him do your head, sir and you won't know yourself
afterwards."

"Oh yes, I should," said the boy sleepily, gazing down at the quivering
compass and its many points.

"I mean you would feel so comfortable, sir."

"Oh, well, then, I will. Anything," cried Rodd--"anything not to be so
hot!"

"That's right, sir. Ast me to ast you, sir."

"Well, you've been asking for the last half-hour. What is it?" cried
Rodd peevishly.

"To ast the doctor, sir--"

"For some physic to make them cool?" snapped out Rodd. "Tell them to go
and ask him themselves, and he'll say what I do--that they are not to
eat so much nor drink so much, and not to work in the sun. There,
that's all uncle would say."

"Yes, sir, but that aren't it," cried Gregg, making one of the spokes of
the wheel swing from hand to hand.

"Then what do they want?"

"Why, sir, it seems rum, but Joe Cross and the other lads know better
what's good for them than I do. You see, sir, they want to get to work
again at your fishing and hauling, or rowing about, for they says they
can keep much cooler when they are moving about and got to think what
they are doing than when there's no work on hand and nothing to think
about at all."

"Oh, very well," said Rodd grumpily, "I'll go and ask him, for I am
about sick of this. I think there must be some volcanoes here, or
something of that kind, for I never felt it so hot before."

"You aren't used to it, sir; but I thought you would, sir, and the lads
said they thought you would too. Thank you, sir."

Rodd yawned, turned slowly on his heels, and strolled away to where
Uncle Paul was sitting back in an Indian cane chair, resting the
carefully-focussed spy-glass upon a half-opened book standing upon its
front edges propped upon four more in the middle of a little table.

"Ah, Pickle, my lad! You had better stop in the shade. I don't want
you to be getting any head trouble in this torrid sun."

"Oh, I am all right, uncle; but the men want to begin fishing or doing
something again, keeping cool."

"Too hot till towards evening, my boy," replied the doctor. "But look
here; you were saying only the other day how strange it was that we saw
so few vessels. Well, here's one at all events--a three-master."

"Oh, whereabouts, uncle?" cried the boy eagerly.

"Away to the west yonder, hull down. There, take the glass."

As Rodd was arranging it to his own satisfaction the doctor went on
quietly--

"Out here I