o was overwhelmed with gratitude for his
kindness, feebly added my thanks. So Captain Gordon gave me the
fowling piece, together with a canister of gunpowder, and
sufficient swan shot, I thought, to kill all the wild fowl in
Orkney.

As I was leaving the ship, joyous in the possession of these ample
materials for a whole summer of sport, and was bidding farewell to
Captain Gordon, the mate came towards us at the rail and touched
his hat.

"Well, Marshall, d'you want anything sent ashore?" asked the
skipper.

"Yes, sir," said Marshall, "I want to tell you that the men are
grumbling about this cat being brought aboard. You know how
superstitious they are. They want the lad to take it away with him
again."

"Their objections are silly and childish, Marshall," said Mr.
Gordon. "They know that the ship is overrun with mice."

"Yes, yes, sir; that's all very well. But they won't have the cat
aboard; and I think you'd better have the beast sent off."

"The men are a pack of fools. What harm can the poor cat do them,
I'd like to know? They think it's unlucky, I suppose. Well, if they
will have it so, send a couple of them down the hold to capture the
animal. We must just bear the mice if the cat cannot remain. Look
smart, now, the boy's in a hurry to get to his school."

Two men were then sent below to search for Baudrons, and I waited
for their return. In about a quarter of an hour one of them came to
say that the cat could not be found.

"Very well, then, I can't keep the lad here any longer. We must
send the cat ashore with the pilot."

Then the captain turned to me.

"Goodbye, Halcro, my lad!" he said; "perhaps we'll be back in
Orkney on our homeward voyage. Maybe you'll be a pilot yourself by
that time, and bring us into port. Goodbye!"

"Goodbye, Captain Gordon!" I murmured; and at that I slipped over
the taffrail and was soon sitting in my boat again, rowing back to
the town.

Chapter XIV. Thora.

On my way to the school that morning I chanced to meet Hercus and
Rosson coming down one of the side alleys.

"I say, lads," I began, "d'ye ken what Dominie Drever says about
the siller things we found at Skaill?"

"No! what is it, Hal?" asked Hercus.

"Why, he says that it was an old sea king's grave that we
discovered--one of those viking lads that we read about in the
history book."

"You don't say so!" exclaimed Rosson.

"Yes, and he says that we must take all the siller to him at the
schoo