er," answered Paul.

"I will bring you off then."

The man pushed a skiff into the water, and soon came alongside the Fawn.

"You have got a fine boat here," said he.

"Yes, sir; she is a very nice boat."

"But this is pretty heavy weather for boys to be out. Whose boat is
she?"

"She belongs to us."

"To you?" replied the man, apparently much astonished.

"Yes, sir; she was given to us by Captain Littleton."

"O, ho! so you are Paul Duncan."

"Yes, sir."

"And I understand why he gave it to you. Come, boys, you must go up to
my house and stay with me to-night. I should rather have Paul Duncan
under my roof than the governor of the state."

"We must stay on board, sir, to look out for the boat. If anything
should happen to her in the night, I should never forgive myself for
deserting her. We have a nice place to sleep," continued Paul, opening
the doors of the cuddy, and pointing to the two berths.

"That looks very comfortable, but there is not much fun in sleeping on
board a small boat such a night as this will be. But come up to the
house, and have some supper."

"Thank you, sir; we will do that, for we are both very hungry. Stop a
moment. John, hand out two or three of those rock-cod. Won't you take
these, sir?"

"I am much obliged to you for them. Though we live so near the fish we
don't have much time to catch them," replied Mr. Drake,--for that was
the name of the farmer,--as he threw the fish into his skiff.

The two boys got into the boat with him, and he rowed them on shore.
They were warmly welcomed by Mrs. Drake and the children, and a nice
supper was soon placed before them; but all the arguments and
expostulations of the farmer and his wife could not induce them to spend
the night at the house. Paul was too fearful in regard to the safety of
the Fawn to leave her, and John was too deeply smitten with the romantic
idea of sleeping on board, to think of spending the night in any other
manner. Mr. Drake, therefore, reluctantly put them on board their boat
again.

"Now, Paul, we are in for it," said John, as he saw the farmer land, and
draw up his skiff upon the beach.

"Yes, and it is going to be a very dirty night. I think the wind has
shifted since we went ashore," replied Paul.

"So do I; we feel it as much again as we did."

"It blows full as hard as it has any time to-day."

The boys sat down in the standing room, and had a long talk about home
and mother, and wondered what sh