanceof his being in the place of honour. Three minutes solved thisquestion, the boat reaching the wharf by that time. It was instantlysecured, and all four of the men left it. Spike was now plainly tobe discerned by means of the lantern which he carried in his ownhands, He gave some orders, in his customary authoritative way, andin a high key, after which he led the way from the wharf, walkingside by side with the Señor Montefalderon. These two last came upwithin a yard of the door of the house, where they paused, enablingthose within not only to see their persons and the working of theircountenances, but to hear all that was said; this last the moreespecially, since Spike never thought it necessary to keep hispowerful voice within moderate limits. 

"It's hardly worth while, Don Wan, for you to go into thelight-house, " said Spike. "'T is but a greasy, dirty place at thebest, and one's clothes are never the better for dealin' with ile. Here, Bill, take the lantern, and get a filled can, that we may goup and trim and fill the lamp, and make a blaze. Bear a hand, lads, and I'll be a'ter ye afore you reach the lantern. Be careful withthe flame about the ile, for seamen ought never to wish to see alighthouse destroyed. "

"What do you expect to gain by lighting the lamps above, DonEsteban?" demanded the Mexican, when the sailors had disappeared inthe light-house, taking their own lantern with them. 

"It's wisest to keep things reg'lar about this spot, Don Wan, whichwill prevent unnecessary suspicions. But, as the brig stretches intoward the reef to-night, on our way back, the light will be a greatassistance. I am short of officers, you know, and want all the helpof this sort I can get. "

"To be sincere with you, Don Esteban, I greatly regret you _are_ soshort of officers, and do not yet despair of inducing you to go andtake off the mate, whom I hear you have left on a barren rock. Hewas a fine young fellow, Señor Spike, and the deed was not one thatyou will wish to remember a few years hence. "

"The fellow run, and I took him at his word, Don Wan. I'm notobliged to receive back a deserter unless it suits me. "

"We are all obliged to see we do not cause a fellow creature theloss of life. This will prove the death of the charming young womanwho is so much attached to him, unless you relent and are merciful!"

"Women have tender looks but tough hearts, " answered Spike, carelessly, though Mulford felt certain, by the tone of his voice, that great bitterness of feeling lay smothered beneath the affectedindifference of his manner; "few die of love. "

"The young lady has not been on deck all day; and the Irish womantells me that she does nothing but drink water--the certain proof ofa high fever. "

"Ay, ay, she keeps her room if you will, Don Wan, but she is notabout to make a dupe of me by any such tricks. I must go and look tothe lamps, however, and you will find the graves you seek in therear of this house, about thirty yards behind it, you'll remember. That's a very pretty cross you've made, señor, and the skipper ofthe schooner's soul will be all the better for settin' it up at thehead of his grave. "

"It will serve to let those who come after us know that a Christiansleeps beneath the sand, Don Esteban, " answered the Mexican, mildly. "I have no other expectation from this sacred symbol. "

The two now separated, Spike going into the light-house, little in ahurry, while Don Juan Montefalderon walked round the building to itsrear in quest of the grave. Mulford waited a moment for Spike to geta short distance up the stairs of the high tower he had to ascend, when placing the arm of Rose within his own, he opened the door inthe rear of the house, and walked boldly toward the Mexican. DonJuan was actually forcing the pointed end of his little cross intothe sand, at the head of his countryman's grave, when Mulford andhis trembling companion reached the spot. Although night had shutin, it was not so dark that persons could not be recognised at smalldistances. The Señor Montefalderon was startled at an apparition sosudden and unexpected, when Mulford saluted him by name; butrecognising first the voice of Harry, and then the persons ofhimself and his companion, surprise, rather than alarm, became theemotion that was uppermost. Notwithstanding the strength of thefirst of these feelings, he instantly saluted the young couple withthe polished ease that marked his manner, which had much of thecourtesy of a Castilian in it, tempered a little, perhaps, by thegreater flexibility of a Southern American. 

"I _see_ you, " exclaimed Don Juan, "and must believe my eyes. Without their evidence, however, I could scarce believe it can beyou two, one of whom I thought on board the brig, and the othersuffering a most miserable death on a naked rock. "

"I am aware of your kind feelings in our behalf, Don Juan, " saidMulford, "and it is the reason I now confide in you. I was taken offthat rock by means of the boat, which you doubtless have missed; andthis is the gentle being who has been the means of saving my life. To her and Jack Tier, who is yonder, under the shadows of the house, I owe my not being the victim of Spike's cruelty. "

"I now comprehend the whole matter, Don Henriquez. Jack Tier hasmanaged the boat for the señorita; and those whom we were told weretoo ill to be seen on deck, have been really out of the brig!"

"Such are the facts, señor, and from _you_ there is no wish toconceal them. We are then to understand that the absence of Rose andJack from the brig is not known to Spike. "

"I believe not, señor. He has alluded to both, once or twice to-day, as being ill below; but would you not do well to retire within theshade of the dwelling, lest a glance from the lantern might letthose in it know that I am not alone. "

"There is little danger, Don Juan, as they who stand near a lightcannot well see those who are in the darkness. Beside, they are highin the air, while we are on the ground, which will greatly add tothe obscurity down here. We can retire, nevertheless, as I have afew questions to ask, which may as well be put in perfect security, as put where there is any risk. "

The three now drew near the house, Rose actually stepping within itsdoor, though Harry remained on its exterior, in order to watch theproceedings of those in the light-house. Here the SeñorMontefalderon entered into a more detailed explanation of what hadoccurred on board the brig, since the appearance of day, that verymorning. According to his account of the matter, Spike hadimmediately called upon the people to explain the loss of the boat. Tier was not interrogated on this occasion, it being understood hehad gone below and turned in, after having the look-out for fullyhalf the night. As no one could, or would, give an account of themanner in which the boat was missing, Josh was ordered to go belowand question Jack on the subject. Whether it was from consciousnessof his connection with the escape of Jack, and apprehensions of theconsequences, or from innate good-nature, and a desire to befriendthe lovers, this black now admitted that Jack confessed to him thatthe boat had got away from him while endeavouring to shift the turnsof its painter from a cleet where they ought not to be, to theirproper place. This occurred early in Jack's watch, according toJosh's story, and had not been reported, as the boat did notproperly belong to the brig, and was an incumbrance rather than anadvantage. The mate admired the negro's cunning, as Don Juan relatedthis part of his story, which put him in a situation to throw allthe blame on Jack's mendacity in the event of a discovery, while ithad the effect to allow the fugitives more time for their escape. The result was, that Spike bestowed a few hearty curses, as usual, on the clumsiness of Jack Tier, and seemed to forget all about thematter. It is probable he connected Jack's abstaining from showinghimself on deck, and his alleged indisposition, with his supposeddelinquency in this matter of the boat. From that moment the captainappeared to give himself no further concern on the subject, the boathaving been, in truth, an incumbrance rather than a benefit, asstated. 

As for Rose, her keeping her room, under the circumstances, was sovery natural, that the Señor Montefalderon had been completelydeceived, as, from his tranquillity on this point, there was noquestion was the case with Spike also. Biddy appeared on deck, though the widow did not, and the Irish woman shook her headanxiously when questioned about her young mistress, giving thespectators reason to suppose that the latter was in a very bad way. 

As respects the brig and her movements, Spike had got under way assoon as there was light enough to find his course, and had runthrough the passage. It is probable that the boat was seen; forsomething that was taken for a small sail had just been made out fora single instant, and then became lost again. This little sail wasmade, if made at all, in the direction of the Dry Tortugas, but socompletely was all suspicion at rest in the minds of those on thequarter-deck of the Swash, that neither Spike nor the Mexican hadthe least idea what it was. When the circumstance was reported tothe former, he answered that it was probably some small wrecker, ofwhich many were hovering about the reef, and added, laughingly, though in a way to prove how little he thought seriously on thesubject at all, "who knows but the light-house boat has fallen intotheir hands, and that they've made sail on _her;_ if they have, myword for it, that she goes, hull, spars, rigging, canvas, and cargo, all in a lump, for salvage. "

As the brig came out of the passage, in broad day, the heads of theschooner's masts were seen, as a matter of course. This inducedSpike to heave-to, lower a boat, and to go in person to examine thecondition of the wreck. It will be seen that Jack's presence couldnow be all the better dispensed with. The examination, with thesoundings, and other calculations connected with raising the vessel, occupied hours. When they were completed, Spike returned on board, run up his boat, and squared away for the Dry Tortugas. SeñorMontefalderon confirmed the justice of Jack Tier's surmises, as tothe object of this unexpected visit. The brig had come solely forthe chain and anchor mentioned, and having secured them, it wasSpike's intention to get under way and beat up to the wreck again assoon as the moon rose. As for the sloop-of-war, he believed she hadgiven him up; for by this time she must know that she had no chancewith the brig, so long as the latter kept near the reef, and thatshe ran the constant hazard of shipwreck, while playing so near thedangers herself. 

Before the Señor Montefalderon exhausted all he had to communicate, he was interrupted by Jack Tier with a singular proposition. Jack'sgreat desire was to get on board the Swash; and he now begged theMexican to let Mulford take the yawl and scull him off to the brig, and return to the islet before Spike and his companions shoulddescend from the lantern of the light-house. The little fellowinsisted there was sufficient time for such a purpose, as the threein the lantern had not yet succeeded in filling the lamps with theoil necessary to their burning for a night--a duty that usuallyoccupied the regular keeper for an hour. Five or six minutes wouldsuffice for him; and if he were seen going up the brig's side, itwould be easy for him to maintain that he had come ashore in theboat. No one took such precise note of what was going on; as to beable to contradict him; and as to Spike and the men with him, theywould probably never hear anything about it. 

Don Juan Montefalderon was struck with the boldness of Jack Tier'splan, but refused his assent to it. He deemed it too hazardous, butsubstituted a project of his own. The moon would not rise until neareleven, and it wanted several hours before the time of sailing. Whenthey returned to the brig, he would procure his cloak, and scullhimself ashore, being perfectly used to managing a boat in this way, under the pretence of wishing to pass an hour longer near the graveof his countryman. At the expiration of that hour he would take Jackoff, concealed beneath his cloak--an exploit of no great difficultyin the darkness, especially as no one would be on deck but a hand ortwo keeping the anchor-watch. With this arrangement, therefore, JackTier was obliged to be content. 

Some fifteen or twenty minutes more passed; during which the Mexicanagain alluded to his country, and his regrets at her deplorablesituation. The battles of the 8th and 9th of May; two combats thatought to, and which will reflect high honour on the little army thatwon them, as well as on that hardly worked, and in some respectshardly used, service to which they belong, had been just fought. DonJuan mentioned these events without reserve; and frankly admittedthat success had fallen to the portion of much the weaker party. Heascribed the victory to the great superiority of the Americanofficers of inferior rank; it being well known that in the serviceof the "Republic of the North, " as he termed America, men who hadbeen regularly educated at the military academy, and who had reachedthe period of middle life, were serving in the stations of captains, and sometimes in that of lieutenants; men who, in many cases, werefitted to command regiments and brigades, having been kept in theselower stations by the tardiness with which promotion comes in anarmy like that of this country. 

Don Juan Montefalderon was not sufficiently conversant with thesubject, perhaps, else he might have added, that when occasions _do_offer to bestow on these gentlemen the preferment they have sohardly and patiently earned, they are too often neglected, in orderto extend the circle of vulgar political patronage. He did not knowthat when a new regiment of dragoons was raised, one permanent inits character, and intended to be identified with the army in allfuture time, that, instead of giving its commissions to those whohad fairly earned them by long privations and faithful service, theywere given, with one or two exceptions, to strangers. 

No government trifles more with its army and navy than our own. Soniggardly are the master-spirits at Washington of the honours justlyearned by military men, that we have fleets still commanded bycaptains, and armies by officers whose regular duty it would be tocommand brigades. The world is edified with the sight of forcessufficient, in numbers, and every other military requisite, to makeone of Napoleon's _corps de armée, _ led by one whose commissionwould place him properly at the head of a brigade, and nobly led, too. Here, when so favourable an occasion offers to add a regimentor two to the old permanent line of the army, and thus infuse newlife into its hope deferred, the opportunity is overlooked, and therank and file are to be obtained by cramming, instead of by agenerous regard to the interests of the gallant gentlemen who havedone so much for the honour of the American name, and, unhappily, solittle for themselves. The extra-patriots of the nation, and theyform a legion large enough to trample the "Halls of the Montezumas"under their feet, tell us that the reward of those other patriotsbeneath the shadows of the Sierra Madre, is to be in the love andapprobation of their fellow citizens, at the very moment when theyare giving the palpable proof of the value of this esteem, and ofthe inconstancy of popular applause, by pointing their fingers, onaccount of an inadvertent expression in a letter, at the gallantsoldier who taught, in our own times, the troops of this country tostand up to the best appointed regiments of England, and to carryoff victory from the pride of Europe, in fair field-fights. Alas!alas! it is true of nations as well as of men, in their simplest andearliest forms of association, that there are "secrets in allfamilies;" and it will no more do to dwell on our own, than it wouldedify us to expose those of poor Mexico. 

The discourse between the Señor Montefalderon and Mulford wasinteresting, as it ever has been when the former spoke of hisunfortunate country. On the subject of the battles of May he wascandid, and admitted his deep mortification and regrets. He hadexpected more from the force collected on the Rio Grande, though, understanding the northern character better than most of hiscountrymen, he had not been as much taken by surprise as the greatbulk of his own nation. 

"Nevertheless, Don Henrique, " he concluded, for the voice of Spikewas just then heard as he was descending the stairs of thelight-house, "nevertheless, Don Henrique, there is one thing thatyour people, brave, energetic, and powerful as I acknowledge them tobe, would do well to remember, and it is this--no nation of thenumbers of ours can be, or ever was conquered, unless by the forceof political combinations. In a certain state of society agovernment may be overturned, or a capital taken, and carry a wholecountry along with it, but our condition is one not likely to bringabout such a result. We are of a race different from theAnglo-Saxon, and it will not be easy either to assimilate us to yourown, or wholly to subdue us. In those parts of the country, wherethe population is small, in time, no doubt, the Spanish race mightbe absorbed, and your sway established; but ages of war would benecessary entirely to obliterate our usages, our language, and ourreligion from the peopled portions of Mexico. "

It might be well for some among us to reflect on these matters. Theopinions of Don Juan, in our judgment, being entitled to theconsideration of all prudent and considerate men. 

As Spike descended to the door of the light-house, Harry, Rose, andJack Tier retired within that of the dwelling. Presently the voiceof the captain was heard hailing the Mexican, and together theywalked to the wharf, the former boasting to the latter of hissuccess in making a brilliant light. Brilliant it was, indeed; sobrilliant as to give Mulford many misgivings on the subject of theboat. The light from the lantern fell upon the wharf, and he couldsee the boat from the window where he stood, with Spike standingnearly over it, waiting for the men to get his own yawl ready. It istrue, the captain's back was toward the dangerous object, and theplanks of the bridge were partly between him and it; but there was aserious danger that was solely averted by the circumstance thatSpike was so earnestly dilating on some subject to Don Juan, as tolook only at that gentleman's face. A minute later they were all inthe yawl, which pulled rapidly toward the brig. 

Don Juan Montefalderon was not long absent. Ten minutes sufficed forthe boat to reach the Swash, for him to obtain his cloak, and toreturn to the islet alone, no one in the vessel feeling a desire tointerfere with his imaginary prayers. As for the people, it was notprobable that one in the brig could have been induced to accompanyhim to the graves at that hour; though everybody but Josh hadturned-in, as he informed Mulford, to catch short naps previously tothe hour of getting the brig under way. As for the steward, he hadbeen placed on the look-out as the greatest idler on board. All thiswas exceedingly favourable to Jack Tier's project, since Josh wasalready in the secret of his absence, and would not be likely tobetray his return. After a brief consultation, it was agreed to waithalf an hour or an hour, in order to let the sleepers lose allconsciousness, when Don Juan proposed returning to the vessel withhis new companion. 

The thirty or forty minutes that succeeded were passed in generalconversation. On this occasion the Señor Montefalderon spoke morefreely than he had yet done of recent events. He let it be plainlyseen how much he despised Spike, and how irksome to him was theintercourse he was obliged to maintain, and to which he onlysubmitted through a sense of duty. The money known to be in theschooner, was of a larger amount than had been supposed; and everydollar was so important to Mexico, at that moment, that he did notlike to abandon it, else, did he declare, that he would quit thebrig at once, and share in the fortunes of Harry and Rose. Hecourteously expressed his best wishes for the happiness of the youngcouple, and delicately intimated that, under the circumstances, hesupposed that they would be united as soon as they could reach aplace where the marriage rite could be celebrated. This was said inthe most judicious way possible; so delicately as not to wound anyone's feelings, and in a way to cause it to resemble theannouncement of an expectation, rather than the piece of paternaladvice for which it was really intended. Harry was delighted withthis suggestion of his Mexican friend--the most loyal American maystill have a sincere friend of Mexican birth and Mexican feelings, too--since it favoured not only his secret wishes, but his secretexpectations also. 

At the appointed moment, Don Juan Montefalderon and Jack Tier tooktheir leave of the two they left behind them. Rose manifested whatto Harry seemed a strange reluctance to part with the littlesteward; but Tier was bent on profiting by this excellentopportunity to get back to the brig. They went, accordingly, and theanxious listeners, who watched the slightest movement of the yawl, from the shore, had reason to believe that Jack was smuggled inwithout detection. They heard the familiar sound of the oar fallingin the boat, and Mulford said that Josh's voice might bedistinguished, answering to a call from Don Juan. No noise orclamour was heard, such as Spike would certainly have made, had hedetected the deception that had been practised on himself. 

Harry and Rose were now alone. The former suggested that the lattershould take possession of one of the little bed-rooms that areusually to be found in American dwellings of the dimensions andhumble character of the lighthouse abode, while he kept watch untilthe brig should sail. Until Spike was fairly off, he would not trusthimself to sleep; but there was no sufficient reason why Rose shouldnot endeavour to repair the evil of a broken night's rest, like thatwhich had been passed in the boat. With this understanding, then, our heroine took possession of her little apartment, where she threwherself on the bed in her clothes, while Mulford walked out into theair, as the most effective means of helping to keep his eyes open. 

It was now some time past ten, and before eleven the moon wouldrise. The mate consequently knew that his watch could not be longbefore Spike would quit the neighbourhood--a circumstance pregnantwith immense relief to him, at least. So long as that unscrupulous, and now nearly desperate, man remained anywhere near Rose, he feltthat she could not be safe; and as he paced the sands, on the off, or outer side of the islet, in order to be beyond the influence ofthe light in the lantern, his eye was scarcely a moment taken awayfrom the Swash, so impatiently and anxiously did he wait for thesigns of some movement on board her. 

The moon rose, and Mulford heard the well-known raps on thebooby-hatch, which precedes the call of "all hands, " on board amerchant-man. "All hands up anchor, ahoy!" succeeded, and in lessthan five minutes the bustle on board the brig announced the fact, that her people were "getting the anchor. " By this time it had gotto be so light that the mate deemed it prudent to return to thehouse, in order that he might conceal his person within its shadows. Awake Rose he would not, though he knew she would witness thedeparture of the Swash with a satisfaction little short of his own. He thought he would wait, that when he did speak to her at all, itmight be to announce their entire safety. As regarded the aunt, Rosewas much relieved on her account, by the knowledge that Jack Tierwould not fail to let Mrs. Budd know everything connected with herown situation and prospects. The desertion of Jack, after coming sofar with her, had pained our heroine in a way we cannot at presentexplain; but go he would, probably feeling assured there was nolonger any necessity for his continuance with the lovers, in orderto prevail on Rose to escape from Spike. 

The Swash was not long in getting her ground-tackle, and the brigwas soon seen with her topsail aback, waiting to cat the anchor. This done, the yards swung round, and the topsail filled. It wasblowing just a good breeze for such a craft to carry whole sail on abow-line with, and away the light and active craft started, like theracer that is galloping for daily exercise. Of course there wereseveral passages by which a vessel might quit the group of islets, some being larger, and some smaller, but all having sufficient waterfor a brigantine of the Molly's draught. Determined not to lose aninch of distance unnecessarily, Spike luffed close up to the wind, making an effort to pass out to windward of the light. In order todo this, however, it became necessary for him to make two shorttacks within the haven, which brought him far enough to thesouthward and eastward to effect his purpose. While this was doing, the mate, who perfectly understood the object of the manoeuvres, passed to the side of the light-house that was opposite to that onwhich the dwelling was placed, with a view to get a better sight ofthe vessel as she stood out to sea. In order to do this, however, itwas necessary for the young man to pass through a broad bit ofmoonlight but he trusted for his not being seen, to the activemanner in which all hands were employed on board the vessel. Itwould seem that, in this respect, Mulford trusted without his host, for as the vessel drew near, he perceived that six or eight figureswere on the guns of the Swash, or in her rigging, gesticulatingeagerly, and seemingly pointing to the very spot where he stood. When the brig got fairly abeam of the light, she would not be ahundred yards distant from it, and fearful to complete the exposureof his person, which he had so inadvertently and unexpectedlycommenced, our mate drew up close to the wall of the light-house, against which he sustained himself in a position as immovable aspossible. This movement had been seen by a single seaman on boardthe Swash, and the man happened to be one of those who had landedwith Spike only two hours before. His name was Barlow. 

"Captain Spike, sir, " called out Barlow, who was coiling up riggingon the forecastle, and was consequently obliged to call out so loudas to be heard by all on board, "yonder is a man at the foot of thelight-house. "

By this time, the moon coming out bright through an opening in theclouds, Mulford had become conscious of the risk he ran, and wasdrawn up, as immovable as the pile itself, against the stones of thelight-house. Such an announcement brought everybody to leeward, andevery head over the bulwarks. Spike himself sprang into the leemain-chains, where his view was unobstructed, and where Mulford sawand recognised him, even better than he was seen and recognised inhis own person. All this time the brig was moving ahead. 

"A man, Barlow!" exclaimed Spike, in the way one a little bewilderedby an announcement expresses his surprise. "A man! that can neverbe. There is no one at the light-house, you know. "

"There he stands, sir, with his back to the tower, and his face thisway. His dark figure against the white-washed stones is plain enoughto be seen. Living, or dead, sir, that is the mate!"

"_Living_ it cannot be, " answered Spike, though he gulped at thewords the next moment. 

A general exclamation now showed that everybody recognised the mate, whose figure, stature, dress, and even features, were by this timeall tolerably distinct. The fixed attitude, however, the immovablestatue-like rigidity of the form, and all the other knowncircumstances of Harry's case, united to produce a common andsimultaneous impression among the superstitious mariners, that whatthey saw was but the ghostly shadow of one lately departed to theworld of spirits. Even Spike was not free from this illusion, andhis knees shook beneath him, there where he stood, in the channelsof a vessel that he had handled like a top in so many gales andtempests. With him, however, the illusion was neither absolute norlasting. A second thought told him it could scarcely be so, and thenhe found his voice. By this time the brig was nearly abreast ofwhere Harry stood. 

"You Josh!" called out Spike, in a voice of thunder, loud enough tostartle even Mrs. Budd and Biddy in their berths. 

"Lor' help us all!" answered the negro, "what _will_ come nextt'ing aboard dis wessel! Here I be, sir. "

"Pass the fowling-piece out of my state-room. Both barrels areloaded with ball; I'll try him, though the bullets _are_ only lead. "

A common exclamation of dissatisfaction escaped the men, while Joshwas obeying the order. "It's no use. "

"You never can hurt one of them things, " "Something will befall thebrig on account of this, " and "It's the mate's sperit, and speritscan't be harmed by lead or iron, " were the sort of remarks made bythe seamen, during the short interval between the issuing the orderfor the fowling-piece and its execution. 

"There 't is, Cap'in Spike, " said Josh, passing the piece up throughthe rigging, "but 't will no more shoot _that_ thing, than one ofour carronades would blow up Gibraltar. "

By this time Spike was very determined, his lips being compressedand his teeth set, as he took the gun and cocked it. Then he hailed. As all that passed occurred, as it might be, at once, the brig evenat that moment was little more than abreast of the immovable mate, and about eighty yards from him. 

"Light-house, there!" cried Spike--"Living or dead, answer or Ifire. "

No answer came, and no motion appeared in the dark figure that wasnow very plainly visible, under a bright moon, drawn in high reliefagainst the glittering white of the tower. Spike dropped the muzzleto its aim, and fired. 

So intense was the attention of all in the Swash, that a wink ofHarry's could almost have been seen, had he betrayed even thatslight sign of human infirmity at the flash and the report. The ballwas flattened against a stone of the building, within a foot of themate's body; but he did not stir. All depended now on his perfectimmovability, as he well knew; and he so far commanded himself, asto remain rigid as if of stone himself. 

"There! one can see how it is--no life in that being, " said one. "Iknow'd how it would end, " added another. "Nothing but silver, andthat cast on purpose, will ever lay it, " continued a third. ButSpike disregarded all. This time he was resolved that his aim shouldbe better, and he was inveterately deliberate in getting it. Just ashe pulled the trigger, however, Don Juan Montefalderon touched hiselbow, the piece was fired, and there stood the immovable figure asbefore, fixed against the tower. Spike was turning angrily to chidehis Mexican friend for deranging his aim, when the report of ananswering musket came back like an echo. Every eye was turned towardthe figure, but it moved not. Then the humming sound of an advancingball was heard, and a bullet passed, whistling hoarsely, through therigging, and fell some distance to windward. Every head disappearedbelow the bulwarks. Even Spike was so far astonished as to spring inupon deck, and, for a single instant, not a man was to be seen abovethe monkey-rail of the brig. Then Spike recovered himself and jumpedupon a gun. His first look was toward the light-house, now on thevessel's lee-quarter; but the spot where had so lately been seen theform of Mulford, showed nothing but the glittering brightness of thewhite-washed stones!

The reader will not be surprised to learn that all these eventsproduced a strange and deep impression on board the Molly Swash. Thefew who might have thrown a little light on the matter werediscreetly silent, while all that portion of the crew which was inthe dark, firmly believed that the spirit of the murdered mate wasvisiting them, in order to avenge the wrongs inflicted on it in theflesh. The superstition of sailors is as deep as it is general. Allthose of the Molly, too, were salts of the old school, sea-dogs of apast generation, properly speaking, and mariners who had got theirnotions in the early part of the century, when the spirit ofprogress was less active than it is at present. 

Spike himself might have had other misgivings, and believed that hehad seen the living form of his intended victim, but for theextraordinary and ghost-like echo of his last discharge. There wasnothing visible, or intelligible, from which that fire could havecome, and he was perfectly bewildered by the whole occurrence. Anintention to round-to, as soon as through the passage, down boat andland, which had been promptly conceived when he found that his firstaim had failed, was as suddenly abandoned, and he gave the commandto "board fore-tack;" immediately after, his call was to "pack on thebrig, " and not without a little tremour in his voice, as soon as heperceived that the figure had vanished. The crew was not slow toobey these orders, and in ten minutes, the Swash was a mile from thelight, standing to the northward and eastward, under a press ofcanvas, and with a freshening breeze. 

To return to the islets. Harry, from the first, had seen thateverything depended on his remaining motionless. As the people ofthe brig were partly in shadow, he could not, and did not, fullyunderstand how completely he was himself exposed, in consequence ofthe brightness of all around him, and he had at first hoped to bemistaken for some accidental resemblance to a man. His nerves werewell tried by the use of the fowling-piece, but they proved equal tothe necessities of the occasion. But, when an answering report camefrom the rear, or from the opposite side of the islet, he dartedround the tower, as much taken by surprise, and overcome by wonder, as any one else who heard it. It was this rapid movement whichcaused his flight to be unnoticed, all the men of the brig dodgingbelow their own bulwarks at that precise instant. 

As the light-house was now between the mate and the brig, he had nolonger any motive for trying to conceal himself. His first thoughtwas of Rose, and, strange as it may seem, for some little time hefancied that she had found a musket in the dwelling, and dischargedit, in order to aid his escape. The events had passed so swiftly, that there was no time for the cool consideration of anything, andit is not surprising that some extravagances mingled with the firstsurmises of all these. 

On reaching the door of the house, therefore, Harry was by no meanssurprised at seeing Rose standing in it, gazing at the swiftlyreceding brigantine. He even looked for the musket, expecting to seeit lying at her feet, or leaning against the wall of the building. Rose, however, was entirely unarmed, and as dependent on him forsupport, as when he had parted from her, an hour or two before. 

"Where did you find that musket, Rose, and what have you done withit?" inquired Harry, as soon as he had looked in every place hethought likely to hold such an implement. 

"Musket, Harry! I have had no musket, though the report offire-arms, near by, awoke me from a sweet sleep. "

"Is this possible! I had imprudently trusted myself on the otherside of the light-house, while the moon was behind clouds, and whenthey broke suddenly away, its light betrayed me to those on boardthe brig. Spike fired at me twice, without injuring me; when, to myastonishment, an answering report was heard from the islet. What ismore, the piece was charged with a ball-cartridge, for I heard thewhistling of the bullet as it passed on its way to the brig. "

"And you supposed I had fired that musket?"

"Whom else could I suppose had done it? You are not a very likelyperson to do such a thing, I will own, my love; but there are nonebut us two here. "

"It must be Jack Tier, " exclaimed Rose suddenly. 

"That is impossible, since he has left us. "

"One never knows. Jack understood how anxious I was to retain himwith us, and he is so capricious and full of schemes, that he mayhave contrived to get out of the brig, as artfully as he got onboard her. "

"If Jack Tier be actually on this islet, I shall set him down aslittle else than a conjuror. "

"Hist!" interrupted Rose, "what noise is that in the direction ofthe wharf? It sounds like an oar falling in a boat. "

Mulford heard that well-known sound, as well as his companion, and, followed by Rose, he passed swiftly through the house, coming out atthe front, next the wharf. The moon was still shining bright, andthe mystery of the echoing report, and answering shot, wasimmediately explained. A large boat, one that pulled ten oars, atleast, was just coming up to the end of the wharf, and the manner inwhich its oars were unshipped and tossed, announced to the mate thatthe crew were man-of-war's men. He walked hastily forward to meetthem. 

Three officers first left the boat together. The gold bands of theircaps showed that they belonged to the quarter-deck, a fact that thelight of the moon made apparent at once, though it was not strongenough to render features distinct. As Mulford continued to advance, however, the three officers saluted him. 

"I see you have got the light under way once more, " observed theleader of the party. "Last night it was as dark as Erebus in yourlantern. "

"The light-house keeper and his assistant have both been drowned, "answered Mulford. "The lamps have been lit to-night by the people ofthe brig which has just gone out. "

"Pray, sir, what brig may that be?"

"The Molly Swash, of New York; a craft that I lately belonged tomyself, but which I have left on account of her evil doings. "

"The Molly Swash, Stephen Spike master and owner, bound to Key Westand a market, with a cargo of eight hundred barrels of flour, andthat of a quality so lively and pungent that it explodes likegunpowder! I beg your pardon, Mr. Mate, for not recognising yousooner. Have you forgotten the Poughkeepsie, Captain Mull, and herfar-reaching Paixhans?"

"I ought to ask your pardon, Mr. Wallace, for not recognising _you_sooner, too. But one does not distinguish well by moonlight. I amdelighted to see you, sir, and now hope that, with my assistance, astop can be put to the career of the brig. "

"What, Mr. Mate, do _you_ turn against your craft?" said Wallace, under the impulsive feeling which induces all loyal men to have adistaste for treachery of every sort, "the seaman should love thevery planks of his vessel. "

"I fully understand you, Mr. Wallace, and will own that, for a longtime, I was tied to rascality by the opinions to which you allude. But, when you come to hear my explanation, I do not fear yourjudgment in the least. "

Mulford now led the way into the house, whither Rose had alreadyretreated, and where she had lighted candles, and made other womanlyarrangements for receiving her guests. At Harry's suggestion, someof the soup was placed over coals, to warm up for the party, and ourheroine made her preparations to comfort them also with a cup oftea. While she was thus employed, Mulford gave the whole history ofhis connection with the brig, his indisposition to quit the latter, the full exposure of Spike's treason, his own desertion, ifdesertion it could be called, the loss of the schooner, and hisabandonment on the rock, and the manner in which he had been finallyrelieved. It was scarcely possible to relate all these matters, andaltogether avoid allusions to the schemes of Spike in connectionwith Rose, and the relation in which our young man himself stoodtoward her. Although Mulford touched on these points with greatdelicacy, it was as a seaman talking to seamen, and he could notentirely throw aside the frankness of the profession. Ashore, menlive in the privacy of their own domestic circles, and theirsecrets, and secret thoughts, are "family secrets, " of which it haspassed into a proverb to say, that there are always some, even inthe best of these communities. On shipboard, or in the camp, it isvery different. The close contact in which men are brought with eachother, the necessity that exists for opening the heart and expandingthe charities, gets in time to influence the whole character, and acertain degree of frankness and simplicity, takes the place of thereserve and acting that might have been quickened in the sameindividual, under a different system of schooling. But Mulford wasfrank by nature, as well as by his sea-education, and his companionson this occasion were pretty well possessed of all his wishes andplans, in reference to Rose, even to his hope of falling in with thechaplain of the Poughkeepsie, by the time his story was all told. The fact that Rose was occupied in another room, most of the time, had made these explanations all the easier, and spared her many ablush. As for the man-of-war's men, they listened to the tale, withmanly interest and a generous sympathy. 

"I am glad to hear your explanation, Mr. Mate, " said Wallace, cordially, as soon as Harry had done, "and there's my hand, in proofthat I approve of your course. I own to a radical dislike of aturncoat, or a traitor to his craft, Brother Hollins"--looking atthe elder of his two companions, one of whom was the midshipman whohad originally accompanied him on board the Swash--"and am glad tofind that our friend Mulford here is neither. A true-hearted sailorcan be excused for deserting even his own ship, under suchcircumstances. "

"I am glad to hear even this little concession from you, Wallace, "answered Hollins, good-naturedly, and speaking with a mildexpression of benevolence, on a very calm and thoughtfulcountenance. "Your mess is as heteredox as any I ever sailed with, on the subject of our duties, in this respect. "

"I hold it to be a sailor's duty to stick by his ship, reverend anddear sir. "

This mode of address, which was used by the "ship's gentleman" inthe cant of the ward-room, as a pleasantry of an old shipmate, forthe two had long sailed together in other vessels, at once announcedto Harry that he saw the very chaplain for whose presence he hadbeen so anxiously wishing. The "reverend and dear sir" smiled at thesally of his friend, a sort of thing to which he was very wellaccustomed, but he answered with a gravity and point that, it is tobe presumed, he thought befitting his holy office. 

It may be well to remark here, that the Rev. Mr. Hollins was not oneof the "lunch'd chaplains, " that used to do discredit to the navy ofthis country, or a layman dubbed with such a title, and rated thathe might get the pay and become a boon companion of the captain, atthe table and in his frolics ashore. Those days are gone by, andministers of the gospel are now really employed to care for thesouls of the poor sailors, who so long have been treated by others, and have treated themselves, indeed, as if they were beings withoutsouls, altogether. In these particulars, the world has certainlyadvanced, though the wise and the good, in looking around them, mayfeel more cause for astonishment in contemplating what it once was, than to rejoice in what it actually is. But intellect has certainlyimproved in the aggregate, if not in its especial dispensations, andmen will not now submit to abuses that, within the recollections ofa generation, they even cherished. In reference to the moreintellectual appointments of a ship of war, the commander excepted, for we contend he who directs all, ought to possess the mostcapacity, but, in reference to what are ordinarily believed to bethe more intellectual appointments of a vessel of war, the surgeonand the chaplain, we well recollect opinions that were expressed tous, many years since, by two officers of the highest rank known tothe service. "When I first entered the navy, " said one of these oldBenbows, "if I had occasion for the amputation of a leg, and thequestion lay between the carpenter and the doctor, d--e, but I wouldhave tried the carpenter first, for I felt pretty certain he wouldhave been the most likely to get through with the job. " "In oldtimes, " said the other, "when a chaplain joined a ship, the questionimmediately arose, whether the mess were to convert the chaplain, orthe chaplain, the mess; and the mess generally got the best of it. "There was very little exaggeration in either of these opinions. But, happily, all this is changed vastly for the better, and anavy-surgeon is necessarily a man of education and experience; invery many instances, men of high talents are to be found among them;while chaplains can do something better than play at backgammon, eatterrapins, when in what may be called terra-pin-ports, and drinkbrandy and water, or pure Bob Smith. 1

"It is a great mistake, Wallace, to fancy that the highest duty aman owes, is either to his ship or to his country, " observed theRey. Mr. Hollins, quietly. "The highest duty of each and all of us, is to God; and whatever conflicts with that duty, must be avoided asa transgression of his laws, and consequently as sin. "

"You surprise me, reverend and dear sir! I do not remember ever tohave heard you broach such opinions before, which might beinterpreted to mean that a fellow might be disloyal to his flag. "

"Because the opinion might be liable to misinterpretation. Still, Ido not go as far as many of my friends on this subject. If Decaturever really said, `Our country, right or wrong, ' he said what mightbe just enough, and creditable enough, in certain cases, and takenwith the fair limitations that he probably intended should accompanythe sentiment; but, if he meant it as an absolute and controllingprinciple, it was not possible to be more in error. In this lastsense, such a rule of conduct might, and in old times often would, have justified idolatry; nay, it _is_ a species of idolatry initself, since it is putting country before God. Sailors may notalways be able to make the just distinctions in these cases, but thequarter-deck should be so, irreverend and dear sir. "

Wallace laughed, and then he turned the discourse to the subjectmore properly before them. 

"I understand you to say, Mr. Mulford, " he remarked, "that, in youropinion, the Swash has gone to try to raise the unfortunate Mexicanschooner, a second time, from the depths of the ocean?"

"From the rock on which she lies. Under the circumstances, I hardlythink he would have come hither for the chain and cable, unless withsome such object. We know, moreover, thut such _was_ his intentionwhen we left the brig. "

"And you can take us to the very spot where that wreck lies?"

"Without any difficulty. Her masts are partly out of water, and wehung on to them, in our boat, no later than last night, or thismorning rather. "

"So far, well. Your conduct in all this affair will be dulyappreciated, and Captain Mull will not fail to represent it in aright point of view to the government. "

"Where is the ship, sir? I looked for her most anxiously, withoutsuccess, last evening; nor had Jack Tier, the little fellow I havenamed to you, any better luck; though I sent him aloft, as high asthe lantern in the light-house, for that purpose. "

"The ship is off here to the northward and westward, some sixleagues or so. At sunset she may have been a little further. We havesupposed that the Swash would be coming back hither, and had laid atrap for her, which came very near taking her alive. "

"What is the trap you mean, sir--though taking Stephen Spike alive, is sooner said than done. "

"Our plan has been to catch him with our boats. With the greaterdraft of water of the Poughkeepsie, and the heels of your brig, sir, a regular chase about these reefs, as we knew from experience, wouldbe almost hopeless. It was, therefore, necessary to use head-work, and some man-of-war traverses, in order to lay hold of him. Yesterday afternoon we hoisted out three cutters, manned them, andmade sail in them all, under our luggs, working up against thetrades. Each boat took its own course, one going off, the west endof the reef, one going more to the eastward, while I came this way, to look in at the Dry Tortugas. Spike will be lucky if he do notfall in with our third cutter, which is under the fourth lieutenant, should he stand on far on the same tack as that on which he leftthis place. Let him try his fortune, however. As for our boat, assoon as I saw the lamps burning in the lantern, I made the best ofmy way hither, and got sight of the brig, just as she loosened hersails. Then I took in my own luggs, and came on with the oars. Hadwe continued under our canvas, with this breeze, I almost think wemight have overhauled the rascal. "

"It would have been impossible, sir. The moment he got a sight ofyour sails, he would have been off in a contrary direction, and thatbrig really seems to fly, whenever there is a pressing occasion forher to move. You did the wisest thing you could have done, andbarely missed him, as it was. He has not seen you at all, as it is, and will be all the less on his guard, against the next visit fromthe ship. "

"Not seen me! Why, sir, the fellow fired at us _t_wice with amusket; why he did not use a carronade, is more than I can tell. "

"Excuse me, Mr. Wallace; those two shots were intended for me, though I now fully comprehend why you answered them. "

"Answered them! yes, indeed; who would not answer such a salute, andgun for gun, if he had a chance. I certainly thought he was firingat us, and having a musket between my legs, I let fly in return, andeven the chaplain here will allow that was returning `good forevil. ' But explain your meaning. "

Mulford now went into the details of the incidents connected withhis coming into the moon-light, at the foot of the light-house. Thathe was not mistaken as to the party for whom the shots wereintended, was plain enough to him, from the words that passed aloudamong the people of the Swash, as well as from the circumstance thatboth balls struck the stones of the tower quite near him. Thisstatement explained everything to Wallace, who now fullycomprehended the cause and motive of each incident. 

It was now near eleven, and Rose had prepared the table for supper. The gentlemen of the Poughkeepsie manifested great interest in themovements of the Hebe-like little attendant who was caring for theirwants. When the cloth was to be laid, the midshipman offered hisassistance, but his superior directed him to send a hand or two upfrom the wharf, where the crew of the cutter were lounging orsleeping after their cruise. These men had been thought of, too; anda vessel filled with smoking soup was taken to them, by one of theirown number. 

The supper was as cheerful as it was excellent. The dry humour ofWallace, the mild intelligence of the chaplain, the good sense ofHarry, and the spirited information of Rose, contributed, each inits particular way, to make the meal memorable in more senses thanone. The laugh came easily at that table, and it was twelve o'clock, before the party thought of breaking up. 

The dispositions for the night were soon made. Rose returned to herlittle room, where she could now sleep in comfort, and withoutapprehension. The gentlemen made the disposition of their persons, that circumstances allowed; each finding something on which torepose, that was preferable to a plank. As for the men, they wereaccustomed to hard fare, and enjoyed their present good-luck, to thetop of their bent. It was quite late, before they had done "spinningtheir yarns, " and "cracking their jokes, " around the pot ofturtle-soup, and the can of grog that succeeded it. By half-pasttwelve, however, everybody was asleep. 

Mulford was the first person afoot the following morning. He leftthe house just as the sun rose, and perceiving that the "coast wasclear" of sharks, he threw off his light attire, and plunged intothe sea. Refreshed with this indulgence, he was returning toward thebuilding, when he met the chaplain coming in quest of him. Thisgentleman, a man of real piety, and of great discretion, had beensingularly struck, on the preceding night, with the narrative of ouryoung mate; and he had not failed to note the allusions, slight asthey were, and delicately put as they had been, to himself. He saw, at once, the propriety of marrying a couple so situated, and nowsought Harry, with a view to bring about so desirable an event, byintimating his entire willingness to officiate. It is scarcelynecessary to say that very few words were wanting, to persuade theyoung man to fall into his views; and as to Rose, he had handed hera short note on the same subject, which he was of opinion, would belikely to bring her to the same way of thinking. 

An hour later, all the officers, Harry and Rose, were assembled inwhat might be termed the light-house parlour. The Rev. Mr. Hollinshad neither band, gown, nor surplice; but he had what was farbetter, feeling and piety. Without a prayer-book he never moved; andhe read the marriage ceremony with a solemnity that was communicatedto all present. The ring was that which had been used at themarriage of Rose's parents, and which she wore habitually, thoughnot on the left hand. In a word, Harry and Rose were as firmly andlegally united, on that solitary and almost unknown islet, as couldhave been the case, had they stood up before the altar of motherTrinity itself, with a bishop to officiate, and a legion ofattendants. After the compliments which succeeded the ceremony, thewhole party sat down to breakfast. 

If the supper had been agreeable, the morning meal was not less so. Rose was timid and blushing, as became a bride, though she could notbut feel how much more respectable her position became under theprotection of Harry as his wife, than it had been while she was onlyhis betrothed. The most delicate deportment, on the part of hercompanions, soon relieved her embarrassment however, and thebreakfast passed off without cause for an unhappy moment. 

"The ship's standing in toward the light, sir, " reported thecockswain of the cutter, as the party was still lingering around thetable, as if unwilling to bring so pleasant a meal to a close. "Since the mist has broke away, we see her, sir, even to her portsand dead-eyes. "

"In that case, Sam, she can't be very far off, " answered Wallace. "Ay, there goes a gun from her, at this moment, as much as to say, `what has become of all of my boats?' Run down and let off a musket;perhaps she will make out to hear that, as we must be rather towindward, if anything. "

The signal was given and understood. A quarter of an hour later, thePoughkeepsie began to shorten sail. Then Wallace stationed himselfin the cutter, in the centre of one of the passages, signalling theship to come on. Ten minutes later still, the noble craft came intothe haven, passing the still burning light, with her topsails justlifting, and making a graceful sweep under very reduced sail, shecame to the wind, very near the spot where the Swash had lain onlyten hours before, and dropped an anchor. 

1. In the palmy days of the service, when Robert Smith was so longSecretary of the Navy, the ship's whisky went by this familiar_sobriquet_. 

CHAPTER V. 

 The gull has found her place on shore; The sun gone down again to rest; And all is still but ocean's roar; There stands the man unbless'd. But see, he moves--he turns, as asking where His mates? Why looks he with that piteous stare?

Dana. 

Superstition would seem to be a consequence of a state of being, inwhich so much is shadowed forth, while so little is accuratelyknown. Our far-reaching thoughts range over the vast fields ofcreated things, without penetrating to the secret cause of theexistence of even a blade of grass. We can analyze all substancesthat are brought into our crucibles, tell their combinations andtendencies, give a scientific history of their formation, so far asit is connected with secondary facts, their properties, and theiruses; but in each and all, there is a latent natural cause, thatbaffles all our inquiries, and tells us that we are merely men. Thisis just as true in morals, as in physics--no man living being equalto attaining the very faith that is necessary to his salvation, without the special aid of the spirit of the godhead; and even withthat mighty support, trusting implicitly for all that is connectedwith a future that we are taught to believe is eternal, to "thesubstance of things _hoped_ for, and the evidence of things_unseen_. " In a word, this earthly probation of ours, was intendedfor finite beings, in the sense of our present existence, leavingfar more to be conjectured, than is understood. 

Ignorance and superstition ever bear a close, and even amathematical relation to each other. The degrees of the one, areregulated by the degrees of the other. He who knows the leastbelieves the most; while he who has seen the most, without theintelligence to comprehend that which he has seen, feels, perhaps, the strongest inclination to refer those things which to him aremysteries, to the supernatural and marvellous. Sailors have been, from time immemorial, more disposed than men of their class on theland, to indulge in this weakness, which is probably heightened bythe circumstance of their living constantly and vividly in thepresence of powers that menace equally their lives and their means, without being in any manner subject to their control. 

Spike, for a seaman of his degree of education, was not particularlyaddicted to the weakness to which we have just alluded. Nevertheless, he was not altogether free from it; and recentcircumstances contributed to dispose him so much the more to admit afeeling which, like sin itself, is ever the most apt to insinuateitself at moments of extraordinary moral imbecility, and through theopenings left by previous transgression. As his brig stood off fromthe light, the captain paced the deck, greatly disturbed by what hadjust passed, and unable to account for it. The boat of thePoughkeepsie was entirely concealed by the islet, and there existingno obvious motive for wishing to return, in order to come at thetruth, not a thought to that effect, for one moment, crossed themind of the smuggler. So far from this, indeed, were his wishes, that the Molly did not seem to him to go half as fast as usual, inhis keen desire to get further and further from a spot where suchstrange incidents had occurred. 

As for the men forward, no argument was wanting to make _them_believe that something supernatural had just passed before theireyes. It was known to them all, that Mulford had been left on anaked rock, some thirty miles from that spot; and it was not easy tounderstand how he could now be at the Dry Tortugas, planted, as itmight be, on purpose to show himself to the brig, against the tower, in the bright moonlight, "like a pictur' hung up for his oldshipmates to look at. "

Sombre were the tales that were related that night among them, manyof which related to the sufferings of men abandoned on desertislands; and all of which bordered, more or less, on thesupernatural. The crew connected the disappearance of the boat withMulford's apparition, though the logical inference would have been, that the body which required planks to transport it, could scarcelybe classed with anything of the world of spirits. The links inarguments, however, are seldom respected by the illiterate andvulgar, who jump to their conclusions, in cases of the marvellous, much as politicians find an expression of the common mind in theprepared opinions of the few who speak for them, totallydisregarding the dissenting silence of the million. While the menwere first comparing their opinions on that which, to them, seemedto be so extraordinary, the Señor Montefalderon joined the captainin his walk, and dropped into a discourse touching the events whichhad attended their departure from the haven of the Dry Tortugas. Inthis conversation, Don Juan most admirably preserved hiscountenance, as well as his self-command, effectually preventing thesuspicion of any knowledge on his part, that was not common to themboth. 

"You did leave the port with the salutes observed, " the Mexicancommenced, with the slightest accent of a foreigner, or just enoughto show that he was not speaking in his mother tongue; "salutes paidand returned. "

"Do you call that saluting, Don Wan? To me, that infernal shotsounded more like an echo, than anything else. "

"And to what do _you_ ascribe it, Don Esteban?"

"I wish I could answer that question. Sometimes I begin to wish Ihad not left my mate on that naked rock. "

"There is still time to repair the last wrong; we shall go within afew miles of the place where the Señor Enrique was left; and I cantake the yawl, with two men, and go in search of him, while you areat work on the wreck. "

"Do you believe it possible that he can be still there?" demandedSpike, looking suddenly and intently at his companion, while hismind was strangely agitated between hatred and dread. "If he isthere, who and what was _he_ that we all saw so plainly at the footof the light-house?"

"How should he have left the rock? He was without food or water; andno man, in all his vigour, could swim this distance. I see no meansof his getting here. "

"Unless some wrecker, or turtler, fell in with him, and took himoff. Ay, ay, Don Wan; I left him that much of a chance, at least. Noman can say I _murdered_ my mate. "

"I am not aware, Don Esteban, that any one _has_ said so hard athing of you. Still, we have seen neither wrecker nor turtler sincewe have been here; and that lessens the excellent chance you leftDon Enrique. "

"There is no occasion, señor, to be so particular, " growled Spike, alittle sullenly, in reply. "The chance, I say, was a _good_ one, when you consider how many of them devils of wreckers hang aboutthese reefs. Let this brig only get fast on a rock, and they wouldturn up, like sharks, all around us, each with his maw open forsalvage. But this is neither here nor there; what puzzles me, waswhat we saw at the light, half an hour since, and the musket thatwas fired back at us! I _know_ that the figure at the foot of thetower did not fire, for my eye was on him from first to last; and hehad no arms. You were on the island a good bit, and must have knownif the light-house keeper was there or not, Don Wan?"

"The light-house keeper _was_ there, Don Esteban--but he was in his_grave_. "

"Ay, ay, one, I know, was drowned, and buried with the rest of them;there might, however, have been more than one. You saw none of thepeople that had gone to Key West, in or about the house, Don Wan?"

"None. If any persons have left the Tortugas to go to Key West, within a few days, not one of them has yet returned. "

"So I supposed. No, it can be none of _them_. Then I saw his face asplainly as ever I saw it by moon-light, from aft, for'ard. What isyour opinion about seeing the dead walk on the 'arth, Don Wan?"

"That I have never seen any such thing myself, Don Esteban, andconsequently know nothing about it. "

"So I supposed; I find it hard to believe it, I do. It may be awarning to keep us from-coming any more to the Dry Tortugas; and Imust say I have little heart for returning to this place, after allthat has fell out here. We can go to the wreck, fish up thedoubloons, and be off for Yucatan. Once in one of your ports, I makeno question that the merits of the Molly will make themselvesunderstood, and that we shall soon agree on a price. "

"What use could we put the brig to, Don Esteban, if we had her allready for sea?"

"That is a strange question to ask in time of war! Give _me_ such acraft as the Molly, with sixty or eighty men on board her, in a warlike this, and her 'arnin's should not fall short of half a millionwithin a twelvemonth. "

"Could we engage you to take charge of her, Don Esteban?"

"That would be ticklish work, Don Wan. But we can see. No one knowswhat he will do until he is tried. In for a penny, in for a pound. Afellow never knows! Ha! ha! ha! Don Wan, we live in a strangeworld--yes, in a strange world. "

"We live in strange _times, _ Don Esteban, as the situation of mypoor country proves. But let us talk this matter over a little morein confidence. "

And they did thus discuss the subject. It was a singular spectacleto see an honourable man, one full of zeal of the purest nature inbehalf of his own country, sounding a traitor as to the terms onwhich he might be induced to do all the harm he could, to those whoclaimed his allegiance. Such sights, however, are often seen; ourown especial objects too frequently blinding us to the obligationsthat we owe morality, so far as not to be instrumental in effectingeven what we conceive to be good, by questionable agencies. But theSeñor Montefalderon kept in view, principally, his desire to beuseful to Mexico, blended a little too strongly, perhaps, with thewishes of a man who was born near the sun, to avenge his wrongs, real or fancied. 

While this dialogue was going on between Spike and his passenger, asthey paced the quarter-deck, one quite as characteristic occurred inthe galley, within twenty feet of them--Simon, the cook, and Josh, the steward, being the interlocutors. As they talked secrets, theyconferred together with closed doors, though few were ever disposedto encounter the smoke, grease, and fumes of their narrow domains, unless called thither by hunger. 

"What _you_ t'ink of dis matter Josh?" demanded Simon, whose skullhaving the well-known density of his race, did not let internalideas out, or external ideas in as readily as most men's. "Our youngmate _was_ at de light-house beyond all controwersy; and how can hebe den on dat rock over yonder, too?"

"Dat is imposserbul, " answered Josh; "derefore I says it is n'ttrue. I surposes you know dat what is imposserbul is n't true, Simon. Nobody can't be out yonder and down here at de same time. Datis imposserble, Simon. But what I wants to intermate to you, willexplain all dis difficulty; and it do show de raal super'ority of acoloured man over de white poperlation. Now, you mark my words, cook, and be full of admiration! Jack Tier came back along wid deMexican gentle'em, in my anchor-watch, dis very night! You see, inde first place, ebbery t'ing come to pass in nigger's watch. "

Here the two dark-skinned worthies haw-haw'd to their heart'scontent; laughing very much as a magistrate or a minister of thegospel might be fancied to laugh, the first time he saw a clown at acircus. The merriment of a negro will have its course, in spite ofghosts, or of anything else; and neither the cook nor the stewarddreamed of puting in another syllable, until their laugh was fairlyand duly ended. Then the cook made his remarks. 

"How Jack Tier comin' back explain der differculty, Josh?" askedSimon. 

"Did n't Jack go away wid Miss Rose and de mate, in de boat dat gotadrift, you know, in Jack's watch on deck?"

Here the negroes laughed again, their imaginations happening topicture to each, at the same instant, the mystification about theboat; Biddy having told Josh in confidence, the manner in which theparty had returned to the brig, while he and Simon were asleep;which fact the steward had already communicated to the cook. Tothese two beings, of an order in nature different from all aroundthem, and of a simplicity and of habits that scarce placed them on alevel with the intelligence of the humblest white man, all thesecircumstances had a sort of mysterious connection, out of whichpeeped much the most conspicuously to their faculties, the absurdityof the captain's imagining that a boat had got adrift, which had, intruth, been taken away by human hands. Accordingly, they laughed itout; and when they had done laughing, they returned again to thematter before them with renewed interest in the subject. 

"Well, how all dat explain dis differculty?" repeated Simon. 

"In dis wery manner, cook, " returned the steward, with a littledignity in his manner. "Ebbery t'ing depend on understandin', Is'pose you know. If Mr. Mulford got taken off dat rock by Miss Roseand Jack Tier, wid de boat, and den dey comes here altogedder; andden Jack Tier, he get on board and tell Biddy all dis matter, andden Biddy tell Josh, and den Josh tell de cook--what for yousurprise, you black debbil, one bit?"

"Dat all!" exclaimed Simon. 

"Dat just all--dat ebbery bit of it, do n't I say. "

Here Simon burst into such a fit of loud laughter, that it inducedSpike himself to shove aside the galley-door, and thrust his ownfrowning visage into the dark hole within, to inquire the cause. 

"What's the meaning of this uproar?" demanded the captain, all themore excited because he felt that things had reached a pass thatwould not permit him to laugh himself. "Do you fancy yourself on theHook, or at the Five Points?"

The Hook and the Five Points are two pieces of tabooed territorywithin the limits of the good town of Manhattan, that are getting tobe renowned for their rascality and orgies. They probably wantnothing but the proclamation of a governor in vindication of theirprinciples, annexed to a pardon of some of their unfortunatechildren, to render both classical. If we continue to make muchfurther progress in political logic, and in the same direction asthat in which we have already proceeded so far, neither willprobably long be in want of this illustration. Votes can be given bythe virtuous citizens of both these purlieus, as well as by thevirtuous citizens of the anti-rent districts, and votes contain theessence of all such principles, as well as of their glorification. 

"Do you fancy yourselves on the Hook, or at the Five Points?"demanded Spike, angrily. 

"Lor', no sir!" answered Simon, laughing at each pause with all hisheart. "Only laughs a little at _ghost_--dat all, sir. "

"Laugh at ghost! Is that a subject to laugh at? Have a care, youblack rascal, or he will visit you in your galley here, when youwill least want to see him. "

"No care much for _him, _ sir, " returned Simon, laughing away as hardas ever. "_Sich_ a ghost ought n't to skear little baby. "

"_Such_ a ghost? And what do you know of _this_ ghost more than anyother?"

"Well, I seed him, Cap'in Spike; and what a body sees, he isacquainted wid. "

"You saw an image that looked as much like Mr. Mulford, my latemate, as one timber-head in this brig is like another. "

"Yes, sir, he like enough--must say _dat_--so wery like, could n'tsee any difference. "

As Simon concluded this remark, he burst out into another fit oflaughter, in which Josh joined him, heart and soul, as it might be. The uninitiated reader is not to imagine the laughter of thoseblacks to be very noisy, or to be raised on a sharp, high key. They_could_ make the welkin ring, in sudden bursts of merriment, onoccasion; but, at a time like this, they rather caused theirdiversion to be developed by sounds that came from the depths oftheir chests. A gleam of suspicion that these blacks were acquaintedwith some fact that it might be well for him to know, shot acrossthe mind of Spike; but he was turned from further inquiry by aremark of Don Juan, who intimated that the mirth of such personsnever had much meaning to it, expressing at the same time a desireto pursue the more important subject in which they were engaged. Admonishing the blacks to be more guarded in their manifestations ofmerriment, the captain closed the door on them, and resumed his walkup and down the quarter-deck. As soon as left to themselves, theblacks broke out afresh, though in a way so guarded, as to confinetheir mirth to the galley. 

"Cap'in Spike t'ink _dat_ a ghost!" exclaimed Simon, with contempt. 

"Guess if he see _raal_ ghost, he find 'e difference, " answeredJosh. "One look at raal sperit wort' two at dis object. "

Simon's eyes now opened like two saucers, and they gleamed, by thelight of the lamp they had, like dark balls of condensed curiosity, blended with awe, on his companion. 

"You ebber see him, Josh?" he asked, glancing over each shoulderhurriedly, as it might be, to make sure that he could not see "him, "too. 

"How you t'ink I get so far down the wale of life, Simon, and nebbersee sich a t'ing? I seed t'ree of the crew of the `MariaSheffington, ' that was drowned by deir boat's cap-sizin', when welay at Gibraltar, jest as plain as I see you now. Then--"

But it is unnecessary to repeat Josh's experiences in this way, withwhich he continued to entertain and terrify Simon for the nexthalf-hour. This is just the difference between ignorance andknowledge. While Spike himself, and every man in his brig whobelonged forward, had strong misgivings as to the earthly characterof the figure they had seen at the foot of the light-house, thesenegroes laughed at their delusion, because they happened to be inthe secret of Mulford's escape from the rock, and of that of hisactual presence at the Tortugas. When, however, the samesuperstitious feeling was brought to bear on circumstances that lay_without_ the sphere of their exact information, they became just asdependent and helpless as all around them; more so, indeed, inasmuchas their previous habits and opinions disposed them to a moreprofound credulity. 

It was midnight before any of the crew of the Swash sought theirrest that night. The captain had to remind them that a day ofextraordinary toil was before them, ere he could get one even toquit the deck; and when they did go below, it was to continue todiscuss the subject of what they had seen at the Dry Tortugas. Itappeared to be the prevalent opinion among the people, that the lateevent foreboded evil to the Swash, and long as most of these men hadserved in the brig, and much as they had become attached to her, hadshe gone into port that night, nearly every man forward would haverun before morning. But fatigue and wonder, at length, producedtheir effect, and the vessel was silent as was usual at that hour. Spike himself lay down in his clothes, as he had done ever sinceMulford had left him; and the brig continued to toss the spray fromher bows, as she bore gallantly up against the trades, working herway to windward. The light was found to be of great service, as itindicated the position of the reef, though it gradually sunk in thewestern horizon, until near morning it fell entirely below it. 

At this hour Spike appeared on deck again, where, for the first timesince their interview on the morning of Harry's and Rose's escape, he laid his eyes on Jack Tier. The little dumpling-looking fellowwas standing in the waist, with his arms folded sailor-fashion, ascomposedly as if nothing had occurred to render his meeting with thecaptain any way of a doubtful character. Spike approached near theperson of the steward, whom he surveyed from head to foot, with asort of contemptuous superiority, ere he spoke. 

"So, Master Tier, " at length the captain commenced, "you havedeigned to turn out at last, have you? I hope the day's duty you'veforgotten, will help to pay for the light-house boat, that Iunderstand you've lost for me, also. "

"What signifies a great clumsy boat that the brig could n't hoist innor tow, " answered Jack, coolly, turning short round at the sametime, but not condescending to "uncoil" his arms as he did so, amark of indifference that would probably have helped to mystify thecaptain, had he even actually suspected that anything was wrongbeyond the supposed accident to the boat in question. "If you hadhad the boat astarn, Captain Spike, an order would have been givento cut it adrift the first time the brig made sail on the wind. "

"Nobody knows, Jack; that boat would have been very useful to uswhile at work about the wreck. You never even turned out thismorning to let me know where that craft lay, as you promised to do, but left us to find it out by our wits. "

"There was no occasion for my tellin' you anything about it, sir, when the mast-heads was to be seen above water. As soon as I heardthat them 'ere mast-heads was out of water, I turned over and wentto sleep upon it. A man can't be on the doctor's list and on duty atthe same time. "

Spike looked hard at the little steward, but he made no furtherallusion to his being off duty, or to his failing to stand pilot tothe brig as she came through the passage in quest of the schooner'sremains. The fact was, that he had discovered the mast-headshimself, just as he was on the point of ordering Jack to be called, having allowed him to remain in his berth to the last moment afterhis watch, according to a species of implied faith that is seldomdisregarded among seamen. Once busied on the wreck, Jack wasforgotten, having little to do in common with any one on board, butthat which the captain termed the "women's mess. "

"Come aft, Jack, " resumed Spike, after a considerable pause, duringthe whole of which he had stood regarding the little steward as ifstudying his person, and through that his character. "Come aft tothe trunk; I wish to catechise you a bit. "

"Catechise!" repeated Tier, in an under tone, as he followed thecaptain to the place mentioned. "It's a long time since I've doneanything at _that!_"

"Ay, come hither, " resumed Spike, seating himself at his ease on thetrunk, while Jack stood near by, his arms still folded, and hisrotund little form as immovable, under the plunges that the livelybrig made into the head-seas that she was obliged to meet, as if atimber-head in the vessel itself. "You keep your sea-legs well, Jack, short as they are. "

"No wonder for that, Captain Spike; for the last twenty years I'vescarce passed a twelvemonth ashore; and what I did before that, noone can better tell than yourself, since we was ten good yearsshipmates. "

"So you say, Jack, though I do not remember _you_ as well as youseem to remember _me_. Do you not make the time too long?"

"Not a day, sir. Ten good and happy years did we sail together, Captain Spike; and all that time in this very--"

"Hush--h-u-s-h, man, hush! There is no need of telling the Molly'sage to everybody. I may wish to sell her some day, and then hergreat experience will be no recommendation. You should recollectthat the Molly is a female, and the ladies do not like to hear oftheir ages after five-and-twenty. "

Jack made no answer, but he dropped his arms to their naturalposition, seeming to wait the captain's communication, firstreferring to his tobacco-box and taking a fresh quid. 

"If you was with me in the brig, Jack, at the time you mention, "continued Spike, after another long and thoughtful pause, "you mustremember many little things that I do n't wish to have known;especially while Mrs. Budd and her handsome niece is aboard here. "

"I understand you, Captain Spike. The ladies shall l'arn no morefrom me than they know already. "

"Thank 'e for that Jack--thank 'e with all my heart Shipmates of ourstanding ought to be fast friends; and so you'll find me, if you'llonly sail under the true colours, my man. "

At that moment Jack longed to let the captain know how strenuouslyhe had insisted that very night on rejoining his vessel; and this ata time, too, when the brig was falling into disrepute. But this hecould not do, without betraying the secret of the lovers--so hechose to say nothing. 

"There is no use in blabbing all a man knows, and the galley is asad place for talking. Galley news is poor news, I suppose you know, Jack. "

"I've hear'n say as much on board o' man-of-war. It's a great placefor the officers to meet and talk, and smoke, in Uncle Sam's crafts;and what a body hears in such places, is pretty much newspaperstuff, I do suppose. "

"Ay, ay, that's it; not to be thought of half-an-hour after it hasbeen spoken. Here's a doubloon for you, Jack; and all for the sakeof old times. Now, tell me, my litle fellow, how do the ladies comeon? Does n't Miss Rose get over her mourning on account of the mate?Ar' n't we to have the pleasure of seein' her on deck soon?"

"I can't answer for the minds and fancies of young women, CaptainSpike. They are difficult to understand; and I would rather notmeddle with what I can't understand. "

"Poh, poh, man; you must get over that. You might be of great use tome, Jack, in a very delicate affair--for you know how it is withwomen; they must be handled as a man would handle this brig amongbreakers; Rose, in partic'lar, is as skittish as a colt. "

"Stephen Spike, " said Jack, solemnly, but on so low a key that itentirely changed his usually harsh and cracked voice to one thatsounded soft, if not absolutely pleasant, "do you never think ofhereafter? Your days are almost run; a very few years, in yourcalling it may be a very few weeks, or a few hours, and time will bedone with you, and etarnity will commence. --Do you never think of ahereafter?"

Spike started to his feet, gazing at Jack intently; then he wipedthe perspiration from his face, and began to pace the deck rapidly, muttering to himself--"this has been a most accursed night! Firstthe mate, and now _this!_ Blast me, but I thought it was a voicefrom the grave! Graves! can't they keep those that belong to them, or have rocks and waves no graves?"

What more passed through the mind of the captain must remain asecret, for he kept it to himself; nor did he take any furthernotice of his companion. Jack, finding that he was unobserved, passed quietly below, and took the place in his berth, which he hadonly temporarily abandoned. 

Just as the day dawned, the Swash reached the vicinity of the wreckagain. Sail was shortened, and the brig stood in until near enoughfor the purpose of her commander, when she was hove-to, so near themast-heads that, by lowering the yawl, a line was sent out to thefore-mast, and the brig was hauled close alongside. The direction ofthe reef at that point formed a lee; and the vessel lay in watersufficiently smooth for her object. 

This was done soon after the sun had risen, and Spike now orderedall hands called, and began his operations in earnest. By soundingcarefully around the schooner when last here, he had ascertained hersituation to his entire satisfaction. She had settled on a shelf ofthe reef, in such a position that her bows lay in a sort of cradle, while her stern was several feet nearer to the surface than theopposite extremity. This last fact was apparent, indeed, by themasts themselves, the lower mast aft being several feet out ofwater, while the fore-mast was entirely buried, leaving nothing butthe fore-topmast exposed. On these great premises Spike had laid thefoundation of the practical problem he intended to solve. 

No expectation existed of ever getting the schooner afloat again. All that Spike and the Señor Montefalderon now aimed at, was toobtain the doubloons, which the former thought could be got at inthe following manner. He knew that it would be much easier handlingthe wreck, so far as its gravity was concerned, while the hullcontinued submerged. He also knew that one end could be raised witha comparatively trifling effort, so long as the other rested on therock. Under these circumstances, therefore, he proposed merely toget slings around the after body of the schooner, as near herstern-post, indeed, as would be safe, and to raise that extremity ofthe vessel to the surface, leaving most of the weight of the craftto rest on the bows. The difference between the power necessary toeffect this much, and that which would be required to raise thewhole wreck, would be like the difference in power necessary to turnover a log with one end resting on the ground, and turning the samelog by lifting it bodily in the arms, and turning it in the air. With the stern once above water, it would be easy to come at the bagof doubloons, which Jack Tier had placed in a locker above thetransoms. 

The first thing was to secure the brig properly, in order that shemight bear the necessary strain. This was done very much as has beendescribed already, in the account of the manner in which she wassecured and supported in order to raise the schooner at the DryTortugas. An anchor was laid abreast and to windward, and purchaseswere brought to the masts, as before. Then the bight of the chainbrought from the Tortugas, was brought under the schooner's keel, and counter-purchases, leading from both the fore-mast and main-mastof the brig, were brought to it, and set taut. Spike now carefullyexamined all his fastenings, looking to his cables as well as hismechanical power aloft, heaving in upon this, and veering out uponthat, in order to bring the Molly square to her work; after which heordered the people to knock-off for their dinners. By that time, itwas high noon. 

While Stephen Spike was thus employed on the wreck, matters andthings were not neglected at the Tortugas. The Poughkeepsie had nosooner anchored, than Wallace went on board and made his report. Capt. Mull then sent for Mulford, with whom he had a long personalconference. This officer was getting grey, and consequently he hadacquired experience. It was evident to Harry, at first, that he wasregarded as one who had been willingly engaged in an unlawfulpursuit, but who had abandoned it to push dearer interests inanother quarter. It was some time before the commander of thesloop-of-war could divest himself of this opinion, though itgradually gave way before the frankness of the mate's manner, andthe manliness, simplicity, and justice of his sentiments. PerhapsRose had some influence also in bringing about this favourablechange. 

Wallace did not fail to let it be known that turtle-soup was to behad ashore; and many was the guest our heroine had to supply withthat agreeable compound, in the course of the morning. Jack Tier hadmanifested so much skill in the preparation of the dish, that itsreputation soon extended to the cabin, and the captain was inducedto land, in order to ascertain how far rumour was or was not a liar, on this interesting occasion. So ample was the custom, indeed, thatWallace had the consideration to send one of the ward-room servantsto the light-house, in order to relieve Rose from a duty that wasgetting to be a little irksome. She was "seeing company" as a bride, in a novel and rather unpleasant manner; and it was in consequenceof a suggestion of the "ship's gentleman, " that the remains of theturtle were transferred to the vessel, and were put into thecoppers, _secundum artem, _ by the regular cooks. 

It was after tickling his palate with a bowl of the soup, andenjoying a half-hour's conversation with Rose, that Capt. Mullsummoned Harry to a final consultation on the subject of theirfuture proceedings. By this time the commander of the Poughkeepsiewas in a better humour with his new acquaintance, more disposed tobelieve him, and infinitely more inclined to listen to hissuggestions and advice, than he had been in their previousinterviews. Wallace was present in his character of "ship'sgentleman, " or, as having nothing to do, while his senior, the firstlieutenant, was working like a horse on board the vessel, in theexecution of his round of daily duties. 

At this consultation, the parties came into a right understanding ofeach other's views and characters. Capt. Mull was slow to yield hisconfidence, but when he did bestow it, he bestowed itsailor-fashion, or with all his heart. Satisfied at last that he hadto do with a young man of honour, and one who was true to the flag, he consulted freely with our mate, asked his advice, and was greatlyinfluenced in the formation of his final decision by the opinionsthat Harry modestly advanced, maintaining them, however, with solidarguments, and reasons that every seaman could comprehend. 

Mulford knew the plans of Spike by means of his own communicationswith the Señor Montefalderon. Once acquainted with the projects ofhis old commander, it was easy for him to calculate the time itwould require to put them in execution, with the means that were tobe found on board the Swash. "It will take the brig until nearmorning, " he said, "to beat up to the place where the wreck lies. Spike will wait for light to commence operations, and several hourswill be necessary to moor the brig, and get out the anchors withwhich he will think it necessary to stay his masts. Then he willhook on, and he may partly raise the hull before night return. Morethan this he can never do; and it would not surprise me were hemerely to get everything ready for heaving on his purchasesto-morrow, and suspend further proceedings until the next day, inpreference to having so heavy a strain on his spars all night. Hehas not the force, however, to carry on such duty to a very latehour; and you may count with perfect security, Captain Mull, on hisbeing found alongside of the wreck at sunrise the next day afterto-morrow, in all probability with his anchors down, and fast to thewreck. By timing your own arrival well, nothing will be easier thanto get him fairly under your guns, and once under your guns, thebrig must give up. When you chased her out of this very port, a fewdays since, you would have brought her up could you have kept herwithin range of those terrible shells ten minutes longer. "

"You would then advise my not sailing from this place immediately, "said Mull. 

"It will be quite time enough to get under way late in theafternoon, and then under short canvas. Ten hours will be ample timefor this ship to beat up to that passage in, and it will beimprudent to arrive too soon; nor do I suppose you will wish to beplaying round the reef in the dark. "

To the justice of all this Capt. Mull assented; and the plan ofproceedings was deliberately and intelligently formed. As it wasnecessary for Mulford to go in the ship, in order to act as pilot, no one else on board knowing exactly where to find the wreck, thecommander of the Poughkeepsie had the civility to offer the youngcouple the hospitalities of his own cabin, with one of hisstate-rooms. This offer Harry gratefully accepted, it beingunderstood that the ship would land them at Key West, as soon as thecontemplated duty was executed. Rose felt so much anxiety about heraunt, that any other arrangement would scarcely have pacified herfears. 

In consequence of these arrangements, the Poughkeepsie lay quietlyat her anchors until near sunset. In the interval her boats were outin all directions, parties of the officers visiting the islet wherethe powder had exploded, and the islet where the tent, erected forthe use of the females, was still standing. As for the light-houseisland, an order of Capt. Mull's prevented it from being crowded ina manner unpleasant to Rose, as might otherwise have been the case. The few officers who did land there, however, appeared much struckwith the ingenuous simplicity and beauty of the bride, and a manlyinterest in her welfare was created among them all, principally bymeans of the representations of the second lieutenant and thechaplain. About five o'clock she went off to the ship, accompaniedby Harry, and was hoisted on board in the manner usually practisedby vessels of war which have no accommodation-ladder rigged. Rosewas immediately installed in her state-room, where she found everyconvenience necessary to a comfortable though small apartment. 

It was quite late in the afternoon, when the boatswain and his matepiped "all hands up anchor!" Harry hastened into the state-room forhis charming bride, anxious to show her the movements of a vessel ofwar on such an occasion. Much as she had seen of the ocean, and of avessel, within the last few weeks, Rose now found that she had yet agreat deal to learn, and that a ship of war had many points todistinguish her from a vessel engaged in commerce. 

The Poughkeepsie was only a sloop-of-war, or a corvette, inconstruction, number of her guns, and rate; but she was a ship ofthe dimensions of an old-fashioned frigate, measuring about onethousand tons. The frigates of which we read half a century since, were seldom ever as large as this, though they were differentlybuilt in having a regular gun-deck, or one armed deck that wasentirely covered, with another above it; and on the quarter-deck andforecastle of the last of which were also batteries of lighter guns. To the contrary of all this, the Poughkeepsie had but one armeddeck, and on that only twenty guns. These pieces, however, were ofunusually heavy calibre, throwing thirty-two pound shot, with theexception of the Paixhans, or Columbiads, which throw shot of eventwice that weight. The vessel had a crew of two hundred souls, alltold; and she had the spars, anchors, and other equipments of alight frigate. 

In another great particular did the Poughkeepsie differ from thecorvette-built vessels that were so much in favour at the beginningof the century; a species of craft obtained from the French, whohave taught the world so much in connection with naval science, andwho, after building some of the best vessels that ever floated, havefailed in knowing how to handle them, though not always in that. ThePoughkeepsie, while she had no spar, or upper deck, properlyspeaking, had a poop and a topgallant-forecastle. Within the lastwere the cabins and other accommodations of the captain; anarrangement that was necessary for a craft of her construction, thatcarried so many officers, and so large a crew. Without it, sufficient space would not be had for the uses of the last. One gunof a side was in the main cabin, there being a very neat and amplyspacious after-cabin between the state-rooms, as is ordinarily thecase in all vessels from the size of frigates up to that ofthree-deckers. It may be well to explain here, while on this subjectof construction, that in naval parlance, a ship is called asingle-decked vessel; a _two-_decker, or a _three-_ decker, not fromthe number of decks she actually possesses, but from the number of_gun-_decks that she has, or of those that are _fully_ armed. Thus afrigate has four decks, the spar, gun, berth, and orlop (or haul-up)decks; but she is called a "single-decked ship, " from thecircumstance that only one of these four decks has a complete rangeof batteries. The two-decker has two of these fully armed decks, andthe three-deckers three; though, in fact, the two-decker has five, and the three-decker six decks. Asking pardon for this littledigression, which we trust will be found useful to a portion of ourreaders, we return to the narrative. 

Harry conducted Rose to the poop of the Poughkeepsie, where shemight enjoy the best view of the operation of getting so large acraft under way, man-of-war fashion. The details were mysteries, ofcourse, and Rose knew no more of the process by which the chain wasbrought to the capstan, by the intervention of what is called amessenger, than if she had not been present. She saw two hundred mendistributed about the vessel, some at the capstan, some on theforecastle, some in the tops, and others in the waist, and she heardthe order to "heave round. " Then the shrill fife commenced thelively air of "the girl I left behind me, " rather more from a habitin the fifer, than from any great regrets for the girls left at theDry Tortugas, as was betrayed to Mulford by the smiles of theofficers, and the glances they cast at Rose. As for the latter, sheknew nothing of the air, and was quite unconscious of the sort ofparody that the gentlemen of the quarter-deck fancied it conveyed onher own situation. 

Rose was principally struck with the quiet that prevailed in theship, Captain Mull being a silent man himself, and insisting onhaving a quiet vessel. The first lieutenant was not a noisy officer, and from these two, everybody else on board received their cues. Asimple "all ready, sir, " uttered by the first to the captain, in acommon tone of voice, answered by a "very well, sir, get youranchor, " in the same tone, set everything in motion. "Stamp and go, "soon followed, and taking the whole scene together, Rose felt astrange excitement come over her. There were the shrill, animatingmusic of the fife; the stamping time of the men at the bars; theperceptible motion of the ship, as she drew ahead to her anchor, andnow and then the call between Wallace, who stood between theknight-heads, as commander-in-chief on the forecastle, (the secondlieutenant's station when the captain does not take the trumpet, asvery rarely happens, ) and the "executive officer" aft, was "carryingon duty, " all conspiring to produce this effect. At length, and itwas but a minute or two from the time when the "stamp and go"commenced, Wallace called out "a short stay-peak, sir. " "Heave andpull, " followed, and the men left their bars. 

The process of making sail succeeded. There was no "letting fall" afore-topsail here, as on board a merchant-man, but all the canvasdropped from the yards, into festoons, at the same instant. Then thethree topsails were sheeted home and hoisted, all at once, and allin a single minute of time; the yards were counter-braced, and thecapstan-bars were again manned. In two more minutes it was "heaveand she's up and down. " Then "heave and in sight, " and "heave andpull again. " The cat-fall was ready, and it was "hook on, " when thefife seemed to turn its attention to another subject as the mencatted the anchor. Literally, all this was done in less time than wehave taken to write it down in, and in very little more time thanthe reader has wasted in perusing what we have here written. 

The Poughkeepsie was now "free of bottom, " as it is called, with heranchor catted and fished, and her position maintained in the basinwhere she lay, by the counter-bracing of her yards, and thecounteracting force of the wind on her sails. It only remained to"fill away, " by bracing her head-yards sharp up, when the vast massovercame its inertia, and began to move through the water. As thiswas done, the jib and spanker were set. The two most beautifulthings with which we are acquainted, are a graceful and high-bredwoman entering or quitting a drawing-room, more particularly thelast, and a man-of-war leaving her anchorage in a moderate breeze, and when not hurried for time. On the present occasion, Captain Mullwas in no haste, and the ship passed out to windward of the light, as the Swash had done the previous night, under her three topsails, spanker and jib, with the light sails loose and flowing, and thecourses hanging in the brails. 

A great deal is said concerning the defective construction of thelight cruisers of the navy, of late years, and complaints are madethat they will not sail, as American cruisers ought to sail, andwere wont to sail in old times. That there has been some ground forthese complaints, we believe; though the evil has been greatlyexaggerated, and some explanation may be given, we think, even inthe cases in which the strictures are not altogether withoutjustification. The trim of a light, sharp vessel is easily deranged;and officers, in their desire to command as much as possible, oftenget their vessels of this class too deep. They are, generally, forthe sort of cruiser, over-sparred, over-manned, andover-provisioned; consequently, too deep. We recollect a case inwhich one of these delicate craft, a half-rigged brig, was muchabused for "having lost her sailing. " She did, indeed, lose herfore-yard, and, after that, she sailed like a witch, until she got anew one! If the facts were inquired into, in the spirit which oughtto govern such inquiries, it would be found that even most of themuch-abused "ten sloops" proved to be better vessels than common. The St. Louis, the Vincennes, the Concord, the Fairfield, theBoston, and the Falmouth, are instances of what we mean. In behalfof the Warren, and the Lexington, we believe no discreet man wasever heard to utter one syllable, except as wholesome crafts. Butthe Poughkeepsie was a very different sort of vessel from any of the"ten sloops. " She was every way a good ship, and, as Jack expressedit, was "a good goer. " The most severe nautical critic couldscarcely have found a fault in her, as she passed out between theislets, on the evening of the day mentioned, in the sort of undresswe have described. The whole scene, indeed, was impressive, and ofsingular maritime characteristics. 

The little islets scattered about, low, sandy, and untenanted, werethe only land in sight--all else was the boundless waste of waters. The solitary light rose like an aquatic monument, as if purposely togive its character to the view. Captain Mull had caused its lamps tobe trimmed and lighted for the very reason that had induced Spike todo the same thing, and the dim star they presented was juststruggling into existence, as it might be, as the briliance left bythe setting sun was gradually diminished, and finally disappeared. As for the ship, the hull appeared dark, glossy, and graceful, as isusual with a vessel of war. Her sails were in soft contrast to thecolour of the hull, and they offered the variety and divergence fromstraight lines which are thought necessary to perfect beauty. Thosethat were set, presented the symmetry in their trim, the flatness intheir hoist, and the breadth that distinguish a man-of-war; whilethose that were loose, floated in the air in every wave andcloud-like swell, that we so often see in light canvas that isreleased from the yards in a fresh breeze. The ship had an undresslook from this circumstance, but it was such an undress as denotesthe man or woman of the world. This undress appearance was increasedby the piping down of the hammocks, which left the nettings loose, and with a negligent but still knowing look about them. 

When half a mile from the islets, the main-yard was braced aback, and the maintopsail was laid to the mast. As soon as the ship hadlost her way, two or three boats that had been towing astern, eachwith its boat-sitter, or keeper, in it, were hauled up alongside, orto the quarters, were "hooked on, " and "run up" to the whistling ofthe call. All was done at once, and all was done in a couple ofminutes. As soon as effected, the maintopsail was again filled, andaway the ship glided. 

Captain Mull was not in the habit of holding many consultations withhis officers. If there be wisdom in a "multitude of counsellors, " hewas of opinion it was not on board a man-of-war. Napoleon isreported to have said that _one_ bad general was better than _two_good ones; meaning that one head to an army, though of inferiorquality, is better than a hydra of Solomons, or Cæsars. Captain Mullwas much of the same way of thinking, seldom troubling hissubordinates with anything but orders. He interfered very littlewith "working Willy, " though he saw effectually that he did hisduty. "The ship's gentleman" might enjoy his joke as much as hepleased, so long as he chose his time and place with discretion, butin the captain's presence joking was not tolerated, unless it wereafter dinner, at his own table, and in his own cabin. Even there itwas not precisely such joking as took place daily, not to sayhourly, in the midshipmen's messes. 

In making up his mind as to the mode of proceeding on the presentoccasion, therefore, Captain Mull, while he had heard all thatMulford had to tell him, and had even encouraged Wallace to give hisopinions, made up his decision for himself. After learning all thatHarry had to communicate, he made his own calculations as to timeand distance, and quietly determined to carry whole sail on the shipfor the next four hours. This he did as the wisest course of makingsure of getting to windward while he could, and knowing that thevessel could be brought under short canvas at any moment when itmight be deemed necessary. The light was a beacon to let him knowhis distance with almost mathematical precision. It could be seen somany miles at sea, each mile being estimated by so many feet ofelevation, and having taken that elevation, he was sure of hisdistance from the glittering object, so long as it could be seenfrom his own poop. It was also of use by letting him know the rangeof the reef, though Captain Mull, unlike Spike, had determined tomake one leg off to the northward and eastward until he had broughtthe light nearly to the horizon, and then to make another to thesouthward and eastward, believing that the last stretch would bringhim to the reef, almost as far to windward as he desired to be. Infurtherance of this plan, the sheets of the different sails weredrawn home, as soon as the boats were in, and the Poughkeepsie, bending a little to the breeze, gallantly dashed the waves aside, asshe went through and over them, at a rate of not less than ten goodknots in the hour. As soon as all these arrangements were made, thewatch went below, and from that time throughout the night, the shipoffered nothing but the quiet manner in which ordinary duty iscarried on in a well-regulated vessel of war at sea, between thehours of sun and sun. Leaving the good craft to pursue her way withspeed and certainty, we must now return to the Swash. 

Captain Spike had found the mooring of his brig a much moredifficult task, on this occasion, than on that of his former attemptto raise the schooner. Then he had to lift the wreck bodily, and heknew that laying the Swash a few feet further ahead or astern, couldbe of no great moment, inasmuch as the moment the schooner was offthe bottom, she would swing in perpendicularly to the purchases. Butnow one end of the schooner, her bows, was to remain fast, and itbecame of importance to be certain that the purchases were so placedas to bring the least strain on the masts while they acted mostdirectly on the after body of the vessel to be lifted. This pointgave Spike more trouble than he had anticipated. Fully one half ofthe remainder of the day, even after he had begun to heave upon hispurchases, was spent in rectifying mistakes in connection with thismatter, and in getting up additional securities to his masts. 

In one respect Spike had, from the first, made a good disposition. The masts of the brig raked materially, and by bringing the head ofthe Swash in the direction of the schooner, he converted this fact, which might otherwise have been of great disadvantage, into acircumstance that was favourable. In consequence of the brig'shaving been thus moored, the strain, which necessarily led forward, came nearly in a line with the masts, and the latter were muchbetter able to support it. Notwithstanding this advantage, however, it was found expedient to get up preventer-stays, and to give thespars all the additional support could be conveniently bestowed. Hours were passed in making these preliminary, or it might be betterto say, secondary arrangements. 

It was past five in the afternoon when the people of the Swash beganto heave on their purchases as finally disposed. After muchcreaking, and the settling of straps and lashings into their places, it was found that everything stood, and the work went on. In tenminutes Spike found he had the weight of the schooner, so far as heshould be obliged to sustain it at all, until the stern rose abovethe surface; and he felt reasonably secure of the doubloons. Furtherthan this he did not intend to make any experiment on her, the SeñorMontefalderon having abandoned all idea of recovering the vesselitself, now so much of the cargo was lost. The powder was mostlyconsumed, and that which remained in the hull must, by this time, beinjured by dampness, if not ruined. So reasoned Don Juan at least. 

As the utmost care was necessary, the capstan and wind-lass weremade to do their several duties with great caution. As inch by inchwas gained, the extra supports of the masts were examined, and itwas found that a much heavier strain now came on the masts than whenthe schooner was raised before. This was altogether owing to thedirection in which it came, and to the fact that the anchor plantedoff abeam was not of as much use as on the former occasion, inconsequence of its not lying so much in a straight line with thedirection of the purchases. Spike began to have misgivings onaccount of his masts, and this so much the more because the windappeared to haul a little further to the northward, and the weatherto look unsettled. Should a swell roll into the bight of the reefwhere the brig lay, by raising the hull a little too rudely, therewould be the imminent danger of at least springing, if not ofabsolutely carrying away both the principal spars. It was thereforenecessary to resort to extraordinary precautions, in order toobviate this danger. 

The captain was indebted to his boatswain, who was now in factacting as his mate, for the suggestion of the plan next adopted. Twoof the largest spare spars of the brig were got out, with theirheads securely lashed to the links of the chain by which the wreckwas suspended, one on each side of the schooner. Pig-iron and shotwere lashed to the heels of these spars, which carried them to thebottom. As the spars were of a greater length than was necessary toreach the rock, they necessarily lay at an inclination, which waslessened every inch the after body of the wreck was raised, thusforming props to the hull of the schooner. 

Spike was delighted with the success of this scheme, of which he wasassured by a single experiment in heaving. After getting the sparswell planted at their heels, he even ordered the men to slacken thepurchases a little, and found that he could actually relieve thebrig from the strain, by causing the wreck to be supportedaltogether by these shores. This was a vast relief from the cares ofthe approaching night, and indeed alone prevented the necessity ofthe work's going on without interruption, or rest, until the end wasobtained. 

The people of the Swash were just assured of the comfortable factrelated, as the Poughkeepsie was passing out from among the isletsof the Dry Tortugas. They imagined themselves happy in having thusmade a sufficient provision against the most formidable of all thedangers that beset them, at the very moment when the best laid planfor their destruction was on the point of being executed. In thisrespect, they resembled millions of others of their fellows, whohang suspended over the vast abyss of eternity, totally unconsciousof the irretrievable character of the fall that is so soon to occur. Spike, as has been just stated, was highly pleased with his ownexpedient, and he pointed it out with exultation to the SeñorMontefalderon, as soon as it was completed. 

"A nicer fit was never made by a Lunnun leg-maker, Don Wan, " thecaptain cried, after going over the explanations connected with theshores--"there she stands, at an angle of fifty, with two as goodlimbs under her as a body could wish. I could now cast offeverything, and leave the wreck in what they call `_statu quo, _'which, I suppose, means on its pins, like a statue. The tafferel isnot six inches below the surface of the water, and half an hour ofheaving will bring the starn in sight. "

"Your work seems ingeniously contrived to get up one extremity ofthe vessel, Don Esteban, " returned the Mexican; "but are you quitecertain that the doubloons are in her?"

This question was put because the functionary of a government inwhich money was very apt to stick in passing from hand to hand wasnaturally suspicious, and he found it difficult to believe thatMulford, Jack Tier, and even Biddy, under all the circumstances, hadnot paid special attention to their own interests. 

"The bag was placed in one of the transom-lockers before theschooner capsized, " returned the captain, "as Jack Tier informs me;if so, it remains there still. Even the sharks will not touch gold, Don Wan. "

"Would it not be well to call Jack, and hear his account of thematter once more, now we appear to be so near the Eldorado of ourwishes?"

Spike assented, and Jack was summoned to the quarter-deck. Thelittle fellow had scarce showed himself throughout the day, and henow made his appearance with a slow step, and reluctantly. 

"You've made no mistake about them 'ere doubloons, I take it, MasterTier?" said Spike, in a very nautical sort of style of addressing aninferior. "You _know_ them to be in one of the transom-lockers?"

Jack mounted on the breech of one of the guns, and looked over thebulwarks at the dispositions that had been made about the wreck. Thetafferel of the schooner actually came in sight, when a little swellpassed over it, leaving it for an instant in the trough. The stewardthus caught a glimpse again of the craft on board which he had seenso much hazard, and he shook his head and seemed to be thinking ofanything but the question which had just been put to him. 

"Well, about that gold?" asked Spike, impatiently. 

"The sight of that craft has brought other thoughts than gold intomy mind, Captain Spike, " answered Jack, gravely, "and it would bewell for all us mariners, if we thought less of gold and more of thedangers we run. For hours and hours did I stand over etarnity, onthe bottom of that schooner, Don Wan, holdin' my life, as it mightbe, at the marcy of a few bubbles of air. "

"What has all that to do with the gold? Have you deceived me aboutthat locker, little rascal?"

"No, sir, I've _not_ deceived you--no, Captain Spike, _no_. The bagis in the upper transom-locker, on the starboard side. There I putit with my own hands, and a good lift it was; and there you'll findit, if you'll cut through the quarter-deck at the spot I can p'intout to you. "

This information seemed to give a renewed energy to all the nativecupidity of the captain, who called the men from their suppers, andordered them to commence heaving anew. The word was passed to thecrew that "it was now for doubloons, " and they went to the bars andhandspikes, notwithstanding the sun had set, cheerfully andcheering. 

All Spike's expedients admirably answered the intended purposes. Thestern of the schooner rose gradually, and at each lift the heels ofthe shores dropped in more perpendicularly, carried by the weightsattached to them, and the spars stood as firm props to secure allthat was gained. In a quarter of an hour, most of that part of thestern which was within five or six feet of the tafferel, rose abovethe water, coming fairly in view. 

Spike now shouted to the men to "pall!" then he directed the fallsto be very gradually eased off, in order to ascertain if the shoreswould still do their duty. The experiment was successful, andpresently the wreck stood in its upright position, sustainedentirely by the two spars. As the last were now nearlyperpendicular, they were capable of bearing a very heavy weight, andSpike was so anxious to relieve his own brig from the strain she hadbeen enduring, that he ordered the lashings of the blocks to beloosened, trusting to his shores to do their duty. Against thisconfidence the boatswain ventured a remonstrance, but the gold wastoo near to allow the captain to listen or reply. The carpenter wasordered over on the wreck with his tools, while Spike, the SeñorMontefalderon, and two men to row the boat and keep it steady, wentin the yawl to watch the progress of the work. Jack Tier was orderedto stand in the chains, and to point out, as nearly as possible, theplace where the carpenter was to cut. 

When all was ready, Spike gave the word, and the chips began to fly. By the use of the saw and the axe, a hole large enough to admit twoor three men at a time, was soon made in the deck, and the soundingfor the much-coveted locker commenced. By this time, it was quitedark; and a lantern was passed down from the brig, in order toenable those who searched for the locker to see. Spike had breastedthe yawl close up to the hole, where it was held by the men, whilethe captain himself passed the lantern and his own head into theopening to reconnoitre. 

"Ay, it's all right!" cried the voice of the captain from within hiscell-like cavity. "I can just see the lid of the locker that Jackmeans, and we shall soon have what we are a'ter. Carpenter, you mayas well slip off your clothes at once, and go inside; I will pointout to you the place where to find the locker. You're certain, Jack, it was the starboard locker?"

"Ay, ay, sir, the starboard locker, and no other. "

The carpenter had soon got into the hole, as naked as when he wasborn. It was a gloomy-looking place for a man to descend into atthat hour, the light from the lantern being no great matter, andhalf the time it was shaded by the manner in which Spike wascompelled to hold it. 

"Take care and get a good footing, carpenter, " said the captain, ina kinder tone than common, "before you let go with your hands; but Isuppose you can swim, as a matter of course?"

"No, sir, not a stroke--I never could make out in the water at all. "

"Have the more 'care, then. Had I known as much, I would have sentanother hand down; but mind your footing. More to the left, man--more to the left. That is the lid of the locker--your hand ison it; why do you not open it?"

"It is swelled by the water, sir, and will need a chisel, or sometool of that sort. Just call out to one of the men, sir, if youplease, to pass me a chisel from my tool-chest. A good stout onewill be best. "

This order was given, and, during the delay it caused, Spikeencouraged the carpenter to be cool, and above all to mind hisfooting. His own eagerness to get at the gold was so great that hekept his head in at the hole, completely cutting off the man withinfrom all communication with the outer world. 

"What's the matter with you?" demanded Spike, a little sternly. "Youshiver, and yet the water cannot be cold in this latitude. No, myhand makes it just the right warmth to be pleasant. "

"It's not the water, Captain Spike--I wish they would come with thechisel. Did you hear nothing, sir? I'm certain I did!"

"Hear!--what is there here to be heard, unless there may be somefish inside, thrashing about to get out of the vessel's hold?"

"I am sure I heard something like a groan, Captain Spike. I wish youwould let me come out, sir, and I'll go for the chisel myself; themmen will never find it. "

"Stay where you are, coward! are you afraid of dead men standingagainst walls? Stay where you are. Ah! here is the chisel--now letus see what you can do with it. "

"I am certain I heard another groan, Captain Spike. I cannot work, sir. I'm of no use here--_do_ let me come out, sir, and send a handdown that can swim. "

Spike uttered a terrible malediction on the miserable carpenter, onewe do not care to repeat; then he cast the light of the lantern fullin the man's face. The quivering flesh, the pallid face, and thewhole countenance wrought up almost to a frenzy of terror, astonished, as well as alarmed him. 

"What ails you, man?" said the captain in a voice of thunder. "Clapin the chisel, or I'll hurl you off into the water. There is nothinghere, dead or alive, to harm ye!"

"The groan, sir--I hear it again! _Do_ let me come out, CaptainSpike. "

Spike himself, this time, heard what even _he_ took for a groan. Itcame from the depths of the vessel, apparently, and was sufficientlydistinct and audible. Astonished, yet appalled, he thrust hisshoulders into the aperture, as if to dare the demon that tormentedhim, and was met by the carpenter endeavouring to escape. In thestruggle that ensued, the lantern was dropped into the water, leaving the half-frenzied combatants contending in the dark. Thegroan was renewed, when the truth flashed on the minds of both. 

"The shores! the shores!" exclaimed the carpenter from within. "Theshores!" repeated Spike, throwing himself back into the boat, andshouting to his men to "see all clear of the wreck!" The grating ofone of the shores on the coral beneath was now heard plainer thanever, and the lower extremity slipped outward, not astern, as hadbeen apprehended, letting the wreck slowly settle to the bottomagain. One piercing shriek arose from the narrow cavity within; thenthe gurgling of water into the aperture was heard, when naught ofsound could be distinguished but the sullen and steady wash of thewaves of the gulf over the rocks of the reef. 

The impression made by this accident was most profound. A fatalityappeared to attend the brig; and most of the men connected the sadoccurrence of this night with the strange appearance of the previousevening. Even the Señor Montefalderon was disposed to abandon thedoubloons, and he urged Spike to make the best of his way forYucatan, to seek a friendly harbour. The captain wavered, butavarice was too strong a passion in him to be easily diverted fromits object, and he refused to give up his purpose. 

As the wreck was entirely free from the brig when it went down forthe third time, no injury was sustained by the last on thisoccasion. By renewing the lashings, everything would be ready tobegin the work anew--and this, Spike was resolved to attempt in themorning. The men were too much fatigued, and it was too dark tothink of pushing matters any further that night; and it was veryquestionable whether they could have been got to work. Orders wereconsequently given for all hands to turn in, the captain, relievedby Don Juan and Jack Tier, having arranged to keep the watches ofthe night. 

"This is a sad accident, Don Esteban, " observed the Mexican, as heand Spike paced the quarter-deck together, just before the lastturned in; "a sad accident! My miserable schooner seems to bedeserted by its patron saint. Then your poor carpenter!"

"Yes, he was a good fellow enough with a saw, or an adze, " answeredSpike, yawning. "But we get used to such things at sea. It's neithermore nor less than a carpenter expended. Good night, Señor Don Wan;in the morning we'll be at that gold ag'in. "

CHAPTER VI. 

 She's in a scene of nature's war, The winds and waters are at strife; And both with her contending for The brittle thread of human life. 

Miss Gould. 

Spike was sleeping hard in his berth, quite early on the followingmorning, before the return of light, indeed, when he suddenlystarted up, rubbed his eyes, and sprang upon deck like a manalarmed. He had heard, or fancied he had heard, a cry. A voice oncewell known and listened to, seemed to call him in the very portalsof his ear. At first he had listened to its words in wonder, entranced like the bird by the snake, the tones recalling scenes andpersons that had once possessed a strong control over his rudefeelings. Presently the voice became harsher in its utterance, andit said. 

"Stephen Spike, awake! The hour is getting late, and you haveenemies nearer to you than you imagine. Awake, Stephen, awake!"

When the captain was on his feet, and had plunged his head into abasin of water that stood ready for him in the state-room, he couldnot have told, for his life, whether he had been dreaming or waking, whether what he had heard was the result of a feverish imagination, or of the laws of nature. The call haunted him all that morning, oruntil events of importance so pressed upon him as to draw hisundivided attention to them alone. 

It was not yet day. The men were still in heavy sleep, lying aboutthe decks, for they avoided the small and crowded forecastle in thatwarm climate, and the night was apparently at its deepest hour. Spike walked forward to look for the man charged with theanchor-watch. It proved to be Jack Tier, who was standing near thegalley, his arms folded as usual, apparently watching the few signsof approaching day that were beginning to be apparent in the westernsky. The captain was in none of the best humours with the steward'sassistant; but Jack had unaccountably got an ascendency over hiscommander, which it was certainly very unusual for any subordinatein the Swash to obtain. Spike had deferred more to Mulford than toany mate he had ever before employed; but this was the deference dueto superior information, manners, and origin. It was common-place, if not vulgar; whereas, the ascendency obtained by little Jack Tierwas, even to its subject, entirely inexplicable. He was unwilling toadmit it to himself in the most secret manner, though he had begunto feel it on all occasions which brought them in contact, and tosubmit to it as a thing not to be averted. 

"Jack Tier, " demanded the captain, now that he found himself oncemore alone with the other, desirous of obtaining his opinion on apoint that harassed him, though he knew not why; "Jack Tier, answerme one thing. Do you believe that we saw the form of a dead or of aliving man at the foot of the light-house?"

"The dead are never seen leaning against walls in that manner, Stephen Spike, " answered Jack, coolly, not even taking the troubleto uncoil his arms. "What you saw was a living man; and you would dowell to be on your guard against him. Harry Mulford is not yourfriend--and there is reason for it. "

"Harry Mulford, and living! How can that be, Jack? You know the portin which he chose to run. "

"I know the rock on which you chose to abandon him, Captain Spike. "

"If so, how could he be living and at the Dry Tortugas. The thing isimpossible!"

"The thing is so. You saw Harry Mulford, living and well, and readyto hunt you to the gallows. Beware of him, then; and beware of hishandsome wife!"

"Wife! the fellow has no wife--he has always professed to be asingle man!"

"The man is married--and I bid you beware of his handsome wife. She, too, will be a witness ag'in you. "

"This will be news, then, for Rose Budd. I shall delight in tellingit to _her, _ at least. "

"'T will be _no_ news to Rose Budd. She was present at the wedding, and will not be taken by surprise. Rose loves Harry too well to lethim marry, and she not present at the wedding. "

"Jack, you talk strangely! What is the meaning of all this? I amcaptain of this craft, and will not be trifled with--tell me at onceyour meaning, fellow. "

"My meaning is simple enough, and easily told. Rose Budd is the wifeof Harry Mulford. "

"You're dreaming, fellow, or are wishing to trifle with me!"

"It may be a dream, but it is one that will turn out to be true. Ifthey have found the Poughkeepsie sloop-of-war, as I make no doubtthey have by this time, Mulford and Rose are man and wife. "

"Fool! you know not what you say! Rose is at this moment in herberth, sick at heart on account of the young gentleman who preferredto live on the Florida Reef rather than to sail in the Molly!"

"Rose is _not_ in her berth, sick or well; neither is she on boardthis brig at all. She went off in the light-house boat to deliverher lover from the naked rock--and well did she succeed in so doing. God was of her side, Stephen Spike; and a body seldom fails withsuch a friend to support one. "

Spike was astounded at these words, and not less so at the cool andconfident manner with which they were pronounced. Jack spoke in acertain dogmatical, oracular manner, it is true, one that might havelessened his authority with a person over whom he had lessinfluence; but this in no degree diminished its effect on Spike. Onthe contrary, it even disposed the captain to yield an implicitfaith to what he heard, and all so much the more because the factshe was told appeared of themselves to be nearly impossible. It washalf a minute before he had sufficiently recovered from his surpriseto continue the discourse. 

"The light-house boat!" Spike then slowly repeated. "Why, fellow, you told me the light-house boat went adrift from your own hands!"

"So it did, " answered Jack, coolly, "since I cast off thepainter--and what is more, went in it. "

"You! This is impossible. You are telling me a fabricated lie. Ifyou had gone away in that boat, how could you now be here? No, no--it is a miserable lie, and Rose is below!"

"Go and look into her state-room, and satisfy yourself with your owneyes. "

Spike did as was suggested. He went below, took a lamp that wasalways suspended, lighted in the main cabin, and, without ceremony, proceeded to Rose's state-room, where he soon found that the birdhad really flown. A direful execration followed this discovery, oneso loud as to awaken Mrs. Budd and Biddy. Determined not to dothings by halves, he broke open the door of the widow's state-room, and ascertained that the person he sought was not there. A fierceexplosion of oaths and denunciations followed, which produced ananswer in the customary screams. In the midst of this violent scene, however, questions were put, and answers obtained, that not onlyserved to let the captain know that Jack had told him nothing buttruth, but to put an end to everything like amicable relationsbetween himself and the relict of his old commander. Until thisexplosion, appearances had been observed between them; but, fromthat moment, there must necessarily be an end of all professions ofeven civility. Spike was never particularly refined in hisintercourse with females, but he now threw aside even itspretension. His rage was so great that he totally forgot hismanhood, and lavished on both Mrs. Budd and Biddy epithets that werealtogether inexcusable, and many of which it will not do to repeat. Weak and silly as was the widow, she was not without spirit; and onthis occasion she was indisposed to submit to all this unmeritedabuse in silence. Biddy, as usual, took her cue from her mistress, and between the two, their part of the wordy conflict was kept upwith a very respectable degree of animation. 

"I know you--I know you, now!" screamed the widow, at the tope ofher voice; "and you can no longer deceive me, unworthy son ofNeptune as you are! You are unfit to be a lubber, and would belog-booked for an or'nary by every gentleman on board ship. You, afull-jiggered sea-man! No, you are not even half-jiggered, sir; andI tell you so to your face. "

"Yes, and it is n't _half_ that might be tould the likes of yees!"put in Biddy, as her mistress stopped to breathe. "And it's MissRose you'd have for a wife, when Biddy Noon would be too good forye! We knows ye, and all about ye, and can give yer history ascomplate from the day ye was born down to the prisent moment; andnot find a good word to say in yer favour in all that time--and aprecious time it is, too, for a gentleman that would marry pretthy, _young_ Miss Rose! Och! I scorn to look at ye, yer so ugly!"

"And trying to persuade me you were a friend of my poor, dear Mr. Budd, whose shoe you are unworthy to touch, and who had the heartand soul for the noble profession you disgrace, " cut in the widow, the moment Biddy gave her a chance, by pausing to make a wry face asshe pronounced the word "ugly. " "I now believe you capasided thempoor Mexicans, in order to get their money; and the moment we castanchor in a road-side, I'll go ashore, and complain of you formurder, I will. "

"Do, missus, dear, and I'll be your bail, will I, and swear to allthat happened, and more too. Och! yer a wretch, to wish to be thehusband of Miss Rose, and she so young and pretthy, and you so ouldand ugly!"

"Come away--come away, Stephen Spike, and do not stand wranglingwith women, when you and your brig, and all that belongs to you, arein danger, " called out Jack Tier from the companion-way. "Day iscome; and what is much worse for you, your most dangerous enemy iscoming with it. "

Spike was almost livid with rage, and ready to burst out in awfulmaledictions; but at this summons he sprang to the ladder, and wason deck in a moment. At first, he felt a strong disposition to wreakhis vengeance on Tier, but, fortunately for the latter, as thecaptain's foot touched the quarter-deck, his eye fell on thePoughkeepsie, then within half a league of the Swash, standing intoward the reef, though fully half a mile to leeward. This spectredrove all other subjects from his mind, leaving the captain of theSwash in the only character in which he could be said to berespectable, or that of a seaman. Almost instinctively he called allhands, then he gave one brief minute to a survey of his situation. 

It was, indeed, time for the Swash to be moving. There she lay, withthree anchors down, including that of the schooner, all she had, infact, with the exception of her best bower, and one kedge, with thepurchases aloft, in readiness for hooking on to the wreck, and allthe extra securities up that had been given to the masts. As for thesloop-of-war, she was under the very same canvas as that with whichshe had come out from the Dry Tortugas, or her three top-sails, spanker, and jib; but most of her other sails were loose, even toher royals and flying-jibs; though closely gathered into their sparsby means of the running gear. In a word, every sailor would know, ata glance, that the ship was merely waiting for the proper moment tospread her wings, when she would be flying through the water at thetop of her speed. The weather looked dirty, and the wind wasgradually increasing, threatening to blow heavily as the dayadvanced. 

"Unshackle, unshackle!" shouted Spike to the boat-swain, who was thefirst man that appeared on deck. "The bloody sloop-of-war is uponus, and there is not a moment to lose. We must get the brig clear ofthe ground in the shortest way we can, and abandon everything. Unshackle, and cast off for'ard and aft, men. "

A few minutes of almost desperate exertion succeeded. No men worklike sailors, when the last are in a hurry, their efforts beingdirected to counteracting squalls, and avoiding emergencies of themost pressing character. Thus was it now with the crew of the Swash. The clanking of chains lasted but a minute, when the parts attachedto the anchors were thrust through the hawse-holes, or were droppedinto the water from other parts of the brig. This at once releasedthe vessel, though a great deal remained to be done to clear her forworking, and to put her in the best trim. 

"Away with this out-hauler!" again shouted Spike, casting loose themain-brails as he did so; "loose the jibs!"

All went on at once, and the Swash moved away from the grave of thepoor carpenter with the ease and facility of motion that marked allher evolutions. Then the top-sail was let fall, and presently allthe upper square-sails were sheeted home, and hoisted, and thefore-tack was hauled aboard. The Molly was soon alive, and jumpinginto the seas that met her with more power than was common, as shedrew out from under the shelter of the reef into rough water. Fromthe time when Spike gave his first order, to that when all hiscanvas was spread, was just seven minutes. 

The Poughkeepsie, with her vastly superior crew, was not idle thewhile. Although the watch below was not disturbed, she tackedbeautifully, and stood off the reef, in a line parallel to thecourse of the brig, and distant from her about half a mile. Thensail was made, her tacks having been boarded in stays. Spike knewthe play of his craft was short legs, for she was so nimble in hermovements that he believed she could go about in half the time thatwould be required for a vessel of the Poughkeepsie's length. "Readyabout, " was his cry, therefore, when less than a mile distant fromthe reef--"ready about, and let her go round. " Round the Molly didgo, like a top, being full on the other tack in just fifty-sixseconds. The movement of the corvette was more stately, and somewhatmore deliberate. Still, she stayed beautifully, and both Spike andthe boatswain shook their heads, as they saw her coming into thewind with her sails all lifting and the sheets flowing. 

"That fellow will fore-reach a cable's length before he gets about!"exclaimed Spike. "He will prove too much for us at this sport! Keepher away, my man--keep the brig away for the passage. We must runthrough the reef, instead of trusting ourselves to our heels in openwater. "

The brig was kept away accordingly, and sheets were eased off, andbraces just touched, to meet the new line of sailing. As the windstood, it was possible to lay through the passage on an easybowline, though the breeze, which was getting to be fresher thanSpike wished it to be, promised to haul more to the southward ofeast, as the day advanced. Nevertheless, this was the Swash's bestpoint of sailing, and all on board of her had strong hopes of herbeing too much for her pursuer, could she maintain it. Until thisfeeling began to diffuse itself in the brig, not a countenance wasto be seen on her decks that did not betray intense anxiety; but nowsomething like grim smiles passed among the crew, as their craftseemed rather to fly than force her way through the water, towardthe entrance of the passage so often adverted to in this narrative. 

On the other hand, the Poughkeepsie was admirably sailed andhandled. Everybody was now on deck, and the first lieutenant hadtaken the trumpet. Captain Mull was a man of method, and a thoroughman-of-war's man. Whatever he did was done according to rule, andwith great system. Just as the Swash was about to enter the passage, the drum of the Poughkeepsie beat to quarters. No sooner were themen mustered, in the leeward, or the starboard batteries, thanorders were sent to cast loose the guns, and to get them ready forservice. Owing to the more leeward position of his vessel, and tothe fact that she always head-reached so much in stays, Captain Mullknew that she would not lose much by luffing into the wind, or bymaking half-boards, while he might gain everything by onewell-directed shot. 

The strife commenced by the sloop-of-war, firing her weatherbow-gun, single-shotted, at the Swash. No damage was done, thoughthe fore-yard of the brig had a very narrow escape. This experimentwas repeated three times, without even a rope-yarn being carriedaway, though the gun was pointed by Wallace himself, and wellpointed, too. But it is possible for a shot to come very near itsobject and still to do no injury. Such was the fact on thisoccasion, though the "ship's gentleman" was a good deal mortified bythe result. Men look so much at success as the test of merit, thatfew pause to inquire into the reasons of failures, though itfrequently happens that adventures prosper by means of their veryblunders. Captain Mull now determined on a half-board, for his shipwas more to leeward than he desired. Directions were given to theofficers in the batteries to be deliberate, and the helm was putdown. As the ship shot into the wind, each gun was fired, as itcould be brought to bear, until the last of them all was discharged. Then the course of the vessel was changed, the helm being rightedbefore the ship had lost her way, and the sloop-of-war fell offagain to her course. 

All this was done in such a short period of time as scarcely tocause the Poughkeepsie to lose anything, while it did the Swash themost serious injury. The guns had been directed at the brig's sparsand sails, Captain Mull desiring no more than to capture his chase, and the destruction they produced aloft was such as to induce Spikeand his men, at first, to imagine that the whole hamper above theirheads was about to come clattering down on deck. One shot carriedaway all the weather fore-top-mast rigging of the brig, and would nodoubt have brought about the loss of the mast, if another, thatalmost instantly succeeded it, had not cut the spar itself in two, bringing down, as a matter of course, everything above it. Nearlyhalf of the main-mast was gouged out of that spar, and the gaff wastaken fairly out of its jaws. The fore-yard was cut in the slings, and various important ropes were carried away in different parts ofthe vessel. 

Flight, under such circumstances, was impossible, unless someextraordinary external assistance was to be obtained. This Spike sawat once, and he had recourse to the only expedient that remained;which might possibly yet save him. The guns were still belchingforth their smoke and flames, when he shouted out the order to putthe helm hard up. The width of the passage in which the vessels werewas not so great but that he might hope to pass across it, and toenter a channel among the rocks, which was favourably placed forsuch a purpose, ere the sloop-of-war could overtake him. Whitherthat channel led, what water it possessed, or whether it were not ashallow _cul de sac, _ were all facts of which Spike was ignorant. The circumstances, however, would not admit of an alternative. 

Happily for the execution of Spike's present design, nothing fromaloft had fallen into the water, to impede the brig's way. Forward, in particular, she seemed all wreck; her fore-yard having come downaltogether, so as to encumber the forecastle, while her top-mast, with its dependent spars and gear, was suspended but a shortdistance above. Still, nothing had gone over the side, so asactually to touch the water, and the craft obeyed her helm as usual. Away she went, then, for the lateral opening in the reef justmentioned, driven ahead by the pressure of a strong breeze on hersails, which still offered large surfaces to the wind, at a rapidrate. Instead of keeping away to follow, the Poughkeepsie maintainedher luff, and just as the Swash entered the unknown passage, intowhich she was blindly plunging, the sloop-of-war was about a quarterof a mile to windward, and standing directly across her stern. Nothing would have been easier, now, than for Captain Mull todestroy his chase; but humanity prevented his firing. He knew thather career must be short, and he fully expected to see her anchor;when it would be easy for him to take possession with his boats. With this expectation, indeed, he shortened sail, furlingtop-gallant-sails, and hauling up his courage. By this time, thewind had so much freshened, as to induce him to think of putting ina reef, and the step now taken had a double object in view. 

To the surprise of all on board the man-of-war, the brig continuedon, until she was fully a mile distant, finding her way deeper anddeeper among the mazes of the reef without meeting with anyimpediment! This fact induced Captain Mull to order his Paixhans tothrow their shells beyond her, by way of a hint to anchor. While theguns were getting ready, Spike stood on boldly, knowing it was neckor nothing, and beginning to feel a faint revival of hope, as hefound himself getting further and further from his pursuers, and therocks not fetching him up. Even the men, who had begun to murmur atwhat seemed to them to be risking too much, partook, in a slightdegree, of the same feeling, and began to execute the order they hadreceived to try to get the launch into the water, with someappearance of an intention to succeed. Previously, the work couldscarcely be said to go on at all; but two or three of the olderseamen now bestirred themselves, and suggestions were made andattended to, that promised results. But it was no easy thing to getthe launch out of a half-rigged brig, that had lost her fore-yard, and which carried nothing square abaft. A derrick was used incommon, to lift the stern of the boat, but a derrick would now beuseless aft, without an assistant forward. While these things werein discussion, under the superintendence of the boatswain, and Spikewas standing between the knight-heads, conning the craft, thesloop-of-war let fly the first of her hollow shot. Down came thehurtling mass upon the Swash, keeping every head elevated and alleyes looking for the dark object, as it went booming through the airabove their heads. The shot passed fully a mile to leeward, where itexploded. This great range had been given to the first shot, with aview to admonish the captain how long he must continue under theguns of the ship, and as advice to come to. The second gun followedimmediately. Its shot was seem to ricochet, directly in a line withthe brig, making leaps of about half a mile in length. It struck thewater about fifty yards astern of the vessel, bounded directly overher decks, passing through the main-sail and some of the fallenhamper forward, and exploded about a hundred yards ahead. As usuallyhappens with such projectiles, most of the fragments were eitherscattered laterally, or went on, impelled by the original momentum. 

The effect of this last gun on the crew of the Swash wasinstantaneous and deep. The faint gleamings of hope vanished atonce, and a lively consciousness of the desperate nature of theircondition succeeded in every mind. The launch was forgotten, and, after conferring together for a moment, the men went in a body, withthe boatswain at their head, to the forecastle, and offered aremonstrance to their commander, on the subject of holding out anylonger, under circumstances so very hazardous, and which menacedtheir lives in so many different ways. Spike listened to them witheyes that fairly glared with fury. He ordered them back to theirduty in a voice of thunder, tapping the breast of his jacket, wherehe was known to carry revolvers, with a significance that couldconvey but one meaning. 

It is wonderful the ascendency that men sometimes obtain over theirfellows, by means of character, the habits of command, andobedience, and intimidation. Spike was a stern disciplinarian, relying on that and ample pay for the unlimited control he oftenfound it necessary to exercise over his crew. On the presentoccasion, his people were profoundly alarmed, but habitual deferenceand submission to their leader counteracted the feeling, and heldthem in suspense. They were fully aware of the nature of theposition they occupied in a legal sense, and were deeply reluctantto increase the appearances of crime; but most of them had beenextricated from so many grave difficulties in former instances, bythe coolness, nerve and readiness of the captain, that a latent rayof hope was perhaps dimly shining in the rude breast of every oldsea-dog among them. As a consequence of these several causes, theyabandoned their remonstrance, for the moment at least, and made ashow of returning to their duty; though it was in a sullen and moodymanner. 

It was easier, however, to make a show of hoisting out the launch, than to effect the object. This was soon made apparent on trial, andSpike himself gave the matter up. He ordered the yawl to be lowered, got alongside, and to be prepared for the reception of the crew, byputting into it a small provision of food and water. All this timethe brig was rushing madly to leeward, among rocks and breakers, without any other guide than that which the visible dangersafforded. Spike knew no more where he was going than the meanest manin his vessel. His sole aim was to get away from his pursuers, andto save his neck from the rope. He magnified the danger ofpunishment that he really ran, for he best knew the extent andnature of his crimes, of which the few that have been laid beforethe reader, while they might have been amongst the most prominent, as viewed through the statutes and international law, were far fromthe gravest he had committed in the eyes of morals. 

About this time the Señor Montefalderon went forward to confer withSpike. The calmness of this gentleman's demeanour, the simplicityand coolness of his movements, denoted a conscience that saw noparticular ground for alarm. He wished to escape captivity, that hemight continue to serve his country, but no other apprehensiontroubled him. 

"Do you intend to trust yourself in the yawl, Don Esteban?" demandedthe Mexican quietly. "If so, is she not too small to contain so manyas we shall make altogether?"

Spike's answer was given in a low voice; and it evidently came froma very husky throat. 

"Speak lower, Don Wan, " he said. "The boat would be greatlyoverloaded with all hands in it, especially among the breakers, andblowing as it does; but we may leave some of the party behind. "

"The brig _must_ go on the rocks, sooner or later, Don Esteban; whenshe does, she will go to pieces in an hour. 

"I expect to hear her strike every minute, señor; the moment shedoes, we must be off. I have had my eye on that ship for some time, expecting to see her lower her cutters and gigs to board us. _You_will not be out of the way, Don Wan; but there is no need of beingtalkative on the subject of our escape. "

Spike now turned his back on the Mexican, looking anxiously ahead, with the desire to get as far into the reef as possible with hisbrig, which he conned with great skill and coolness. The SeñorMontefalderon left him. With the chivalry and consideration of a manand a gentleman, he went in quest of Mrs. Budd and Biddy. A hintsufficed for them, and gathering together a few necessaries theywere in the yawl in the next three minutes. This movement was unseenby Spike, or he might have prevented it. His eyes were now rivetedon the channel ahead. It had been fully his original intention tomake off in the boat, the instant the brig struck, abandoning notonly Don Juan, with Mrs. Budd and Biddy to their fates, but most ofthe crew. A private order had been given to the boatswain, and threeof the ablest-bodied among the seamen, each and all of whom kept thesecret with religious fidelity, as it was believed their ownpersonal safety might be connected with the success of this plan. 

Nothing is so contagious as alarm. It requires not only greatnatural steadiness of nerve, but much acquired firmness to remainunmoved when sudden terror has seized on the minds of those aroundus. Habitual respect had prevented the crew from interfering withthe movements of the Mexican, who not only descended into the boatwith his female companions uninterrupted, but also took with him thelittle bag of doubloons which fell to his share from the firstraising of the schooner. Josh and Jack Tier assisted in getting Mrs. Budd and Biddy over the side, and both took their own places in theyawl, as soon as this pious duty was discharged. This served as ahint to others near at hand; and man after man left his work tosteal into the yawl, until every living being had disappeared fromthe deck of the Swash, Spike himself excepted. The man at the wheelhad been the last to desert his post, nor would he have done sothen, but for a signal from the boatswain, with whom he was afavourite. 

It is certain there was a secret desire among the people of theSwash, who were now crowded into a boat not large enough to containmore than half their number with safety, to push off from the brig'sside, and abandon her commander and owner to his fate. All hadpassed so soon, however, and events succeeded each other with somuch rapidity, that little time was given for consultation. Habitkept them in their places, though the appearances around them werestrong motives for taking care of themselves. 

Notwithstanding the time necessary to relate the foregoing events, aquarter of an hour had not elapsed, from the moment when the Swashentered this unknown channel among the rocks, ere she struck. Nosooner was her helm deserted than she broached-to, and Spike was inthe act of denouncing the steerage, ignorant of its cause, when thebrig was thrown, broadside-to, on a sharp, angular bed of rocks. Itwas fortunate for the boat, and all in it, that it was brought toleeward by the broaching-to of the vessel, and that the water wasstill sufficiently deep around them to prevent the waves frombreaking. Breakers there were, however, in thousands, on every side;and the seamen understood that their situation was almostdesperately perilous, without shipwreck coming to increase thedanger. 

The storm itself was scarcely more noisy and boisterous than wasSpike, when he ascertained the manner in which his people hadbehaved. At first, he believed it was their plan to abandon him tohis fate; but, on rushing to the lee-gangway, Don Juan Montefalderonassured him that no such intention existed, and that he would notallow the boat to be cast off until the captain was received onboard. This brief respite gave Spike a moment to care for hisportion of the doubloons; and he rushed to his state-room to securethem, together with his quadrant. 

The grinding of the brig's bottom on the coral, announced a speedybreaking up of the craft, while her commander was thus employed. Soviolent were some of the shocks with which she came down on the hardbed in which she was now cradled, that Spike expected to see herburst asunder, while he was yet on her decks. The cracking oftimbers told him that all was over with the Swash, nor had he gotback as far as the gangway with his prize, before he saw plainlythat the vessel had broken her back, as it is termed, and that herplank-sheer was opening in a way that threatened to permit aseparation of the craft into two sections, one forward and the otheraft. Notwithstanding all these portentous proofs that the minutes ofthe Molly were numbered, and the danger that existed of his beingabandoned by his crew, Spike paused a moment, ere he went over thevessel's side, to take a hasty survey of the reef. His object was toget a general idea of the position of the breakers, with a view toavoid them. As much of the interest of that which is to succeed isconnected with these particular dangers, it may be well to explaintheir character, along with a few other points of a similar bearing. 

The brig had gone ashore fully two miles within the passage she hadentered, and which, indeed, terminated at the very spot where shehad struck. The Poughkeepsie was standing off and on, in the mainchannel, with her boats in the water, evidently preparing to carrythe brig in that mode. As for the breakers, they whitened thesurface of the ocean in all directions around the wreck, far as theeye could reach, but in two. The passage in which the Poughkeepsiewas standing to and fro was clear of them, of course; and about amile and a half to the northward, Spike saw that he should be inopen water, or altogether on the northern side of the reef, could heonly get there. The gravest dangers would exist in the passage, which led among breakers on all sides, and very possibly among rocksso near the surface as absolutely to obstruct the way. In one sense, however, the breakers were useful. By avoiding them as much aspossible, and by keeping in the unbroken water, the boat would berunning in the channels of the reef, and consequently would be thesafer. The result of the survey, short as it was, and it did notlast a minute, was to give Spike something like a plan; and when hewent over the side, and got into the boat, it was with adetermination to work his way out of the reef to its northern edge, as soon as possible, and then to skirt it as near as he could, inhis flight toward the Dry Tortugas. 

CHAPTER VII. 

 The screams of rage, the groan, the strife, The blow, the grasp, the horrid cry, The panting, throttled prayer for life, The dying's heaving sigh, The murderer's curse, the dead man's fixed, still glare, And fear's and death's cold sweat--they all are there. 

Matthew Lee. 

It was high time that Captain Spike should arrive when his foottouched the bottom of the yawl. The men were getting impatient andanxious to the last degree, and the power of Señor Montefalderon tocontrol them was lessening each instant. They heard the rending oftimber, and the grinding on the coral, even more distinctly than thecaptain himself, and feared that the brig would break up while theylay alongside of her, and crush them amid the ruins. Then the sprayof the seas that broke over the weather side of the brig, fell likerain upon them; and everybody in the boat was already as wet as ifexposed to a violent shower. It was well, therefore, for Spike thathe descended into the boat as he did, for another minute's delaymight have brought about his own destruction. 

Spike felt a chill at his heart when he looked about him and saw thecondition of the yawl. So crowded were the stern-sheets into whichhe had descended, that it was with difficulty he found room to placehis feet; it being his intention to steer, Jack was ordered to getinto the eyes of the boat, in order to give him a seat. The thwartswere crowded, and three or four of the people had placed themselvesin the very bottom of the little craft, in order to be as much aspossible out of the way, as well as in readiness to bail out water. So seriously, indeed, were all the seamen impressed with the gravityof this last duty, that nearly every man had taken with him somevessel fit for such a purpose. Rowing was entirely out of thequestion, there being no space for the movement of the arms. Theyawl was too low in the water, moreover, for such an operation in soheavy a sea. In all, eighteen persons were squeezed into a littlecraft that would have been sufficiently loaded, for moderate weatherat sea, with its four oarsmen and as many sitters in thestern-sheets, with, perhaps, one in the eyes to bring her more on aneven keel. In other words, she had twice the weight in her, inliving freight, that it would have been thought prudent to receivein so small a craft, in an ordinary time, in or out of a port. Inaddition to the human beings enumerated, there was a good deal ofbaggage, nearly every individual having had the forethought toprovide a few clothes for a change. The food and water did notamount to much, no more having been provided than enough for thepurposes of the captain, together with the four men with whom it hadbeen his intention to abandon the brig. The effect of all this cargowas to bring the yawl quite low in the water; and every sea-faringman in her had the greatest apprehensions about her being able tofloat at all when she got out from under the lee of the Swash, orinto the troubled water. Try it she must, however, and Spike, in areluctant and hesitating manner, gave the final order to "Shoveoff!"

The yawl carried a lugg, as is usually the case with boats at sea, and the first blast of the breeze upon it satisfied Spike that hispresent enterprise was one of the most dangerous of any in which hehad ever been engaged. The puffs of wind were quite as much as theboat would bear; but this he did not mind, as he was running offbefore it, and there was little danger of the yawl capsizing withsuch a weight in her. It was also an advantage to have swift way on, to prevent the combing waves from shooting into the boat, though thewind itself scarce outstrips the send of the sea in a stiff blow. Asthe yawl cleared the brig and began to feel the united power of thewind and waves, the following short dialogue occurred between theboatswain and Spike. 

"I dare not keep my eyes off the breakers ahead, " the captaincommenced, "and must trust to you, Strand, to report what is goingon among the man-of-war's men. What is the ship about?"

"Reefing her top-sails just now, sir. All three are on the caps, andthe vessel is laying-to, in a manner. "

"And her boats?"

"I see none, sir--ay, ay, there they come from alongside of her in alittle fleet! There are four of them, sir, and all are coming downbefore the wind, wing and wing, carrying their luggs reefed. "

"Ours ought to be reefed by rights, too, but we dare not stop to doit; and these infernal combing seas seem ready to glance aboard uswith all the way we can gather. Stand by to bail, men; we must passthrough a strip of white water--there is no help for it. God sendthat we go clear of the rocks!"

All this was fearfully true. The adventurers were not yet more thana cable's length from the brig, and they found themselves socompletely environed with the breakers as to be compelled to gothrough them. No man in his senses would ever have come into such aplace at all, except in the most unavoidable circumstances; and itwas with a species of despair that the seamen of the yawl now sawtheir little craft go plunging into the foam. 

But Spike neglected no precaution that experience or skill couldsuggest. He had chosen his spot with coolness and judgment. As theboat rose on the seas he looked eagerly ahead, and by giving it atimely sheer, he hit a sort of channel, where there was sufficientwater to carry them clear of the rock, and where the breakers wereless dangerous than in the shoaler places. The passage lasted abouta minute; and so serious was it, that scarce an individual breatheduntil it was effected. No human skill could prevent the water fromcombing in over the gunwales; and when the danger was passed, theyawl was a third filled with water. There was no time or place topause, but on the little craft was dragged almost gunwale to, thebreeze coming against the lugg in puffs that threatened to take themast out of her. All hands were bailing; and even Biddy used herhands to aid in throwing out the water. 

"This is no time to hesitate, men, " said Spike, sternly. "Everythingmust go overboard but the food and water. Away with them at once, and with a will. "

It was a proof how completely all hands were alarmed by this, thefirst experiment in the breakers, that not a man stayed his hand asingle moment, but each threw into the sea, without an instant ofhesitation, every article he had brought with him and had hoped tosave. Biddy parted with the carpet-bag, and Señor Montefalderon, feeling the importance of example, committed to the deep a smallwriting-desk that he had placed on his knees. The doubloons aloneremained, safe in a little locker where Spike had deposited themalong with his own. 

"What news astern, boatswain?" demanded the captain, as soon as thisimminent danger was passed, absolutely afraid to turn his eyes offthe dangers ahead for a single instant. "How come on theman-of-war's men?"

"They are running down in a body toward the wreck, though one oftheir boats does seem to be sheering out of the line, as if gettinginto our wake. It is hard to say, sir, for they are still a good bitto windward of the wreck. "

"And the Molly, Strand?"

"Why, sir, the Molly seems to be breaking up fast; as well as I cansee, she has broke in two just abaft the forechains, and cannot holdtogether in any shape at all many minutes longer. "

This information drew a deep groan from Spike, and the eye of everyseaman in the boat was turned in melancholy on the object they wereso fast leaving behind them. The yawl could not be said to besailing very rapidly, considering the power of the wind, which was alittle gale, for she was much too deep for that, but she left thewreck so fast as already to render objects on board her indistinct. Everybody saw that, like an overburthened steed, she had more to getalong with than she could well bear; and, dependent as seamenusually are on the judgment and orders of their superiors, even inthe direst emergencies, the least experienced man in her saw thattheir chances of final escape from drowning were of the mostdoubtful nature. The men looked at each other in a way to expresstheir feelings; and the moment seemed favourable to Spike to conferwith his confidential sea-dogs in private; but more white water wasalso ahead, and it was necessary to pass through it, since noopening was visible by which to avoid it. He deferred his purpose, consequently, until this danger was escaped. 

On this occasion Spike saw but little opportunity to select a placeto get through the breakers, though the spot, as a whole, was not ofthe most dangerous kind. The reader will understand that thepreservation of the boat at all, in white water, was owing to thecircumstance that the rocks all around it lay so near the surface ofthe sea as to prevent the possibility of agitating the element veryseriously, and to the fact that she was near the lee side of thereef. Had the breakers been of the magnitude of those which are seenwhere the deep rolling billows of the ocean first meet the weatherside of shoals or rocks, a craft of that size, and so loaded, couldnot possibly have passed the first line of white water withoutfilling. As it was, however, the breakers she had to contend withwere sufficiently formidable, and they brought with them thecertainty that the boat was in imminent danger of striking thebottom at any moment. Places like those in which Mulford had wadedon the reef, while it was calm, would now have proved fatal to thestrongest frame, since human powers were insufficient long towithstand the force of such waves as did glance over even theseshallows. 

"Look out!" cried Spike, as the boat again plunged in among thewhite water. "Keep bailing, men--keep bailing. "

The men did bail, and the danger was over almost as soon asencountered. Something like a cheer burst out of the chest of Spike, when he saw deeper water around him, and fancied he could now tracea channel that would carry him quite beyond the extent of the reef. It was arrested, only half uttered, however, by a communication fromthe boatswain, who sat on a midship thwart, his arms folded, and hiseye on the brig and the boats. 

"There goes the Molly's masts, sir! Both have gone together; and asgood sticks was they, before them bomb-shells passed through ourrigging, as was ever stepped in a keelson. "

The cheer was changed to something like a groan, while a murmur ofregret passed through the boat. 

"What news from the man-of-war's men, boatswain? Do they still standdown on a mere wreck?"

"No, sir; they seem to give it up, and are getting out their oars topull back to their ship. A pretty time they'll have of it, too. Thecutter that gets to windward half a mile in an hour, ag'in such asea, and such a breeze, must be well pulled and better steered. Onechap, however, sir, seems to hold on. "

Spike now ventured to look behind him, commanding an experiencedhand to take the helm. In order to do this he was obliged to changeplaces with the man he had selected to come aft, which brought himon a thwart alongside of the boatswain and one or two other of hisconfidants. Here a whispered conference took place, which lastedseveral minutes, Spike appearing to be giving instructions to themen. 

By this time the yawl was more than a mile from the wreck, all theman-of-war boats but one had lowered their sails, and were pullingslowly and with great labour back toward the ship, the cutter thatkept on, evidently laying her course after the yawl, instead ofstanding on toward the wreck. The brig was breaking up fast, withevery probability that nothing would be left of her in a few moreminutes. As for the yawl, while clear of the white water, it gotalong without receiving many seas aboard, though the men in itsbottom were kept bailing without intermission. It appeared to Spikethat so long as they remained on the reef, and could keep clear ofbreakers--a most difficult thing, however--they should fare betterthan if in deeper water, where the swell of the sea, and the combingof the waves, menaced so small and so deep-loaded a craft withserious danger. As it was, two or three men could barely keep theboat clear, working incessantly, and much of the time with a foot ortwo of water in her. 

Josh and Simon had taken their seats, side by side, with that sortof dependence and submission that causes the American black toabstain from mingling with the whites more than might appear seemly. They were squeezed on to one end of the thwart by a couple of robustold sea-dogs, who were two of the very men with whom Spike had beenin consultation. Beneath that very thwart was stowed anotherconfidant, to whom communications had also been made. These men hadsailed long in the Swash, and having been picked up in variousports, from time to time, as the brig had wanted hands, they were ofnearly as many different nations as they were persons. Spike hadobtained a great ascendency over them by habit and authority, andhis suggestions were now received as a sort of law. As soon as theconference was ended, the captain returned to the helm. 

A minute more passed, during which the captain was anxiouslysurveying the reef ahead, and the state of things astern. Ahead wasmore white water--the last before they should get clear of the reef;and astern it was now settled that the cutter that held on throughthe dangers of the place, was in chase of the yawl. That Mulford wasin her Spike made no doubt; and the thought embittered even hispresent calamities. But the moment had arrived for somethingdecided. The white water ahead was much more formidable than anythey had passed; and the boldest seamen there gazed at it withdread. Spike made a sign to the boatswain, and commenced theexecution of his dire project. 

"I say, you Josh, " called out the captain, in the authoritativetones that are so familiar to all on board a ship, "pull in thatfender that is dragging alongside. "

Josh leaned over the gunwale, and reported that there was no fenderout. A malediction followed, also so familiar to those acquaintedwith ships, and the black was told to look again. This time, as hadbeen expected, the negro leaned with his head and body far over theside of the yawl, to look for that which had no existence, when twoof the men beneath the thwart shoved his legs after them. Joshscreamed, as he found himself going into the water, with a sort ofconfused consciousness of the truth; and Spike called out to Simonto "catch hold of his brother-nigger. " The cook bent forward toobey, when a similar assault on _his_ legs from beneath the thwart, sent him headlong after Josh. One of the younger seamen, who was notin the secret, sprang up to rescue Simon, who grasped his extendedhand, when the too generous fellow was pitched headlong from theboat. 

All this occurred in less than ten seconds of time, and sounexpectedly and naturally, that not a soul beyond those who were inthe secret, had the least suspicion it was anything but an accident. Some water was shipped, of necessity, but the boat was soon bailedfree. As for the victims of this vile conspiracy, they disappearedamid the troubled waters of the reef, struggling with each other. Each and all met the common fate so much the sooner, from the mannerin which they impeded their own efforts. 

The yawl was now relieved from about five hundred pounds of theweight it had carried--Simon weighing two hundred alone, and theyoungish seaman being large and full. So intense does humanselfishness get to be, in moments of great emergency, that it is tobe feared most of those who remained, secretly rejoiced that theywere so far benefited by the loss of their fellows. The SeñorMontefalderon was seated on the aftermost thwart, with his legs inthe stern-sheets, and consequently with his back toward the negroes, and he fully believed that what had happened was purely accidental. 

"Let us lower our sail, Don Esteban, " he cried, eagerly, "and savethe poor fellows. "

Something very like a sneer gleamed on the dark countenance of thecaptain, but it suddenly changed to a look of assent. 

"Good!" he said, hastily--"spring forward, Don Wan, and lower thesail--stand by the oars, men!"

Without pausing to reflect, the generous-hearted Mexican stepped ona thwart, and began to walk rapidly forward, steadying himself byplacing his hands on the heads of the men. He was suffered to get asfar as the second thwart or past most of the conspirators, when hislegs were seized from behind. The truth now flashed on him, andgrasping two of the men in his front, who knew nothing of Spike'sdire scheme, he endeavoured to save himself by holding to theirjackets. Thus assailed, those men seized others with like intent, and an awful struggle filled all that part of the craft. At thisdread instant the boat glanced into the white water, shipping somuch of the element as nearly to swamp her, and taking so wild asheer as nearly to broach-to. This last circumstance probably savedher, fearful as was the danger for the moment. Everybody in themiddle of the yawl was rendered desperate by the amount and natureof the danger incurred, and the men from the bottom rose in theirmight, underneath the combatants, when a common plunge was made byall who stood erect, one dragging overboard another, each a gooddeal hastened by the assault from beneath, until no less than fivewere gone. Spike got his helm up, the boat fell off, and away fromthe spot it flew, clearing the breakers, and reaching the northernwall-like margin of the reef at the next instant. There was now amoment when those who remained could breathe, and dared to lookbehind them. 

The great plunge had been made in water so shoal, that the boat hadbarely escaped being dashed to pieces on the coral. Had it not beenso suddenly relieved from the pressure of near a thousand pounds inweight, it is probable that this calamity would have befallen it, the water received on board contributing so much to weight it down. The struggle between these victims ceased, however, the moment theywent over. Finding bottom for their feet, they released each other, in a desperate hope of prolonging life by wading. Two or three heldout their arms, and shouted to Spike to return and pick them up. This dreadful scene lasted but a single instant, for the wavesdashed one after another from his feet, continually forcing themall, as they occasionally regained their footing, toward the marginof the reef, and finally washing them off it into deep water. Nohuman power could enable a man to swim back to the rocks, once toleeward of them, in the face of such seas, and so heavy a blow; andthe miserable wretches disappeared in succession, as their strengthbecame exhausted, in the depths of the Gulf. 

Not a word had been uttered while this terrific scene was in thecourse of occurrence; not a word was uttered for some timeafterward. Gleams of grim satisfaction had been seen on thecountenances of the boatswain and his associates, when the successof their nefarious project was first assured; but they soondisappeared in looks of horror, as they witnessed the struggles ofthe drowning men. Nevertheless, human selfishness was strong withinthem all, and none there was so ignorant as not to perceive how muchbetter were the chances of the yawl now than it had been on quittingthe wreck. The weight of a large ox had been taken from it, countingthat of all the eight men drowned; and as for the water shipped, itwas soon bailed back again into the sea. Not only, therefore, wasthe yawl in a better condition to resist the waves, but it sailedmaterially faster than it had done before. Ten persons stillremained in it, however, which brought it down in the water belowits proper load-line; and the speed of a craft so small wasnecessarily a good deal lessened by the least deviation from itsbest sailing, or rowing trim. But Spike's projects were not yetcompleted. 

All this time the man-of-war's cutter had been rushing as madlythrough the breakers, in chase, as the yawl had done in the attemptto escape. Mulford was, in fact, on board it; and his now fastfriend, Wallace, was in command. The latter wished to seize atraitor, the former to save the aunt of his weeping bride. Bothbelieved that they might follow wherever Spike dared to lead. Thisreasoning was more bold than judicious notwithstanding, since thecutter was much larger, and drew twice as much water as the yawl. Onit came, nevertheless, faring much better in the white water thanthe little craft it pursued, but necessarily running a much moreconsiderable risk of hitting the coral, over which it was glancingalmost as swiftly as the waves themselves; still it had thus farescaped--and little did any in it think of the danger. This cutterpulled ten oars; was an excellent sea boat; had four armed marinesin it, in addition to its crew, but carried all through thebreakers, receiving scarcely a drop of water on board, on account ofthe height of its wash-boards, and the general qualities of thecraft. It may be well to add here, that the Poughkeepsie had shakenout her reefs, and was betraying the impatience of Captain Mull tomake sail in chase, by firing signal-guns to his boats to bear ahand and return. These signals the three boats under their oars wereendeavouring to obey, but Wallace had got so far to leeward as nowto render the course he was pursuing the wisest. 

Mrs. Budd and Biddy had seen the struggle in which the SeñorMontefalderon had been lost, in a sort of stupid horror. Both hadscreamed, as was their wont, though neither probably suspected thetruth. But the fell designs of Spike extended to them, as well as tothose whom he had already destroyed. Now the boat was in deep water, running along the margin of the reef, the waves were much increasedin magnitude, and the comb of the sea was far more menacing to theboat. This would not have been the case had the rocks formed a lee;but they did not, running too near the direction of the trades toprevent the billows that got up a mile or so in the offing, fromsending their swell quite home to the reef. It was this swell, indeed, which caused the line of white water along the northernmargin of the coral, washing on the rocks by a sort of lateraleffort, and breaking, as a matter of course. In many places, no boatcould have lived to pass through it. 

Another consideration influenced Spike to persevere. The cutter hadbeen overhauling him, hand over hand, but since the yawl wasrelieved of the weight of no less than eight men, the difference inthe rate of sailing was manifestly diminished. The man-of-war's boatdrew nearer, but by no means as fast as it had previously done. Apoint was now reached in the trim of the yawl, when a very fewhundreds in weight might make the most important change in herfavour; and this change the captain was determined to produce. Bythis time the cutter was in deep water, as well as himself, safethrough all the dangers of the reef, and she was less than a quarterof a mile astern. On the whole, she was gaining, though so slowly asto require the most experienced eye to ascertain the fact. 

"Madame Budd, " said Spike, in a hypocritical tone, "we are in greatdanger, and I shall have to ask you to change your seat. The boat istoo much by the starn, now we've got into deep water, and yourweight amidships would be a great relief to us. Just give your handto the boatswain, and he will help you to step from thwart tothwart, until you reach the right place, when Biddy shall follow. "

Now Mrs. Budd had witnessed the tremendous struggle in which so manyhad gone overboard, but so dull was she of apprehension, and solittle disposed to suspect anything one-half so monstrous as thetruth, that she did not hesitate to comply. She was profoundly awedby the horrors of the scene through which she was passing, theraging billows of the Gulf, as seen from so small a craft, producinga deep impression on her; still a lingering of her most inveterateaffectation was to be found in her air and language, which presenteda strange medley of besetting weakness, and strong, natural, womanlyaffection. 

"Certainly, Captain Spike, " she answered, rising. "A craft shouldnever go astern, and I am quite willing to ballast the boat. We haveseen such terrible accidents today, that all should lend their aidin endeavouring to get under way, and in averting all possiblehamper. Only take me to my poor, dear Rosy, Captain Spike, andeverything shall be forgotten that has passed between us. This isnot a moment to bear malice; and I freely pardon you all andeverything. The fate of our unfortunate friend, Mr. Montefalderon, should teach us charity, and cause us to prepare for untimely ends. "

All the time the good widow was making this speech, which sheuttered in a solemn and oracular sort of manner, she was movingslowly toward the seat the men had prepared for her, in the middleof the boat, assisted with the greatest care and attention by theboatswain and another of Spike's confidants. When on the secondthwart from aft, and about to take her seat, the boatswain cast alook behind him, and Spike put the helm down. The boat luffed andlurched, of course, and Mrs. Budd would probably have gone overboardto leeward, by so sudden and violent a change, had not the impetusthus received been aided by the arms of the men who held her twohands. The plunge she made into the water was deep, for she was awoman of great weight for her stature. Still, she was notimmediately gotten rid of. Even at that dread instant, it isprobable that the miserable woman did not suspect the truth, for shegrasped the hand of the boatswain with the tenacity of a vice, and, thus dragged on the surface of the boiling surges, she screamedaloud for Spike to save her. Of all who had yet been sacrificed tothe captain's selfish wish to save himself, this was the firstinstance in which any had been heard to utter a sound, after fallinginto the sea. The appeal shocked even the rude beings around her, and Biddy chiming in with a powerful appeal to "save the missus!"added to the piteous nature of the scene. 

"Cast off her hand, " said Spike reproachfully, "she'll swamp theboat by her struggles--get rid of her at once! Cut her fingers off, if she wont let go!"

The instant these brutal orders were given, and that in a fierce, impatient tone, the voice of Biddy was heard no more. The truthforced itself on her dull imagination, and she sat a witness of theterrible scene, in mute despair. The struggle did not last long. Theboatswain drew his knife across the wrist of the hand that graspedhis own, one shriek was heard, and the boat plunged into the troughof a sea, leaving the form of poor Mrs. Budd struggling with thewave on its summit, and amid the foam of its crest. This was thelast that was ever seen of the unfortunate relict. 

"The boat has gained a good deal by that last discharge of cargo, "said Spike to the boatswain, a minute after they had gotten rid ofthe struggling woman--"she is much more lively, and is gettingnearer to her load-line. If we can bring her to _that, _ I shall haveno fear of the man-of-war's men; for this yawl is one of the fastestboats that ever floated. "

"A very little _now, _ sir, would bring us to our true trim. "

"Ay, we must get rid of more cargo. Come, good woman, " turning toBiddy, with whom he did not think it worth his while to use muchcircumlocution, "_your_ turn is next. It's the maid's duty to followher mistress. "

"I know'd it _must_ come, " said Biddy, meekly. "If there was nomercy for the missus, little could I look for. But ye'll not takethe life of a Christian woman widout giving her so much as oneminute to say her prayers?"

"Ay, pray away, " answered Spike, his throat becoming dry and husky, for, strange to say, the submissive quiet of the Irish woman, sodifferent from the struggle he had anticipated with _her, _ renderedhim more reluctant to proceed than he had hitherto been in all ofthat terrible day. As Biddy kneeled in the bottom of thestern-sheets, Spike looked behind him, for the double purpose ofescaping the painful spectacle at his feet, and that of ascertaininghow his pursuers came on. The last still gained, though very slowly, and doubts began to come over the captain's mind whether he couldescape such enemies at all. He was too deeply committed, however, torecede, and it was most desirable to get rid of poor Biddy, if itwere for no other motive than to shut her mouth. Spike even fanciedthat some idea of what had passed was entertained by those in thecutter. There was evidently a stir in that boat, and two forms thathe had no difficulty, now, in recognizing as those of Wallace andMulford, were standing on the grating in the eyes of the cutter, orforward of the foresail. The former appeared to have a musket in hishand, and the other a glass. The last circumstance admonished himthat all that was now done would be done before dangerous witnesses. It was too late to draw back, however, and the captain turned tolook for the Irish woman. 

Biddy arose from her knees, just as Spike withdrew his eyes from hispursuers. The boatswain and another confidant were in readiness tocast the poor creature into the sea, the moment their leader gavethe signal. The intended victim saw and understood the arrangement, and she spoke earnestly and piteously to her murderers. 

"It's not wanting will be violence!" said Biddy, in a quiet tone, but with a saddened countenance. "I know it's my turn, and I willsave yer sowls from a part of the burden of this great sin. God, andHis Divine Son, and the Blessed Mother of Jesus have mercy on me ifit be wrong; but I would far radder jump into the saa widout havingthe rude hands of man on me, than have the dreadful sight of themissus done over ag'in. It's a fearful thing is wather, andsometimes we have too little of it, and sometimes more than wewant--"

"Bear a hand, bear a hand, good woman, " interrupted the boatswain, impatiently. "We must clear the boat of you, and the sooner it isdone the better it will be for all of us. "

"Don't grudge a poor morthal half a minute of life, at the lastmoment, " answered Biddy. "It's not long that I'll throuble ye, andso no more need be said. "

The poor creature then got on the quarter of the boat, without anyone's touching her; there she placed herself with her legs outboard, while she sat on the gunwale. She gave one moment to the thought ofarranging her clothes with womanly decency, and then she paused togaze with a fixed eye, and pallid cheek, on the foaming wake thatmarked the rapid course of the boat. The troughs of the sea seemedless terrible to her than their combing crests, and she waited forthe boat to descend into the next. 

"God forgive ye all, this deed, as I do!" said Biddy, earnestly, andbending her person forward, she fell, as it might be "withouthands, " into the gulf of eternity. Though all strained their eyes, none of the men, Jack Tier excepted, ever saw more of Biddy Noon. Nor did Jack see much. He got a frightful glimpse of an arm, however, on the summit of a wave, but the motion of the boat was tooswift, and the water of the ocean too troubled, to admit of aughtelse. 

A long pause succeeded this event. Biddy's quiet submission to herfate had produced more impression on her murderers than thedesperate, but unavailing, struggles of those who had preceded her. Thus it is ever with men. When opposed, the demon within blinds themto consequences as well as to their duties; but, unresisted, thesilent influence of the image of God makes itself felt, and a betterspirit begins to prevail. There was not one in that boat who didnot, for a brief space, wish that poor Biddy had been spared. Withmost, that feeling, the last of human kindness they ever knew, lingered until the occurrence of the dread catastrophe which, soshortly after, closed the scene of this state of being on theireyes. 

"Jack Tier, " called out Spike, some five minutes after Biddy wasdrowned, but not until another observation had made it plainlyapparent to him that the man-of-war's men still continued to drawnearer, being now not more than fair musket-shot astern. 

"Ay, ay, sir, " answered Jack, coming quietly out of his hole, fromforward of the mast, and moving aft as if indifferent to the danger, by stepping lightly from thwart to thwart, until he reached thestern-sheets. 

"It is your turn, little Jack, " said Spike, as if in a sort ofsorrowful submission to a necessity that knew no law, "we cannotspare you the room. "

"I have expected this, and am ready. Let me have my own way, and Iwill cause you no trouble. Poor Biddy has taught me how to die. Before I go, however, Stephen Spike, I must leave you this letter. It is written by myself, and addressed to you. When I am gone, readit, and think well of what it contains. And now, may a merciful Godpardon the sins of both, through love for His Divine Son. I forgiveyou, Stephen; and should you live to escape from those who are nowbent on hunting you to the death, let this day cause you no grief onmy account. Give me but a moment of time, and I will cause you notrouble. "

Jack now stood upon the seat of the stern-sheets, balancing himselfwith one foot on the stern of the boat. He waited until the yawl hadrisen to the summit of a wave, when he looked eagerly for theman-of-war's cutter. At that moment she was lost to view in thetrough of the sea. Instead of springing overboard, as all expected, he asked another instant of delay. The yawl sank into the troughitself, and rose on the succeeding billow. Then he saw the cutter, and Wallace and Mulford standing in its bows. He waved his hat tothem, and sprang high into the air, with the intent to make himselfseen; when he came down the boat had shot her length away from theplace, leaving him to buffet with the waves. Jack now managedadmirably, swimming lightly and easily, but keeping his eyes on thecrests of the waves, with a view to meet the cutter. Spike now sawthis well-planned project to avoid death, and regretted his ownremissness in not making sure of Jack. Everybody in the yawl waseagerly looking after the form of Tier. 

"There he is on the comb of that sea, rolling over like a keg!"cried the boatswain. 

"He 's through it, " answered Spike, "and swimming with greatstrength and coolness. "

Several of the men started up involuntarily and simultaneously tolook, hitting their shoulders and bodies together. Distrust was atits most painful height; and bull-dogs do not spring at the ox'smuzzle more fiercely than those six men throttled each other. Oaths, curses, and appeals for help, succeeded; each man endeavouring, inhis frenzied efforts, to throw all the others overboard, as the onlymeans of saving himself. Plunge succeeded plunge; and when thatcombat of demons ended, no one remained of them all but theboatswain. Spike had taken no share in the struggle, looking on ingrim satisfaction, as the Father of Lies may be supposed to regardall human strife, hoping good to himself, let the result be what itmight to others. Of the five men who thus went overboard, not oneescaped. They drowned each other by continuing their maddenedconflict in an element unsuited to their natures. 

Not so with Jack Tier. His leap had been seen, and a dozen eyes inthe cutter watched for his person, as that boat came foaming downbefore the wind. A shout of "There he is!" from Mulford succeeded;and the little fellow was caught by the hair, secured, and thenhauled into the boat by the second lieutenant of the Poughkeepsieand our young mate. 

Others in the cutter had noted the incident of the hellish fight. The fact was communicated to Wallace, and Mulford said, "That yawlwill outsail this loaded cutter, with only two men in it. "

"Then it is time to try what virtue there is in lead, " answeredWallace. "Marines, come forward, and give the rascal a volley. "

The volley was fired; one ball passed through the head of theboatswain, killing him dead on the spot. Another went through thebody of Spike. The captain fell in the stern-sheets, and the boatinstantly broached-to. 

The water that came on board apprised Spike fully of the state inwhich he was now placed, and by a desperate effort, he clutched thetiller, and got the yawl again before the wind. This could not last, however. Little by little, his hold relaxed, until his handrelinquished its grasp altogether, and the wounded man sank into thebottom of the stern-sheets, unable to raise even his head. Again theboat broached-to. Every sea now sent its water aboard, and the yawlwould soon have filled, had not the cutter come glancing down pastit, and rounding-to under its lee, secured the prize. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

 Man hath a weary pilgrimage, As through the world he wends; On every stage, from youth to age, Still discontent attends; With heaviness he casts his eye, Upon the road before, And still remembers with a sigh The days that are no more. 

Southey. 

It has now become necessary to advance the time three entire days, and to change the scene to Key West. As this latter place may not beknown to the world at large, it may be well to explain that it is asmall seaport, situate on one of the largest of the many low islandsthat dot the Florida Reef, that has risen into notice, or indeedinto existence as a town, since the acquisition of the Floridas bythe American Republic. For many years it was the resort of fewbesides wreckers, and those who live by the business dependent onthe rescuing and repairing of stranded vessels, not forgetting thesalvages. When it is remembered that the greater portion of thevessels that enter the Gulf of Mexico stand close along this reef, before the trades, for a distance varying from one to two hundredmiles, and that nearly everything which quits it, is obliged to beatdown its rocky coast in the Gulf Stream for the same distance, oneis not to be surprised that the wrecks, which so constantly occur, can supply the wants of a considerable population. To live at KeyWest is the next thing to being at sea. The place has sea air, noother water than such as is preserved in cisterns, and no soil, orso little as to render even a head of lettuce a rarity. Turtle isabundant, and the business of "turtling" forms an occupationadditional to that of wrecking. As might be expected, in suchcircumstances, a potato is a far more precious thing than a turtle'segg, and a sack of the tubers would probably be deemed a sufficientremuneration for enough of the materials of callipash and callipeeto feed all the aldermen extant. 

Of late years, the government of the United States has turned itsattention to the capabilities of the Florida Reef, as an advancednaval station; a sort of Downs, or St. Helen's Roads, for the WestIndian seas. As yet little has been done beyond making thepreliminary surveys, but the day is not probably very distant whenfleets will lie at anchor among the islets described in our earlierchapters, or garnish the fine waters of Key West. For a long time itwas thought that even frigates would have a difficulty in enteringand quitting the port of the latter, but it is said that recentexplorations have discovered channels capable of admitting anythingthat floats. Still Key West is a town yet in its chrysalis state, possessing the promise rather than the fruition of the prosperousdays which are in reserve. It may be well to add, that it lies avery little north of the 24th degree of latitude, and in a longitudequite five degrees west from Washington. Until the recent conquestsin Mexico it was the most southern possession of the Americangovernment, on the eastern side of the continent; Cape St. Lucas, atthe extremity of Lower California, however, being two degreesfarther south. 

It will give the foreign reader a more accurate notion of thecharacter of Key West, if we mention a fact of quite recentoccurrence. A very few weeks after the closing scenes of this tale, the town in question was, in a great measure, washed away! Ahurricane brought in the sea upon all these islands and reefs, waterrunning in swift currents over places that within the memory of manwere never before submerged. The lower part of Key West wasconverted into a raging sea, and everything in that quarter of theplace disappeared. The foundation being of rock, however, when theocean retired the island came into view again, and industry andenterprise set to work to repair the injuries. 

The government has established a small hospital for seamen at KeyWest. Into one of the rooms of the building thus appropriated ournarrative must now conduct the reader. It contained but a singlepatient, and that was Spike. He was on his narrow bed, which was tobe but the pucursor of a still narrower tenement, the grave. In theroom with the dying man were two females, in one of whom our readerswill at once recognize the person of Rose Budd, dressed in deepmourning for her aunt. At first sight, it is probable that a casualspectator would mistake the second female for one of the ordinarynurses of the place. Her attire was well enough, though wornawkwardly, and as if its owner were not exactly at ease in it. Shehad the air of one in her best attire, who was unaccustomed to bedressed above the most common mode. What added to the singularity ofher appearance, was the fact, that while she wore no cap, her hairhad been cut into short, gray bristles, instead of being long, andturned up, as is usual with females. To give a sort of climax tothis uncouth appearance, this strange-looking creature chewedtobacco. 

The woman in question, equivocal as might be her exterior, wasemployed in one of the commonest avocations of her sex--that ofsewing. She held in her hand a coarse garment, one of Spike's, infact, which she seemed to be intently busy in mending; although thework was of a quality that invited the use of the palm andsail-needle, rather than that of the thimble and the smallerimplement known to seamstresses, the woman appeared awkward in herbusiness, as if her coarse-looking and dark hands refused to lendthemselves to an occupation so feminine. Nevertheless, there weretouches of a purely womanly character about this extraordinaryperson, and touches that particularly attracted the attention, andawakened the sympathy of the gentle Rose, her companion. Tearsoccasionally struggled out from beneath her eyelids, crossed herdark, sun-burnt cheek, and fell on the coarse canvas garment thatlay in her lap. It was after one of these sudden and strongexhibitions of feeling that Rose approached her, laid her ownlittle, fair hand, in a friendly way, though unheeded, on theother's shoulder, and spoke to her in her kindest and softest tones. 

"I do really think he is reviving, Jack, " said Rose, "and that youmay yet hope to have an intelligent conversation with him. "

"They all agree he _must_ die, " answered Jack Tier--for it was _he, _appearing in the garb of his proper sex, after a disguise that hadnow lasted fully twenty years--"and he will never know who I am, andthat I forgive him. He must think of me in another world, though heis n't able to do it in this; but it would be a great relief to hissoul to know that I forgive him. "

"To be sure, a man must like to take a kind leave of his own wifebefore he closes his eyes for ever; and I dare say it would be agreat relief to you to tell him that you have forgotten hisdesertion of you, and all the hardships it has brought upon you insearching for him, and in earning your own livelihood as a commonsailor. "

"I shall not tell him I've _forgotten_ it, Miss Rose; that would beuntrue--and there shall be no more deception between us; but I shalltell him that I _forgive_ him, as I hope God will one day forgive meall _my_ sins. "

"It is, certainly, not a light offence to desert a wife in a foreignland, and then to seek to deceive another woman, " quietly observedRose. 

"He's a willian!" muttered the wife--"but--but--"

"You forgive him, Jack--yes, I'm sure you do. You are too good aChristian to refuse to forgive him. "

"I'm a woman a'ter all, Miss Rose; and that, I believe, is the truthof it. I suppose I ought to do as you say, for the reason youmention; but I'm his wife--and once he loved me, though that haslong been over. When I first knew Stephen, I'd the sort of feelin'syou speak of, and was a very different creatur' from what you see meto-day. Change comes over us all with years and sufferin'. "

Rose did not answer, but she stood looking intently at the speakermore than a minute. Change had, indeed, come over her, if she hadever possessed the power to please the fancy of any living man. Herfeatures had always seemed diminutive and mean for her assumed sex, as her voice was small and cracked; but, making every allowance forthe probabilities, Rose found it difficult to imagine that Jack Tierhad ever possessed, even under the high advantages of youth andinnocence, the attractions so common to her sex. Her skin hadacquired the tanning of the sea; the expression of her face hadbecome hard and worldly; and her habits contributed to render thosenatural consequences of exposure and toil even more than usuallymarked and decided. By saying "habits, " however, we do not mean thatJack had ever drunk to excess, as happens with so many seamen, forthis would have been doing her injustice, but she smoked andchewed--practices that intoxicate in another form, and lead nearlyas many to the grave as excess in drinking. Thus all the accessoriesabout this singular being, partook of the character of her recentlife and duties. Her walk was between a waddle and a seaman's roll, her hands were discoloured with tar, and had got to be full ofknuckles, and even her feet had degenerated into that flat, broad-toed form that, perhaps, sooner distinguishes caste, inconnection with outward appearances, than any one other physicalpeculiarity. Yet this being _had_ once been young--had once beeneven _fair;_ and had once possessed that feminine air and lightnessof form, that as often belongs to the youthful American of her sex, perhaps, as to the girl of any other nation on earth. Rose continuedto gaze at her companion for some time, when she walked musingly toa window that looked out upon the port. 

"I am not certain whether it would do him good or not to see thissight, " she said, addressing the wife kindly, doubtful of the effectof her words even on the latter. "But here are the sloop-of-war, andseveral other vessels. "

"Ay, she is _there;_ but never will his foot be put on board theSwash ag'in. When he bought that brig I was still young, andagreeable to him; and he gave her my maiden name, which was Mary, orMolly Swash. But that is all changed; I wonder he did not change thename with his change of feelin's. "

"Then you did really sail in the brig in former times, and knew theseaman whose name you assumed?"

"Many years. Tier, with whose name I made free, on account of hissize, and some resemblance to me in form, died under my care; andhis protection fell into my hands, which first put the notion intomy head of hailing as his representative. Yes, I knew Tier in thebrig, and we were left ashore at the same time; I, intentionally, Imake no question; he, because Stephen Spike was in a hurry, and didnot choose to wait for a man. The poor fellow caught the yellowfever the very next day, and did not live eight-and-forty hours. Sothe world goes; them that wish to live, die; and them that wants todie, live!"

"You have had a hard time for one of your sex, poor Jack--quitetwenty years a sailor, did you not tell me?"

"Every day of it, Miss Rose--and bitter years have they been; forthe whole of that time have I been in chase of my husband, keepingmy own secret, and slaving like a horse for a livelihood. "

"You could not have been old when he left--that is--when youparted. "

"Call it by its true name, and say at once, when he desarted me. Iwas under thirty by two or three years, and was still like my ownsex to look at. All _that_ is changed since; but I _was_ comely_then_. "

"_Why_ did Captain Spike abandon you, Jack; you have never told me_that_. "

"Because he fancied another. And ever since that time he has beenfancying others, instead of remembering me. Had he got _you, _ MissRose, I think he would have been content for the rest of his days. "

"Be certain, Jack, I should never have consented to marry CaptainSpike. "

"You're well out of his hands, " answered Jack, sighing heavily, which was the most feminine thing she had done during the wholeconversation, "well out of his hands--and God be praised it is so. He should have died, before I would let him carry you off theisland--husband or no husband. "

"It might have exceeded your power to prevent it under othercircumstances, Jack. "

Rose now continued looking out of the window in silence. Herthoughts reverted to her aunt and Biddy, and tears rolled down hercheeks as she remembered the love of one, and the fidelity of theother. Their horrible fate had given her a shock that, at first, menaced her with a severe fit of illness; but her strong, goodsense, and excellent constitution, both sustained by her piety andHarry's manly tenderness, had brought her through the danger, andleft her, as the reader now sees her, struggling with her owngriefs, in order to be of use to the still more unhappy woman whohad so singularly become her friend and companion. 

The reader will readily have anticipated that Jack Tier had earlymade the females on board the Swash her confidants. Rose had knownthe outlines of her history from the first few days they were at seatogether, which is the explanation of the visible intimacy that hadcaused Mulford so much surprise. Jack's motive in making hisrevelations might possibly have been tinctured with jealousy, but adesire to save one as young and innocent as Rose was at its bottom. Few persons but a wife would have supposed our heroine could havebeen in any danger from a lover like Spike; but Jack saw him withthe eyes of her own youth, and of past recollections, rather thanwith those of truth. A movement of the wounded man first drew Rosefrom the window. Drying her eyes hastily, she turned toward him, fancying she might prove the better nurse of the two, notwithstanding Jack's greater interest in the patient. 

"What place is this--and why am I here?" demanded Spike, with morestrength of voice than could have been expected, after all that hadpassed. "This is not a cabin--not the Swash--it looks like ahospital. "

"It is a hospital, Captain Spike, " said Rose, gently drawing nearthe bed; "you have been hurt, and have been brought to Key West, andplaced in the hospital. I hope you feel better, and that you sufferno pain. "

"My head is n't right--I do n't know--everything seems turned roundwith me--perhaps it will all come out as it should. I begin toremember--where is my brig?"

"She is lost on the rocks. The seas have broken her into fragments. "

"That's melancholy news, at any rate. Ah! Miss Rose! God blessyou--I've had terrible dreams. Well, it's pleasant to be amongfriends--what creature is that--where does _she_ come from?"

"That is Jack Tier, " answered Rose, steadily. "She turns out to be awoman, and has put on her proper dress, in order to attend on youduring your illness. Jack has never left your bedside since we havebeen here. "

A long silence succeeded this revelation. Jack's eyes twinkled, andshe hitched her body half aside, as if to conceal her features, where emotions that were unusual were at work with the muscles. Rosethought it might be well to leave the man and wife alone--and shemanaged to get out of the room unobserved. 

Spike continued to gaze at the strange-looking female, who was nowhis sole companion. Gradually his recollection returned, and with itthe full consciousness of his situation. He might not have beenfully aware of the absolute certainty of his approaching death, buthe must have known that his wound was of a very grave character, andthat the result might early prove fatal. Still that strange andunknown figure haunted him; a figure that was so different from anyhe had ever seen before, and which, in spite of its present dress, seemed to belong quite as much to one sex as to the other. As forJack, we call Molly, or Mary Swash by her masculine appellation, notonly because it is more familiar, but because the other name seemsreally out of place, as applied to such a person--as for Jack, then, she sat with her face half averted, thumbing the canvas, andendeavouring to ply the needle, but perfectly mute. She wasconscious that Spike's eyes were on her; and a lingering feeling ofher sex told her how much time, exposure, and circumstances, hadchanged her person--and she would gladly have hidden the defects inher appearance. 

Mary Swash was the daughter as well as the wife of a ship-master. Inher youth, as has been said before, she had even been pretty, anddown to the day when her husband deserted her, she would have beenthought a female of a comely appearance rather than the reverse. Herhair in particular, though slightly coarse, perhaps, had been richand abundant; and the change from the long, dark, shining, flowinglocks which she still possessed in her thirtieth year, to the short, grey bristles that now stood exposed without a cap, or covering ofany sort, was one very likely to destroy all identity of appearance. Then Jack had passed from what might be called youth to the verge ofold age, in the interval that she had been separated from herhusband. Her shape had changed entirely; her complexion was utterlygone; and her features, always unmeaning, though feminine, andsuitable to her sex, had become hard and slightly coarse. Stillthere was something of her former self about Jack that bewilderedSpike; and his eyes continued fastened on her for quite a quarter ofan hour in profound silence. 

"Give me some water, " said the wounded man, "I wish some water todrink. "

Jack arose, filled a tumbler and brought it to the side of the bed. Spike took the glass and drank, but the whole time his eyes wereriveted on the strange nurse. When his thirst was appeased, heasked--

"Who are you? How came you here?"

"I am your nurse. It is common to place nurses at the bedsides ofthe sick. "

"Are you man or woman?"

"That is a question I hardly know how to answer. Sometimes I thinkmyself each; sometimes neither. "

"Did I ever see you before?"

"Often, and quite lately. I sailed with you in your last voyage. "

"You! That cannot be. If so, what is your name?"

"Jack Tier. "

A long pause succeeded this announcement, which induced Spike tomuse as intently as his condition would allow, though the truth didnot yet flash on his understanding. At length the bewildered managain spoke. 

"Are _you_ Jack Tier?" he said slowly, like one who doubted. "Yes--Inow see the resemblance, and it was _that_ which puzzled me. Arethey so rigid in this hospital that you have been obliged to put onwoman's clothes in order to lend me a helping hand?"

"I am dressed as you see, and for good reasons. "

"But Jack Tier run, like that rascal Mulford--ay, I remember now;you were in the boat when I overhauled you all on the reef. "

"Very true; I was in the boat. But I never run, Stephen Spike. Itwas _you_ who abandoned _me, _ on the islet in the Gulf, and thatmakes the second time in your life that you left me ashore, when itwas your duty to carry me to sea. "

"The first time I was in a hurry, and could not wait for you; thislast time you took sides with the women. But for your interference, I should have got Rose, and married her, and all would now have beenwell with me. "

This was an awkward announcement for a man to make to his legalwife. But after all Jack had endured, and all Jack had seen duringthe late voyage, she was not to be overcome by this avowal. Herself-command extended so far as to prevent any open manifestation ofemotion, however much her feelings were excited. 

"I took sides with the women, because I am a woman myself, " sheanswered, speaking at length with decision, as if determined tobring matters to a head at once. "It is natural for us all to takesides with our kind. "

"You a woman, Jack! That is very remarkable. Since when have youhailed for a woman? You have shipped with me twice, and each time asa man--though I've never thought you able to do seaman's duty. "

"Nevertheless, I am what you see; a woman born and edicated; onethat never had on man's dress until I knew you. _You_ supposed me tobe a man, when I came off to you in the skiff to the eastward ofRiker's Island, but I was then what you now see. "

"I begin to understand matters, " rejoined the invalid, musingly. "Ay, ay, it opens on me; and I now see how it was you made such fairweather with Madam Budd and pretty, pretty Rose. Rose _is_ pretty, Jack; you _must_ admit _that, _ though you be a woman. "

"Rose _is_ pretty--I do admit it; and what is better, Rose is_good. "_ It required a heavy draft on Jack's justice andmagnanimity, however, to make this concession. 

"And you told Rose and Madam Budd about your sex; and that was thereason they took to you so on the v'y'ge?"

"I told them who I was, and why I went abroad as a man. They know mywhole story. "

"Did Rose approve of your sailing under false colours, Jack?"

"You must ask that of Rose herself. My story made her my friend; butshe never said anything for or against my disguise. "

"It was no great disguise a'ter all, Jack. Now you're fitted out inyour own clothes, you've a sort of half-rigged look; one would be aslikely to set you down for a man under jury-canvas, as for a woman. "

Jack made no answer to this, but she sighed very heavily. As forSpike himself, he was silent for some little time, not only fromexhaustion, but because he suffered pain from his wound. The needlewas diligently but awkwardly plied in this pause. 

Spike's ideas were still a little confused; but a silence and restof a quarter of an hour cleared them materially. At the end of thattime he again asked for water. When he had drunk, and Jack was oncemore seated, with his side-face toward him, at work with the needle, the captain gazed long and intently at this strange woman. Ithappened that the profile of Jack preserved more of the resemblanceto her former self, than the full face; and it was this resemblancethat now attracted Spike's attention, though not the smallestsuspicion of the truth yet gleamed upon him. He saw something thatwas familiar, though he could not even tell what that something was, much less to what or whom it bore any resemblance. At length hespoke. 

"I was told that Jack Tier was dead, " he said; "that he took thefever, and was in his grave within eight-and-forty hours after wesailed. That was what they told me of _him_. "

"And what did they tell you of your own wife, Stephen Spike. Shethat you left ashore at the time Jack was left?"

"They said she did not die for three years later. I heard of herdeath at New Or_leens, _ three years later. "

"And how could you leave her ashore--she, your true and lawfulwife?"

"It was a bad thing, " answered Spike, who, like all other mortals, regarded his own past career, now that he stood on the edge of thegrave, very differently from what he had regarded it in the hour ofhis health and strength. "Yes, it _was_ a very bad thing; and I wishit was ondone. But it is too late now. She died of the fever, too--that's some comfort; had she died of a broken heart, I couldnot have forgiven myself. Molly was not without her faults--greatfaults, I considered them; but, on the whole, Molly was a goodcreatur'. "

"You liked her, then, Stephen Spike?"

"I can truly say that when I married Molly, and old Captain Swashput his da'ghter's hand into mine, that the woman was n't living whowas better in my judgment, or handsomer in my eyes. "

"Ay, ay--when you _married_ her; but how was it a'terwards?--whenyou was tired of her, and saw another that was fairer in your eyes?"

"I desarted her; and God has punished me for the sin! Do you know, Jack, that luck has never been with me since that day. Often andoften have I bethought me of it; and sartain as you sit there, nogreat luck has ever been with me, or my craft, since I went off, leaving my wife ashore. What was made in one v'y'ge, was lost in thenext. Up and down, up and down the whole time, for so many, manylong years, that grey hairs set in, and old age was beginning to getclose aboard--and I as poor as ever. It has been rub and go with meever since; and I have had as much as I could do to keep the brig inmotion, as the only means that was left to make the two ends meet. "

"And did not all this make you think of your poor wife--she whom youhad so wronged?"

"I thought of little else, until I heard of her death at NewOr_leens_--and then I gave it up as useless. Could I have fallen inwith Molly at any time a'ter the first six months of my desartion, she and I would have come together again, and everything would havebeen forgotten. I knowed her very nature, which was all forgivenessto me at the bottom, though seemingly so spiteful and hard. "

"Yet you wanted to have this Rose Budd, who is only too young, andhandsome, and good for you. "

"I was tired of being a widower, Jack; and Rose _is_ wonderfulpretty. She has money, too, and might make the evening of my dayscomfortable. The brig was old, as you must know, and has long beenoff of all the Insurance Offices' books; and she could n't holdtogether much longer. But for this sloop-of-war, I should have puther off on the Mexicans; and they would have lost her to our peoplein a month. "

"And was it an honest thing to sell an old and worn-out craft to anyone, Stephen Spike?"

Spike had a conscience that had become hard as iron by means oftrade. He who traffics much, most especially if his dealings be onso small a scale as to render constant investigations of the minorqualities of things necessary, must be a very fortunate man, if hepreserve his conscience in any better condition. When Jack made thisallusion, therefore, the dying man--for death was much nearer toSpike that even be supposed, though he no longer hoped for his ownrecovery--when Jack made this allusion, then, the dying man was agood deal at a loss to comprehend it. He saw no particular harm inmaking the best bargain he could; nor was it easy for him tounderstand why he might not dispose of anything he possessed for thehighest price that was to be had. Still he answered in an apologeticsort of way. 

"The brig was old, I acknowledge, " he said, "but she was strong, and_might_ have run a long time. I only spoke of her capture as a thinglikely to take place soon, if the Mexicans got her; so that herqualities were of no great account, unless it might be herspeed--and that you know was excellent, Jack. "

"And you regret that brig, Stephen Spike, lying as you do on yourdeath-bed, more than anything else. "

"Not as much as I do pretty Rose Budd, Jack; Rosy is so delightfulto look at!"

The muscles of Jack's face twitched a little, and she looked deeplymortified; for, to own the truth, she hoped that the conversationhad so far turned her delinquent husband's thoughts to the past, asto have revived in him some of his former interest in herself. It istrue, he still believed her dead; but this was a circumstance Jackoverlooked--so hard is it to hear the praises of a rival, and bejust. She felt the necessity of being more explicit, and determinedat once to come to the point. 

"Stephen Spike, " she said, steadily, drawing near to the bed-side, "you should be told the truth, when you are heard thus extolling thegood looks of Rose Budd, with less than eight-and-forty hours oflife remaining. Mary Swash did not die, as you have supposed, threeyears a'ter you desarted her, but is living at this moment. Had youread the letter I gave you in the boat, just before you made me jumpinto the sea, _that_ would have told you where she is to be found. "

Spike stared at the speaker intently; and when her cracked voiceceased, his look was that of a man who was terrified as well asbewildered. This did not arise still from any gleamings of the realstate of the case, but from the soreness with which his consciencepricked him, when he heard that his much-wronged wife was alive. Hefancied, with a vivid and rapid glance at the probabilities, allthat a woman abandoned would be likely to endure in the course of somany long and suffering years. 

"Are you sure of what you say, Jack? You would n't take advantage ofmy situation to tell me an untruth?"

"As certain of it as of my own existence. I have seen her quitelately--talked with her of _you_--in short, she is now at Key West, knows your state, and has a wife's feelin's to come to yourbed-side. "

Notwithstanding all this, and the many gleamings he had had of thefacts during their late intercourse on board the brig, Spike did notguess at the truth. He appeared astounded, and his terror seemed toincrease. 

"I have another thing to tell you, " continued Jack, pausing but amoment to collect her own thoughts. "Jack Tier--the real JackTier--he who sailed with you of old, and whom you left ashore at thesame time you desarted your wife, _did_ die of the fever, as you wastold, in eight-and-forty hours a'ter the brig went to sea. "

"Then who, in the name of Heaven, are you? How came you to hail byanother's name as well as by another sex?"

"What could a woman do, whose husband had desarted her in a strangeland?"

"That is remarkable! So _you_'ve been married? I should not havethought _that_ possible; and your husband desarted you, too. Well, such things _do_ happen. "

Jack now felt a severe pang. She could not but see that herungainly--we had almost said her unearthly appearance--prevented thecaptain from even yet suspecting the truth; and the meaning of hislanguage was not easily to be mistaken. That any one should havemarried _her, _ seemed to her husband as improbable as it wasprobable he would run away from her as soon as it was in his powerafter the ceremony. 

"Stephen Spike, " resumed Jack, solemnly, "_I_ am Mary Swash--_I_ amyour wife!"

Spike started in his bed; then he buried his face in thecoverlet--and he actually groaned. In bitterness of spirit the womanturned away and wept. Her feelings had been blunted by misfortuneand the collisions of a selfish world; but enough of former selfremained to make this the hardest of all the blows she had everreceived. Her husband, dying as he was, as he must and did knowhimself to be, shrunk from one of her appearance, unsexed as she hadbecome by habits, and changed by years and suffering. 

CHAPTER IX. 

 The trusting heart's repose, the paradise Of home, with all its loves, doth fate allow The crown of glory unto woman's brow. 

Mrs. Hemans. 

It has again become necessary to advance the time; and we shall takethe occasion thus offered to make a few explanations touchingcertain events which have been passed over without notice. 

The reason why Captain Mull did not chase the yawl of the brig inthe Poughkeepsie herself, was the necessity of waiting for his ownboats that were endeavouring to regain the sloop-of-war. It wouldnot have done to abandon them, inasmuch as the men were so muchexhausted by the pull to windward, that when they reached the vesselall were relieved from duty for the rest of the day. As soon, however, as the other boats were hoisted in, or run up, the shipfilled away, stood out of the passage and ran down to join thecutter of Wallace, which was endeavouring to keep its position, asmuch as possible, by making short tacks under close-reefed luggs. 

Spike had been received on board the sloop-of-war, sent into hersick bay, and put under the care of the surgeon and his assistants. From the first, these gentlemen pronounced the hurt mortal. Thewounded man was insensible most of the time, until the ship had beatup and gone into Key West, where he was transferred to the regularhospital, as has already been mentioned. 

The wreckers went out the moment the news of the calamity of theSwash reached their ears. Some went in quest of the doubloons of theschooner, and others to pick up anything valuable that might bediscovered in the neighbourhood of the stranded brig. It may bementioned here, that not much was ever obtained from the brigantine, with the exception of a few spars, the sails, and a little rigging;but, in the end, the schooner was raised, by means of the chainSpike had placed around her, the cabin was ransacked, and thedoubloons were recovered. As there was no one to claim the money, itwas quietly divided among the conscientious citizens present at itsre-visiting "the glimpses of the moon, " making gold plenty. 

The doubloons in the yawl would have been lost but for the sagacityof Mulford. He too well knew the character of Spike to believe hewould quit the brig without taking the doubloons with him. Acquainted with the boat, he examined the little locker in thestern-sheets, and found the two bags, one of which was probably thelawful property of Captain Spike, while the other, in truth, belonged to the Mexican government. The last contained the mostgold, but the first amounted to a sum that our young mate knew to bevery considerable. Rose had made him acquainted with the sex of JackTier since their own marriage; and he at once saw that the claims ofthis uncouth wife, who was so soon to be a widow, to the gold inquestion, might prove to be as good in law, as they unquestionablywere in morals. On representing the facts of the case to CaptainMull and the legal functionaries at Key West, it was determined torelinquish this money to the heirs of Spike, as, indeed, they musthave done under process, there being no other claimant. Thesedoubloons, however, did not amount to the full price of the flourand powder that composed the cargo of the Swash. The cargo had beenpurchased with Mexican funds; and all that Spike or his heirs couldclaim, was the high freight for which he had undertaken the delicateoffice of transporting those forbidden articles, contraband of war, to the Dry Tortugas. 

Mulford by this time was high in the confidence and esteem of all onboard the Poughkeepsie. He had frankly explained his whole connexionwith Spike, not even attempting to conceal the reluctance he hadfelt to betray the brig after he had fully ascertained the fact ofhis commander's treason. The manly gentlemen with whom he was nowbrought in contact entered into his feelings, and admitted that itwas an office no one could desire, to turn against the craft inwhich he sailed. It is true, they could not and would not betraitors, but Mulford had stopped far short of this; and thedistinction between such a character and that of an informer waswide enough to satisfy all their scruples. 

Then Rose had the greatest success with the gentlemen of thePoughkeepsie. Her youth, beauty, and modesty, told largely in herfavour; and the simple, womanly affection she unconsciously betrayedin behalf of Harry, touched the heart of every observer. When theintelligence of her aunt's fate reached her, the sorrow shemanifested was so profound and natural, that every one sympathizedwith her grief. Nor would she be satisfied unless Mulford wouldconsent to go in search of the bodies. The latter knew thehopelessness of such an excursion, but he could not refuse tocomply. He was absent on that melancholy duty, therefore, at themoment of the scene related in our last chapter, and did not returnuntil after that which we are now about to lay before the reader. Mrs. Budd, Biddy, and all of those who perished after the yawl gotclear of the reef, were drowned in deep water, and no more was everseen of any of them; or, if wreckers did pass them, they did notstop to bury the dead. It was different, however, with those, whowere first sacrificed to Spike's selfishness. They were drowned onthe reef, and Harry did actually recover the bodies of the SeñorMontefalderon, and of Josh, the steward. They had washed upon a rockthat is bare at low water. He took them both to the Dry Tortugas, and had them interred along with the other dead at that place. DonJuan was placed side by side with his unfortunate countryman, themaster of his equally unfortunate schooner. 

While Harry was absent and thus employed, Rose wept much and prayedmore. She would have felt herself almost alone in the world, but forthe youth to whom she had so recently, less than a week before, plighted her faith in wedlock. That new tie, it is true, was ofsufficient importance to counteract many of the ordinary feelings ofher situation; and she now turned to it as the one which absorbedmost of the future duties of her life. Still she missed thekindness, the solicitude, even the weaknesses of her aunt; and theterrible manner in which Mrs. Budd had perished, made her shudderwith horror whenever she thought of it. Poor Biddy, too, came in forher share of the regrets. This faithful creature, who had been inthe relict's service ever since Rose's infancy, had become endearedto her, in spite of her uncouth manners and confused ideas, by thewarmth of her heart, and the singular truth of her feelings. Biddy, of all her family, had come to America, leaving behind her not onlybrothers and sisters, but parents living. Each year did she remit tothe last a moiety of her earnings, and many a half-dollar that hadcome from Rose's pretty little hand, had been converted into gold, and forwarded on the same pious errand to the green island of hernativity. Ireland, unhappy country! at this moment what are not thedire necessities of thy poor! Here, from the midst of abundance, ina land that God has blessed in its productions far beyond the limitsof human wants, a land in which famine was never known, do we atthis moment hear thy groans, and listen to tales of suffering thatto us seem almost incredible. In the midst of these chillingnarratives, our eyes fall on an appeal to the English nation, thatappears in what it is the fashion of some to term the first journalof Europe (!) in behalf of thy suffering people. A worthy appeal tothe charity of England seldom fails; but it seems to us that onesentiment of this might have been altered, if not spared. TheEnglish are asked to be "_forgetful_ of the past, " and to comeforward to the relief of their suffering fellow-subjects. We shouldhave written "_mindful_ of the past, " in its stead. We say this incharity, as well as in truth. We come of English blood, and if weclaim to share in all the ancient renown of that warlike andenlightened people, we are equally bound to share in the reproachesthat original misgovernment has inflicted on thee. In this lattersense, then, thou hast a right to our sympathies, and they are notwithheld. 

As has been already said, we now advance the time eight-and-fortyhours, and again transfer the scene to that room in the hospitalwhich was occupied by Spike. The approaches of death, during theinterval just named, had been slow but certain. The surgeons hadannounced that the wounded man could not possibly survive the comingnight; and he himself had been made sensible that his end was near. It is scarcely necessary to add that Stephen Spike, conscious of hisvigour and strength, in command of his brig, and bent on thepursuits of worldly gains, or of personal gratification, was a verydifferent person from him who now lay stretched on his pallet in thehospital of Key West, a dying man. By the side of his bed still sathis strange nurse, less peculiar in appearance, however, than whenlast seen by the reader. 

Rose Budd had been ministering to the ungainly externals of JackTier. She now wore a cap, thus concealing the short, grey bristlesof hair, and lending to her countenance a little of that softnesswhich is a requisite of female character. Some attention had alsobeen paid to the rest of her attire; and Jack was, altogether, lessrepulsive in her exterior than when, unaided, she had attempted toresume the proper garb of her sex. Use and association, too, hadcontributed a little to revive her woman's nature, if we may soexpress it, and she had begun, in particular, to feel the sort ofinterest in her patient which we all come in time to entertaintoward any object of our especial care. We do not mean that Jack hadabsolutely ever ceased to love her husband; strange as it may seem, such had not literally been the case; on the contrary, her interestin him and in his welfare had never ceased, even while she saw hisvices and detested his crimes; but all we wish to say here is, thatshe was getting, in addition to the long-enduring feelings of awife, some of the interest of a nurse. 

During the whole time which had elapsed between Jack's revealing hertrue character, and the moment of which we are now writing, Spikehad not once spoken to his wife. Often had she caught his eyesintently riveted on her, when he would turn them away, as shefeared, in distaste; and once or twice he groaned deeply, more likea man who suffered mental than bodily pain. Still the patient didnot speak once in all the time mentioned. We should be representingpoor Jack as possessing more philosophy, or less feeling, than thetruth would warrant, were we to say that she was not hurt at thisconduct in her husband. 

On the contrary, she felt it deeply; and more than once it had sofar subdued her pride, as to cause her bitterly to weep. Thisshedding of tears, however, was of service to Jack in one sense, forit had the effect of renewing old impressions, and in a certain way, of reviving the nature of her sex within her--a nature which hadbeen sadly weakened by her past life. 

But the hour had at length come when this long and painful silencewas to be broken. Jack and Rose were alone with the patient, whenthe last again spoke to his wife. 

"Molly--poor Molly!" said the dying man, his voice continuing fulland deep to the last, "what a sad time you must have had of it afterI did you that wrong!"

"It is hard upon a woman, Stephen, to turn her out, helpless, on acold and selfish world, " answered Jack, simply, much too honest toaffect a reserve she did not feel. 

"It was hard, indeed; may God forgive me for it, as I hope ye do, Molly. "

No answer was made to this appeal; and the invalid looked anxiouslyat his wife. The last sat at her work, which had now got to be lessawkward to her, with her eyes bent on her needle, --her countenancerigid, and, so far as the eye could discern, her feelings unmoved. 

"Your husband speaks to you, Jack Tier, " said Rose, pointedly. 

"May _yours_ never have occasion to speak to you, Rose Budd, in thesame way, " was the solemn answer. "I do not flatter myself that Iever was as comely as you, or that yonder poor dying wretch was aHarry Mulford in his youth; but we were young and happy, andrespected once, and loved each other, yet you see what it's all cometo!"

Rose was silenced, though she had too much tenderness in behalf ofher own youthful and manly bridegroom to dread a fate similar tothat which had overtaken poor Jack. Spike now seemed disposed to saysomething, and she went to the side of his bed, followed by hercompanion, who kept a little in the back-ground, as if unwilling tolet the emotion she really felt be seen, and, perhaps, consciousthat her ungainly appearance did not aid her in recovering the lostaffections of her husband. 

"I have been a very wicked man, I fear, " said Spike, earnestly. 

"There are none without sin, " answered Rose. "Place your reliance onthe mediation of the Son of God, and sins even far deeper than yoursmay be pardoned. "

The captain stared at the beautiful speaker, but self-indulgence, the incessant pursuit of worldly and selfish objects for fortyyears, and the habits of a life into which the thought of God andthe dread hereafter never entered, had encased his spiritual beingin a sort of brazen armour, through which no ordinary blow ofconscience could penetrate. Still he had fearful glimpses of recentevents, and his soul, hanging as it was over the abyss of eternity, was troubled. 

"What has become of your aunt?" half whispered Spike--"my oldcaptain's widow. She ought to be here; and Don Wan Montezuma--whereis he?"

Rose turned aside to conceal her tears--but no one answered thequestions of the dying man. Then a gleaming of childhood shot intothe recollection of Spike, and, clasping his hands, he tried topray. But, like others who have lived without any communication withtheir Creator through long lives of apathy to his existence andlaws, thinking only of the present time, and daily, hourlysacrificing principles and duty to the narrow interests of themoment, he now found how hard it is to renew communications with abeing who has been so long neglected. The fault lay in himself, however, for a gracious ear was open, even over the death-bed ofStephen Spike, could that rude spirit only bring itself to ask formercy in earnestness and truth. As his companions saw his struggles, they left him for a few minutes to his own thoughts. 

"Molly, " Spike at length uttered, in a faint tone, the voice of oneconscious of being very near his end, "I hope you will forgive me, Molly. I know you must have a hard, hard time of it. "

"It is hard for a woman to unsex herself, Stephen; to throw off hervery natur', as it might be, and to turn man. "

"It has changed you sadly--even your speech is altered. Once yourvoice was soft and womanish--more like that of Rose Budd's than itis now. "

"I speak as them speak among whom I've been forced to live. Theforecastle and steward's pantry, Stephen Spike, are poor schools tosend women to l'arn language in. "

"Try and forget it all, poor Molly! Say to me, so that I can hearyou, `I forget and forgive, Stephen. ' I am afraid God will notpardon my sins, which begin to seem dreadful to me, if my own wiferefuse to forget and forgive, on my dying bed. "

Jack was much mollified by this appeal. Her interest in heroffending husband had never been entirely extinguished. She hadremembered him, and often with woman's kindness, in all herwanderings and sufferings, as the preceding parts of our narrativemust show; and though resentment had been mingled with the grief andmortification she felt at finding how much he still submitted toRose's superior charms, in a breast as really generous and humane asthat of Jack Tier's, such a feeling was not likely to endure in themidst of a scene like that she was now called to witness. Themuscles of her countenance twitched, the hard-looking, tanned facebegan to lose its sternness, and every way she appeared like oneprofoundly disturbed. 

"Turn to Him whose goodness and marcy may sarve you, Stephen, " shesaid, in a milder and more feminine tone than she had used now foryears, making her more like herself than either her husband or Rosehad seen her since the commencement of the late voyage; "my sayin'that I forget and forgive cannot help a man on his death-bed. "

"It will settle my mind, Molly, and leave me freer to turn mythoughts to God. "

Jack was much affected, more by the countenance and manner of thesufferer, perhaps, than by his words. She drew nearer to the side ofher husband's pallet, knelt, took his hands, and said solemnly, "Stephen Spike, from the bottom of my heart, I _do_ forgive you; andI shall pray to God that he will pardon your sins as freely and moremarcifully than I now pardon all, and try to forget all that youhave done to me. "

Spike clasped his hands, and again he tried to pray; but the habitsof a whole life are not to be thrown off at will; and he whoendeavours to regain, in his extremity, the moments that have beenlost, will find, in bitter reality, that he has been heapingmountains on his own soul, by the mere practice of sin, which werenever laid there by the original fall of his race. Jack, however, had disburthened her spirit of a load that had long oppressed it, and, burying her face in the rug, she wept. 

"I wish, Molly, " said the dying man, several minutes later, "I wishI had never seen the brig. Until I got that craft, no thought ofwronging human being ever crossed my mind. "

"It was the Father of Lies that tempts all to do evil, Stephen, andnot the brig which caused the sins. "

"I wish I could live a year longer--_only_ one year; that is notmuch to ask for a man who is not yet sixty. "

"It is hopeless, poor Stephen. The surgeons say you cannot live oneday. "

Spike groaned--for the past, blended fearfully with the future, gleamed on his conscience with a brightness that appalled him. Andwhat is that future, which is to make us happy or miserable throughan endless vista of time? Is it not composed of an existence, inwhich conscience, released from the delusions and weaknesses of thebody, sees all in its true colours, appreciates all, and punishesall? Such an existence would make every man the keeper of the recordof his own transgressions, even to the most minute exactness. Itwould of itself mete out perfect justice, since the sin would beseen amid its accompanying facts, every aggravating or extenuatingcircumstance. Each man would be strictly punished according to histalents. As no one is without sin, it makes the necessity of anatonement indispensable, and, in its most rigid interpretation, itexhibits the truth of the scheme of salvation in the clearestcolours. The soul, or conscience, that can admit the necessarydegree of faith in that atonement, and in admitting, _feels_ itsefficacy, throws the burthen of its own transgressions away, andremains for ever in the condition of its original existence, pure, and consequently happy. 

We do not presume to lay down a creed on this mighty and mysteriousmatter, in which all have so deep an interest, and concerning whichso very small a portion of the human race think much, or think withany clearness when it does become the subject of their passingthoughts at all We too well know our own ignorance to venture ondogmas which it has probably been intended that the mind of manshould not yet grapple with and comprehend. To return to oursubject. 

Stephen Spike was now made to feel the incubus-load, whichperseverance in sin heaps on the breast of the reckless offender. What was the most grievous of all, his power to shake off this deadweight was diminished in precisely the same proportion as theburthen was increased, the moral force of every man lessening in avery just ratio to the magnitude of his delinquencies. Bitterly didthis deep offender struggle with his conscience, and little did hishalf-unsexed wife know how to console or aid him. Jack had beensuperficially instructed in the dogmas of her faith, in childhoodand youth, as most persons are instructed in what are termedChristian communities--had been made to learn the Catechism, theLord's Prayer, and the Creed--and had been left to set up forherself on this small capital, in the great concern of humanexistence, on her marriage and entrance on the active business oflife. When the manner in which she had passed the last twenty yearsis remembered, no one can be surprised to learn that Jack was oflittle assistance to her husband in his extremity. Rose made aneffort to administer hope and consolation, but the terrible natureof the struggle she witnessed, induced her to send for the chaplainof the Poughkeepsie. This divine prayed with the dying man; but evenhe, in the last moments of the sufferer, was little more than apassive but shocked witness of remorse, suspended over the abyss ofeternity in hopeless dread. We shall not enter into the details ofthe revolting scene, but simply add that curses, blasphemy, tremulous cries for mercy, agonized entreaties to be advised, andsullen defiance, were all strangely and fearfully blended. In themidst of one of these revolting paroxysms, Spike breathed his last. A few hours later, his body was interred in the sands of the shore. It may be well to say in this place, that the hurricane of 1846, which is known to have occurred only a few months later, swept offthe frail covering, and that the body was washed away to leave itsbones among the wrecks and relics of the Florida Reef. 

Mulford did not return from his fruitless expedition in quest of theremains of Mrs. Budd, until after the death and interment of Spike. As nothing remained to be done at Key West, he and Rose accompaniedby Jack Tier, took passage for Charleston in the first convenientvessel that offered. Two days before they sailed, the Poughkeepsiewent out to cruise in the Gulf, agreeably to her general orders. Theevening previously Captain Mull, Wallace, and the chaplain, passedwith the bridegroom and bride, when the matter of the doubloonsfound in the boat was discussed. It was agreed that Jack Tier shouldhave them; and into her hands the bag was now placed. On thisoccasion, to oblige the officers, Jack went into a narrative of allshe had seen and suffered, from the moment when abandoned by herlate husband down to that when she found him again. It was a strangeaccount, and one filled with surprising adventures. In most of thevessels in which she had served, Jack had acted in the steward'sdepartment, though she had frequently done duty as a fore-mast hand. In strength and skill she admitted that she had often failed; but incourage, never. Having been given reason to think her husband wasreduced to serving in a vessel of war, she had shipped on board afrigate bound to the Mediterranean, and had actually made a wholecruise as a ward-room boy on that station. While thus employed, shehad met with two of the gentlemen present; Captain Mull and Mr. Wallace. The former was then first-lieutenant of the frigate, andthe latter a passed-midshipman; and in these capacities both hadbeen well known to her. As the name she then bore was the same asthat under which she now "hailed, " these officers were soon made torecollect her, though Jack was no longer the light, trim-built ladhe had then appeared to be. Neither of the gentlemen named had madethe whole cruise in the ship, but each had been promoted andtransferred to another craft, after being Jack's shipmate rathermore than a year. This information greatly facilitated the affair ofthe doubloons. 

From Charleston the travellers came north by rail-road. Harry madeseveral stops by the way, in order to divert the thoughts of hisbeautiful young bride from dwelling too much on the fate of heraunt. He knew that home would revive all these recollectionspainfully, and wished to put off the hour of their return, untiltime had a little weakened Rose's regrets. For this reason, hepassed a whole week in Washington, though it was a season of theyear that the place is not in much request. Still, Washington isscarce a town, at any season. It is much the fashion to deride theAmerican capital, and to treat it as a place of very humbleperformance with very sounding pretensions. Certainly, Washingtonhas very few of the peculiarities of a great European capital, butfew as these are, they are more than belong to any other place inthis country. We now allude to the _distinctive_ characteristics ofa capital, and not to a mere concentration of houses and shopswithin a given space. In this last respect, Washington is muchbehind fifty other American towns, even while it is the only placein the whole republic which possesses specimens of architecture, ona scale approaching that of the higher classes of the edifices ofthe old world. It is totally deficient in churches, and theatres, and markets; or those it does possess are, in an architecturalsense, not at all above the level of village or countrytownpretensions, but one or two of its national edifices do approach themagnificence and grandeur of the old world. The new TreasuryBuildings are unquestionably, on the score of size, embellishmentsand finish, _the_ American edifice that comes nearest to first classarchitecture on the other side of the Atlantic. The Capitol comesnext, though it can scarce be ranked, relatively, as high. As forthe White House, it is every way sufficient for its purposes and theinstitutions; and now that its grounds are finished, and theshrubbery and trees begin to tell, one sees about it something thatis not unworthy of its high uses and origin. Those grounds, which solong lay a reproach to the national taste and liberality, are nowfast becoming beautiful, are already exceedingly pretty, and give toa structure that is destined to become historical, having alreadyassociated with it the names of Jefferson, Madison, Jackson, andQuincy Adams, together with the _ci polloi_ of the later Presidents, an _entourage_ that is suitable to its past recollections and itspresent purposes. They are not quite on a level with the parks ofLondon, it is true; or even with the Tuileries, or Luxembourg, orthe Boboli, or the Villa Reale, or fifty more grounds and gardens, of a similar nature, that might be mentioned; but, seen in thespring and early summer, they adorn the building they surround, andlend to the whole neighbourhood a character of high civilization, that no other place in America can show, in precisely the same form, or to the same extent. 

This much have we said on the subject of the White House and itsprecincts, because we took occasion, in a former work, to berate thenarrow-minded parsimony which left the grounds of the White House ina condition that was discreditable to the republic. How far ourphilippic may have hastened the improvements which have been made, is more than we shall pretend to say; but having made the formerstrictures, we are happy to have an occasion to say (though nearlytwenty years have intervened between the expressions of the twoopinions) that they are no longer merited. 

And here we will add another word, and that on a subject that is notsufficiently pressed on the attention of a people, who, by position, are unavoidably provincial. We invite those whose gorges rise at anystricture on anything American, and who fancy it is enough to belongto the great republic to be great in itself, to place themselves infront of the State Department, as it now stands, and to examine itsdimensions, material and form with critical eyes, then to look alongthe adjacent Treasury Buildings, to fancy them completed, by ajunction with new edifices of a similar construction to contain thedepartment of state; next to fancy similar works completed for thetwo opposite departments; after which, to compare the past andpresent with the future as thus finished, and remember how recenthas been the partial improvement which even now exists. If thisexamination and comparison do not show, directly to the sense ofsight, how much there was and is to criticise, as put in contrastwith other countries, we shall give up the individuals in question, as too deeply dyed in the provincial wool ever to be whitened. Thepresent Trinity church, New York, certainly not more than a thirdclass European church, if as much, compared with its village-likepredecessor, may supply a practical homily of the same degree ofusefulness. There may be those among us, however, who fancy itpatriotism to maintain that the old Treasury Buildings were quiteequal to the new, and of these intense Americans we cry their mercy!

Rose felt keenly on reaching her late aunt's very neat dwelling inFourteenth Street, New York. But the manly tenderness of Mulford wasa great support to her, and a little time brought her to think ofthat weak-minded, but well-meaning and affectionate relative, withgentle regret, rather than with grief. Among the connexions of heryoung husband, she found several females of a class in lifecertainly equal to her own, and somewhat superior to the latter ineducation and habits. As for Harry, he very gladly passed the seasonwith his beautiful bride, though a fine ship was laid down for him, by means of Rose's fortune, now much increased by her aunt's death, and he was absent in Europe when his son was born; an event thatoccurred only two months since. 

The Swash, and the shipment of gunpowder, were thought of no more inthe good town of Manhattan. This great emporium--we beg pardon, thisgreat _commercial_ emporium--has a trick of forgetting, condensingall interests into those of the present moment. It is much addictedto believing that which never had an existence, and of overlookingthat which is occurring directly under its nose. So marked is thistendency to forgetfulness, we should not be surprised to hear someof the Manhattanese pretend that our legend is nothing but afiction, and deny the existence of the Molly, Captain Spike, andeven of Biddy Noon. But we know them too well to mind what they say, and shall go on and finish our narrative in our own way, just as ifthere were no such raven-throated commentators at all. 

Jack Tier, still known by that name, lives in the family of CaptainMulford. She is fast losing the tan on her face and hands, and everyday is improving in appearance. She now habitually wears her properattire, and is dropping gradually into the feelings and habits ofher sex. She never can become what she once was, any more than theblackamoor can become white, or the leopard change his spots; butshe is no longer revolting. She has left off chewing and smoking, having found a refuge in snuff. Her hair is permitted to grow, andis already turned up with a comb, though constantly concealedbeneath a cap. The heart of Jack, alone, seems unaltered. Thestrange, tiger-like affection that she bore for Spike, during twentyyears of abandonment, has disappeared in regrets for his end. It issucceeded by a most sincere attachment for Rose, in which the littleboy, since his appearance on the scene, is becoming a largeparticipator. This child Jack is beginning to love intensely; andthe doubloons, well invested, placing her above the feeling ofdependence, she is likely to end her life, once so errant anddisturbed, in tranquillity and a home-like happiness. 

THE END.