FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147  
148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   >>   >|  
th ideas, all, that is to say, except Mr Dale, who, with elbows on the table, his head buried in his hands, and his hair all rumpled, abandoned himself to despair and to loud bewailings of the unfortunate combination of circumstances which led to his venturing upon the treacherous ocean. The others, however, knew him thoroughly by this time; and none troubled themselves to take the slightest notice of him except Rex Fortescue, who exclaimed-- "_Do_ shut up, Dale, and cease making a fool of yourself. I wonder that you are not ashamed to behave in this unmanly way, especially before ladies, too. If you _can't_ keep quiet, you know, we shall have to put you on deck, where I fancy you would get something worth howling about." This threat had the desired effect; Mr Dale subsided into silence, and the rest of the party at once, in low cautious tones, began an interchange of ideas which lasted a long time but brought forth no very satisfactory result; the council finding itself at the close of the discussion pretty much where it was at the commencement. At one o'clock a thoroughly substantial dinner was served to them, followed by tea at six in the evening, at both of which meals the pirate captain did the honours with a manifest desire to evince a friendly disposition toward his guests, and about nine p.m. a quiet and unobtrusive removal from the cabin to their new quarters in the after- hold was effected; after which most of the party disposed themselves comfortably upon the bedding which they found had been provided for them, and enjoyed a night of thoroughly sound repose, such as they had been strangers to ever since the destruction of the _Galatea_. When our friends awoke on the following morning they became aware, by the motion of the ship and the sound of the water gurgling along her sides, that a breeze had sprung up. Most of the gentlemen--all of them, in fact, except Dale--went on deck, and, finding the watch busy washing decks, borrowed of them a few buckets with which they gave each other a most hearty and refreshing salt water douche, much to the amusement of the crew. As soon as breakfast was over, Lance, with that cool _insouciance_ characteristic of the man who has so often found himself environed by perils that he ceases to think of them, went again on deck, with the intention of mingling freely with the pirate crew, and, if possible, placing himself upon such easy terms with them as would give hi
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147  
148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
pirate
 

finding

 

placing

 

provided

 

disposed

 
effected
 
comfortably
 

bedding

 
strangers
 

destruction


intention

 

freely

 
repose
 

mingling

 
enjoyed
 

quarters

 
friendly
 
disposition
 

evince

 

desire


captain

 

honours

 

manifest

 

guests

 

unobtrusive

 

removal

 

ceases

 

insouciance

 

buckets

 

borrowed


characteristic

 
washing
 

breakfast

 

amusement

 

douche

 
hearty
 

refreshing

 
environed
 

morning

 
perils

friends
 

motion

 
breeze
 
sprung
 

gentlemen

 

gurgling

 
Galatea
 

making

 
exclaimed
 

slightest