"O, bother breakfast!"
"I don't want any," said Bruce.
"I have no appetite," said Arthur.
"Nor I," said Pat.
"I want to be on board that ship," said Phil.
"We can easily eat breakfast afterwards," said Tom.
At this manifest neglect of his cooking, poor Solomon looked quite
heart-broken; but Captain Corbet told him that he might bring the
things ashore, and this in some measure assuaged his grief.
It did not take long to get ready. The oar was flung on board the
boat, which had thus far been floating behind the schooner; and though
the boat had a little too much water on board to be comfortable, yet no
complaints were made, and in a few minutes they were landed.
"How much time have we yet?" asked Bart, "before high tide?"
"O, you've got fifteen or twenty minutes," said Captain Corbet.
"Hurrah, boys! Come along," said Bart; and leading the way, he went
straight to the office.
As he approached it he uttered suddenly a cry of joy.
"What's the matter, Bart?"
Bart said nothing, but hurried forward, and the astonished boys saw him
shaking hands very vigorously with a gentleman who seemed like the
chief man on the place. He was an old acquaintance, evidently. In a
few minutes all was explained. As the boys came up, Bart introduced
them as his friends, and they were all warmly greeted; after which the
gentleman said,--
"Why, what a crowd of you there is! Follow me, now. There's plenty of
room for you, I imagine, in a ship of fifteen hundred tons; and you've
just come in time."
With these words he hurried off, followed by all the boys. He led the
way up an inclined plane which ran up to the bows of the ship, and on
reaching this place they went along a staging, and finally, coming to a
ladder, they clambered up, and found themselves on the deck of the ship.
"I must leave you now, Bart, my boy," said the gentleman; "you go to
the quarter-deck and take care of yourselves. I must go down again."
"Who in the world is he, Bart?" asked the boys, as they all stood on
the quarter-deck.
"Was there ever such luck!" cried Bart, joyously. "This is the ship
Sylph, and that is Mr. Watson, and he has built this ship for my
father. Isn't it odd that we should come to this place at this
particular time?"
"Why, it's as good as a play."
"Of course it is. I've known Mr. Watson all my life, and he's one of
the best men I ever met with. He was as glad to see me as I was to see
him."
But now the boys stopped talking, for the scene around them began to
grow exciting. In front of them was the settlement, and in the yard
below was a crowd who had assembled to see the launch. Behind them was
the broad expanse of the Petitcodiac River, beyond which lay the
opposite shore, which went back till it terminated in wooded hills.
Overhead arose the masts, adorned with a hundred flags and streamers.
The deck showed a steep slope from bow to stern. But the scene around
was nothing, compared with the excitement of suspense, and expectation.
In a few minutes the hammers were to sound. In a few minutes the
mighty fabric on which they were standing would move, and take its
plunge into the water.
The suspense made them hold their breath, and wait in perfect silence.
Around them were a few men, who were talking in a commonplace way. They
were accustomed to launches, and an incident like this was as nothing
in their lives, though to the boys it was sufficient to make their
hearts throb violently, and deprive them of the power of speech.
A few minutes passed.
"We ought to start soon," said Bart, in a whisper; for there was
something in the scene which made them feel grave and solemn.
The other boys nodded in silence.
A few minutes more passed.
Then there arose a cry.
And then suddenly there came to their excited ears the rattle of a
hundred hammers. Stroke after stroke, in quick succession, was dealt
upon the wedges, which thus raised the vast structure from her
resting-place. For a moment she stood motionless, and then--
Then with a slow motion, at first scarce perceptible, but which every
instant grew quicker, she moved down her ways, and plunged like
lightning into the water. The stern sank deep, then rose, and then the
ship darted through the water across the river. Then suddenly the
anchor was let go, and with the loud, sharp rattle of chains, rushed to
the bed of the river. With a slight jerk the ship stopped.
The launch was over.
A boat now came from the shore, bringing the builder, Mr. Watson; and
at the same time a steamer appeared, rounding a point up the river, and
approaching them.
"Do you want to go to St. John, Bart?"
"Not just yet, sir," said Bart.
"Because if you do you can go down in the ship. The steamer is going
to take her in tow at once. But if you don't want to go, you may go
ashore in the boat. I'm sorry I can't stay here to show you the
country, my boy; but I have to go down in the ship, and at once, for we
can't lie here in the river, unless we want to be left high and dry at
low tide. So good by. Go to the house. Mrs. Watson'll make you
comfortable as long as you like; and if you want to take a drive you
may consider my horses your own."
With these words he shook hands with all the boys for good by, and
after seeing them safely on board the boat, he waited for the steamer
which was to tow the Sylph down the bay. The boys then were rowed
ashore. By the time they landed, the steamer had reached the ship, a
stout cable was passed on board and secured, her anchor was weighed,
and then, borne on by steam, and by the tide, too, which had already
turned, the Sylph, in tow of the steamer, passed down the river, and
was soon out of sight.
Bart then went to see Mrs. Watson, with all the boys. That lady, like
her husband, was an old acquaintance, and in the true spirit of
hospitality insisted on every one of them taking up their abode with
her for an indefinite period. Finding that they could not do this, she
prepared for them a bounteous breakfast, and then persuaded them to go
off for a drive through the country. This invitation they eagerly
accepted.
Before starting, they encountered Captain Corbet.
"Don't hurry back, boys," said he, "unless you very pertik'l'ry wish to
go up to Moncton by the arternoon tide. Don't mind me. I got several
things to occoopy me here."
"What time could we start up river?"
"Not before four."
"O, we'll be back by that time."
"Wal. Ony don't hurry back unless you like. I got to buy some
ship-bread, an I got to fix some things about the boat. It'll take
some time; so jest do as you like."
Being thus left to their own devices, and feeling quite unlimited with
regard to time, the boys started off in two wagons, and took a long
drive through the country. The time passed quickly, and they enjoyed
themselves so much that they did not get back until dusk.
"It's too late now, boys, to go up," said the captain, as he met them
on their return. "We've got to wait till next tide. It's nearly high
tide now."
"All right, captain; it'll do just as well to go up river to-night."
"Amen," said the captain.
But now Mrs. Watson insisted on their staying to tea, and so it
happened that it was after nine o'clock before they were ready to go on
board the Antelope. Going down to the shore, they found the boat
ready, with some articles which Captain Corbet had procured.
"I've been fixing the gunwales," said he; "an here's a box of
pilot-bread. We were gettin out of provisions, an I've got in a
supply, an I've bought a bit of an old sail that'll do for a jib. I'm
afeard thar won't be room for all of us. Some of you better stay
ashore, an I'll come back."
"I'll wait," said Bart, taking his seat on a stick of timber.
"An I'll wait, too," said Bruce.
The other boys objected in a friendly way, but Bart and Bruce insisted
on waiting, and so the boat at length started, leaving them behind.
In a short time it reached the schooner.
Captain Corbet secured the boat's painter to the stem, and threw the
oar on board.
"Now, boys, one of you stay in the boat, an pass up them things to
me--will you?"
"All right," said Tom. "I'll pass them up."
On this Captain Corbet got on board the schooner, followed by Arthur,
and Phil, and Pat. Tom waited in the boat.
"Now," said Captain Corbet, "lift up that thar box of pilot-bread fust.
'Tain't heavy. We'll get these things out afore we go ashore for the
others."
"All right," said Tom.
He stooped, and took the box of biscuit in his arms.
At that time the tide was running down very fast, and the boat, caught
by the tide, was forced out from the schooner with such a pressure that
the rope was stiffened out straight.
Tom made one step forward. The next instant he fell down in the bottom
of the boat, and those on board of the schooner who were looking at him
saw, to their horror, that the boat was sweeping away with the tide,
far down the river.