When little Jacob had watched his hat out of sight, he went into the cabin again to write some more on his letter to his mother.

And that's all.



THE SOUNDING STORY

Once upon a time there was a wide river that ran into the ocean, and beside it was a little city. And in that city was a wharf where great ships came from far countries. And a narrow road led down a very steep hill to that wharf and anybody that wanted to go to the wharf had to go down the steep hill on the narrow road, for there wasn't any other way. And because ships had come there for a great many years and all the sailors and all the captains and all the men who had business with the ships had to go on that narrow road, the flagstones that made the sidewalk were much worn. That was a great many years ago.

The wharf was Captain Jonathan's and Captain Jacob's and they owned the ships that sailed from it; and, after their ships had been sailing from that wharf in the little city for a good many years, they changed their office to Boston. After that, their ships sailed from a wharf in Boston.

Once, in the long ago, the brig Industry had sailed from Boston for far countries and little Jacob and little Sol had gone in her. And she had got to Java and anchored near the place where they got water and they had sent some sailors ashore in boats to fill the water casks. And they had got the water and come back; and the boats and the water casks had been hoisted on board, and they had hoisted the anchor and sailed away, through the straits, for Anger. You might not be able to find that place on a map of Java, but that is what Captain Solomon says in his log-book, so it must be right.

They got to Anger the next morning, and Captain Solomon went ashore in his boat, with sailors to row it; for he wanted to send some letters and he wanted to find out what he would have to pay for sugar and for coffee. He had the letters in a bag. There were three that sailors had written; that doesn't seem many letters for a whole crew of sailors to write after they have been at sea for three months, but sailors aren't much at writing letters, anyway. And there were about half a dozen that Captain Solomon had written, and some from the mates; and there was one that little Sol had scrawled to his mother, and there was the great thick letter that little Jacob had written to his mother. Captain Solomon couldn't take little Sol and little Jacob ashore with him because he thought he would be too busy to look after them. The Industry didn't even anchor, but she sailed back and forth, in front of the town, waiting for Captain Solomon's boat to come back.

At last Captain Solomon had heard all the news and had sent his letters and had found out the price of sugar and of coffee and had learned what ships were at Batavia. Batavia is a city in Java, not far from Anger, and Captain Solomon was going there on his way back. And he had got some fresh vegetables and some turtle and some fresh fowl of a Chinaman, and all his errands were done. So he came back to the ship and got on board and the boat was hoisted up and more sail was set; and the Industry sailed on her way through Sunda strait. Captain Solomon called it Sunday strait. A strait is a rather narrow passage from one sea to another. Sunda strait leads from the Indian Ocean to Java Sea; and, after that, there were some more straits leading to the China Sea.

Late in the afternoon the wind got lighter; and as there was a strong current setting towards the southwest, through the straits, they couldn't sail as fast as the current carried them. So the Industry was carried back to Anger; but she started again very early in the morning, when there was more wind and when the tide was different.

When little Jacob and little Sol came on deck they saw three ships, going the other way. They wondered what they were, and they asked the mate. And the mate smiled and said that two of the ships were Dutch and he supposed that they were going to Batavia. And he thought that the other ship was American and he hoped that it would take the letters they had left at Anger. Little Jacob hoped that it would; but little Sol didn't seem to care. And, all of that day, they watched for more ships, and they saw land, now and then, far off on the horizon. It was very hot, for they were almost at the equator; so that even little Sol was contented to keep still. And, towards night, they saw one of the sailors getting the lead line ready.

The lead is just a big lump of lead, like a sinker that is used on a fishing line, and it is tied to the end of a long line that has the fathoms marked on it in much the same way that the log line has the knots marked; but the marks on the lead line are really six feet apart. And the lead itself has the lower end just a little bit hollowed. The sailor who was getting it ready first made sure that the line was all clear, without any knots or kinks in it. And, when he had seen that the line was all right, he took up the lead and smeared some grease on the bottom of it. The sailor was the old man who had given little Jacob the model of the brig.

Little Jacob was surprised. "What is that?" he asked. "Is it grease?"

The sailor was amused. "It's grease," he said, "sure enough."

"And what is it for?" asked little Jacob again. "I hope you don't mind telling me."

"No, lad," said the sailor. "Be sure I'll tell you. It's to bring up some of the bottom so's the cap'n can tell where we are."

Little Jacob didn't understand. "I don't see," he said, "how Captain Solomon can tell where we are, that way."

The sailor laughed. "Well, no," he said. "I s'pose you don't. Well, it's this way. The bottom of the sea is different in different places. In some parts it's mud and in other parts it's gray sand and in others it's black sand and in others yet it's yellow sand, and so on. In the deep oceans it's different yet, but no lead will reach it. And every good sailor man, such as Cap'n Solomon is, should know the bottom he'll find on the course he sails. And when I heave this lead, it tells him how much water he's got under him and the kind of bottom, for the lead brings up a little of the mud or the sand that sticks to the grease. That's how it is."

Little Jacob thought that he understood. "And will you heave the lead now?" he asked.

"I heave the lead when I'm ordered to," said the old man. "But I'm thinking the cap'n won't want it hove till after dark. There's no lights, hereabouts, you see. Lighthouses," he added, seeing that little Jacob didn't know what he meant.

"Oh," said little Jacob. And he went off to find Captain Solomon and to ask him if he might stay up that night, until they hove the lead. Heaving the lead is called sounding. And Captain Solomon laughed and said that he guessed so.

So little Jacob didn't go to bed so early as he generally did, but he stayed up to see them heave the lead. And, about nine o'clock, Captain Solomon called little Jacob and little Sol and told them that they had better be ready, for he was just going to begin taking soundings. So the two boys went to look for the sailor with the lead line.

They found him standing by the rail just where the ship was widest, and by his side was a lantern, lighted. The mate had another lantern, and the light from those two lanterns was the only light that they could see. And, just as the boys came up, the sailor began to swing the lead to and fro.



He swung it farther and farther, each time, like a pendulum to a clock. And, when it was swinging pretty far, he let the line go, so that the heavy lead went ahead of the ship and fell into the water. As soon as he heard it strike the water, the sailor grabbed for the line quickly, and he caught it, but he let it slip through his hand. And he felt the lead strike the bottom. By the time the lead had struck the bottom, the ship had almost caught up to the place where it had gone into the water, so that the line was straight up and down.

The sailor began to pull it in, feeling, with his fingers, for the wet part. When he had come to that, he held it in the light of the lantern for a moment.

"Ten fathom," he called. Then he pulled the lead up.

The mate took it and looked at the part that had been greased. "Mud," he said; and he wiped it off on his finger and showed it to Captain Solomon.

"All right," said Captain Solomon, when he had looked at the mud. "Better keep the lead going for a while."

So the sailor wiped the bottom of the lead clean, and smeared it with grease again. Little Jacob watched him swing it and heave it and pull it in. He wondered whether it was hard or easy to do what the sailor did; whether he could do it when he grew up. The great lead would be too much for a little boy, he knew. But it looked easy.

"Ten and a half," called the sailor, "and mud. I could tell by the feel of it."

"Yes, mud," said the mate, looking at the bottom of the lead.

The lead was kept going, every half hour or so, all night. And, towards sunrise, they got twenty fathoms, and the lead brought up grains of black sand and grains of yellow sand, and they put away the lead line.

But little Jacob didn't know about that, for he was sound asleep in his bunk.

And that's all.



THE TEAK-WOOD STORY

Once upon a time there was a wide river that ran into the ocean, and beside it was a little city. And in that city was a wharf where great ships came from far countries. And a narrow road led down a very steep hill to that wharf, and anybody that wanted to go to the wharf had to go down the steep hill on the narrow road, for there wasn't any other way. And because ships had come there for a great many years and all the sailors and all the captains and all the men who had business with the ships had to go on that narrow road, the flagstones that made the sidewalks were much worn.

Captain Jonathan and Captain Jacob owned the wharf and all the ships that sailed from it. The brig Industry was one of the ships that used to sail from that wharf, and after Captain Jonathan and Captain Jacob moved to Boston she sailed from a wharf in Boston. And she had sailed from the wharf in Boston on a voyage to the far country, and little Jacob and little Sol had gone in her. And she had sailed through the great ocean and past the country where the monkeys lived and through another ocean to India, and she had anchored in a wide river. And many little boats came off to her from a city that there was on the shore of the river, and they began to take out of the Industry all the things she had brought to that country.

Little Jacob and little Sol were as quiet as little boys could be expected to be, for they knew that Captain Solomon was very busy at first. But, at last, the things were all out of the Industry; and Captain Solomon had to go ashore to buy things for the ship to take home again. So he had the sailors let down a boat, and he looked around for the boys. And they were so close behind him that he didn't see them until little Sol touched him.

"Hello, boys!" cried Captain Solomon. "Want to go ashore with me?"

"Yes, sir," called out little Jacob and little Sol, together, so that it sounded as if there was only one boy.

"Well, hop in, then," said Captain Solomon.

And little Sol hopped in, and little Jacob hopped in; and Captain Solomon got in, and the sailors rowed them ashore. And they got out of the boat upon some wide stone steps that went down to the water, and the boys were very glad, for it was the first time that they had set foot upon the ground for a long time. And little Jacob was surprised to find that the ground seemed to be waving around just like the deck of the ship, so that he couldn't walk very well. And he spoke of it to little Sol, and Captain Solomon heard him, and he gave a great laugh.

"So it does," Captain Solomon said. "So it does. And so it will for the next three days, Jacob, if I'm not mistaken. It's queer ground, Jacob, isn't it, to be waving around so? Must be an earthquake."

And little Jacob looked up at Captain Solomon to see whether he was joking or not. For Captain Solomon was very apt to joke, but you couldn't tell whether he was or not unless you looked at him, and you couldn't tell, even then, unless you knew him pretty well.

And little Jacob decided that Captain Solomon was joking, so he smiled. "Yes, sir," he said. "It must be an earthquake. We were very lucky, weren't we, to be just in time for an earthquake?"

It was Captain Solomon's turn to look at little Jacob to see what he meant.

"Ha! Ha! Very lucky, indeed, Jacob," said Captain Solomon. "We're lucky dogs, Jacob."

And little Sol didn't say anything, but only grinned; and he could do that pretty well. And they went, by queer streets, to the office of Captain Jonathan's and Captain Jacob's agent, who sold the things for them. And after that they went about among the shops and saw all the things that the men had to sell, and Captain Solomon went with them. And the men were very polite to Captain Solomon because they thought he might buy some of their things, but he didn't. And so they did all that day, and, late in the afternoon, they were rowed back to the ship. Little Jacob and little Sol were very tired, and went to sleep right after supper.

The next morning the boat was waiting for them, and in it were bundles for little Jacob and little Sol. And, after breakfast, they were rowed ashore again to the stone steps. And, at the head of the steps, two bullock carts were waiting for them. Little Jacob was surprised, and he asked Captain Solomon if they were going to see the elephants that his grandfather had spoken of. And Captain Solomon said that they were going to that place, but he didn't know whether the elephants that Captain Jonathan had spoken of had been obliging enough to wait thirty years or not. And little Jacob smiled and got into the bullock cart.

The bullocks went very slowly indeed; and the little boys saw the villages that they passed through on the way, and they saw the women washing the clothes in the water of the river, and they saw the crocodiles that looked like so many old logs. And, in time, the bullocks got to the place where the elephants were. It was late one afternoon that they got there, so that Captain Solomon thought that they wouldn't go to see the elephants that night. And, just as Captain Solomon said that, they heard a great gong ring. And Captain Solomon said that it wouldn't be any use to go to see them then, anyway, for the elephants stopped work when that gong rang, and nobody could get them to do anything after that. And the little boys thought that was queer.

So, early the next morning, they went to the elephant place. It was a great big place, and a high, strong fence was around it on three sides, and on the fourth side was the river. And, next to the river, were great piles of teak-wood logs, and the logs were piled very nicely and evenly, so that the piles wouldn't fall down. And, far off at the back of the great yard, next to the forest, were a lot of the logs which were not piled, but were just as they had been dumped there, pell-mell, when they had been brought in from the forest. The logs that were all piled up nicely were to be sent down the river.

Little Jacob and little Sol had just time to see all that, when the great gong rang. Then the elephants began to come out of a big shed that was in the back of the yard, and the little boys saw that some of the elephants had mahouts, or drivers, on them but the most of them didn't have any drivers. And the mahouts sat on the necks of their elephants, just back of the heads, and each mahout had an elephant-goad, something like an ox-goad, only that it was shorter and the end that was sharp was bent around so that it was something like the claws of a hammer, but the claws were sharp.

And the elephants that knew their business walked slowly over to the logs that were piled pell-mell, and they made the elephants that didn't know their business go there too; and if any elephant, that didn't know, tried to go another way, the old elephants would butt him and jab him with their tusks. And then there was great squealing and noise. And when the elephants got to the logs, each one knelt down and put his tusks under a log and curled his trunk over and around it, and then he got up and walked slowly to the place where the logs were piled so nicely. And he put his log on the pile so that it wouldn't fall down, and when the pile was so high that he couldn't reach then he began to make a new pile. But some of the elephants didn't have any tusks and they just curled their trunks around the logs and carried them that way.

Little Jacob and little Sol were very much interested in watching the elephants and in seeing how wise they were; for they piled the logs just as well as if a man had told them where to put each one. And Captain Solomon said that they piled the logs better than any man there could have done it. And little Jacob caught sight of one elephant that had his ears torn and had only one tusk.

When he caught sight of that elephant, little Jacob called out. "Look, Captain Solomon!" he cried. "See! There is the elephant that grandfather told about, that will let little boys ride him."

And the elephant was pretty near and he heard little Jacob, but he couldn't understand what he said, for those elephants only understand the language that they speak in India. But the old elephant stopped and turned his head as far as he could, which wasn't very far, for elephants haven't any neck worth mentioning, so he had to turn his whole body before he could see the little boys. And, when he saw them, he began to walk up to the place where they were. And little Jacob was a little bit scared, for the elephant was very big and he didn't know what he might do. But little Jacob didn't run or look scared, and little Sol wasn't frightened at all.

And, when the old elephant had got near the little boys, he stopped and stretched out his trunk toward them. And little Sol gave him a lump of sugar that he had in his pocket, and the elephant ate the sugar and stretched out his trunk again, but he didn't move.

"I know what he wants," cried little Jacob. And he got up from the log where he was sitting, and raised his arms, and the old elephant curled his trunk about little Jacob and put him up high on his back, very gently. And little Jacob grabbed hold of a sort of harness that the elephant had on, and he laughed. Then the elephant stretched out his trunk for little Sol and put him up behind little Jacob. And little Sol held on to the harness, too.

Captain Solomon didn't know what to do while the elephant was putting the little boys up on his back, but then he made up his mind that the boys were well enough off; and the old elephant walked away, very carefully, and he walked all around the great yard with the boys on his back. And the boys laughed and said that it was fun. But Captain Solomon called to them to hold on tight. And they held on tight. And when they had been all around the great yard, the old elephant came back to the place where Captain Solomon was sitting. And he reached up with his trunk and took the boys down, first little Sol and then little Jacob, and he set them down on the ground very carefully. And the boys gave him some more sugar and stroked his trunk, and then he went away to his log piling again.



And when they had been watching a long while, the gong rang. And the elephants all stopped their work at once and went into the shed. And that amused the boys very much, and the gong reminded them that they were very hungry, so they went away to get their dinner. And, after dinner, they watched the elephants again all the long afternoon, and by that time they were tired of watching elephants.

So, the next morning, they got into the bullock carts again, and they went back to the ship. And the boat was waiting for them at the stone steps, and the sailors rowed them to the Industry. And they were very tired and glad to get back, and they went to bed right after supper.

And that's all.



THE STOWAWAY STORY

Once upon a time there was a wide river that ran into the ocean, and beside it was a little city. And in that city was a wharf where great ships came from far countries. And a narrow road led down a very steep hill to that wharf, and anybody that wanted to go to the wharf had to go down the steep hill on the narrow road, for there wasn't any other way. And because ships had come there for a great many years, and all the sailors and all the captains and all the men who had business with the ships had to go on that narrow road, the flagstones that made the sidewalks were much worn.

That wharf and all the ships that sailed from it belonged to Captain Jonathan and Captain Jacob; and after they had moved their office to Boston the ships sailed from a wharf in Boston. And once, in the long ago, the brig Industry had sailed from the wharf in Boston, and she had got to that far country and all the things that she had brought there had been taken out of her and sold. And Captain Solomon had bought the things that she would carry back to Boston, but they were not loaded on the Industry yet. And Captain Solomon had gone off with little Jacob and little Sol to see some elephants, for he thought the mate could attend to loading the ship.

After Captain Solomon had gone off, the sailors who had rowed him ashore stood there for a few minutes looking after the dust that the bullocks kicked up, and then they turned to get into the boat again. And one of the sailors, who was named Ephraim, saw a man coming toward them, and he knew the man, for the man was a sailor, too, and he and Ephraim had sailed together a long while before, but not in the Industry. So he waited for the man to come, and the man and Ephraim were glad to see each other and Ephraim asked him where he came from and what ship he was on. For no other ship was in the river at that time.

Then the man said that he had sailed in a ship from England, but the ship had gone off without him while he was ashore; and he wanted to get back to Boston, for he hadn't been there for several years. And he asked Ephraim if there was a chance to be a sailor on the Industry. But Ephraim said that they had a full crew and there wasn't any chance, for the old man was very strict. He called Captain Solomon the old man, but he wasn't an old man at all, for he wasn't quite forty years old; but sailors always call the captain the old man. And Ephraim was afraid of Captain Solomon, but he needn't have been afraid, for Captain Solomon was a kind man, although he was rather gruff and stern to the sailors.

And so Ephraim advised the man to try to stow himself away on the Industry until she was clear of the land and on blue water, and then to come out and see what would happen. For he knew that Captain Solomon wouldn't go back just to land the man, and he couldn't throw him overboard. And the man said that he would do that, and he thought he should be able to stow away when the ship was loading, but he would have to depend upon Ephraim to feed him for a few days. And Ephraim said that he would, and the man went away and the sailors rowed the boat back to the Industry.

So the sailors began to load the ship with all the things that Captain Solomon had bought, and many little boats began to go back and forth and there was a good deal of confusion. And in the confusion of the loading the man managed to stow himself away on the Industry; and he was in the hold of the ship, as far forward as he could get, so that Ephraim could bring him food and water without much trouble. And the sailors got all the things aboard, and Captain Solomon came back with little Jacob and little Sol. And they got the things to eat on board, and the water that they would drink, and when everything was ready they hoisted up the anchor from the bottom of the river, and they hoisted the sails, and they sailed away down the river and out into the great ocean. And on the second day out, the stowaway came out and worked with the other sailors.

And Captain Solomon was on the quarter deck, looking out over the ocean and at the ship and at the sailors, and he saw the stowaway.



"Who is that man and where did he come from?" he said to the mate.

And the mate looked and saw the man, and he didn't know. "I'm sure I don't know, sir," answered the mate.

"Call him up," said Captain Solomon.

So the mate called him and he came and stood at the foot of the steps that led to the quarter deck, and Captain Solomon stood at the head of the steps with his hand upon the railing. And the man stood first upon one foot and then upon the other and he looked very uncomfortable.

"Aye, aye, sir," said the man; and he touched his cap.

And Captain Solomon didn't say anything for a long time, but he looked the man over from head to foot, and he looked very fierce and stern, so that the man was more uncomfortable than ever. And little Jacob and little Sol stood just behind Captain Solomon.

"Who are you, and where did you come from?" asked Captain Solomon. "Give an account of yourself."

Then the man began to tell that he was a sailor and had been a sailor for many years. And he had shipped, last on an English vessel bound to India, and she had got there all right, but had sailed away without him while he was ashore on leave.

Captain Solomon had to smile at that, though he didn't mean to. And the man went on to say that he wanted to get a passage to Boston and he would have been glad to ship as one of the crew, but he understood that the ship had a full crew and that the captain didn't want any more sailors, and so he had stowed away. But he was an able seaman and would be only too grateful for a chance to work with the other sailors if Captain Solomon pleased, sir.

Then Captain Solomon was very angry, and asked how he heard that he had a full crew and didn't want any more sailors; and who told him that an able seaman who wanted to get back to Boston couldn't get a passage on that ship. And the man wouldn't tell, but Captain Solomon saw that Ephraim looked very uneasy, so he knew it was Ephraim. And he called Ephraim, and blew him up sky high, and he said that he had a good mind to put him and the stowaway both on bread and water for a month. When little Jacob heard Captain Solomon say that, he stepped forward to speak, for he couldn't bear to think that men should be put on bread and water for a month just for that. But little Sol gave him a nudge and whispered to him not to say anything, for he knew well enough that his father hadn't any idea of doing it.

And Ephraim and the stowaway both turned pale and looked as if they were going to be seasick, but they weren't. And after everybody had stood there without speaking for a good while, Captain Solomon spoke to the whole crew, who had all come near, and told them that he didn't want any such actions on his ship again; and if they ever heard of any such case, he wanted them to come right to him, and he would inquire into it. For he didn't want them to think that he would ever refuse a passage home to a good sailor. And he told Ephraim and the stowaway that he would think about putting them on bread and water, but he wouldn't do it yet. And if the stowaway did his duty well and proved himself an able seaman he would try to get pay for him when he got back to Boston and saw his owners. But if the man wasn't what he said he was, or didn't attend to his duty, he would be put on bread and water, as sure as his own name was Solomon, and so would Ephraim.

Then the sailors all went about their business, and Captain Solomon blew up the mate for letting a man stow away on the Industry. And when Captain Solomon had blown everybody up that he could, he felt very pleasant indeed, and he played with little Sol and little Jacob.

And that's all.



THE ALBATROSS STORY

Once upon a time there was a wide river that ran into the ocean, and beside it was a little city. And in that city was a wharf where great ships came from far countries. And a narrow road led down a very steep hill to that wharf, and anybody that wanted to go to the wharf had to go down the steep hill on the narrow road, for there wasn't any other way. And because ships had come there for a great many years, and all the sailors and all the captains and all the men who had business with the ships had to go on that narrow road, the flagstones that made the sidewalk were much worn. That was a great many years ago.

The wharf was Captain Jonathan's and Captain Jacob's and they owned the ships that sailed from it; and, after their ships had been sailing from that wharf in the little city for a good many years, they changed their office to Boston. After that their ships sailed from a wharf in Boston.

Once, in the long ago, little Jacob and little Sol had gone in the brig Industry on a voyage to far countries; and they had been to the countries and had sailed again for home, but they had not got out of the warm oceans. And one morning little Jacob and little Sol came on deck together. They didn't race through their breakfast as they had been used to doing, because Captain Solomon had put a stop to that. And, as soon as they got on deck, they looked all around to see what was up that morning. Far away they saw the upper sails of a ship that was going the same way they were, but they didn't see anything else except the blue water, although they looked very carefully out ahead and on both sides. But, right astern of the ship, and pretty near, was a great, enormous bird.

The bird was so near that the little boys could see it very well, and they could see what color it was, and the shape of its bill, but they couldn't see its back nor the top of its head, because the bird was above them. If they had climbed up on the mast they could have seen its back, but they didn't think of that then. The bird was all white, so far as they could see, and it had a bill that was rather long and straight, and was hooked at the end. And the bird just sailed along and waved a little, up and down, but it didn't move its wings, so far as the boys could see, and they watched it for a long time.



Its wings were enormous. Little Sol thought they were almost as long as the main-top-gallant yard if you could measure them spread out, as the bird was sailing. And little Jacob looked very wise and he said that he didn't know how long the main-top-gallant yard was, but he should think they might measure two fathom and a half from tip to tip. And little Jacob felt rather proud when he had said that, because he had guessed in fathoms.

Little Sol looked rather scornful and said "Huh!" And then little Jacob asked him what kind of a bird it was, and little Sol didn't know. Then little Jacob said "Huh!" So they went to ask Mr. Steele or Captain Solomon. Captain Solomon was standing right behind them, and he was smiling because he had heard what the boys said. And he said that the bird was an albatross, and that little Jacob was pretty nearly right about the length of its wings. Little Sol was taken down a peg and didn't say anything.

Then Captain Solomon went on to say that albatrosses often followed ships for days together, and the sailors never could see that they had to move their wings, but they sailed along just as fast as the ship sailed. He had seen lots of them in his time, but he had never seen them do anything else but sail, just as that one was doing then. And how they managed it, he didn't know, and nobody else knew, so far as he had ever heard.

Then little Sol asked what the bird was following the ship for. And Captain Solomon said that he supposed that the albatross was following the ship to get the scraps that the cook threw overboard. At least, he didn't know any other reason, and the albatross took the scraps, anyway. They were like sharks in that way.

Then little Sol asked him if they couldn't catch the albatross with a hook and a piece of pork, as they had caught the shark. And Captain Solomon said that they could, but that Sol had better not try it, if he knew what was good for him; for the sailors thought that it always brought the worst kind of luck to a ship to kill an albatross, and he didn't know but they were right. And little Jacob was glad Captain Solomon said that, for he didn't want the albatross killed, but he would rather watch it sailing along with the ship.



So nobody tried to do any harm to the albatross, but the men were all glad that it was there. And the little boys watched it almost all of that day. And the next day it was there, and they watched it, and they watched it the day after the next, too; but the morning after that it wasn't there.

Little Jacob was sorry that it had gone, and the sailors were sorry, and they said that there would be a change of weather. And little Jacob went down into the cabin to write all about the albatross in the log-book and to see the barometer, to see whether it said that the weather would change. The barometer was what Captain Solomon called "the glass," and people could tell, by looking at it, whether it was going to be stormy or not.

And that's all.



THE DERELICT STORY

Once upon a time there was a wide river that ran into the ocean, and beside it was a little city. And in that city was a wharf where great ships came from far countries. And a narrow road led down a very steep hill to that wharf, and anybody that wanted to go to the wharf had to go down the steep hill on the narrow road, for there wasn't any other way. And because ships had come there for a great many years, and all the sailors and all the captains and all the men who had business with the ships had to go on that narrow road, the flagstones that made the sidewalk were much worn. That was a great many years ago.

The wharf was Captain Jonathan's and Captain Jacob's, and they owned the ships that sailed from it; and, after their ships had been sailing from that wharf in the little city for a good many years, they changed their office to Boston.

Once, in the long ago, the brig Industry was tied up at a wharf in Boston. The wharf was much longer than any wharf in Boston is now, for they have filled up the dock that was there with stones and dirt, and they have put more stones and dirt on the top of the old wharf and under it, and they have built a street there, so that the wharf is not half so long as it used to be. And Captain Jonathan and Captain Jacob had their office on India Street, not very far from the head of the wharf, as it used to be, so that they could go to their ships easily and the captains could go to them.

The Industry had aboard all the things that the sailors would eat and the water that they would drink; and the cargo was all stowed, and the sailors were all on the ship and the sails were loosed. And Captain Solomon came from the office of Captain Jonathan and Captain Jacob, and he walked down the wharf and he went aboard the ship. Then the sailors cast off the ropes that had held her, and they hoisted the sails and sailed away. They sailed out of the harbor and past the islands and into the bay and then into the great ocean, and Boston was left far astern.

And, when they had been gone from Boston nearly a week, the sailors fixed the sails so that the wind would blow on them the right way, and then they didn't have to change them for a long time, for they were in the part of the ocean that the trade winds blow over. In this part of the ocean the winds blow nearly always from about north-east, so that they are fair winds for a ship that is going south. That is one reason why ships don't always go the way that you would think would be the shortest, for it may be that, by going a way that is a little longer, they will be helped so much by the winds that they will get to the place where they are going sooner than if they went a shorter way.

And there is another reason why ships do not always go the shortest way. In some parts of the ocean the ocean water is moving in one direction and in other parts of the ocean the water is moving in another direction. So, if a captain knows about these ocean currents, he can sail in that part of the ocean where the water is moving in the direction that he wants to go, and the ocean and the winds will both help the ship. Every captain of a ship knows about these ocean currents and these winds, and chooses the part of the ocean where they will help his ship along. Captain Solomon knew all about them.



So the Industry sailed along, and she had got almost to the place where she would be past the trade winds; and it had got to be the evening of that day, and the sun had set a long time, but the moon had just risen. And Captain Solomon was standing by the rail, and he was watching the moon and the reflection of the moonlight on the water, and he was thinking that he wished the Industry could sail right up that broad path of moonlight forever; for it was very beautiful. Captain Solomon had such thoughts sometimes, but he didn't tell anybody about them, for they would think he was crazy, and the mates and the sailors wouldn't like to sail in any ship that he was the captain of. And while he was thinking these thoughts he was startled by the cry of the lookout who was on the forecastle near the bow.

"Hard a-port! Hard a-port!"

And Captain Solomon gave one great jump for the wheel. "Hard a-port, you lubber!" he cried. "Can't you hear?"

And he grabbed the wheel and whirled it over, and the ship swung off, but she didn't swing very quickly, for the Industry wasn't very quick at minding her helm. But she did mind it in time, and just as she swung off she shot past something floating. And Captain Solomon looked and he saw that the floating thing was the hull of a great ship. The masts were all gone close to the deck and the hulk barely showed above the water, so that the waves washed over it, although there wasn't much of a sea and the waves weren't high at all. And when he saw that they were safely past the wreck, he turned the wheel the other way, and brought the Industry back again, and he had the sailors change some of the sails so that she wouldn't go ahead.

Then he called the sailor who had been on the forecastle, looking out, and he gave that sailor a blowing up, and he was very angry and he blew the man sky-high. He said that it was nothing but luck that they weren't all sent to the bottom, for the Industry was heading straight for the floating hulk, and if they had struck it, their chances wouldn't have been worth one of his grandmother's cookies. And he said some other things; and the sailor didn't answer back, for it is not a good plan to answer back to the captain, especially if that captain was Captain Solomon and was angry. But he seemed ashamed and slunk back muttering that he wasn't blind and he was keeping as good a lookout as could be expected, and nobody could have imagined that there would be that old hulk right in their course, anyway. But Captain Solomon didn't hear him, which was lucky for him.

Then Captain Solomon ordered the mate to have out a boat and go and see what the hulk was, and whether, by chance, there was anybody aboard of it, or anything to tell when she had been abandoned. And he told the mate to take with him a good supply of oil and some oakum and to set fire to the wreck as soon as he was through with her. And the mate had the sailors get out the boat, and he took the oakum and a big bucket of oil, and he was rowed away to the wreck, that was about a quarter of a mile away by that time and shining in the moonlight. And Captain Solomon saw the boat come near the wreck and make fast under her stern, and he saw the mate go on board.

The mate went a little way down the cabin stairs, but he couldn't go all the way down because the cabin was full of water that washed to and fro as the hulk rolled in the ocean. And nobody was there. And the mate looked everywhere that he could go, and he found nobody. He couldn't look into the cook's galley, because the galley had been washed overboard; but he looked into the forecastle, and that had water in it, too, washing to and fro over the floor. But he saw that the clothes of the sailors were all gone except one thing which was washing about in the water on the floor, that looked as if it had been there a long time, and he couldn't make out what it was.

So he went back to the stern and asked the sailors if they could make out the name or the port of the ship on the stern; for every ship has its name and the name of the city where it belongs painted on the stern. And the sailors said that there wasn't enough of the name left to tell what it was, but it seemed to be a French name. So the mate went back and he put three piles of oakum, one up in the bow, and one in the stern, and one half way between the two. And he soaked the oakum with oil and he poured oil on everything that was dry, and he set fire from the lantern which he carried. Then he hurried to get off and into the boat, and the sailors cast off. And, before they got off, the mate saw that there was seaweed high up on the hulk, which showed that she had drifted about, as she was, for a long time. And the fire blazed up, and they hurried to get away from the wreck.



The fire blazed up, higher and higher, as the boat went back to the Industry, so that it was roaring by the time the sailors climbed aboard. And they hoisted the boat up, and put it in its place, and Captain Solomon had the sailors change the sails so that the ship would go ahead on her course. And the mate was on the quarter deck, telling Captain Solomon what he had seen. When the mate had got through Captain Solomon thought for a long time.

"That's the Frenchman that was abandoned off Hatteras more'n a year ago," said Captain Solomon at last. "They thought she was sinking. She must have been carried by the currents up towards Norway, maybe, and then down past the west coast of France and Spain. I've heard of derelicts doing that, but I've never seen it before."

And the mate didn't say anything, but they watched the wreck burning. It burned fiercely, but the flames didn't blaze very high, for she hadn't any masts nor any rigging. And the light of the fire made the moonlight look pale and white. And they watched her getting farther and farther away as the Industry sailed on her course.

"I hope," said Captain Solomon, "that there's something aboard of her to sink her."

And just as he said that they saw the light of the fire go out suddenly, and where it had been there was nothing but some smoke in the air and the moon was shining brightly all around.

And that's all.



THE LIGHTHOUSE STORY

Once upon a time there was a wide river that ran into the ocean, and beside it was a little city. And in that city was a wharf where great ships came from far countries. And a narrow road led down a very steep hill to that wharf and anybody that wanted to go to the wharf had to go down the steep hill on the narrow road, for there wasn't any other way. And because ships had come there for a great many years and all the sailors and all the captains and all the men who had business with the ships had to go on that narrow road, the flagstones that made the sidewalks were much worn. That was a great many years ago.

The wharf was Captain Jonathan's and Captain Jacob's and they owned the ships that sailed from it; and, after their ships had been sailing from that wharf in the little city for a good many years, they changed their office to Boston. After that their ships sailed from a wharf in Boston.

Once the brig Industry was coming back from far countries to that wharf in Boston, and little Jacob and little Sol were on her. And, when she was nearly in sight of the end of Cape Cod, a great storm came up, and the wind blew like Sam Hill. It blew harder than it had blown at any time while the Industry was sailing over the wide ocean to the far countries and back again. So, at last, Captain Solomon had to turn her around and run for it. But he ran as slow as he could, for he wanted to get to Boston; and he growled and grumbled all the time because he had to go the way he didn't want to.

Little Jacob had been feeling rather excited and very glad because he was so nearly home again. But, when the Industry turned around and sailed away from Boston, he didn't feel glad any more, but he felt rather mournful. And he was just a little bit frightened at the great wind and at the great waves; for Captain Solomon hadn't turned around until he was obliged to, and that was the last minute that it was safe to keep on. It was getting dark, and Captain Solomon thought it would be a pity to run the risk of getting wrecked on the Cape when the brig had gone all the way to Manila and back safely. So little Jacob crept into his bunk and held on tight, because the ship was pitching and rolling so much, and he tried to go to sleep. At last he went to sleep; but he had horrid dreams.



Captain Solomon was on deck all that night, and he had on his oilskins and he was sopping wet outside the oilskins, but inside them he was dry as a bone; for oilskins keep the water out beautifully. And the spray was flying high above the rail and, once in a while, the top of a wave would come aboard in solid green water. But Captain Solomon didn't mind the water. He was only very angry at having to sail away from Boston.

The storm kept on for nearly three days and little Jacob was pretty miserable but little Sol enjoyed it. Little Sol wasn't so anxious to get home as little Jacob was. And, at last, one morning when little Jacob woke he didn't feel the ship pitching as she had been, and he was surprised to find that he was a little bit excited once more. And he went on deck as soon as he could, and he found that the wind was still blowing pretty hard but not so hard as it had been blowing, and the ship was headed for Boston again. And all the sailors looked cheerful. And Captain Solomon was the most cheerful of all, although he needed some sleep.

"Well, Jacob," he said, "we're headed for home again. I guess you're glad."

"Yes, sir," said little Jacob, smiling, "I am glad. When shall we get there?"

"If this breeze holds," said Captain Solomon, "we'll get in before dark to-night. But I'm afraid it won't hold."

"Oh," cried little Jacob, "I hope it will."

"So do I, Jacob," said Captain Solomon. "We'll see."

But the wind got less and less. They passed Provincetown, on Cape Cod, a little while after Captain Solomon and little Jacob and little Sol had finished their dinner, and Jacob felt hopeful. But the Industry kept going slower as the wind died down, and Jacob's heart kept going down and down. But he watched, to see if he could see Boston. And, at last, it was almost dark and he hadn't sighted Boston, and his heart was almost down in his boots. He thought that he saw some land away off on the western horizon, but he couldn't be sure whether he did or not, for it was only twilight and the western horizon was all dim and misty. And, suddenly, a little friendly star shone out, just where he was looking.

"Oh," he cried, "what is that star? It just came."

Captain Solomon was standing near him, and he smiled at little Jacob's question.

"That star, Jacob," he said, "is Boston light. We can't get in to-night, but we'll go a little nearer and we'll stand back and forth until daylight. Then we'll go in. But we sha'n't be there to breakfast."

Little Jacob gave a long, shivering sigh. "Well," he said, "I suppose you can't go in to-night. That light is a long way off, isn't it?"

"Yes," said Captain Solomon, "it's a long way off. And, besides, the wind is dying out."

Little Jacob didn't say anything for some time.

"The light-keeper must have to stay up all night," he said, then, "to see that his light doesn't go out."

"Yes, Jacob," answered Captain Solomon, "he stays up all night, taking care of you and me. Or he looks out for his end of it. There are two or three of them—the light-keepers. And, in the daytime, he sees that his lamps are filled and his wicks trimmed and his brasses bright and his glasses polished. When night comes he lights his lamp, and he looks at it every little while to make sure that it is burning all right. If it wasn't, there might be a wreck."



Little Jacob stood and watched the light for a long time without saying anything. Captain Solomon stood and watched it, too.

"That is a very friendly light," said little Jacob, at last, drawing a long breath and smiling at the light. Captain Solomon couldn't see the smile, because it was dark; but he heard it in little Jacob's voice.

"It is, Jacob," said Captain Solomon, "a very friendly light."

"I guess it's my bed-time," said little Jacob. "Good-night, captain."

"Good-night, Jacob," said Captain Solomon. "By the time you're up, in the morning, we'll be almost in."

And little Jacob laughed happily and went down to bed.

And that's all.



THE RUNAWAY STORY

Once upon a time there was a wide river that ran into the ocean and beside it was a little city. And in that city was a wharf where great ships came from far countries. And a narrow road led down a very steep hill to that wharf, and anybody that wanted to go to the wharf had to go down the steep hill on the narrow road, for there wasn't any other way. And because ships had come there for a great many years and all the sailors and all the captains and all the men who had business with the ships had to go on that narrow road, the flagstones that made the sidewalks were much worn. That was a great many years ago.

The brig Industry was one of the ships that used to sail from that wharf and Captain Solomon was her captain for many years. But, after he had been sailing to far countries for a long time, he thought it would be nice to stop going to sea, for he found that what he wanted was a farm where he could settle down and stay in one place. And, besides, he had three sons; and he didn't want his three sons to go to sea because he knew what a hard life it was.

Little Sol was the oldest of his three sons, and he had been one voyage to far countries. Captain Solomon took him, thinking that the voyage would show him how much better it was to stay ashore and be a farmer than to go to sea and be a captain and have to stand all sorts of storms and perhaps be wrecked. But the voyage to those far countries hadn't made Sol think what Captain Solomon had hoped it would make him think, but it had only made him want to go to sea all the more. Little Sol wasn't little any longer, but he had got to be about sixteen years old. And Captain Solomon's youngest son was the one that was, afterwards, Uncle John and the father of little John, that it tells about in the Farm Stories. And what was the name of the middle son of Captain Solomon I have forgotten. Perhaps it was Seth.



So Captain Solomon bought the farm that he wanted. It was a beautiful farm, with a river running through it, and a great pond in it, and you would have thought that it would have suited Sol exactly. But it didn't. For the one thing that Sol wanted, and that all these beautiful things, the river and the great pond, and the hills and the woods, wouldn't make up for, was the ocean. The farm was twenty miles from the ocean. Sol would have given anything if he could just hear the ocean. Where he had lived he could hear it all the time, sometimes loud and sometimes soft. It put him to sleep many and many a night, that sound of the sea as it broke on the shore. And he wanted it so badly that he was almost sick, but his father wouldn't let him go to sea, and he wouldn't even let him go to Wellfleet to visit his cousins; for he was very much afraid that Sol wouldn't come home again, but would go off to sea. And at last Sol couldn't stand it any longer. He felt sick all the time and he couldn't sleep and he just hated that farm. So he made up his mind that he would have to run away from home.

It was on his sixteenth birthday that he made up his mind to run away from home. Captain Solomon was a kind father, but he had been a captain for such a long time that he wanted to run his family and his farm just like a ship and to have everybody do just exactly as he said and ask no questions; and, when anybody didn't seem to want to do just as he said, but began to ask questions and argue, he got very angry. Sol was very sorry to leave his mother, but there was nobody else except his two brothers. And he was very sure that Seth would run away to sea when he got old enough, unless Captain Solomon let him go. But, long before it came to be Seth's time, Captain Solomon had learned better. And John, at that time, was a little boy.

So Sol made his plans. And, when the time came, he left a letter to his father. The letter was scribbled on a leaf that Sol tore out of a book, and it was very short, for Sol didn't like to write letters. The letter said that he just had to go to sea, and that he hoped that his father wouldn't blame him, and that he would come back some day when he had got to be a mate or a captain.

Then there was a letter to his mother. It was longer than the letter to his father and in it Sol said that he was just sick for the sea and that, if he stayed on the farm, he knew he should get sicker and die. The farm was a beautiful farm, but farms were not for him for many years yet. He would rather plough the ocean than plough the earth. Sol was rather proud when he wrote that about ploughing the ocean, for he thought it sounded rather well when he read the letter over. And he subscribed himself, with a great deal of love, her loving son.

Then Sol made a bundle of the clothes he thought he would need, but the bundle was a small one, for he didn't think that he would need many clothes. And, when it got late that night, and everything was quiet about the house and even his brothers, Seth and John, were sound asleep, Sol opened the window and threw his bundle out. Then he got out and slid down the rain spout. The rain spout made a good deal of noise, but it was wooden and not made of tin, so it didn't make as much noise as a rain spout would make now. Sol was afraid that his father would hear the noise and wake up, so he hid behind the lilac bushes in the corner of the fence. But Captain Solomon had been doing a hard day's work, haying, and he slept very soundly. And, when he found that his father didn't wake up, Sol crept out from behind the lilac bushes and took up his bundle and went out the wide gate.

First he turned north and walked quietly along until he had passed the old schoolhouse and had got well into the village. He went carefully, while he was in the village, for he was afraid that somebody might be about and see him. Almost everybody in the village knew Sol, and anybody who met him, at that time of night, would know that he was running away. Perhaps they would call up the constable and have him sent back. Sol shivered when he thought of that. Then he came to the old turnpike road to Boston and he turned toward the east into the turnpike. He hadn't met anybody in the village nor seen a single light.



It doesn't take a good, strong boy of sixteen all night to walk a little more than twenty miles, and Sol loafed along and didn't hurry. Once in a while he sat down to rest or sleep for a few minutes, but he didn't dare to really go to sleep, for fear that he would sleep all the rest of the night; and he had to be in Boston by daylight. And, once in a while, he had to sneak around a toll-house, because he didn't have any money. And, at each toll-house, they made each person that was walking on the turnpike pay some money; perhaps it was a penny that they had to pay. They charged more for each wagon that passed. At last he came into Boston and it wasn't daylight yet. So he walked over to the Common and lay down under some bushes and went to sleep.

Sol was wakened by the snuffling noise that a cow makes when it is eating the grass and by the sound of the grass being bitten off. And he started up, thinking of the farm at home, and there was a cow almost near enough to touch. When he started up, the cow was frightened and galloped off, and Sol saw that the sun was up and it must be about six o'clock. He laughed at the cow and opened his bundle and took out some bread that he had brought, and some gingerbread, and he ate them. It wasn't much of a breakfast, but he hadn't been able to get anything better. And, when he had finished, he walked down to Spring Lane and got a drink of water at the spring, and he washed his face and hands. Then he kept on down to India street, for he was afraid his father would come after him and there was no time to lose.



Sol needn't have been afraid that his father would come after him, if he had only known what was happening at the farm. Captain Solomon had been surprised that Sol didn't come down stairs and, finally, he had gone up after him. There were Seth and John just waking up and rubbing the sleep out of their eyes; but there was no Sol and his bed hadn't been slept in. And Captain Solomon looked around until he saw the two letters pinned to the pin-cushion. Then he looked angry, and he took the two letters and marched down stairs again. He didn't say anything, but he gave the letter that was directed "For Mother" to his wife.

And Sol's mother didn't say anything, either, but she opened her letter and read it. It didn't take very long to read it but it took longer than Captain Solomon's. And the tears came into her eyes as she handed the letter to Captain Solomon and asked him not to be hard on the poor boy but to be gentle with him, for he must have felt that very same way when he first went to sea.

And Captain Solomon read her letter and then he sat without saying anything for a long time, looking out of the window. Perhaps he didn't see the things that were there; perhaps, instead of the fields of tall grass and of wheat, waving in the breeze, he saw the blue ocean sparkling in the sun and stretching away until it met the sky. Perhaps he saw the tall masts and the white sails of the Industry rising far above his head, and felt her buoyant hull under his feet.

Whatever he saw, as he sat there, he laughed aloud, at last, and brought his fist down on the kitchen table.

"Let him go!" he said. "It's in the blood. The sea's salt is in the blood and the only thing that will take it out is the sea itself. He can no more help it than he can help breathing. I'll write him a letter."

And so it happened that there was a letter for Sol in Captain Jonathan's and Captain Jacob's office the next morning. They didn't know where he was, but they sent to all their ships that were in port to see if he could be found. The Industry happened to be in port, but she was just ready to sail, and she was to sail that afternoon. And it happened that Sol had shipped as one of her crew and he was on board of her. Captain Jonathan and Captain Jacob didn't know that Sol was one of the crew of the Industry, because they didn't generally look over the crew lists any longer, but they left that to the captains and the mates. But when they found Sol, they had him come to their office, and they gave him the letter from his father. And Sol read the letter and he was very happy, and he wrote a long letter to his father.

In that letter he said that he knew, now, that it was very foolish for him to run away, because Captain Solomon would have let him go if he had made him understand how he felt. But Sol had always thought that his father was very stern and he hadn't told him how badly he felt at being kept away from the salt water. It may have been Captain Solomon's fault, too; and when he got Sol's letter he went to a field that was far from the farm-house. But he didn't do any work. He sat there, under a tree that grew beside the stone wall, all the morning looking up at the clouds.

It would be all the more foolish for any boy to run away to sea, now-a-days. For things have changed very much in the last hundred years. Steamers have taken the place of sailing ships, and the crews of the few ships that there are aren't made up of men like Captain Solomon and Sol.

But, when the Industry sailed away from that wharf in Boston for far countries, more than a hundred years ago, Sol was a sailor.

And that's all.



THE TRAFALGAR STORY

Once upon a time there was a wide river that ran into the ocean, and beside it was a little city. And in that city was a wharf where great ships came from far countries. And a narrow road led down a very steep hill to that wharf and anybody that wanted to go to the wharf had to go down the steep hill on the narrow road, for there wasn't any other way. And because ships had come there for a great many years and all the sailors and all the captains and all the men who had business with the ships had to go on that narrow road, the flagstones that made the sidewalk were much worn. That was a great many years ago.

The brig Industry was one of the ships that used to sail from that wharf and, afterwards, she sailed from a wharf in Boston. And Captain Solomon had been the captain of her for many years; but he had got tired of going to sea and had bought a farm that was not near the ocean. And Sol, Captain Solomon's son, had got tired of staying on the farm and had gone off to sea, and he had risen to be the captain of the brig Industry.

Once, in the long ago, the brig Industry sailed from a wharf in Boston for Manila and Singapore and other far countries; but, first, she was going to Leghorn. She carried flour, apples, salt fish, tobacco, lumber, and some other things that Captain Jonathan and Captain Jacob thought that the people in Leghorn would buy. It was Captain Sol's first voyage as captain and he had been a sailor about four years.

The Industry sailed along over the great ocean for many days, and she had good weather and nothing happened that was worth mentioning. Captain Sol had his eyes open, because there was a war between England and France and sometimes an English warship would meet an American ship and stop her and do things that neither the captain nor the crew of the American ship liked to have done. But there didn't seem to be anything that the American ship could do except run away; and sometimes they could get away and sometimes it wouldn't do any good to try.

And the Industry kept getting nearer to the coast of Spain and to the Straits of Gibraltar. It was the twenty-second of October, 1805, and Captain Sol thought that he should sight Cape Trafalgar the next day.

So, the next morning, he began to look out for Cape Trafalgar before it was light. And, when it was light enough to see anything, he saw that they were very near to a lot of great ships. They were warships and they were battered and there were great shot holes in their sides and some of the yards and topmasts had been shot away and there were great rents in their sails and, altogether, they looked like a lot of wrecks. It didn't take a man as smart as Captain Sol very long to guess that there had been a great battle a few days before. And he was right. The battle of Trafalgar was fought between the English fleet of ships and the fleets of France and Spain; and the ships that Captain Sol saw were English ships. The sailors were mending the ships, as well as they could, so that they would be fit to sail.

And Captain Sol wanted to know what was going on, so he sailed nearer; and, when he was as near as he dared to go, he had the sailors fix the sails so that the ship wouldn't go ahead, and he waited there.

Pretty soon some sailors got into a boat from one of the English ships, and then an officer got in, and they rowed the boat over to the Industry, and the English officer came on board of the Industry. Captain Sol met him and he had some of the sailors stand in line on each side of the gangway. And Captain Sol and the English officer talked together, very politely, although the officer was plainly very much surprised to see so young a man as captain. Captain Sol was only twenty-one.

And the officer told Captain Sol about the battle, and he told him that Lord Nelson had been shot in that battle, and he had died on board the Victory a few hours after the battle was over. And the officer saw the lumber that the Industry had on her deck, and he asked Captain Sol what other cargo he carried. And Captain Sol told him about the flour and the apples and the salt fish and the tobacco, and the officer got into his boat again and was rowed back to the Victory.

Captain Sol stayed there, waiting to see what would happen; for he thought that, perhaps, he might sell some of his cargo to the English ships and not have to carry it to Leghorn. And, sure enough, the officer got into the boat again and came back. And he told Captain Sol that the commander of the fleet would be much obliged to him if he would sell some of his lumber and some flour and some apples; but he didn't ask for any of the salt fish nor for any of the tobacco. And Captain Sol agreed and the officer rowed away.

Then the Victory made signals to the other ships, telling them to send boats for the lumber and the flour and the apples that they needed. And a boat came to the Industry for each ship, until they were clustered about her as thick as bees about a hive. And the sailors were very busy, putting into the boats the lumber and the flour and the barrels of apples. Captain Sol had to have a tackle rigged over the hatchway of the Industry to hoist out the barrels. And when each boat had got its load, it was rowed back to its ship.

It took them a long time to get all those things out of the Industry, but at last it was all done and the last boat had rowed away; and Captain Sol found that he had sold all of his lumber and about half of his flour and about half of his apples. The English sailors needed all that lumber to mend the ships. Then another boat came from the Victory, and it was rowed to the Industry, and the paymaster of the English fleet came aboard and two men came after him carrying bags of gold money.

Captain Sol and the paymaster and the men with the bags of money went down into the cabin; and the paymaster counted out the gold money for the lumber and the flour and the apples, and left it on the cabin table. And, besides, he thanked Captain Sol for selling them the things. Then he went away.



Then Captain Sol had the sailors fix the sails so that the ship would go ahead, and he had a sailor stand at the flag halliards and dip the flag for a salute to the English ships. And the Industry sailed away from those English ships towards Gibraltar, and pretty soon the ships were out of sight.

And that's all.



THE CARGO STORY

Once upon a time there was a wide river that ran into the ocean, and beside it was a little city. And in that city was a wharf where great ships came from far countries. And a narrow road led down a very steep hill to that wharf, and anybody that wanted to go to the wharf had to go down the steep hill on the narrow road, for there wasn't any other way. And because ships had come there for a great many years and all the sailors and all the captains and all the men who had business with the ships had to go on that narrow road, the flagstones that made the sidewalk were much worn. That was a great many years ago.

That wharf was Captain Jonathan's and Captain Jacob's and they owned the ships that sailed from it; and, after their ships had been sailing from that wharf in the little city for a good many years, they changed their office to Boston. After that their ships sailed from a wharf in Boston.

Once the brig Industry was all ready to sail from Boston for far countries. She had her cargo all stowed, but Captain Sol hadn't seen it stowed, for he had had to be away from Boston while it was being put aboard. So a lumper, or 'longshoreman, had told the men where to put things. A lumper was a man who did the work of carrying things into a ship, or out of it. This man was a pretty good 'longshoreman, but a lumper wasn't a sailor and couldn't be expected to get the things stowed quite so well as a captain or a mate. The captain or the mate would be more interested in having the things stowed well, for it makes a great difference, in the sailing of a ship and in her behavior, how the cargo is stowed. Captain Sol generally liked to attend to those things himself.

They had put on board all the things that they would eat and the water that they would drink; and Captain Sol came back and the Industry sailed away from that wharf out upon the great ocean. And she sailed the length of the Atlantic, but she met a good deal of rough weather and she ran into three or four storms.

Captain Sol soon found that the cargo hadn't been well stowed and it bothered him a good deal. For, in his log-book, he wrote things like these:

Aug. 27, Heavy sea from the eastward. Ship labors very badly.

Sept. 1, Squally with rough, heavy sea. Ship labors very much.

Sept. 10, Ship rolls and labors hard through the night.

Sept. 22, Heavy gales & Squally with tremendous sea. Ship'd much water.

Sept. 25, Strong gales and rough sea. Ship rolls heavy.

Sept. 30, Hard squalls and tremendous sea from N. & E. Ship labors very hard.

Oct. 3, A very heavy sea running during the 24 hours. Ship labors too much, owing to bad stowage of cargo. It must be corrected.

So, before the Industry had got around the Cape of Good Hope, Captain Sol had made up his mind that he would have that cargo overhauled and stowed the way it ought to be. For he thought that the ship would sail enough faster to make up for the time it would take, and all hands would be more comfortable. And he had the sailors steer her to a little island that he knew about, where there was a good harbor and where he wouldn't be bothered. And she got to that island and the sailors let her anchor down to the bottom of the harbor, and they began to take out her cargo.

First they rigged tackles to the yards high up on the masts, and they swung the yards so that the tackles would be just above the hatchways; and one was over the forward hatchway and one was over the after hatchway. Then Captain Sol sent one gang of men down into the hold of the Industry by the after hatch, with the mate to tell them what to do; and he sent another gang of men into the hold by the fore hatch, with the second mate to tell them what to do. And he divided the sailors that were left into two parts, six men for the fore hatch and six men for the after hatch. The sailors were all stripped to the waist and barefooted, for they knew, from the way the crew was divided up, that they would have to work hard and as quickly as they could. Captain Sol was a driver for work, but his crew didn't think any the less of him for that.

And Captain Sol called to the mates. "Are you all ready?" he said.

And the mates answered that they were all ready when he was.

"Well, rout it out, then, as fast as you're able," said Captain Sol; "I'll see that we keep up with you."

And he ordered four men to tail on to each rope. He meant for four men to take hold of the free end of the rope that ran through the blocks of the tackle.

"And run away with it," he said. "And when I say run I don't mean walk, either."

The sailors already had hold of the ropes, and they grinned when Captain Sol said that.

"Aye, aye, sir," they shouted.

And he ordered the other two men at the fore hatch and the other two men at the after hatch to be ready to handle and loose the bales and to be lively about it.

"All ready!" he called to the mates.

Then the fun began. The bales and the barrels and the boxes seemed to fly out of the hatchways and to alight on the deck like a flock of great birds. And the men who had to handle them and to cast off the hooks did it in the liveliest way that can be imagined, and they hustled the boxes and the barrels and the bales to one side so that there should be room for the next thing that came up. And there was a great noise of a lively chanty, that the sailors sang all the time, without stopping. It wasn't worth while to stop; for then, as soon as they had stopped singing, they would have to begin again, so they kept on all the time. And there was the soft noise of their bare feet stamping on the deck but they didn't stamp very hard because that would hurt their feet.

Pretty soon the bodies and the faces of the sailors began to glisten; and, before long, the sweat was running down in streams. For, working there, at that island, was just about the same as it would have been if they had been working at Charleston or Savannah in May. It was pretty hot for such hard work. But the sailors were merry at it, and grinned and shouted their chanty, and they kept at it until all the things were out on the deck of the Industry that had to be taken out. The things that were the heaviest they didn't take out, but just moved them to one side and left them in the hold.

By dinner time, they had all the cargo taken out that had to be taken out, and the heaviest freshly stowed in the middle of the ship at the very bottom. Then Captain Sol told the mates and the sailors to come up.

"There!" said he. "I'll bet dollars to buttons there never was a ship unloaded any quicker than we've unloaded this one. Now go to your dinner, and we'll finish this stowing this afternoon."

And he told the mate to serve out to the sailors a little rum. They had been working very hard and they would have a lot more hard work to do before the day was done. It was the custom, in those days, to serve out rum to the crew now and then; perhaps once a week. It wasn't a good custom, perhaps, but it was a custom. Captain Sol never once thought of breaking that custom, but he gave each man a very little, and then they had their dinner.

And, after they had finished their dinner, the sailors who had been on deck in the morning went down into the hold and the sailors who had been in the hold in the morning stayed on deck. But the mates had to go down, and sometimes Captain Sol was in the hold and sometimes he was on deck. For he wanted to see for himself how the work was being done.

They put the heaviest things they had left next to those great, heavy things that were stowed in the middle of the ship at the very bottom. And they kept lowering down the heaviest things that they had on deck, and the sailors who were in the hold stowed them. They packed them very tightly, so that, no matter how much the ship should pitch and toss and roll, the cargo should not get loose. For it is a very bad thing for the cargo to shift, and a ship might be lost if its cargo shifted, in a storm. It is only in a storm that such a thing is likely to happen.

At last they had lowered the last bale and the last box that they had on deck, and they had been stowed. And the men who were in the hold called out for more, and the men on deck said that there wasn't any more. The mates were surprised, for there was some room left in the hold that there hadn't been the way the cargo was stowed at first. And the mates came up, and the sailors came up, and they were just dripping wet.

And Captain Sol thanked the men for working so willingly all day, and he said that he thought that they would all be glad because the ship would ride easier, after this, and wouldn't take in so much water; and it would be much easier to handle sail in rough weather. And he said that he supposed they thought they ought to have a little more rum. He was going to serve it out to them, but he warned them that it would be a very little.

And, at that, the men all roared out, and Captain Sol went to the quarter deck and stood by the railing that divided it from the rest of the ship. He had a jug beside him. And the men came up, with their tin cups in their hands, and they held their cups up high, one at a time. And Captain Sol poured a very little rum into each cup, and the man with the cup went forward.

But, while Captain Sol was doing that, there was one sailor near the middle of the ship who felt as if he would rather have a dousing of cold water than all the rum in the jug. And that man got one of those buckets that were used to get salt water from the ocean for washing down decks and for other things. The bucket had a long rope for a handle. And he dropped the bucket overboard and gave the right jerk to the rope, and he pulled it up, full of water. Then he stopped a man who was going by with his cup, and asked him to throw the water over him. The other man asked him where he would have it.

"Alow and aloft," said the sailor who had got the water, "and fore and aft."



So the other sailor began to throw the water over him. But, just then, there was another sailor just going by, and the temptation was too great. He threw what water was left in the bucket over that other sailor. And that sailor gave a great roar, and ran to get another bucket. And he filled it and tried to throw the water on the man who had wet him down; but he couldn't find him. So he threw the water over another man.

And that man ran for a bucket, and in about a minute all the sailors were chasing each other around, throwing water over everybody they met. There was a great noise and uproar, but everybody was good-natured about it, for they were all very hot and the salt water felt very pleasant to them. And, of course, the clothes that they had on were all wet through, but nobody had on anything much besides his breeches, and it didn't matter. And Captain Sol and the mate stood on the quarter deck and laughed at them.

And, when the men had got tired of playing, they went down to their supper; and Captain Sol went down to write in his log-book.

Nov. 6. Had cargo out and restowed it between 9 a. m. and 6 p. m., with an hour for dinner. I w'ld like to see the gang of lumpers that can do half as well. So ends this day.

And that's all.



THE PRIVATEER STORY

Once upon a time there was a wide river that ran into the ocean, and beside it was a little city. And in that city was a wharf where great ships came from far countries. And a narrow road led down a very steep hill to that wharf, and anybody that wanted to go to the wharf had to go down the steep hill on the narrow road, for there wasn't any other way. And because ships had come there for a great many years and all the sailors and all the captains and all the men who had business with the ships had to go on that narrow road, the flagstones that made the sidewalk were much worn. That was a great many years ago.

That wharf was Captain Jonathan's and Captain Jacob's and they owned the ships that sailed from it; and, after their ships had been sailing from that wharf in the little city for a good many years, they changed their office to Boston. After that, their ships sailed from a wharf in Boston.

Once, in the year 1807, the brig Industry sailed from Boston for far countries with Captain Sol as her captain. There was, at that time, a great war between France and Spain, on one side, and England and some other countries, on the other side; but the English ships had to do almost all the fighting, for their side, that was done on the ocean. And there were a good many English and French and Spanish privateers sailing about, seeing how much harm they could do to the ships that belonged to the other side.



A privateer was a vessel that was fitted out by private persons, just as if Captain Jonathan and Captain Jacob had made up their minds that the Industry should be a privateer, if the United States was at war. And they would fit her out with guns and swords and cutlasses, and they would get a crew for her, and they would ask the government if she could be a privateer. And the government would probably have said that she could, and they would have sent Captain Jonathan and Captain Jacob some papers, called "letters of marque and reprisal," which said that the Industry was a United States privateer and that she could take ships as prizes and sell them. Governments do not do that, now, and a privateer is no better than a pirate; but they all did it a hundred years ago.

Captain Sol had thought about it a great deal, for privateers weren't very particular what ships they captured; and he wondered whether he ought to carry a whole lot of guns. He always had some guns on the ship, but not enough to make a fight with, if the other vessel had a whole lot, as privateers always did. But, finally, he decided that he had better not, or he might be taken for a pirate. For his country wasn't at war and, of course, he hadn't any papers. Pirates that are captured are usually short lived. So he had sailed away without any guns worth mentioning.

The Industry sailed along over the ocean for about two weeks and nothing much happened, and she wasn't so very far from the coast of Spain; perhaps she was three or four hundred miles away.

For, on that voyage, she was bound to Leghorn, first, and then she was going to Java and Manila. And, in the middle of the forenoon of that day, the lookout in the crosstrees of the Industry reported a sail heading directly for them.

Captain Sol was worried about it and asked the sailor about the rig of the vessel. And the sailor said that he couldn't tell what her rig was because he couldn't see any more than her upper sails, and not much of them; but she seemed to be a brig, and he thought she was fast, by the way she was rising. He thought he should be able to see her hull in less than half an hour.

Captain Sol said a bad word and took his glass and went up to the crosstrees himself. But he couldn't see enough, there, so he went on, up the mast. And he rested the glass against the rigging and looked. It took him a long time to see anything, the rigging jumped around so; but at last he managed to see. And he came down quickly and spoke to the man at the wheel, who looked at him as if he expected some orders.

"Keep her as she goes," he said. "It won't do any good to try to run away from that vessel. She can sail three feet to our two. And, whoever she is, she has no business with us, anyway."

But Captain Sol knew that it would make very little difference whether she had any right to stop them or not. If her captain wanted to he would. And the mates knew that, and the sailors knew it. So Captain Sol ordered one of the sailors to hoist the United States flag, and he kept on.



The brig kept rising fast and, in a short time, they could see her hull from the deck of the Industry. They saw that she was a Spanish privateer; and she hoisted the Spanish flag and kept on. And, pretty soon, she was nearly abreast of the Industry; and she turned a little, and there was a little puff of smoke from her side, and the sound of the report came over the water a second or two later.

That was a signal for the Industry to stop. But the Industry seemed to have grown deaf, and she didn't stop, and no sailor made a move to touch a rope. And the Spanish brig seemed to be a little angry, and she turned again and there was a bigger puff of smoke from her side and a cannon ball came skipping across the water, ahead of the Industry. That was a hint that she had better stop, if she knew what was good for her. But Captain Sol only had another United States flag hoisted, and it was a bigger flag than the first one.

When the Spanish brig saw that the Industry wasn't going to stop, she seemed to get very angry. There was another puff of smoke from her side, and a solid shot tore through one of the sails of the Industry, leaving a ragged hole.



"Well," said Captain Sol, "she's begun to talk. I guess we may as well heave to."

So he had the sailors fix the sails so that the ship wouldn't go ahead. But the sailors worked slowly, and the mates didn't hurry them, either.

And, in a few minutes, a boat put off from the Spanish brig, and the boat was filled with men. They had a pretty long way to row because Captain Sol hadn't stopped when he was asked to. But, after a while, they were at the side. The officer in the Spanish boat was very much excited and talked very fast. He wanted Captain Sol to put a gangway or a ladder over the side, so that he could get on board easily.

But Captain Sol winked at the mate and made believe that he didn't understand.

"No compreeny," he said, leaning over the side. For he thought that they could come aboard any way they were able. He had had the ship stopped for them.

"Donkey!" said the officer, in Spanish. And he scrambled up, followed by ten of his men. The other men stayed in the boat.

And Captain Sol was very polite, but he couldn't talk Spanish and he made believe he couldn't understand what was said. Really, he knew enough Spanish to be able to understand what the officer said, but he couldn't speak Spanish. After a while, the officer tried French, but Captain Sol made believe that he couldn't understand that, either, and he said, in English, that he was very sorry that he didn't have any Frenchmen in the crew. So the officer gave up trying to make Captain Sol understand.

And he made the crew of the Industry go in the boat, but he left Captain Sol and the mates, and ten men for a prize crew. And he told Captain Sol that he was to take the ship to Cadiz. He kept saying that name over and over.

Captain Sol knew that it would be of no use to resist, and he didn't. And the crew bade him good bye, and the boat was rowed away. Then his new Spanish crew fixed the sails so that the ship would go ahead. He thought they were pretty clumsy about it, but he didn't say anything. And the Industry sailed away towards Cadiz, and the Spanish brig turned to the north.

They sailed all the rest of that day towards the coast of Spain, which was on their way to Leghorn, anyway. Captain Sol kept his eyes open, for he hadn't given up hoping for a chance to get the ship back again; but the chance didn't seem very good, with only the two mates and himself against the ten Spaniards. And, that night, there must have been something the matter with the watch that the Spaniards kept, for, when there was light enough to see, in the morning, there was a big English warship close to them. She was big enough to swallow the Industry whole and never to know the difference. Captain Sol laughed right out loud when the Spaniards first saw her; he had known about her nearly half the night.

The Spaniards never once thought of fighting, but surrendered right off. It would have been very foolish for them to fight, for they were only ten men, in a ship that wasn't fitted for fighting; and the English ship was a big ship fitted up on purpose to fight, and she had a crew of three or four hundred men.

So a boat soon put off from the English ship, with sailors in it, and came to the side of the Industry. And Captain Sol was hurrying to put a ladder over, so that the English officer could come up without any trouble. But the officer didn't wait for any ladder; he and his men swarmed up the side like flies. And Captain Sol met the officer, and he laughed and said that he was glad to see him. And the officer smiled and wondered why that was, and he shook hands with Captain Sol; and then Captain Sol and the officer went into the cabin together. And Captain Sol told the officer about the Spanish privateer.

When the officer had heard the story he said it was hard luck, but, as the vessel was a Spanish prize, he should have to take her. He thought that the Admiralty court would fix that matter all right. And Captain Sol sighed and said that he hoped so, but he didn't know much about Admiralty courts. He had understood that American owners were apt to get the worst of it. And then Captain Sol and the officer had a glass of wine together, and it was so good that they each had another glass; and then they went on deck.

The officer bundled the Spaniards into the boat and left ten Englishmen to take their places, apologizing to Captain Sol for leaving him so short-handed. The Industry generally had a crew of twenty-five or thirty men. Then the officer got into the boat and rowed away. Captain Sol was to take the Industry to Gibraltar, which was right on the way to Leghorn, too. And it was pretty near, so that he ought to get there the next day.

Then Captain Sol had an idea. He served out a little rum, first, and he told the crew that if nothing happened he would take the ship straight to Gibraltar. But the Spaniards were pretty thick between where they were and Gibraltar, so he thought he would ask them a question. If they should be taken by the Spaniards again, and the crew should be left on board, would they agree to sign as his crew, for a voyage to Leghorn and other ports?

When the English sailors heard that, some of them began to grin; and they talked together for a little while, and then they said that they would agree to do as Captain Sol had said. And Captain Sol was pleased, and he served out another helping of rum all around. The sailors called it grog.

Sure enough, they were captured again, the next morning, before they had got within sight of Gibraltar; and the Spanish ship put on board the Industry a prize crew of nine men. But she left the English crew on board, for she had already taken several other prizes; and she had put other prize crews on board of those prizes, and she had their crews as prisoners. And her captain was afraid to have more prisoners because he would have nearly as many prisoners as he had men left in his crew. Then the Spanish ship told Captain Sol to steer for Algiers, and she sailed away about her business.

Captain Sol did as he was told and steered for Algiers. But, in the night of that day, the two mates went, while the Spanish crew weren't looking, and they set free the Englishmen and gave them a paper to sign. That paper made them Captain Sol's sailors. And then they gave each man pistols and a cutlass, and the first mate took half of the Englishmen and went to the forecastle, where four men of the Spanish crew were sleeping; and the second mate took the other five Englishmen, and he went on deck, where the other five men of the Spanish crew were on watch, but he hid his Englishmen. And Captain Sol was walking back and forth on the quarter deck, and suddenly he began to whistle softly. And all the Englishmen sprang out, and they had that Spanish crew captured before they knew what had happened. But they didn't have to hurt anybody, they captured them so quickly.

Then Captain Sol changed the course of the Industry so that she was heading for Leghorn, and he got to Leghorn in due time; but he had some trouble in getting rid of his Spanish prisoners.

And nobody ever knew whether Captain Sol meant to be captured by the Spaniards, that last time, or not.

And that's all.



THE RACE STORY

Once upon a time there was a wide river that ran into the ocean, and beside it was a little city. And in that city was a wharf where great ships came from far countries. And a narrow road led down a very steep hill to that wharf, and anybody that wanted to go to the wharf had to go down the steep hill on the narrow road, for there wasn't any other way. And because ships had come there for a great many years and all the sailors and all the captains and all the men who had business with the ships had to go on that narrow road, the flagstones that made the sidewalk were much worn. That was a great many years ago.

The wharf was Captain Jonathan's and Captain Jacob's and they owned the ships that sailed from it; and, after their ships had been sailing from that wharf in the little city for a good many years, they changed their office to Boston. After that, their ships sailed from a wharf in Boston.

A long time ago the brig Industry lay at that wharf in Boston, and she was all ready to sail for far countries. And there was a ship that was named the Augusta Ramsay lying at the next wharf, and she was all ready to sail, too, and she was going to the same country that the Industry was going to. Captain Sol had been on the Industry for a long time, seeing that the cargo was stowed as well as it could be stowed, and trying to hurry the lumpers. But he couldn't make them hurry very much.

Captain Sol wanted to get the Industry away before the Augusta Ramsay sailed, so as to gain as much time as he could. For, in those days, the owners of ships couldn't telegraph to far countries to find out what they had to sell and what they wanted to buy, but the captains of their ships had to find out those things when the ships got there. And the captains had to sell the things they brought for as much as they could get for them, and they had to buy what they wanted to carry back for as low a price as they could.

So it made a good deal of difference whether a ship got there first or not; for the ship that got there first could sell the things that she brought at a higher price, and could buy the things to bring back for a lower price than a ship that got there a little later. So Captain Sol knew that it would be a race, for the whole voyage, between the Industry and the Augusta Ramsay. And Captain Henry, of the Augusta Ramsay, knew it, too, and he was hurrying as fast as he could. The Augusta Ramsay was a good deal bigger than the Industry, but Captain Sol had his mind made up to beat her if he blew the sticks right out of the Industry.

So it happened that the ship Augusta Ramsay pulled out from her wharf at exactly the same time that the brig Industry pulled out from hers. And they both began to set all the sails that they possibly could. And the ship and the brig sailed down the harbor together before a fair wind. A fair wind is a wind that blows about the way the vessel is going. But the Augusta Ramsay was just ahead, going down the harbor, for the wharf that she started from was a little nearer to the channel than Captain Jonathan's and Captain Jacob's wharf; and the channel that led out of Boston Harbor was even more crooked and narrow than it is now. So the Industry couldn't pass the Augusta Ramsay, while they were in the channel and setting all those many sails, and Captain Sol didn't try it.

By the time the Industry had got out into Boston Bay she had set her mainsail and her foresail, and her maintopsail and her foretopsail, and her maintopgallantsail and her foretopgallantsail, and her mainroyal and her foreroyal, and her mainskysail and her foreskysail, and all of her jibs and her spanker and her staysails; and the sailors were busy getting out her studdingsail booms. The studdingsail booms are sticks that stick out beyond the ends of the yards; and, as soon as the sailors had got out these booms, they set the studdingsails that belonged on them, so that it was just as if the foresail and the other sails that had studdingsails had been made so much bigger. And the Industry had set all the sail that she could set.