s ship as a lands-man of his wife,
and likes to bring her into port as trim as possible.

Frank, always ready to be of use, took his share of the work, though he
had plenty to occupy him without it. He was never tired of watching the
sun make rainbows in the spray of the bow, and the pretty little
sea-fairies, called by sailors "Portuguese men-of-war," float past with
their tinted shells and outspread feelers; while at night the moon was
so gloriously brilliant, and the sea so clear and smooth, that he often
staid on deck till midnight to enjoy the spectacle. But another sight
was in store for him, even more to his taste than these.

One evening, just before sunset, two sail (the first for several days)
were descried by the look-out, quite close to each other. Herrick, after
eying them keenly for a moment, pronounced them to be a British steamer
and a full-rigged American clipper ship.

"How on earth can you tell that?" asked the wondering Frank, who could
see nothing of the strangers but their topmasts.

"Easy enough. That un's a steamer, by her smoke; and she's a Britisher,
by the _look_ o' the smoke, for they mostly burn soft coal. T'other's a
clipper, by her rig, and the lot o' handkerchiefs [studding sails] she
has aloft; and she's a 'Merican, for nothin' else could hold its own
with a steamer. But what can they be doin' so close together? Ah! _I_'ve
got it--they're a-_racin_'."

[Illustration: AN OCEAN RACE.]

When the two vessels came near enough to be signaled, and to reply,
Herrick was found to be right in every particular, and the excitement
aboard the _Arizona_ rose to a height. The captain himself came out to
watch the race, and every man who was not on duty below hastened on
deck.

"See how Johnny Bull's a-pilin' the coal on!" cried old Herrick,
pointing to the eddying smoke, which grew blacker every minute. "But he
don't whip _that_ craft--not much! Canvas agin tea-kettles any day!
Hooray!"

"Right you air, old hoss! Guess some o' them clippers can show as good a
record as any steamer afloat. Why, didn't the old _Nabob_ run 7389 miles
in thirty days out thar in the Indian Ocean?--and that's 246 miles a day
for a whole month, anyhow."

The two racers were now crossing the _Arizona_'s bows, and every one
crowded forward to look at them. The steamer's passengers were seen
clustered along the side like bees, while the crew were bustling to and
fro, setting every sail that would draw. But still on th