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The Little Skipper A Son of a Sailor By: George Manville Fenn (1831-1909) |
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A Son of a Sailor By G. Manville Fenn London:
Ernest Nister New York:
E. P. Dutton & Co. Printed in Bavaria 1877.
CHAPTER I.
The birds were singing their best one spring morning, and that means a
great deal, for they can sing down in the New Forest on a sunny morning
in May, and there was quite a chorus of joy to welcome the Skipper and
Dot as they went out through the iron gate at the bottom of the garden. The Skipper had on his last new suit of white duck, bound with blue,
and his straw hat with the dark band bearing in gold letters "H.M.S.
Flash"; a white plaited cord was round his waist, and a big
pocket knife dangled at his side. With his hat stuck back so as to show
his curly brown hair, his blue and white collar over his shoulders,
silk sailor knot handkerchief, and his browned flushed face, he looked
a thorough man of war's man. Dot was in white and blue too a bonnie looking little girl of seven,
dressed as if for a yachting trip, and as full of excitement as her
nine year old brother, to whom she looked up as someone very big and
strong, who would protect her from all the perils and dangers to which
they might be exposed. One must stop to say that "The Skipper," as his father always called
him, was Bob, otherwise Robert Trevor; and Dot, so nick named for
reasons plain to see, was by rights Dorothy, and they had that morning
been excused from lessons, because Captain Trevor had sent a message
from Portsmouth that he was going to run over to lunch. Mrs. Trevor had said a few words to the Skipper before they started
about taking care, to which he replied rather importantly, "Of course,
Ma," and about keeping his fresh suit clean; but Mrs. Trevor said
nothing to Dot, because, there was no need, for she was about the most
prim, neat little creature that ever lived. And, now she paced along by
her brother's side, carrying two sticks with iron hooks at their ends,
with which she walked in her precise measured way, as if they were
wands, while the Skipper carried the "Flash." Now, the "Flash" was supposed to be a correct model of the big despatch
boat commanded by Captain Trevor, but, it was very far from perfect,
and no one knew this better than its owner. For Captain Trevor's
beautifully swift gun boat had three funnels amidships, and powerful
engines, while the Skipper's model, though it had sails that sent it
swiftly through the water when there was a breeze, had a great deal of
make believe about it, the funnels being only pieces of zinc pipe
tacked to the deck, the engines, the works of an old clock that would
not go, placed in a cigar box; the boiler, which was just under the
funnels, a tin canister; and the furnace a small lamp that had once
belonged to a magic lanthorn, the whole having been fitted neatly into
the model by Tom Jeffs, coxswain of the captain's gig, a very big ugly
sailor, who took his orders seriously and worked under the Skipper's
directions. When the lamp was lighted, as the Skipper said, nobody
could tell, for when the water in the tin boiled, the steam came out of
the funnels, and when the wind blew, it was almost as good as having
real engines. Tom Jeffs looked very serious over the work, and shook his head a great
deal when it was done. "You see," he said, "the steam looks right as right, but you don't get
no help from these engines, because it's no use to them. The vessel has
to carry the weight, and the screw stops her way. I shall have to make
you a real engine someday;" but "some day" had not yet come, though the
Skipper did not forget to ask Tom about it every time he came back from
a voyage, Tom Jeffs being his name, though the Skipper always called
him "Jack Robinson," because he said he seemed so much like the sailor
in a song he used to sing. It was not far through the fir trees. You could see the water
glittering in the sunshine before you were half way, but the Skipper
had to stop twice. "There's a nest up that tree," he said. "Wood pigeon's... Continue reading book >>
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Genres for this book |
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Fiction |
Sea stories |
Teen/Young adult |
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