Captain Mugford: Our Salt and Fresh Water Tutors Read online

  CHAPTER ELEVEN.

  A MEMORABLE CRUISE COMMENCES.

  We had nearly reached our cutter before the sun lifted its yellowish,red sphere, with just such an expression as a jolly, fat, old aldermanaccustomed to good cheer might present, on raising his head from thefolds of a comfortable night's pillow.

  It looked about in a dim, bewildered way at first, as if trying to wakeup and make out what was the matter--that dark, vast, heaving, rollingsea, the rocks and capes touched with light, and a great land behindthem yet dark and undefined; all so quiet too; and the soft, pink mistthat rolled away in smoke-like clouds--rolled away over the billowysurface of the ocean toward the land, and, frightened, perhaps, by thatred apparition on the eastern horizon, faded from sight, or rose forshelter to the sky above.

  It was bravely up now; had mastered the situation, dispelled the night.The great honest face took a king's expression, and breathing bounty,warmth, and courage, blessed the scene it looked upon.

  Then how the birds sang out, how sea and land grew beautiful and full ofvoice, how the clouds dressed their ranks and marched on their way. Andthe irrepressible exclamation came from all our boy lips at once, "Howglorious!"

  Ugly saluted us in a most vociferous manner, continuing his welcome fromthe time we left the shore to the moment we reached the yacht."Behold," said Harry, "our rear-admiral waving his ta--I beg hishonour's pardon--flag."

  Yes--old Ugly kept his tail going in utmost delight, whilst he ran fromone end to the other of the gunwale, assuring us that all was safe.

  Sure enough, everything was in good order, but the supper had not beeneaten. It had been pulled out of the after-cabin and inspected--thatwas all. Now Ugly's supper consisted of two things he could never beinduced to eat--ham and cold potatoes; and Harry, from mischief--heknew, however, that the dog had had a hearty dinner--prepared thosethings purposely, supposing that Ugly's daintiness would fail in atwelve hours fast. But no; there the edibles were untouched.

  "Come here, sir," said Harry to Ugly; "now why have you not eaten thisnice meal, eh?"

  Ugly's answer was merely to turn his head one side and look out at thesea, as if very much interested in something he saw--so much so as notto be able to attend to what Harry asked him.

  "You dainty rascal, come along and eat this meal; it is good enough forany dog." And Harry put the despised victuals on another part of thedeck, and, quite unintentionally, within a foot of the port scuppers."Here, Ugly, eat it, sir, every bit of it."

  Ugly's sensitive little spirit could not brook such a publicmortification; but he was obedient in part. He approached the piecesslowly--in a dignified, contemptuous way--as he would have gone up to acat, and, putting his nose to them, gave a push--away they flew into thesea.

  Shouts of laughter greeted the act--Harry's the loudest--and hecompleted his attempt at discipline by calling to Ugly, "Come here, thoupluckiest and smartest of dogs. If you won't eat sailors' rations, comefeast at the officers' mess on the luxuries of the fleet. How will thatdo, eh, old fellow?" cutting him off, as he spoke, a fat slice ofmutton. "Another? well there! Bread and butter? Well, there is asmuch as you can eat;" and Ugly stowed it all away, triumph beaming inhis eyes and wagging from his tail.

  "Come, boys, now," said the Captain, "let's get under way. Cast loosethe sails, Alfred and Bob. Drake, stand by to hoist the mainsail.Walter, take the helm. I want you to act as sailing-master thismorning. Drake and I will get up the anchor. Is the mainsail ready forhoisting?"

  "Aye, aye, sir," replied Drake.

  "Then up with it. There--good!"

  "Are your halliards all clear there, boys?"

  "Aye, aye, sir," came from Alf and Bob.

  "Hoist the jib, my hearties," cried the Captain, as the anchor came up."Keep her head for the old church tower, Walter. There--steady,steady."

  The Captain and Drake now secured the anchor, and the next order givenwas--

  "Now, Alf, another pull on your main halliards. Get them well up. Allright? Make fast."

  The Captain lifted his hat and wiped with the bandanna his red forehead.Then he shook out a reef in his suspenders, and threw back his coat."By golly! my hearties, we are snug now, ship and cargo; and what an airto breathe! I only wish this was a good ship of twelve hundred tons orso, Captain Mugford the skipper, and we were all bound for Calcuttatogether this splendid morning."

  "Don't I--don't I," came from each of us in response.

  "Now, my mates," called the Captain again, "we'll go about presently,when we get abreast of that tanned-sailed fishing-boat there off theport bow, and then, Walter, you can head her right out of the harbour.Let her go south-east-by-east, and we'll about fetch in ten miles asnice a bank for cod and halibut as there is off the coast. It is asmall spot to get on nicely, and difficult to drop on often in just theright place; but it's no riddle to me, and if this breeze freshens abit, as I think it will with the young flood, you can get out your linesin about one hour. So now let's have breakfast--the littlerear-admiral, you know, had his long ago."

  Yes--and the consequential Ugly was occupying a comfortable seat rightunder the jib, and only turned his head the least bit when he heard theCaptain's mention of him.

  "Keep her full now, Walter, ready to go about. Let go the jib-sheet,Bob; and now, down with your helm, Walter!"

  The mainsail flapped twice. By that time the foresail had filled on theother tack. The cutter went about like a dancer on her heel, and wewere off on the other tack, standing out of the harbour for the open seaahead.

  Then, the breakfast having been got out of the cuddy in the meanwhile,and arranged for our onset by Drake, we seized cups, knives and forks,and were soon very busy.

  What a glorious thing to remember and marvel at, and wish back again, isa boy's appetite. And if any good old fellow is reading, who is notashamed to recall those best of days--boyhood days--who is not ashamedto recall them, aye, with pride and smiles, let him think now of thesuppers after Saturday tramps, of the Christmas and Michaelmas dinners,and of meals like that I am describing, when, after two hours in theearly morning air, bowling along in our cutter, the sea-breeze swellingout our lungs as it did the sails, with merry hearts and perfectdigestions, we found real fun--true animal happiness--in good bread andbutter, a leg of cold mutton, and a cup of coffee. And to see the bestof good skippers--as our dear old salt tute was--let himself down in aright angle after that on the deck, his back against the weather-side ofthe mast, and, heaving a sigh of vast internal satisfaction, draw outhis pipe slowly, as if it was a ceremony too precious to be hurried,and, having put it just right in his lips and lighted it, puff the firstlong sweet wreaths of smoke; ah! that was a picture of creaturehappiness.