i6 CAPTAIN COOK 



wards, if you give satisfaction, we will see. In 

 a week you will join the Freelove." 



James, trembling with emotion, signed the 

 articles which the shipowner gave him. His 

 dearest wish was realised. He was to be a 

 sailor. 



The life of a boy on board a collier was not an 

 easy one. Work was hard, rest infrequent, and 

 food scanty. There was no lack of blows, and 

 the rope's end was not idle. Then there were 

 terrible storms in which one felt so small and 

 powerless! James Cook bore all this bravely, 

 for, having freely chosen his destiny, he accepted 

 the discomforts of his new life without com- 

 plaint. The open air inspired him with fresh 

 energy, when otherwise he felt miserable and 

 downcast. He carried his head high, and ap- 

 plied himself with all his heart to the trade he 

 loved. He taught himself with avidity the 

 things pertaining to the sea. 



When the Freelove returned to Whitby, James 

 Cook was employed in Messrs. Walker's yard. 

 There the vessels were fitted out, carefully made 

 ready for future voyages, and the young ship's 

 boy probed the most obscure details of that me- 

 ticulous and cunning operation, the rigging of 

 a ship. During this period he lodged with his 

 employers. 



