"Mast-head, ahoy!"
"Aye, aye, sir."
"Take your bearings from the fog bank to your leeward, and tell me how
she heads."
The boy hesitated; he "saw which way the wind blew," and bethinking
himself of a small pocket compass which he had about him, sung out,
"East-south-east by east, sir, two points off." The man at the wheel
responded, "East-south-east by east, two points off."
It would not do; the captain saw that he had mistaken his man, and
called all hands to pipe down. As Mr. Sampson passed him, he doffed his
tarpaulin, remarking, "I think, sir, the youngster will do very well for
trying the strength of our cats."
It was evident to Harry, before he had sailed many days under Captain
Jostler, that he had one of the most tyrannical of masters. He had been
a perfect stranger to him when he shipped for the voyage, being a native
of Canada, and from the frozen condition of his heart no one would have
doubted it; had he been a Nantucket man, master Harry would have found
it more difficult in getting away so privately; as it was, no inquiries
were made of him. How different was Harry's situation from what it would
have been had his father procured for him a berth; as it was, he was
doomed to no common hardships, for the captain, having taken a dislike
to him from the first, seemed to take pleasure in making him as
uncomfortable as possible; and had it not been that he was a favorite
with the crew, he would have suffered many times from exposure.
Pages:
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88