236 



ST. HELENA 



passage at a velocity compared with which the progress of the 

 swift ship was tardiness itself, for I could hear the hissing of the 

 crisp sea as it curled a crescent of foam beneath her bows. Then 

 came the busy hum of the " morning watch," mingling with the 

 welcome sound of " eight bells " and the merry whistle of the 

 boatswain piping to breakfast. The motion of the rolling vessel, 

 the freshness of the delicious south-east trade, the thoughts of 

 home, the dancing waters and the sparkling sunshine, each of 

 these in their turn would for a moment slightly arrest the attention ; 

 but vigilance is a cardinal virtue in old Neptune's domain, and 

 bustling times were close at hand. A ship in the middle of the 

 Atlantic, with a rattling south-easter whistling through the rigging, 

 is not the bed where day-dreaming can be indulged in with impu- 

 nity, and so it soon appeared, for a hoarse voice from the main- 

 top-mast cross-trees, as if by magic, dispelled the illusion, and 

 brought my senses to their duty. 



" Sail, ho ! " 



" Where away ? " was the prompt demand. 



" Right ahead," returned the seaman. " I make her out a 

 full-rigged ship lying to." 



The officer of the watch had barely time to apply his " Dollond " 

 in the direction indicated when the man aloft was again heard 

 shouting " Land on the larboard bow." 



As the Free Trader had been traversing the ocean for weeks, 

 with nothing to relieve the eye but the " blue above and the blue 

 below," the excitement which was caused by the discovery of the 

 stranger, coupled with the sudden cry of " land," is not surprising. 



For it is in the deep solitudes of the ocean that man most keenly 

 feels how dependent he is upon his kind for happiness. In such 

 situations the most trifling incident arrests the attention — a floating 

 spar or even an old tar-barrel become objects of speculative 

 curiosity. Accordingly, as we neared the strange ship, the cut 

 of her canvas and the mould of her hull were critically examined 

 by the more experienced seamen, who can generally guess from 

 the appearance they present not only the nation to which a ship 

 belongs, but her occupation also. But on the present occasion 

 they were puzzled to give a reason why a large vessel like the 

 stranger should be lying to just where she was (that seemed the 

 mystery), and apparently waiting our approach. 



This quiet bearing lasted until the Free Trader was in the act 

 of passing the strange vessel, and then, as if suddenly roused out 

 of her lethargy, a thin volume of white smoke was seen curling 

 out of one of her forward ports. The explosion was followed by 

 the appearance of a flag, which, after fluttering for an instant, blew 

 steadily out, and, much to our satisfaction, displayed the blue field 

 and red cross of the English ensign. 



" What ship's that ? " bellowed a loud voioe from our formidable- 

 looking neighbour, who had ranged alongside the Indiaman close 

 enough to be within hailing distance. 



"The Free Trader.' 1 



