officer and some men; a sail was hoisted to keep her in
hand, so that she wouldn't drift into the other ship; and in the midst
of all the rowdy-dow we were told that if we liked we might go on board
the English vessel immediately.

"Miss Minturn and her party instantly accepted this invitation, and
although under ordinary circumstances I would have remained to see for
myself what these people found out, I felt a relief in the thought of
leaving that vessel which is impossible for me to express, and I got
into the boat with the others.

"We were treated very handsomely on board the English vessel, which was
a mail steamship, at that time in the employment of the English
Government. I told my story at least half-a-dozen times, sometimes to
the officers and sometimes to the men, and whether they believed me or
not, I don't think any one ever created a greater sensation with a
story of the sea.

"In an hour or so the officer in charge of the operations on the
_General Brooks_ came aboard. As he passed me on his way to the
captain, he said, 'We found your Water-devil, my man.' 'And he truly
had us in tow?' I cried. 'Yes, you are perfectly correct,' he said, and
went on to make his report to the captain."

"Now, then," said the blacksmith, "I suppose we are going to get to the
pint. What did he report?"

"I didn't hear his report," said the marine, "but everybody soon knew
what had happened to our unlucky vessel, and I can give you the whole
story of it. The _General Brooks_ sailed from San Francisco to Calcutta,
with a cargo of stored electricity, contained in large, strongly made
boxes. This I knew nothing about, not being in the habit of inquiring
into cargoes. Well, in some way or other, which I don't understand,
not being a scientific man myself, a magnetic connection was formed
between these boxes, and also, if I got the story straight, between
them and the iron hull of our vessel, so that it became, in fact, an
enormous floating magnet, one of the biggest things of the kind on
record. I have an idea that this magnetic condition was the cause of
the trouble to our machinery; every separate part of it was probably
turned to a magnet, and they all stuck together."

"Mr. Cardly," said Mr. Harberry to the school-master, "I do not
suppose you have given much attention to the study of commerce, and
therefore are not prepared to give us any information in regard to
stored electricity as an article of export from t