We're off! we're off! we're off again
To sail upon the rolling main.
The ice no longer holds us fast,
We're sailing safe and free at last!
This is what the Weathercock sang loud and clear the next morning.
It woke up Marjorie with a start, and running to the porthole she saw that
they were once more upon the ocean blue.
"How did it happen?" she asked, turning to her faithful friend on the
flagpole, who was still crowing and flapping his wings at a great rate.
"How did it all happen?"
"While you were asleep, my dear little Madge," answered the Weathercock.
"I didn't ask you when, I asked you how," laughed Marjorie, for she was
delighted, you see, to be once more sailing over the great big ocean.
"You'd better not ask me any more questions," said the Weathercock
quickly. "You just better hurry up and dress and ask Capt. Noah what he is
going to do about the castaways."
"The what?" gasped Marjorie.
"The castaways. The two polar bears who are still on the iceberg."
"Goodness gracious!" she cried. "I'll hurry and get on my boots. I must
tell Capt. Noah at once."
In a few minutes she was running down to the lower cabin.
"Capt. Noah! Capt. Noah!" she shouted. "Capt. Noah, the polar bears are
left on the iceberg!"
The captain, who had overslept himself, put his head out of his cabin
door.
"What is all the excitement about?" he asked sleepily.
"The bears are left on the iceberg!" shouted Marjorie again.
"Well, that's all right. I told them they could stay out all night. They
will come aboard for breakfast, no doubt!"
"They can't! They can't!" cried Marjorie in great excitement. "The Ark is
afloat again and we are sailing away."
"Blubber and rubber!" exclaimed the captain, now even more excited than
the little girl.
"Mother!" he cried, "the Ark's afloat and two of our passengers are still
ashore!"
Mrs. Noah opened her eyes.
"What did you say, my dear?" she asked, sleepily.
The captain by this time had pulled on his sailor suit and, closing the
cabin door with a bang, rushed out on deck, with Marjorie close at his
heels.
In the distance the iceberg could be seen indistinctly through the morning
mist.
"Hard-a-port!" shouted Capt. Noah.
Mr. Jonah, who was at the wheel, woke up with a start. He was so tired
with cutting the ice the day before that he had fallen sound asleep at his
post.
"You landlubber," cried Capt. Noah. "What do you mean by falling asleep?"
"This is my first experience before the mast," apologized poor Jonah.
"I've always been a passenger. Please don't get provoked."
"Provoked!" yelled Capt. Noah. "Provoked! I feel like throwing you
overboard!"
"Steer for the iceberg!"
"I won't throw you overboard until later!"
Mr. Jonah heaved a sigh of relief, for at first I guess he thought he'd
have to go back to the Whale without having the chance of Capt. Noah
cooling off.
Marjorie stood close to the rail, straining her eyes for a glimpse of the
polar bears.
The three Noah boys now came on deck, and Ham handed the spyglass to his
father.
"I see them! I see them!" cried Capt. Noah. "One of them is waving a
flag!"
"Let me look," said Marjorie, who was dreadfully worried about them.
Yes, there they were. On the top of the berg she could dimly see two
figures and a white object waving back and forth. The sea was getting
rough and the Ark rolled about in a most uncomfortable manner.
The Weathercock clung tightly to his post, however, and flapped his wings
now and then.
"Look out!" he cautioned as the Ark neared the berg. "Be careful or you'll
stave a hole in the Ark!"
"Hurry up!" shouted the polar bears. "We're nearly starved. We want our
breakfast."
"Want your breakfast!" muttered Capt. Noah under his breath. "You'll be
wanting something more than breakfast if we don't find a way to get you
aboard!"
"Let them swim!" suggested Ham.
"Run up close and let them jump!" advised Shem.
"Let them fly!" chuckled Japheth, unsympathetically, who was somewhat
tired of feeding the animals and felt that two less would not be such an
awful thing after all.
"Nothing of the sort," cried Capt. Noah. "I am responsible for the safety
of every passenger. I will take no such chances."
"What are we going to do, then?" asked Mr. Jonah, looking over the side of
the Ark to make sure that it was not getting too close to the dangerous
berg, which jutted out in ragged points beneath the water.
"Launch the life-boat!" commanded Capt. Noah. "Who will volunteer?"
"I will!" cried Ham, and in less time than I can take to tell it, Ham and
his trained monkeys lowered the boat and jumped in.
"Shove off!" commanded Cockswain Ham, and with a strong pull and a loud
"Yo-ho!" the little boat shot away.
Ham held firmly to the tiller and kept the bow pointed toward the big
rollers, while the monkeys handled the oars.
"Pull for the shore, sailor, pull for the shore," sang the Weathercock.
The bears, who had slid down the iceberg close to the water's edge, stood
anxiously waiting.
"Careful, now!" cried Ham. "Pull on your starboard oar!"