NAUTILUS ***
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[Illustration]
NAUTILUS
BY LAURA E. RICHARDS AUTHOR OF "CAPTAIN JANUARY," "MELODY," "MARIE," "QUEEN HILDEGARDE," ETC., ETC.
Illustrated
TENTH THOUSAND
BOSTON ESTES AND LAURIAT 1895
_Copyright, 1895,_ BY ESTES AND LAURIAT _All rights reserved Entered at Stationers' Hall, London._
_Typography and Printing by_ _C.H. Simonds & Co._ _Electrotyping by Geo. C. Scott & Sons_ _Boston, U.S.A._
TO MY DEAR FRIENDS, THE MEMBERS OF THE HOWE CLUB, OF GARDINER, MAINE, THIS STORY IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER Page
I. THE BOY JOHN 13
II. THE SKIPPER 18
III. A GREAT EXHIBITION 33
IV. ABOARD THE "NAUTILUS" 48
V. MYSTERY 56
VI. MR. BILL HEN 68
VII. THE CAPTIVE 75
VIII. IN THE NIGHT 86
IX. FAMILY MATTERS 93
X. IN THE VALLEY OF DECISION 105
XI. SAILING 113
NAUTILUS
[Illustration: NAUTILUS]
CHAPTER I.
THE BOY JOHN.
The boy John was sitting on the wharf, watching the ebb of the tide. The current was swift, for there had been heavy rains within a few days; the river was full of drifting logs, bits of bark, odds and ends of various kinds; the water, usually so blue, looked brown and thick. It swirled round the great mossy piers, making eddies between them; from time to time the boy dropped bits of paper into these eddies, and saw with delight how they spun round and round, like living things, and finally gave up the struggle and were borne away down stream.
"Only, in the real maelstrom," he said, "they don't be carried away; they go over the edge, down into the black hole, whole ships and ships, and you never see them again. I wonder where they stop, or whether it goes through to the other side of the world."
A great log came drifting along, and struck against a pier; the end swung round, and it rested for a few moments, beating against the wooden wall. This, it was evident, was a wrecked vessel, and it behooved the boy John, as a hero and a life-saver, to rescue her passengers. Seizing a pole, he lay down on his stomach and carefully drew the log toward him, murmuring words of cheer the while.
"They are almost starved to death!" he said, pitifully. "The captain is tied to the mast, and they have not had anything to eat but boots and a puppy for three weeks. The mate and some of the sailors took all the boats and ran away,--at least, not ran, but went off and left the rest of 'em; and they have all said their prayers, for they are very good folks, and the captain didn't _want_ to kill the puppy one bit, but he had to, or else they would all be dead now. And--and the reckoning was dead,--I wonder what that means, and why it is dead so often,--and so they couldn't tell where they were, but they knew that there were cannibals on _almost_ all the islands, and this was the hungriest time of the year for cannibals."
