ster Davey?" she asked, turning to a
rough-looking sailor who sat smoking in the bar.

"Ees," grunted the man.

"Will you take me on board?" said Eric.

"You be a runaway, I'm thinking?"

"Never mind. I'll come as cabin-boy--anything."

The sailor glanced at his striking appearance and neat dress. "Hardly
in the cabin-boy line, I should say."

"Will you take me?" said Eric. "You'll find me strong and willing
enough."

"Well--if the skipper don't say no. Come along."

They went down to a boat, and "Maister Davey" rowed to a schooner in the
harbour, and took Eric on board.

"There," he said, "you may sleep there for to-night," and he pointed to
a great heap of sailcloth beside the mast.

Weary to death, Eric flung himself down, and slept deep and sound till
the morning, on board the _Stormy Petrel_.

VOLUME TWO, CHAPTER TWELVE.

THE "STORMY PETREL."

They hadna sailed a league, a league,
A league but barely three,
When the lift grew dark, and the wind grew high,
And gurly grew the sea.
_Sir Patrick Spens_.

"Hilloa!" exclaimed the skipper with a sudden start, next morning, as he
saw Eric's recumbent figure on the ratlin stuff, "who be this young
varmint?"

"Oh, I brought him aboord last night," said Davey; "he wanted to be
cabin-boy."

"Precious like un _he_ looks. Never mind, we've got him and we'll use
him."

The vessel was under way when Eric woke and collected his scattered
thoughts to a remembrance of his new position. At first, as the _Stormy
Petrel_ dashed its way gallantly through the blue sea, he felt one
absorbing sense of joy to have escaped from Roslyn. But before he had
been three hours on board, his eyes were opened to the trying nature of
his circumstances, which were, indeed, _so_ trying that _anything_ in
the world seemed preferable to enduring them. He had escaped from
Roslyn, but, alas he had not escaped from himself. He had hardly been
three hours on board when he would have given everything in his power to
be back again; but such regrets were useless, for the vessel was now
fairly on her way for Corunna, where she was to take in a cargo of
cattle.

There were eight men belonging to the crew; and as the ship was only a
little trading schooner, these were sailors of the lowest and coarsest
grade. They all seemed to take their cue from the captain, who was a
drunken, blaspheming, and cruel vagabond.

This man from the first took a savage hatred to Eric