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Lost in the Fog By: James De Mille (1833-1880) |
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by JAMES DE MILLE 1870
I. Old Acquaintances gather around old Scenes. Antelope, ahoy! How are
you, Solomon? Round about Plan of a round about Voyage. The Doctor
warns, rebukes, and remonstrates, but, alas! in vain. It must be
done. Beginning of a highly eventful Voyage.
It was a beautiful morning, in the month of July, when a crowd of boys
assembled on the wharf of Grand Pre. The tide was high, the turbid
waters of Mud Creek flowed around, a fresh breeze blew, and if any
craft was going to sea she could not have found a better time. The
crowd consisted chiefly of boys, though a few men were mingled with
them. These boys were from Grand Pre School, and are all old
acquaintances. There was the stalwart frame of Bruce, the Roman face
of Arthur, the bright eyes of Bart, the slender frame of Phil, and the
earnest glance of Tom. There, too, was Pat's merry smile, and the
stolid look of Bogud, and the meditative solemnity of Jiggins, not to
speak of others whose names need not be mentioned. Amid the crowd the
face of Captain Corbet was conspicuous, and the dark visage of Solomon,
while that of the mate was distinguishable in the distance. To all
these the good schooner Antelope formed the centre of attraction, and
also of action. It was on board of her that the chief bustle took
place, and towards her that all eyes were turned. The good schooner Antelope had made several voyages during the past few
months, and now presented herself to the eye of the spectator not much
changed from her former self. A fine fresh coat of coal tar had but
recently ornamented her fair exterior, while a coat of whitewash inside
the hold had done much to drive away the odor of the fragrant potato.
Rigging and sails had been repaired as well as circumstances would
permit, and in the opinion of her gallant captain she was eminently
seaworthy. On the present occasion things bore the appearance of a voyage. Trunks
were passed on board and put below, together with coats, cloaks,
bedding, and baskets of provisions. The deck was strewn about with the
multifarious requisites of a ship's company. The Antelope, at that
time, seemed in part an emigrant vessel, with a dash of the yacht and
the coasting schooner. In the midst of all this, two gentlemen worked their way through the
crowd to the edge of the wharf. "Well, boys," said one, "well, captain, what's the meaning of all this?" Captain Corbet started at this, and looked up from a desperate effort
to secure the end of one of the sails. "Why, Dr. Porter!" said he; "why, doctor! how d'ye do? and Mr. Long,
too! why, railly!" The boys also stopped their work, and looked towards their teachers
with a little uneasiness. "What's all this?" said Dr. Porter, looking around with a smile; "are
you getting up another expedition?" "Wal, no," said Captain Corbet, "not 'xactly; fact is, we're kine o'
goin to take a vyge deoun the bay." "Down the bay?" "Yes. You see the boys kine o' want to go home by water, rayther than
by land." "By water! Home by water!" repeated Mr. Long, doubtfully. "Yes," said Captain Corbet; "an bein as the schewner was in good
repair, an corked, an coal tarred, an whitewashed up fust rate, I kine
o' thought it would redound to our mootooil benefit if we went off on
sich a excursion, bein pleasanter, cheaper, comfortabler, an every way
preferable to a land tower." "Hem," said Dr. Porter, looking uneasily about. "I don't altogether
like it. Boys, what does it all mean?" Thus appealed to, Bart became spokesman for the boys. "Why, sir," said he, "we thought we'd like to go home by water that's
all." "Go home by water!" repeated the doctor once more, with a curious smile. "Yes, sir." "What? by the Bay of Fundy?" "Yes, sir." "Who are going?" "Well, sir, there are only a few of us. Bruce, and Arthur, and Tom,
and Phil, and Pat, besides myself." "Bruce and Arthur?" said the doctor; "are they going home by the Bay of
Fundy?" "Yes, sir," said Bart, with a smile... Continue reading book >>
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Fiction |
Literature |
Teen/Young adult |
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