ked, and menaced
with degradation from his station, should he again presume to violate his
orders. As commonly happens in cases of this nature, regrets were
expressed by the offender, and future obedience promised.

But the mischief was done. Sealing was no longer the regular, systematic
pursuit it had been on that island, but had become precarious and
changeful. At times, the men met with good success; then, days would occur
in which not a single creature, of any of the different species, would be
taken. The Vineyard schooner was not more than half-full, and the season
was fast drawing to a close. Roswell was quite ready to sail, and he began
to chafe a little under the extra hazards that were thus imposed on
himself and his people.

In the mean time, or fully three weeks after the occurrence of the
accident to Daggett, the injuries received by the wounded man were fast
healing. The bones had knit, and the leg promised, in another month, to
become tolerably sound, if not as strong as it had been before the hurt.
All the bruises were well, and the captain of the Vineyard craft was just
beginning to move about a little on crutches; a prodigious relief to one
of his habits, after the confinement to the house. By dint of great care,
he could work his way down on the shelf that stretched, like a terrace,
for two hundred yards beneath the dwelling. Here he met Roswell, on the
morning of the Sabbath, just three weeks after their unfortunate visit to
the mountain. Each took his seat on a low point of rock, and they began to
converse on their respective prospects, and on the condition of their
vessels and crews. Stephen was near his officer, as usual.

"I believe Stimson was right in urging me to give the men their Sabbaths,"
observed Gardiner, glancing round at the different groups, in which the
men were washing, shaving, and otherwise getting rid of the impurities
created by another week of toil. "They begin anew, after a little rest,
with a better will, and steadier hands."

"Yes, the Sabbath _is_ a great privilege, especially to such as are on
shore," returned Daggett. "At sea, I make no great account of it: a craft
must jog along, high days or holidays."

"Depend on it, the same account is kept of the day, Captain Daggett, in
the great log-book above, whether a man is on or off soundings," put in
Stephen, who was privileged ever to deliver his sentiments on such
subjects. "The Lord is God on the sea, as on the land."