d--a sailor's private log always interests a man who knows
the sea. I sat down on one of the old chests, drew the lantern close
and commenced to read. And as I read, I forgot my ills entirely.

"Now, I'll read you portions of this little book. Afterward, if you
wish, Blake, you may read it through yourself. It is worth while--the
record of a whaling voyage. But just now I will confine myself to the
parts that directly affect us. Queer thought, isn't it, that the words
this chap wrote a quarter of a century ago, whose face none of us has
ever seen, who is also twenty-five years dead, should affect our
several destinies? Fate is a strange jade!

"But first, a word about the author of this log. This John Winters was
the second mate of the whaling bark _Good Luck_ of New Bedford, one
gleans from reading the book. The inscription on the fly-leaf mentions
the date, 1889, also the figure 'No. 2.' The number two means that
this is the second log on the voyage. Research through some old
'Marine Bulletins' the captain owns told us that the whaleship _Good
Luck_ left New Bedford on her last voyage in the year 1887, and that
she refitted in Honolulu in the Fall of 1889, reported missing, with
all hands, two years later. Winters's log commences with the departure
of the ship from Honolulu in November, '89.

"The first entry that interests us is made several months later, on
March 23rd, 1890. Position given as 158 deg. E. 9 deg., 18' N. That places
the _Good Luck_ somewhere in the Carolines, on the sperm whale grounds.
It goes:

This day Westphal fell from the fore rigging and broke his arm. Still
no sign of fish. The Old Man is in a bad temper because of our poor
luck, and he is talking of going north already. Mr. Garboy says there
is a Jonah aboard. I think he is the Jonah. Westphal is a Dutch
lubber.

"I read this entry mainly to acquaint you with John Winters," continued
Little Billy. "You see, this was his private journal, and he was given
to expressing his true feelings concerning his shipmates. This Mr.
Garboy he mentions was the chief mate of the _Good Luck_. The next
entry I have marked is dated March 26th, and they are still on the
Caroline grounds.

This day I did cover myself with glory, and did take Garboy down a peg.
This morning we raised fish, a big school of cachalot, about three mile
to leeward. We lowered four boats. I had Silva for harpooner, the
best man on the ship. The mate