d
broke the softness of the sky, in which the sun glowed hotter and hotter
as it rose towards the zenith. The sails of the schooner hung idly from
the yards; her reflected image was distorted, but scarcely broken, by
the long gentle swell; her crew, with the exception of the watch, were
asleep either on deck or down below, and so deep was the universal
silence, that, as the vessel rose and fell with a slow, quiet motion,
the pattering of the reef points on her sails forcibly attracted the
listener's attention, as does the ticking of a clock in the deep silence
of night. A few sea-birds rested on the water, as if in the enjoyment
of the profound peace that reigned around; and, far away on the horizon
might be seen the tops of the palm-trees that grew on one of those coral
islands which lie scattered in thousands, like beautiful gems, on the
surface of that bright blue sea.

Among the men who lay sleeping in various easy off-hand attitudes on the
schooner's deck was one who merits special attention--not only because
of the grotesque appearance of his person, but also because he is one of
the principal actors in our tale.

He was a large powerful man, of that rugged build and hairy aspect that
might have suggested the idea that he would be difficult to kill. He
was a fair man, with red hair and a deeply sun-burned face, on which
jovial good-humour sat almost perpetually enthroned. At the moment when
we introduce him to the reader, however, that expression happened to be
modified in consequence of his having laid him down to sleep in a
sprawling manner on his back--the place as well as the position being,
apparently, one of studied discomfort. His legs lay over the heel of
the bowsprit; his big body reposed on a confused heap of blocks and
cordage, and his neck rested on the stock of an anchor, so that his head
hung down over it, presenting the face to view, with the large mouth
wide open, in an upside down position. The man was evidently on the
verge of choking, but, being a strong man, and a rugged man, and a
healthy man, he did not care. He seemed to prefer choking to the
trouble of rousing himself and improving his position.

How long he would have lain in this state of felicity it is impossible
to say, for his slumbers were rudely interrupted by a slight lurch of
the schooner, which caused the blocks and cordage attached to the sheet
of the jib to sweep slowly, but with rasping asperity, across his face.
Any