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3 
 
 _«rtn,anx 
 
 1924 031 247 202 
 
AN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE 
 
JOLLY COMI'AXIONS, EVERY ONE 1 
 
AN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE 
 
 By LUCIEN BIART 
 
 AUTHOR OF "adventures OF A YOUNG NATURALIST" 
 
 TRANSLATED BY 
 
 MRS. CASHEL IIOEY and MR. JOHN LILLIE 
 
 SllustVrttcb 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERf 
 
 F It A N K L I N S Q U A E Ji 
 
 18S0 
 
Entered according to Act of Congress,' in the year 18'79, by 
 
 HARPER & BROTHERS, 
 
 In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CnAPTEK Page 
 
 I. To Batignolles 11 
 
 11. Between Paris and London 19 
 
 in. The Red Lion 27 
 
 IV. Quicksilver 36 
 
 V. In London 45 
 
 VI. Liverpool 54 
 
 VIL At Sea C3 
 
 Vin. A Ray of Hope 70 
 
 IX. The "Fulton" 78 
 
 X. The "Davis" 86 
 
 XI. The Canary Islands 96 
 
 XII. To the End of the World 105 
 
 Xin. Crossing the Line 113 
 
 XrV. The Virgin Islands 123 
 
 XV. "Man Overboard" 131 
 
 XVL a Terrible Night 139 
 
 XVn. A Stratagem of War 153 
 
 XVHL The Gulf of Mexico 161 
 
 XIX. Vera Cruz '. 169 
 
 XX. Another Journey 178 
 
 XXI. Yellow Jack 185 
 
 XXn. Good Luck at Last 193 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Page 
 
 "Jolly Companions, Eveby One!" Frontispiece. 
 
 A Farewell Feast to face 1 1 
 
 The Travellees " 19 
 
 M. Pinson's Boldness in the Cause of Friend- 
 ship " 24 
 
 A Polite Question at Midnight and its Eecep- 
 
 TION " 33 
 
 Quicksilver in a New Character and a New 
 
 Suit " 45 
 
 A Warming-pan for Mother Pitch " 49 
 
 In the Mersey " 59 
 
 The " Canada" " 62 
 
 BoisjOLi Eecognizes M. Pinson " 68 
 
 Quicksilver in Pursuit of Useful Information. " V3 
 
 The Gig " 82 
 
 "Speaking " at Sea " 84 
 
 The " Davis " and her Deeds " 94 
 
 M. Pinson and Quicksilver as Spectators of 
 
 the Fight " 9Y 
 
 The Burning Ship " 108 
 
 An Appeal " 119 
 
 The Life-buoy " 139 
 
 " KoBiNSON " Realized " 146 
 
 "Good-bye! Good-bye!" " 168 
 
 The Watchman " 170 
 
 Outside the Walls of Vera Cruz " 184 
 
 Caught by " Yellow Jack " " 188 
 
 M. Pinson takes his Turn " 194 
 
A FAREWELL FEAST. 
 
AN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 TO BATIGNOLLES. 
 
 " Here's to your good health, Boisjoli '" 
 
 " And here's to yours, Pinson." 
 
 The two boon companions, who were seated in the dining- 
 room of an apartment in the Rue Nollet, having drunk to the 
 above sentiments with grave slowness, replaced their half-emp- 
 tied glasses on the table. It was an April day; small, close 
 rain was falling; three large logs of wood were crackling and 
 sputtering upon the hearth. M. Pinson, the Amphitryon of 
 the occasion, was a man of middle height, strongly built, with 
 curly hair and a quick eye, an intelligent expression, and a 
 smiling mouth. His guest, Boisjoli, was a bigger man than 
 he in every sense : he was taller by a head, and his features 
 were bolder and sterner than those of M. Pinson ; they were, 
 however, just as expressive of straightforwardness and kindli- 
 ness. The two friends were, to judge by appearances, in the 
 prime of life ; neither seemed to have passed his fortieth year. 
 
 They had replaced their glasses upon the table, and each of 
 them, as if absorbed in his own reflections, was looking pen- 
 sively into his plate. 
 
 " You do not eat ?" said M. Pinson. 
 
 " No. I acknowledge that I have no appetite." 
 
 " The devil take you, Boisjoli !" 
 
12 AN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 " Thanks, old fellow ; but what is it that suggests that 
 charitable wish just at this moment?" 
 
 " If I am not mistaken," resumed M. Pinson, " it is thirty- 
 two years to-day since my poor mother, almost as disconsolate 
 as myself, left me at Sainte-Barbe's." 
 
 " Thirty-two years !" repeated Boisjoli ; " how the time flies." 
 
 "How wretched I was that day," continued Pinson; "hith- 
 erto my life had been always passed at my mother's side, and 
 all of a sudden I found myself in the middle of a big room, 
 filled with schoolboys, all eying me with mingled mockery and 
 malice." 
 
 " Not all," remonstrated Boisjoli. 
 
 "That is true; you weTe there. When playtime came I 
 went, with a swelling heart, to prowl about the gate through 
 which my mother had vanished. The boys followed me, 
 whispering, and watching me. I must have been like a fright- 
 ened bird. The boldest among my future companions plied 
 me with questions, but I kept silence, and I felt that my rest- 
 less, awkward, embarrassed ways were exposing me to their 
 ridicule. A big boy pushed up against me, ' to try me,' as the 
 school phrase ran. My fist was quite a match for his, but I 
 felt lonely and lost, and much more inclined to take my de- 
 parture than to fight. You had been three months at Sainte- 
 Barbe's then, Boisjoli ; you were already among the number 
 of the ' oldsters.' You ran to me, dispersed my persecutors, 
 took me under your protection, and — here's your health, my 
 dear old Boisjoli !" 
 
 " And here's yours, my dear old Pinson." 
 
 After this second toast the two friends again became silent 
 and absorbed in thought. 
 
 "It is at times like these," said Pinson, at length, "when one 
 is in trouble, that one likes to talk of the past. Our poor old 
 school ! We lived there nine years, Boisjoli, rising together 
 from class to class, and contending for the prizes until that fa- 
 
TO BATIGNOLLES. I3 
 
 mous day on wliioli all the first Tcere awarded to you as the re- 
 sult of the general examination." 
 
 "A matter of chance, Pinson." 
 
 " And also a matter of intelligence and application, my good 
 friend. Fortune may perhaps come to the sleeping, but knowl- 
 edge is quite another thing ; it is not to be attained except by 
 work and wakefulness. Do you remember the day on which 
 weleft Sainte-Barbe's?" 
 
 " Yes, we went ofE straightway, and had o-urselves shaved, so 
 as to present ourselves more becomingly at the Central School." 
 
 " Out of which you came No. 1." 
 
 "And you No. 2, which is the same thing." 
 
 "When we left the Central School," resumed M. Pinson, 
 " the director placed us in the offices of the Eastern Eailway, 
 with a promise of quick promotion. "We swore to each other 
 that we would never part — " 
 
 " You had just lost your mother, Pinson — you needed my 
 friendship. Two years later my mother rejoined yours in the 
 better land, and your friendship repaid me with usury for the 
 affection she had shown you." 
 
 Tears trembled on the respective eyelids of the friends as 
 they rose simultaneously and repaired to a small drawing-room, 
 where they found an old servant renovating the cheerful wood 
 fire. They seated themselves at a table which displayed prep- 
 arations for cofEee, and M. Pinson, continuing the conversation 
 as though it had not been interrupted, said : 
 
 " We promised each other then that we would never part, 
 Boisjoli, and now here you are going away." 
 
 " It cannot be helped, Pinson. It must be so ; you your- 
 self, each time that we have discussed the question, have ended 
 by approving of my going." 
 
 " That was because the hour of your departure was far oS, 
 because it seemed to me that it would never really come." 
 
 " I have now been fifteen years," said Boisjoli, " vegetating 
 
li AN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 in tlie insignificant place ■wMcli, when I first entered upon it, 
 I regarded merely as a stepping-stone to the highest employ- 
 ment." 
 
 " Justice has never been done to you." 
 
 " Oh yes it has, my dear fellow ! But in our dear country 
 all the talents, in fact, walk about the streets seeking work, and 
 the leading posts are few in number. What I have lacked, and 
 it is the same story in your own case, is a patron who, being 
 himself high up on the ladder, could have aided me to scale it, 
 and procured me a chance of showing what I am fit for. Nev- 
 ertheless, if, like you, I possessed a small fortune — " 
 
 " When I came into my five thousand francs a year, Boisjoli, 
 I told you what I now tell you again, that half belongs to you." 
 
 " I know, Pinson, and I have accepted that half. Perhaps I 
 shall come and claim it from you one of these days. In the 
 meantime I want to win that same independence which ena- 
 bles you to work at your own hours — in fact, to do justice to 
 yourself. Among us, let me say once more, all the avenues to 
 fortune are thronged, there are many more called than chosen. 
 The war that has just broken out in the United States offers a 
 good opportunity to men of our profession ; I. want to go thith- 
 er and try my fortune. I have given myself ten years in which 
 to realize an income ; at the end of that time, rich or poor, I 
 will return." 
 
 "And those ten years, can you bring them back to me? 
 Shall we ever see each other again? Am I immortal? Are 
 you ? 
 
 " It was agreed, Pinson, that we should dine together for the 
 last time gayly. It is too late to recede from my resolution ; I 
 must start to-morrow, and I will do so. Come, fill my glass 
 with your old Cognac. To your good health !" 
 
 This time the glasses were emptied. M. Pinson^ despite his 
 habitual sobriety, insisted on drinking to his friend's prosper- 
 ous journey, complete success, and speedy return. TIio friends. 
 
TO BATIGNOLLES. 15 
 
 ■wlio were both, at bottom, of a jovial turn, recovered tlieir spir- 
 its by degrees, and fell back upon the more cheerful and hap- 
 py reminiscences of their youth. Then "Do you remember?" 
 ■was repeated many times, and first came smiles, to be succeeded 
 by laughter. No doubt three or four glasses of the toothsome 
 Cognac, in -which the two old schoolfellows drank several fresh 
 toasts, contributed not a little to their merriment. 
 
 " If you were as true a friend as you pretend to be," said 
 Boisjoli, as he held his glass between the lamp and bis eye, 
 admiring the limpid liquid, " you would come with me to-mor- 
 row — " 
 
 " To the station ?" cried M. Pinson. " Did you imagine for 
 a moment that I should fail in so simple an obligation as that ?" 
 
 " No, indeed ; but when I say that you ought to accompany 
 me—" 
 
 " Were you thinking of taking mc to New York?" 
 
 " In medio Veritas, as we used to say at Sainte-Barbe's," re- 
 sumed Boisjoli, sententiously. " Listen to me, Pinson ; you 
 are free, you have neither a post to fill nor a wife and children 
 to leave ; there is nothing to keep you here, and Calais is only 
 seven hours from Paris." 
 
 " Hum !" said M. Pinson, " you cheat me out of my grand- 
 discovery scene. I bad long ago made up my mind to do what 
 you wish, and I reckoned on giving you a surprise by taking 
 my place beside you in the railway carriage that is to convey 
 you to the frontier." 
 
 " Bravo !" cried Boisjoli ; " I reckoned upon that too, and I 
 drink to your idea. Only, you must admit that, since your 
 mind was already made up, you have granted me nothing. 
 What harm would it do you to come with me to London? 
 You don't know the English capital, for, obstinate Parisian as 
 you are, you have never put your foot out of your native city." 
 
 " I beg your pardon ; I am acquainted with Versailles," said 
 M. Pinson, gravely. 
 
16 AN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 " Come Avith me so far as London." 
 
 " Why not so far as Liverpool ?" cried the engineer, starting 
 up from his chair. 
 
 " That is just what I was thinking," answered Boisjoli, qui- 
 etly ; " why not so far as Liverpool ? By doing this, you would, 
 in the course of a few days, have seen the sea, England, its cap- 
 ital, one of its great industrial centres, and the fine steamer 
 Canada, in which I am to cross the ocean, into the bargain. 
 What say you ? Is it settled? 
 
 " But you start at nine in the morning?" 
 
 " At nine fifteen, my good friend." 
 
 " I must liave a passport." 
 
 " What for ? Passports are aholished." 
 
 " A trunk, then." 
 
 " Nonsense ! What a fuss you make about nothing. You 
 will want a travelling-bag, and, as the old song has it, two 
 shirts, as many pocket-handkerchiefs, and a pair of socks." 
 
 " I have an appointment with Viollet-le-Dnc for the day af- 
 ter to-morrow." 
 
 " You have until eight o'clock to-morrow morning to inform 
 him that an unexpected journey obliges you to defer your in- 
 terview for a week." 
 
 "And if he be annoyed?" 
 
 " He will recover from liis annoyance, especially when he 
 learns the motive of your absence." 
 
 " But—" 
 
 " Come, Pinson, make haste and dish up your very last ar- 
 gument, it is getting late." 
 
 " I will go," said the engineer. 
 
 " I was sure of it," cried Boisjoli, as he shook his friend's 
 hand warral)'. " That's all right. Here's your health once 
 more, old Pinson." 
 
 " To our friendship, Boisjoli 1" 
 
 '■To-morrow at the Northern Eailwav Station." 
 
TO BATIGNOLLES. 17 
 
 '■ At ninG o'clock." 
 
 " Good-nigM." 
 
 " Good-night." 
 
 When Boisjoli was gone, M. Pinson walked all round his lit- 
 tle drawing-room many times before he went into his bedroom. 
 There ho opened the wardrobe in which his linen was kept, and 
 contemplated the rows of shirts, stockings, and handkerchiefs 
 artistically arranged by his old housekeeper Marguerite, after 
 which he informed that worthy personage of his intentions. 
 jSIarguerito, who, during ten years passed in the service of M. 
 Pinson, had never known him to be absent for twenty -four 
 hours, treated the communication as a jest. 
 
 " Bring me a travelling-bag," said M. Pinson ; " I will pack 
 my things to-night." 
 
 "A travelling-bag!" repeated the old woman; "where shall 
 I find one, sir. I never saw such a thing belonging to you." 
 
 Marguerite spoke truly. M. Pinson, whose business was 
 transacted either at the Paris or the Panton Eailway Station, 
 had never visited any place outside his natal city in the course 
 of the years during which he had been employed by the East- 
 ern Eailway, except Saint Cloud, Versailles, and Chateau Thier- 
 ry, where he had passed a few days with Boisjoli, who was 
 then engaged in building a viaduct. It was, therefore, ar- 
 ranged that at daybreak — that is to say, at seven o'clock in 
 the morning — Marguerite should go out and purchase a travel- 
 ling-bag and a " railway pocket," as the articles which English 
 tourists denominate " couriers' bags " are called in Paris. 
 
 At long past midnight M. Pinson was still awake. The idea 
 of this journey, so suddenly resolved upon, was worrying him 
 somewhat. 
 
 "Bah !" said he to himself, at length ; " it will do me good to 
 get away for a while, for I am becoming quite an old fogy. 
 But what a change in my life Boisjoli's absence will make ! 
 Good-bye to all our controversies, and all our tasks in common, 
 
18 -i.v iNvoiJixrMtv \iiy.\aK 
 
 to our games df clicss and Iii''zi(|nc and dmninocH, to onr long 
 talks ill winter, to — and ho, Low will ho do witliont mi!?" 
 
 At last tlio ciigiiiucr full aNlciip. 
 
 On the following' day, tlio ^Ktli of Ai)ril, 18C3, at a qnartcr- 
 pasl nine in the mornini^', M. I'inson and his friend tmik their 
 |)laci's in the train for Calais. 
 
 The two cMg'iuccr's wcri! to reach London at ten o'eloelc in 
 the ev<'ninjj;, to pass thive days there, and tlien jiroeeed lo Ijiv- 
 erpool, at which port I>oisjoli was to i;-o on lioai'd the C'liiiiiiln. 
 While hi! should be steaniinu; towards Amerii'-a, which JiVanite 
 forniei'ly possessed almost entirely, when! WaHhin<j;ton founded 
 a model rcpublii!, and whence the wealthy uii(!l(!S of our fonnei' 
 dramas and novels once had a salutary (!nstoni of i-eturnin^j;, 
 now " honore<l " only "in the Ijreaeh," M. i'inson would peace- 
 fully I'eturn io ]'aris. 
 
BETWEEN PARIS AND LONDON. 19 
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 
 BETWEEN" PAraS AND LONDON". 
 
 It was five o'cloct in the evening when the two friends ar- 
 rived at Calais, the ancient Caletum of the Romans. They had 
 barely time to eat some sandwiches, and to drink a glass of 
 rnm-and-water, which the lady attendant at the refreshment-bar 
 assured M. Pinson was an infallible specific against sea-sickness, 
 before they had to go on board the steamer Avon. 
 
 Boisjoli was not acquainted with the Channel, but he had 
 sailed upon the Mediterranean, a fact which gave him for the 
 moment a marked superiority over his friend. M. Pinson, 
 whose nautical exploits were restricted to one excursion upon 
 the lake at Enghien, ten years previously, frankly exhibited his 
 astonishment at the sight of so many ships. The sky vi'as 
 cloudy, the waves, lashed by a strong breeze, were tipped at 
 their edges with a light foam, which the sailors call a fleece. 
 The metallic aspect of the liquid immensity extending before 
 him far beyond his vision impressed M. Pinson unpleasantly. 
 He shivered slightly, and thought of his warm rooms in the 
 Rue Nollet. 
 
 A hundred passengers of both sexes, and every age and na- 
 tion, were crowding, pushing, and bustling upon the narrow deck 
 of the Avon. Near the mainmast stood a travelling-carriage, 
 strongly secured by stout ropes, and surmounted by an imperial. 
 An English gentleman, shaved, cravated, and gloved jvith an ab- 
 solute correctness which belongs to that methodical race only, 
 advanced, preceded by a tall footman in livery, and courteously 
 escorting a middle-aged lady. The Englishman and his com- 
 
20 -^A^ INVOLUNTARY VOYAGK. 
 
 panion, to tlie profound amazement of tlic other passengers on 
 board the Avon, proceeded to mount the imperial. This being 
 safely aecomplished, the male and female servants in attendance 
 handed up to the noble couple a supply of rugs, shawls, bottles, 
 glasses, and general provisions more than sufficient for a long 
 sea passage. 
 
 " Very practical people, those English," said M. Pinson ; 
 " but why should they perch themselves on the imperial atop 
 of their carriage in so sharp a wind ? If I were they, I should 
 stow myself snugly away in the inside." 
 
 "Ah, but they want to see the country to better advantage," 
 said Boisjoli. 
 
 " The country !" exclaimed M. Pinson, waving his hand cx- 
 pressi\'ely towards the uniform surface spread out before them. 
 
 " You forget that we are within twenty miles of Dover," re- 
 plied Boisjoli, " and the English coast will come into view as 
 soon as we begin to lose sight of the French coast." 
 
 The steamer set itself in motion, and M. Pinson, seated in 
 the forepart of the little vessel, gazed thoughtfully at the re- 
 ceding land. 
 
 "The poets are right," said he suddenly; "one cannot quit 
 one's country without a pang. Poor old France ! I can hardly 
 believe that there exists any other land so well worth living in, 
 and I don't think one wants a stronger proof of that than the 
 multitude of foreigners who come to visit our country, and who 
 end by establishing themselves there, never to leave it more.'' 
 
 " You forget free America, Pinson. Emigrants rush to that 
 ' promised land ' by hundreds of thousands." 
 
 " I respect America, Boisjoli : you are going to live there, 
 and that makes the country sacred to me. But necessity, and 
 nothing else, drives those thousands of emigrants to its hospi- 
 table shores; while it is not necessity which attracts all the 
 races of the earth to us. Europeans, Asiatics, Africans, Amer- 
 icans, and the people of Oceania resort to us because of our 
 
BETWEEN PARIS AXB LONDON. 21 
 
 polished and sociable manners, and our kindly disposition. 
 And then our museums, our schools, onr cookery ! Dear France ! 
 Hardly a quarter of an hour ago I trod that shore which is 
 still before my eyes, and already I begin to fear that I shall 
 tread it no more." 
 
 Then M. Pinson sank into silence, and watched the gradual 
 enshrouding by the mist of the light-house, the graceful belfry 
 of the Hotel de Ville, the church of Notre Dame, all those 
 buildings of which the people of Calais are so proud. M. Pin- 
 son, although he had never been out of Paris; was not only skil- 
 ful as an engineer, but learned in history and geography ; and 
 he also possessed a somewhat extensive knowledge of zool- 
 ogy-. He recalled to mind that this old town, Calais, rapidly 
 becoming invisible, had been besieged in 1347, by Edward 
 IH., King of England, and distinguished by the patriotic de- 
 votion of Eustache de Saint Pierre. After two centuries of 
 captivity, Calais, always faithful to France, had been recon- 
 quered by the valiant Francois de Guise, who had already 
 won great renown for his defence of Metz, and for the battle 
 of Eeutz. 
 
 The engineer, still gazing towards the receding shore, im- 
 parted his historical reminiscences to his friend, who supple- 
 mented them by impressions of his own. Little by little Bois- 
 joli left ofE replying, except in the briefest sentences, which 
 dropped at length into monosyllables, and ultimately he kept 
 complete silence. M. Pinson leaned towards him, and looked 
 at him anxiously. 
 
 " What's the matter ?" he asked. 
 
 " With me ? Nothing." 
 
 " You are quite pale." 
 
 "Perhaps so, but it is nothing; only a little qualmishness; 
 it will pass off." 
 
 Here M. Pinson-, turning his eyes towards the deck of the 
 steamer, exclaimed in astonishment: 
 
22 'lA^ INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 " How extraordinary !" 
 
 The fact was that half an hour of navigation had singularly 
 transformed the scene. Instead of the noisy bustle and chat- 
 ter of starting, comparative silence reigned on board the Avon. 
 
 Seated on benches or on huge coils of rope were men, women, 
 and children, with pale faces and fixed eyes, wiping the damps 
 of illness from their brows, and sniffing at scent-bottles or 
 oranges or lemons. There was a heavy sea on, and the demon 
 of sea-sicliness had already seized upon its victims. The young 
 gentleman who had set his foot almost disdainfully upon the 
 deck, a cigar between his lips and a glass gracefully fixed in 
 one eye, now clutched a rope with one hand to hold himself 
 up, while the other recklessly disarranged the symmetry of the 
 "parting" of his lustrous hair. Here a young husband was 
 supporting his young wife, who persisted in believing that her 
 last moment had come ; there a poor mother was hardly able 
 to look after her little boy, who, perfectly well, and enjoying 
 his liberty, was roaming about from poop to prow, and in more 
 or less danger. The most lamentable spectacle was, however, 
 that presented by the two passengers who had deposited them- 
 selves on the imperial, atop of the travelling carriage. My lord 
 and my ladj', each leaning over a side of the vehicle, with pale 
 and agonized countenance, called in vain, the one for his man, 
 the other for her maid. The servants, who were no doubt 
 as ill as their employers, neither came nor answered. The 
 sailors, with mocking smiles upon their tanned faces, went to 
 and fro among the unhappy wretches who encumbered their 
 ship, and many of whom seriously believed themselves to be 
 dying. 
 
 M. Pinson was too good-natured to find any amusement in the 
 grotesque scenes which surrounded him ; and, besides, the in- 
 creasing paleness of his friend made him uneasy. 
 
 " It is nothing, it is nothing," Boisjoli muttered faintly ; " I 
 know this terrible sea-sickness of old ; I served an appren- 
 
BETWEEN PARIS AND LONDON. 23 
 
 ticesbip to it on my voyage to Algiers, but I am in for it 
 again. As for you, Pinson, you are always in luck : you 
 come in for property, and you escape sea - sickness. Could 
 you get me some brandy-and-water ? I tliink that would put 
 me all rigbt." 
 
 M. Pinson rose from bis seat with the utmost alacrity, and 
 started ofE in a straight line to fulfil this errand of friendship ; 
 but, to bis great surprise, the rolling of the ship made him 
 swerve suddenly, and he came down plump on the back of a 
 fat lady, who, despite his profuse apologies, received him with 
 anything but a benediction. Surprised at having lost his bal- 
 ance, and feeling the deck move under his feet, M. Pinson ad- 
 vanced with the utmost caution, holding on by the ropes each 
 time that a pitch or a roll flung him forward or sideward. At 
 length he reached the bar, procured the desired brandy-and- 
 water, and set out on his return journey towards his friend, 
 lie had taken just three steps when the little steamer lifted on 
 a wave, dipped suddenly to the right, and the unlucky engineer 
 had to let go his prize and catch hold of the gunnel in order 
 to avoid falling. The glass, flung to a distance, dispersed its 
 contents over an unfortunate passenger seated close to the 
 chimney, who flattered himself that be was safe from the wind, 
 and every other kind of misadventure. M. Pinson picked up 
 the empty glass with a shamefaced air, and, not without a re- 
 gretful thought of the warm atmosphere of his rooms in the 
 Rue NoUet, and their motionless floor, returned to the bar. 
 Once more he procured the desired beverage, and resumed his 
 journey towards the vessel's prow with great caution. He had 
 reached the mainmast in safety when a gentleman stepped up 
 to him, and very politely taking the glass out of his hand, ^'ith 
 the simple explanation, " For a lady, sir," straightway pre- 
 sented the restorative mixture to a young lady with languish- 
 ing eyes. 
 
 M. Pinson, who was much too well-bred to make the slight- 
 
24 AN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 est remonstrance, bravelj' returned to the bar, and speedily re- 
 appeared with a third glass of brandy-and-water. Five steps 
 more and Boisjoli would have been placed in possession of it, 
 when a lady, placing herself in front of M. Pinson, said to him 
 in a soft, imploring tone, 
 
 " For my husband, sir !" 
 
 The engineer had not had time to reply before the happy 
 husband was sipping the liquor for which another was waiting 
 in vain. 
 
 M. Pinson, a little angry this time, made a fourth trip to the 
 bar, and there he was requested to restore the glasses which he 
 had taken away. The steward and his boy spoke English only, 
 a language of which M. Pinson did not understand a word ; he 
 replied in French to questions which no one was putting to 
 him, and these cross purposes might have gone on indefinitely 
 had not a passenger, who was not sea-sick, come to his aid in 
 the capacity of interpreter. He was intrusted with a fourth 
 glass, and this time he took the precaution to wrap up his 
 prize in his handkerchief, so as to conceal it, for, according to 
 his calculation, there were on board the Avon several dozens of 
 wives, sisters, and mothers, and Boisjoli was in serious danger 
 of getting nothing to drink until they should reach Dover, to 
 say nothing of the uneasiness which he must then be suffering 
 from the prolonged absence of his friend. The 'truth was, how- 
 ever, that Boisjoli was too ill to be uneasy about anybody ; the 
 poor wretch was conscious of only one desire, that of gaining 
 the port and leaving behind him the accursed Channel, whose 
 chopping seas often inflict the agonies of sea-sickness upon the 
 most hardened travellers. 
 
 The steamer entered the port at the very moment when M. 
 Pinson, carrying his fourth glass, reached his friend's side. 
 The pitching and rolling ceased, as. if by enchantment, and 
 Boisjoli, suddenly cured, was able to enjoy the delicious bever- 
 age which had been procured with so much difficulty. The 
 
M. PINSON S BOLDNESS IN THE CAUSE OF FRIENDSHIP. 
 
BETWEEN PARIS ANI) LONDON. 25 
 
 two engineers stepped on sliore, and followed the other pas- 
 sengers in the direction of the railway station. Boisjoli, who 
 was accustomed to leave his luggage to the care of the railway 
 companies, thought of nothing beyond settling himself com- 
 fortably in a carriage with his friend ; but, being warned in 
 time by a compatriot that they would have to disinter their 
 own property from amid a vast heap of trunks and packages, 
 and get it placed in the train which was almost ready to start, 
 the two engineers were obliged to abandon their chosen cor- 
 ner's and do duty as porters. Boisjoli got through the ordeal 
 very well, but M. Pinson's travelling-bag was not forthcoming. 
 After much research he at length discovered it on a shelf, at 
 such a height that he had to ask for a ladder in order to get at 
 it. ' If English travellers grumble at the slowness of the French 
 custom-house officials in classifying the luggage at the arrival 
 stations, so did Boisjoli and M. Pinson anathematize the care- 
 lessness of the English companies, who, however, have since 
 then adopted the French system. Although, as it was night, 
 they could not see anything, the two engineers had too much 
 experience not to judge of the road they were travelling over 
 by the slight bumps which they felt. 
 
 " H'm ! what would you say to that ?" M. Pinson would ask 
 his friend from time to time. 
 
 " Uneven level here and there." 
 
 "And the speed?" 
 
 " Truly remarkable." 
 
 " This proves that the control of the State, by which we set 
 so much store in France, is not indispensable for doing things 
 well." 
 
 " Nevertheless, I'm for that same control," said M. Pinson ; 
 " under it we travel safely, smoothly, and rapidly." 
 
 Two hours later the travellers emerged from the train in 
 London, where they found all the cab-drivers on strike. The 
 two Frenchmen, considerably at a loss to know how to dispose 
 
26 -l-V INVOLUXTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 of themselves, walked out of the station, and perceiving from 
 afar a signboard which represented a superb red lion, with the 
 following legend in large letters, 
 
 " French Spoken Here," 
 they turned their steps in the direction of the hostelry thus 
 recommended to their exiled hearts. 
 
THE BED LIOM. 21 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE RED LION". 
 
 The friends, who for a little while had felt very uncomfort- 
 ble, entered the Hed Lion inn with light hearts, their spirits 
 having been instantaneously raised by the inscription in capital 
 letters, " French spoken here." 
 
 " Since we left Calais," said M. Pinson, " I have frequently 
 wished that I could exchange all the Latin and Greek which I 
 learned once on a time for a few dozen English phrases. We 
 must look like simpletons, Boisjoli, my dear fellow, to these 
 people who are speaking the noble idiom of Shakespeare all 
 around us, while we don't understand a word they are saying. 
 And when I reflect that henceforth you will have to express 
 yourself altogether in that language, I become more unhappy 
 about you than ever." 
 
 " For the last fortnight," replied Boisjoli, " I have been 
 working hard at English ; and I already know a great many 
 familiar sayings ; only, up to the present time, I have not found 
 any opportunity of coming out with them." 
 
 A fat man, with a protuberant stomach, red whiskers, and a 
 clean-shaven chin, advanced towards the travellers with a pro- 
 pitiatory air, and asked them in English what were their 
 " orders." 
 
 " We want supper and beds," answered Boisjoli. " We are 
 Frenchmen, and we speak very little English." 
 
 The host replied in a sentence which, judging by the bow 
 that accompanied it, was of a courteous nature. 
 
 " What do you say ?" asked Boisjoli. 
 
28 AN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 Again the innkeeper spoke, and again unintelligibly. 
 
 " We French, we speak no English," said M. Pinson. 
 
 Once more the innkeeper bowed, and then, raising his voice 
 as though he were addressing deaf men, he said, carefully sepa- 
 rating his words : 
 
 " Pray give your orders, gentlemen !" 
 
 " We French !" cried M. Pinson, with all the strength of his 
 lungs. 
 
 " We hungry, we want to eat," said Boisjoli. 
 
 " And to sleep," added his friend, as, with expressive panto- 
 mime, ho leaned his head on one hand and closed his eyes. 
 
 The innkeeper took this to mean that M. Pinson was suflEor- 
 ing from toothache, and recommended to him a mouthful of gin 
 to be used as a gargle. Each of the speakers, hoping to make 
 himself understood by the other, spoke louder and louder, and 
 this scene would have lasted long had not a bystander, who 
 was sipping a glass of whiskey (a kind of spirit made from bar- 
 ley, and much appreciated in England), approached the two 
 friends and asked them what they wanted. 
 
 " We were induced to come here on the faith of the sign- 
 board," replied Boisjoli, " as, unfortunately, neither I nor my 
 friend can speak English. AVe want supper and beds." 
 
 " The waiter who speaks French is absent this evening, gen- 
 tlemen," said the obliging interpreter, after a short conversa- 
 tion with the innkeeper ; " but I have explained your wishes to 
 the master of the Red Lion, and you shall be attended to im- 
 mediately." 
 
 M. Pinson and his friend vi'ere then conducted to a room in 
 which were two small, narrow beds. Half an hour later they 
 were regaled with cold ham and ale, with which, in the absence 
 of better fare, they endeavored to be satisfied. Towards mid- 
 night, after having deplored the narrowness of the beds, the 
 hardness of the mattresses, and the total absence of the pillows, 
 they at length fell asleep. 
 
THE RED LI OX. 29 
 
 It was broad day when M. Pinson woke, and looked about 
 liim witb surprise. 
 
 " Is this really true ?" said he ; "I am not in the Eue NoUet : 
 I am not even in France, but in the capital city of England. 
 The sea rolls between me and Batignolles — actually the sea ! It 
 needs all my friendship for that good fellow asleep there '' — here 
 M. Pinson glanced towards the bed occupied by his friend — "to 
 restrain me from setting out this very moment for my dear and 
 beautiful Paris, where, if the hotel people don't speak French 
 particularly well, they at least understand it perfectly." 
 
 Boisjoli awoke, and the two friends betook themselves to 
 studying the prospect from one of the windows of their room, 
 a window of the guillotine order of construction, equally incon- 
 venient and dangerous, which, long exploded in Franco, is still 
 held in honor in the English metropolis. Except for the strange 
 cries which reached their ears from the street, and the dingy 
 aspect of the houses, the travellers might have thought that 
 they had not quitted Paris. M. Pinson rang the bell, and the 
 Irish servant-girl appeared. 
 
 "Is the waiter who speaks French in the house?" asked the 
 engineer. 
 
 The girl nodded aflSrmatively and left the room. In a few 
 minutes she returned, carrying a canful of hot water. 
 
 " That's all right," said M. Pinson, " but send us the waiter 
 who speaks French, the — waiter — who — speaks — French." 
 
 " Yes, sir." 
 
 The girl again left the room. During her absence M. Pinson 
 and his friend profited by the hot water she had brought them, 
 and proceeded to dress themselves leisurely. 
 
 At about ten o'clock they went down to the general dining- 
 room, and found themselves in the presence of half-a-dozen 
 Englishmen, who were all eating eggs. 
 
 The host approached. 
 
 " The French waiter ?" demanded M. Pinson, politely. 
 
30 AN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 The innkeeper smiled pleasantly, and drew from liis waist- 
 coat pocket a scrap of paper, which he presented to the stran- 
 gers. On this was written, " The French waiter will not be 
 back until the afternoon. These gentlemen will kindly excuse 
 his absence, and have patience." 
 
 " Let us have patience," said Boisjoli, laughing. 
 
 " And breakfast," added M. Pinson. 
 
 Hardly had the two friends taken their seats, when, without 
 waiting for orders, the Irish servant-girl set a tray before them 
 on which was placed a teapot, four eggs, and as many soppets 
 of bread and butter. 
 
 " The carte P cried M. Pinson. 
 
 " The carte ?'" cried Boisjoli, only more loudly. 
 
 " The carte !" repeated the girl, in a tone of bewildernaent. 
 
 Then she shook her head from right to left, and from left to 
 right, to signify a negative. 
 
 What did she think they were asking for? Ah, that is a 
 mystery which even time itself can never solve. 
 
 " We are stupid to ask for the carte,'" said Pinson—" it will 
 be in Enghsh, and no use to us. Come, Boisjoli ; among the 
 phrases you have learned off by heart, is there not one suitable 
 to the emergencies of breakfast-time." 
 
 "I can ask," said Boisjoli, gravely,, "for turtle-soup, plum- 
 pudding, and a rabbit." 
 
 " But," objected M. Pinson, " with all the good-will in the 
 world, we cannot breakfast on turtle-soup and plum-pudding ; 
 you had better save up your English until dinner-time, when it 
 will come in handy. Charles the Fifth was right, Boisjoli : one 
 is doubly a man if one speaks two languages, trebly a man if 
 one speaks three, and so on. Now I understand our inferiority 
 when confronted with these Germans and English. If ever I 
 have children, they shall learn English, no matter at what cost 
 to them and myself." 
 
 " If we were to ask for a beefsteak ?" suggested Boisjoli. 
 
THE RED LION. 
 
 31 
 
 "A capital idea!" cried M. Pinson ; "the word 'beefsteak' 
 is English, and this time they will understand us." 
 
 He beckoned to the servant-girl, and shouted at her : 
 
 " Beefsteak ! beefsteak aux pommes (with fried potatoes). 
 Do you understand ?" 
 
 She smiled, she understood ! so correctly, indeed, that in five 
 minutes she set before the friends a large slice of fried beef 
 and a dish of boiled potatoes. 
 
 M. Pinson and his friend were too prudent to protest. The 
 meat was savory, and they breakfasted copiously, without any 
 distrust of the beer which was offered to them, and which was, 
 in fact, as heady as the best wines of their native land. They 
 rose from the table, rather surprised at finding their spirits so 
 much elated, and at about noon they turned out, to find their 
 •way, haphazard, about the great city which they were in haste 
 to see. 
 
 The contrast between London and Paris could not fail to 
 strike them at once. London is the vaster city, but Paris is 
 handsomer, lighter, more airy. London is an immense capital 
 of labor, Paris an elegant resort of pleasure. London forges 
 bales of iron, and carries loads of coal ; Paris deals in stuffs, 
 feathers, and flowers. No two cities, so near each other in 
 point of actual distance, could be more dissimilar of aspect and 
 in their respective customs. The two engineers criticised a lit- 
 tle, admired much, and walked about all day. Towards six 
 o'clock in the evening they found themselves before the en- 
 trance of a French restaurant, where the waiters were at their 
 posts, and where they might dine according to their taste. At 
 eight they went to a theatre, at which a play of Shakespeare's 
 was acted ; but as they were tired after their long day's walk- 
 ing, and did not understand a word of what the actors were 
 saying, they slumbered in their stalls during the greater part 
 of the performance, and did not awake until its close. 
 
 When they were again in the street, M. Pinson took Boisjoli's 
 
32 .-lA' IXVOLUXTAl?!' VOrAGE. 
 
 arm, and began to question him about what tliey had just seen 
 and heard. The two friends walked boldly along, turning the 
 corners of the streets here, crossing them there, following a 
 seemingly interminable road, and still eagerly discussing the 
 Shakespearian play. As they walked farther and farther away 
 from the theatre, the streets became emptier and more silent, 
 for London, the workman among cities, does not keep late hours 
 like Paris, the coquette. London shuts its shops early, and 
 takes its rest. 
 
 "Are we near the hotel?" Pinson at length asked of his 
 friend. 
 
 " I was just going,'' said Boisjoli, " to put the same question 
 to you." 
 
 " You don't know where you are?" 
 
 " How should I know ? I am in London since last night, and 
 I never put my foot in the place before." 
 
 " "Where are you taking me to, then ?" 
 
 " That is the question which I have been about to put to 
 you twenty times ; but you walked on with such confidence 
 that I thought you were quite sure of the way." 
 
 " And I was letting you lead me." 
 
 The two engineers came to a stop in the street. 
 
 " Upon my word," said M. Pinson, " the air of England is 
 turning us into a pair of fools." 
 
 " The fact is," replied his friend, " our being out of the 
 habit of having to think about whither we are going has mis- 
 led us." 
 
 " Where are we ?" 
 
 " In London." 
 
 "In what quarter?" 
 
 " It would not do us much good to know that," said Bois- 
 joli ; " the real point is to find our hotel." 
 
 " Do you know in what direction it is ?" 
 
 " I only know one thing, that it is near the Gare." 
 
Wl'^'l'^ 
 
 A I'OLITIC (iUKHTION AT MIDNHIIIT ANIJ ITH IIK(!KI"I'I(;N. 
 
THE RED LIOX. 33 
 
 " Yes ; and what is tlio name of the Gare?" * 
 
 " That is precisely what wc must find out," said Boisjoli. 
 " Let us ask our wa}'." 
 
 " Of whom ?" said Pinson, pointing to the deserted street. 
 " And what are we to ask for ? There must be more than one 
 [/are in London ; and then, again, though rail, wagon, and ex- 
 press are Englisli words, gare is French." 
 
 " That's true," said Boisjoli, dejectedly. 
 
 iL Pinson looked at his watch. 
 
 " Half-past twelve," said he ; " generally speaking, at this 
 hour I am in bed and fast asleep." 
 
 A footstep was heard in the distance. The two engineers 
 stood still, waiting for the approach of the belated pedestrian. 
 When he was within a few steps of them, M. Pinson and his 
 friend took off their hats and placed themselves in front of him. 
 
 "I beg your pardon, sir," said Boisjoli; "could you direct 
 us—" 
 
 The pedestrian quickened his pace. 
 
 " Sir — " began iL Pinson in his turn. 
 
 The individual thus addressed seemed anything but easy in 
 his mind ; having glanced around him with much solicitude, 
 he suddenly plunged his hand into his pocket, drew out a 
 penny, and flung it to the two friends, who were transfixed 
 with amazement, and hurried away. 
 
 " He takes us for beggars !" said Boisjoli. " Sir ! sir !" he 
 cried, as he ran after the person whom they had accosted. The 
 latter, who was already at some distance, began to run too, call- 
 ing out ^'igorously, "Stop thief! stop thief!" and was soon out 
 of sight. 
 
 " Astonishing !" exclaimed M. Pinson. " This good Lon- 
 doner, or Londonian — I don't know which is the correct term 
 — after having taken us for beggars, now takes us for robbers. 
 
 * Railway station. 
 
 o-.v 
 
34 AN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 If a policeman had chanced to be in the wa}^ just think what 
 our position might have been ! IIow are we to explain our 
 distress, and to ask our way? The very evening I return to 
 Paris," added M. Pinson, resolutely, " I will engage a teacher of 
 English ; and I will never let him go until I have thoroughly 
 learned his language." 
 
 " In the meantime," said Boisjoli, " we had better walk on." 
 
 " In what direction ?" 
 
 " Oh, never mind ; let us follow our noses until we come to 
 a police-office or some place of the kind." 
 
 " And you think it is a good joke, do you, to have dragged 
 me away from my Eue Nollet, and brought me here to lose my 
 way, at past midnight, in a city three times as large as Paris, 
 and of whose language you are entirely ignorant ?" 
 
 " Three millions of men are sleeping around us, Pinson ; they 
 will awaken sooner or later, and surely there will be one among 
 them who can help us out of our difficulty." 
 
 " That is to say, you propose that we shall sleep in the 
 street ?" 
 
 " Not at all. If, however, you are tired, we can sit down 
 here on the edge of the footway." 
 
 " Upon my word," said M. Pinson, " your composure is ex- 
 tremely exasperating." 
 
 "There is no use," replied Boisjoli, "in getting vexed with 
 either things or events ; they do not mind us in the least." 
 
 "Let us walk on," said M. Pinson; "I cannot stand about 
 here." 
 
 " I warn you," said Boisjoli, " that we shall be most con- 
 scientiously turning our backs on our hotel ; in such a case that 
 is always what happens. Hah ! listen !" 
 
 The sound was that of a distant footstep advancing towards 
 the two friends. They went forward to meet the belated way- 
 farer, asking each other in what form they should accost so as 
 not to alarm him. They soon saw a boy of about twelve years 
 
THE RED LI OK. 36 
 
 old, \vbo, on perceiving them, ran across the street to the oppo- 
 site footway. Having gained it, however, he began to sing : 
 
 "C'est la mev' Michel qu'a perdu son cliat, 
 Eir cri' par la fenetre. . . ." 
 
 "Petit!" cried tlie two engineers simultaneously, relieved 
 and delighted beyond measure. 
 
 The boy checked his song, stood still, and then, with the 
 gesture of a sentry presenting his bayonet, shouted : 
 
 " Qui Vive ?" 
 
36 AN mVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 QUICKSILVER. 
 
 The sliiill " Qui vive ?" uttered ia Frencli was a joyful 
 sound to the two bewildered wayfarers. 
 
 " Ami !" shouted M. Pinson in reply, as lie hurried across 
 the street and approached the boy. 
 
 " Don't come any nearer to me," said the latter, " or I will 
 take to my heels. It is past midnight, my fine fellows, and 
 although my purse is not heav}'', I don't want to make you 
 a present of it. Who are you, and what do you want with 
 me?" 
 
 " Only to ask you to direct us, my boy,'' said M. Pinson ; 
 " we are lost !" 
 
 "Lost!" repeated the boy, derisively ^ — "lost in London! 
 You don't catch me swallowing that in a hurry. Good-bye." 
 
 " Stop, stop !" cried the engineer, " we are honest folk, and I 
 have told you the truth. Let us talk at a distance, if you like, 
 but do not forsake us." 
 
 The boy paused. 
 
 "You have tongues," said he; "why did you wait to ask 
 your way until I came by ?" 
 
 " We only came to London yesterday, and neither I nor my 
 friend can speak English. We have just spoken to a passer-by, 
 who took us first for beggars, and then for thieves, because he 
 did not understand what we said." 
 
 " What a joke !" exclaimed the boy, with a roar of laughter — 
 " what a joke !" 
 
 And then, to the great amazement of the two engineers, he 
 
QUICKSILVER. 3-; 
 
 executed, with surpassing agility, a series of tliose extraordinary 
 evolutions known as turning Catherine- wheels. 
 
 " Let's see," said he, when at length he stood on his feet 
 again, and his sense of the "joke" had subsided; "where do 
 you live ?" 
 
 "At Batignolles," replied M. Pinson. 
 
 " That's rather far ofi " — here the boy stepped back — " and 
 I have not time to take you there. You want to hoax me ; but 
 it is not so easily done, my fine fellow ; so good-night to you." 
 
 "What a fool I am," said M. Pinson to himself. "Stop, 
 stop, my boy !" he called out loudly, " I am not jesting, and 
 there are five francs for you to earn." 
 
 " By taking you back to Batignolles ?" 
 
 " No ; by taking us to the inn which we went to on arriving 
 in London." 
 
 "What is it called?" 
 
 " The Red Lion." 
 
 " There are," said the boy, " about two hundred inns called 
 the Sed Lion in London. What street is your Red Lion in ?" 
 
 " What street?" repeated M. Pinson, looking at Boisjoli. 
 
 " Listen to me," said the latter, " and I will explain. For 
 want of knowing how to pronounce English words, we are ig- 
 norant of the name of the street in which our hotel is to be 
 found. The only thing we know about it is, that it stands in 
 an open square near the railway station." 
 
 " Which railway station ? There are a dozen in London." 
 
 " The station one arrives at coming from Paris." 
 
 " I have it. London Bridge Station. You are not more than 
 a mile and a half from it ; it is not on my way, but if you 
 really mean to give the five francs you talked about — " 
 
 " Here they are !" cried the two engineers, as each put his 
 hand in his pocket at the same moment, and, taking out a coin, 
 held it towards the urchin. 
 
 " H'm !'' said the latter, " I really think you are honest folk ; 
 
38 AN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 but then you are two, and I don't mean to put myself into your 
 clutches. Throw the singing birds this way, that I may judge 
 of their voice." 
 
 M. Pinson flung half-a-crown at the boy's feet. 
 
 "That noble coin," said the boy deliberately, after he had 
 examined it, " is worth three francs, not five." 
 
 " "We will make up the difEerence when we reach the inn." 
 
 " H'm ! These Parisians are not such ninnies after all," said 
 the young acrobat, as he again turned an artistic catlierine- 
 wheel. " Let us be moving." 
 
 He then started o£E at a quick pace, walking at first in the 
 middle of the roadway, abreast of the two engineers, and watch- 
 ing them closely but covertly. This precocious youth — who 
 was attired in a cloth jacket much too tight, and cloth trousers 
 much too short, for him, and wore a small round cap — had 
 bright, keen black eyes, a finely cut mouth, and dark curly 
 hair. Something elegant in his figure, something determined 
 and spirited in his air, struck the two friends, and pleased them. 
 
 " You are French?" asked M. Pinson. 
 
 " Yes, sir. I was born in Paris." 
 
 " Have you lived long in London ?" 
 
 " Three years." 
 
 " Are you apprenticed to any business ?" 
 
 " Not exactly ; I am working a little at everything, until I 
 grow up to be a man." 
 
 " What do your parents do ?" 
 
 " I have none, sir. I never knew my mother, and my father 
 died six months after we came to London." 
 
 " Poor little fellow !" said the engineers simultaneous]}', in 
 tones so full of pity that the boy, beginning to lose his distrust 
 of them, drew a little nearer. 
 
 " What is your name ?" asked Boisjoli, after a momentary 
 silence. 
 
 " Quicksilver." 
 
QUICKSILVER. 39 
 
 " That is not a Frencli name," said M. Pinson. 
 
 " No ; it is a nickname. The English don't stir about very 
 much ; quietness is more in their line, and movement in mine, 
 so they call me Quicksilver." 
 
 "But your own name— your baptismal name — your family 
 name V 
 
 " Mother Pitch says my own name is Victor Brigaut." 
 
 " Is Mother Pitch one of your relatives ?" 
 
 " No. The only relations I have are in France ; but I do 
 not know their address. Mother Pitch is a sailor's widow, a 
 good woman, who took me to her own room when my father 
 died — it was just above ours— so that I might not be put out 
 into the street." 
 
 "And she took entire charge of you?" 
 
 " Not altogether, sir, for she is not rich. She took me to her 
 room, and tried to console me, and for a week she gave me 
 food, and a mattress to lie on. At the end of that time I was 
 not quite so miserable for want of my father — that is to say, I 
 was able to think of him without crying. One night, when we 
 were at our supper. Mother Pitch explained her position and 
 my own to me. She was poor, very poor ; as for me, I had no 
 resources, and no one to look to. I should have to work for 
 my living. ' You shall always have your night's lodging here,' 
 said she, ' and when times are hard you shall share my dish of 
 potatoes and my pot of beer.' And she has kept her word, 
 sir." 
 
 " You give her the money you earn ?" 
 
 " No, I pay her what I cost her — that's all. When I have a 
 stroke of luck I buy her a petticoat, or a pair of mufEatees, 
 or some meat from the cook-shop — that is her prime treat — 
 and I fill her beer-jug up to the top. If I am down on my 
 luck, I am certain when I go home to find my plate laid along- 
 side of hers, and to get an encouraging slap on the back from 
 her." 
 
40 -I'V IXVOLUXTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 " And Tvliat employment lias this good woman ?" 
 
 " She is a mattress-carder ; only she is so old that she can- 
 not earn much at her trade." 
 
 " Have you never tried to find out your relations in 
 France ?" 
 
 " I know that they live at Amiens, but that is all." 
 
 "Are they rich or poor?" 
 
 " Eich, sir, as my father was ; for I remember that at our 
 house in Paris we had servants, both men and women. My fa- 
 ther, who was ruined somehow, brought me to England. Ho 
 used to talk of making his fortune over again, but death car- 
 ried him off." 
 
 "You can read?" 
 
 " Yes, and also write and cast up accounts." 
 
 "How do you earn your living?" 
 
 " I do all sorts of jobs : I help to unload ships, and some- 
 times — to-night, for instance — I go on as a performer at Ast- 
 ley's." 
 
 "Whois Astley?" 
 
 " The London Franconi." 
 
 "You are an acrobat?" said the two engineers, simultane- 
 ously, remembering the catherine-wheels. 
 
 " Not yet," answered the boy, " but I am working up to that. 
 I am beginning to be able to stand upright on a horse, and I 
 can beat all the other fellows at tumbling." 
 
 "Are you honest?" asked Boisjoli, who did not know that 
 he was quoting Shakespeare. 
 
 " Yes, sir," answered the boy, looking his questioner straight 
 in the face. " A fortnight after my father's death I was work- 
 ing at cinder-sifting with some boys of my own age, and one 
 of them became my comrade. He often had money, and that 
 surprised me. He told me that he stole from shop-fronts, 
 and wanted to show me what he called his business ; but 
 that did not suit me. I told Mother Pitch about it ; she ex- 
 
QUICKSILVER. 41 
 
 plained to me tliat it was better to be hungry than to be a 
 thief, and made me promise her, in the name of my father, 
 that I would resist bad advice, and always remain honest. I 
 did promise her, and Mother Pitch, who has a talk with me 
 every niglit before I go to bed, has taught me the difference be- 
 tween right and wrong so well that I cannot make any mistake." 
 
 The two engineers were so much interested in Quicksilver's 
 story that they forgot their own unpleasant situation and the 
 length of the way, and were quite surprised when their young 
 guide said to them : 
 
 " Here we are at London Bridge Station ; now try to recog- 
 nize your inn." 
 
 The aspect of the streets of a great city is so different amid 
 the stir and animation of the daylight hours from that which 
 they wear in the deserted stillness of the night that neither M. 
 Pinson nor M. Boisjoli could indicate the desired haven of 
 refuge. 
 
 "With patient sagacity Quicksilver led them to the gate by 
 which they must have come out of the railway station, and 
 then took them in the direction of the hotel, which at length 
 they recognized. The boy knocked loudly at the door, and 
 the host himself responded to the summons. To him Quick- 
 silver related, in a few words, the adventure of the two engi- 
 neers, at which he laughed heartily. 
 
 " Ask him whether the waiter who speaks French has come 
 in at last ?" said M. Pinson. 
 
 Quicksilver, after a rather long parley with the landlord, in- 
 formed the two friends that the French-speaking waiter would 
 be at their service on the following morning. Then, before 
 they had time to pay him the promised sum, the boy bade 
 them " good-night," and ran away. 
 
 " Well," said Boisjoli, as he threw himself into an easy-chair 
 when they had climbed up-stairs to their room, " what do you 
 think of this day of adventures, Pinson ?" 
 
42 AN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 " I think," replied liis friend, " that we are very like two 
 travellers in a farce. Everything that has happened to me 
 since I left the Rue NoUet seems equally incredible and amaz- 
 ing." 
 
 " One always gains something by travel," said Boisjoli ; " I 
 have often told you so." 
 
 " One gains aches in one's bones, I grant you that," re- 
 plied M. Pinson ; " and now I am going to sleep like a dor- 
 mouse." 
 
 Notwithstanding this declaration, M. Pinson did not proceed 
 to undress himself, but looked on in an absent manner while 
 his friend made his preparations for going to bed, 
 
 ""\Miat are you thinking about, Pinson?" asked the latter. 
 
 " About the little fellow to whom we owe it that we can rest 
 in our beds this night, or rather this morning. The boy's frank 
 looks and his quickness interested me. I am sorry he went 
 away so abruptly." 
 
 " Why ?" 
 
 " I should have liked to ask him some more questions. 
 It seems to me, Boisjoli, that there is a duty to be done 
 here. This mere child, lost in big London, is our com- 
 patriot, our fellow-townsman, indeed, since he is a Parisian. 
 He has relatives who are well-off, according to his account, 
 and I think it would be well done to help him to find 
 them. Then, again, he is living in great poverty, and in 
 the long run bad example may weaken the effect of the 
 good advice of the worthy mattress-carder. Here is a creat- 
 ure drowning, or who may be drowned ; let us fling him a 
 plank." 
 
 "Bravo, Pinson ! that would be a task worthy of you. 
 On your return from Liverpool, it will be easy for the Lon- 
 don police to find young Victor Brigaut for you, if they 
 are so clever as they are said to be ; and he seems so in- 
 telligent that I have no doubt he will be able to furnish 
 
QUICKSILVER. 43 
 
 3'ou with information enongli to enable you to trace his rel- 
 atives.'' 
 
 "I will do it, Boisjoli, and I will do it in j^our name. That 
 will be a good deed, and it will bring yon luck in all your en- 
 terprises and labors." 
 
 " Thants," said Boisjoli, as he heartily shook the hand of 
 his attached and simple-hearted friend. 
 
 M. Pinson, although he was very tired, found it difficult to 
 get to sleep. Before his eyes was the slight, active figure of 
 Quicksilver, turning his catherine-whcels, and in his ears was the 
 sound of his clear and expressive \-oice as he told his sad story. 
 
 " Poor child," murmured the good man, over and over again. 
 "God grant that I may find him." 
 
 The sun was shining when M. Pinson awoke. Boisjoli had 
 already risen, and was noiselessly dressing himself. 
 
 " Is that a real ray of sunshine coming through our win- 
 dow ?" inquired the engineer, rubbing his eyes. 
 
 ''It is, indeed," answered Boisjoli; "I have just verified it. 
 Like yourself, and on the faith of former travellers of our na- 
 tion, I was for a moment incredulous on the point. When I 
 beheld that ray, I believed it to be a product of English indus- 
 try. But no, the red disk which is shining up yonder is really 
 the sun in person." 
 
 " Have you rung the bell ?" 
 
 "Not yet." 
 
 " You are not in earnest, Boisjoli ?" 
 
 " What do you mean?" 
 
 " That one of my most ardent wishes is to make the ac- 
 quaintance of this famous French waiter for whom we have 
 waited so long." 
 
 " You suspect, as I do — " 
 
 "Let us conjecture not, but ring." 
 
 Boisjoli rang the bell, and presently a light footstep was 
 heard on the landing. 
 
44 --lA' INVOLUXTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 " Tlio little cliambermaid," said Pinsoii ; " I would have laid 
 a wager on it." 
 
 " And you would have lost," cried Boisjoli, as the door 
 opened, and Quicksilver, turning a Catherine -wheel into the 
 middle of the room, picked himself up, and said: 
 
 " Here I am, gentlemen !" 
 
QUICKSILVER IN A NEW CHARACTER AND A NEW SUIT. 
 
m LONDON. 45 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 IN LONDON. 
 
 Quicksilver was arrayed in a new jacket, a white shirt, and 
 a pair of trousers wliich were not to be reproached for lack of 
 length. He looked very smart, and in his simple but clean 
 attire he was even more interesting than on the previous occa- 
 sion. 
 
 " Why, that's capital !" exclaimed Pinson, as Quicksilver 
 stood before them. " But how came you here, my boy ? Have 
 you got a place in this hotel ?" 
 
 " Yes, sir, since yesterday. The waiter who usually acts as 
 Barnum to foreigners — " 
 
 " Barnum ?" said Boisjoli. 
 
 " Guide, I should say," explained Quicksilver, correcting him- 
 self ; " that waiter is — indisposed, and, if you will allow me, I 
 am to take his place for the present." 
 
 "I begin to feel convinced," said M. Pinson, " that the wait- 
 er in question never existed." 
 
 "That's the landlord's affair," replied Quicksilver, with a 
 highly expressive wink. " Tell me, gentlemen, what do you 
 want? You rang your bell, and I was told to come and take 
 your orders." 
 
 " In the first place, we should like to pay our debt to you, 
 for you ran ofE without giving us time to do so." 
 
 "It was late, and I thought Mother Pitch would be uneasy. 
 Then I knew where to find you." 
 
 " So you are entirely at our service ?" 
 
 " For the whole day." 
 
46 -l-V INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 " You know London well ?" 
 
 " That is not difficult." 
 
 " I don't agree with you. A city which contains three mill- 
 ion four hundred thousand inhabitants, is composed of seven 
 quarters, and in which a language is spoken — but we will let 
 that pass. You know what is most interesting for foreigners 
 to see ?" 
 
 " Oh, certainl3^ First, there's the Zoological Gardens — the 
 Jardin des Plantes of London^where there are live animals 
 from every part of the world." 
 
 " Very good. And then ?" 
 
 "There's St. Paul's — that is the Notre Dame of Lon- 
 don." 
 
 " Good again. And then ?" 
 
 " There's the Colosseum, the Crystal Palace, the British Mu- 
 seum, Westminster, the House of Commons, the House of 
 Lords, the National Gallery, the Observatory at Greenwich, the 
 Nelson Column, the Tower, the — " 
 
 " Stop, stop !" said M. Pinson, laughing, " we have forty-eight 
 hours to pass in London, and no more. You shall take us .to 
 St. Paul's first, and then — we shall see." 
 
 "The finest sight in London," said Quicksilver, "is the Zo- 
 ological Gardens." 
 
 " You have been there ?" 
 
 " No ; it costs too much to get in." 
 
 The two engineers finished dressing themselves and went 
 down to the dining-room, where the host, radiant with smiles, 
 came to pay his respects to them. The good man was so 
 obliging and amiable, and the Irish servant-girl was so good- 
 humored, that neither M. Pinson nor Boisjoli could bring him- 
 self to complain of anything. 
 
 " Tell them," said the latter to Quicksilver, " to let us have 
 a beefsteak and fried potatoes.'' 
 
 " That is a dish which is unknown to English cookery," re- 
 
IN LONDON. 47 
 
 plied Quicksilver ; " if you want a beefsteak with fried potatoes, 
 I will take you to a French restaurant." 
 
 "Are you joking?" asked M. Pinson. 
 
 " No, sir ; it is just the same with regard to green pease 
 cooked in English fashion. They are eaten here without but- 
 ter, and flavored with mint. My poor father was taken in by 
 a dish of them the day we arrived, and I remember his surprise 
 well." 
 
 " Astonishing !" said M. Pinson. " What do you think of 
 that, Boisjoli?" The beefsteak aux pommes is unknown in 
 London, in England !" 
 
 "Travel is a school," replied Boisjoli, scntcntiously ; "it 
 educates us, and dispels our prejudices." 
 
 "Also our illusions, Boisjoli. Come, my boy, get them to 
 give us something eatable, and then let us go." 
 
 After a brief conference the two engineers decided on offer- 
 ing Quicksilver a place at their table, an act of kindness which 
 gave the boy the greatest pleasure. They ordered oysters, and 
 were amazed when the appetizing bivalves appeared, served on 
 their own flat shells. They asked for a salad, and were much 
 amused at the dimensions of cruets which contained about a 
 spoonful of oil and vinegar respectively. Then they were 
 obliged to ask repeatedly for bread, which was supplied to 
 them by small mouthfuls at a time. Quicksilver stuffed him- 
 self with potatoes and butter, and drank unsweetened tea with 
 rapture. At length the party started for St. Paul's Cathedral, 
 an edifice which the friends were very anxious to visit. 
 
 On the way, Boisjoli wished to purchase a knife and some 
 toilet necessaries, for which England is celebrated. Quicksil- 
 ver took the gentlemen to a splendid emporium of cutlery and 
 other goods, and as they entered the shop they both bowed and 
 removed their hats. 
 
 " Put on your hats," said Quicksilver, " or you will be taken 
 for servants." 
 
48 -l-V INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 " How is that ?" 
 
 " It is not the custom in England to take off youi- hat when 
 3'ou sakite anybody. I wanted to put you up to that this 
 morning when I saw you take ofE your hats to the landlord." 
 
 " Amazing !" murmured M. Pinson. 
 
 " Then," said Boisjoli, with the air of a discovery, " that's 
 why the Londoner whom we accosted so civilly last night took 
 us for beggars !" 
 
 The two friends found much to look at and admire in the 
 shop. Boisjoli having selected a noble knife of ShefBeld man- 
 ufacture, and thinking the price asked for it — which was equiv- 
 alent to twenty-three francs — rather too high, told Quicksilver 
 to ofier twenty. The shopman, without making any answer, 
 replaced the knife in the glass case and calmly reseated him- 
 self. 
 
 "What does that mean?" asked M. Pinson. 
 
 " He is offended by your offer," said Quicksilver ; " he does 
 not want to have anything to do with you because you seem 
 to think he tried to impose on you." 
 
 " Keally ?" said M. Pinson. " Are the London shop-keepers 
 all so honorable, then, that they must be taken at their word ?" 
 
 " Yes, sir, they are, with a few exceptions." 
 
 " Well then," said M. Pinson, " if it were only from the point 
 of view of the saving of time which it would effect, I should 
 like to see their system established in France." 
 
 W^hile the two friends were inspecting the tempting contents 
 of the shop. Quicksilver was contemplating with evident ad- 
 miration a long row of warming-pans. At length he asked the 
 price of one of those utensils, and received with an expressive 
 grimace the information that it was ten shillings and sixpence. 
 
 "What is there so tempting to you in a warming-pan ?" asked 
 M. Pinson. 
 
 " Nothing ; only an idea that came into my head." 
 
 " What idea, my boy ?" 
 
A WARMING-PAN FOR MOTHER PITCH. 
 
IN LONDON. 49 
 
 " Mother Pitch has the rheumatism, sir, and she is always 
 talking about the -warming-pan she means to buy when she 
 grows rich. So I thought that by adding the five francs you 
 have given me to the six shillings the landlord promised me — 
 but I won't mind it." 
 
 M. Pinson and Boisjoli exchanged looks. 
 
 " We will make you a present of the warming-pan," said 
 Boisjoli ; " tell them to send it home to Mother Pitch." 
 
 They had to repeat this twice over before Quicksilver could 
 believe in such good fortune. When the warming-pan had 
 been wrapped up in brown paper, the address written upon it, 
 and the price paid by M. Pinson, Quicksilver, to the great sur- 
 prise of the proprietor of the shop, of the shopman, and of one 
 or two other customers who had come in, turned a catherine- 
 wheel with the utmost dexterity. After this performance he 
 shook hands warmly in the English fashion with the two engi- 
 neers. 
 
 " Very good," said they, " only no caperings in public, my 
 boy, or we shall be taken for mountebanks. Let us be off now, 
 and take us first to the quays, for a look at the Thames." 
 
 " To the quays ?" repeated Quicksilver ; " but the Thames has 
 no quays." * 
 
 " Is it all walled in between houses as we saw it just now 
 from the bridge ?" 
 
 " Exactly so, sir." 
 
 " Good, the stream is quite right to hide itself behind a 
 crowd of barges and steamboats and ships, for it looks blacker 
 than ever. A river without quays ! what do you say to that, 
 Boisjoli?" 
 
 " If the Thames had quays, my dear fellow, Paris Would have 
 one superiority the less." 
 
 " Patriotically spoken. Then take us to St. Paul's." 
 
 ■ This w.is prior to the Embankment. 
 3 
 
50 4-V INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 Half an hour later they were standing in front of that cele- 
 brated edifice, which, like the Pantheon at Paris, is a reduced 
 copy of the famous St. Peter's at Eomc. The architect of St. 
 Paul's was Sir Christopher Wren, and the stone came from 
 Portland, a small island opposite the port of Weymouth. The 
 church was commenced in 1675, and finished in lYlO. It 
 stands on the site of an ancient temple dedicated to the god- 
 dess Isis ; its famous dome is three hundred and forty feet from 
 the ground, and has an interior diameter of one hundred feet. 
 Pinson and his friend, while recognizing and admiring the 
 beautiful proportions of the building, pronounced the two 
 clock-towers over the facade to be unworthy and out of har- 
 mony with the majestic work of Sir Christopher Wren. 
 
 After exploring the vast nave of the church, and criticising 
 its want of height and the narrowness of the side aisles, the 
 two engineers were ready to ascend to the dome ; but before 
 doing so they were obliged again to unloose their purse-strings. 
 
 " Practical, too practical, these English," repeated M. Pinson ; 
 " I suppose that after making us pay one shilling for admis- 
 sion to their church, and half a shilling for letting us climb up 
 to the dome, they will charge us as much more for the privi- 
 lege of coming down and going out. Without national con- 
 ceit, Boisjoli, I think we may say that our liberal way of throw- 
 ing open the doors of our public monuments freely to strangers 
 is more hospitable than the constant tax Great Britain imposes 
 on travellers."* 
 
 Quicksilver, after amusing himself for some time with the 
 echo in the dome of St. Paul's, led the two engineers down 
 and out of the cathedral, and then he once more suggested a 
 visit to the Zoological Gardens. 
 
 " We will go to the British Museum," said M. Pinson. 
 
 * Fees have been abolished since the date of the visit of JI. Pinson and 
 JI. Boisjoli to London. 
 
IN LONDON. 51 
 
 Quicksilver gave a shrug of disappointment, but marched on, 
 leading the wa}'. After they had gone a few steps he proposed 
 that they should, in the first instance, before turning their backs 
 on the city, glance at the Monument. To this they assented, 
 and their guide conducted them to the lofty column erected in 
 commemoration of the great fire of 1666, which destroyed al- 
 most the whole of London. The engineers climbed to the top 
 for a bird's-eye view of the city ; but as, when once there, they 
 could see nothing but countless house-tops half lost in a cloud 
 of smoke, this black, dreary panorama only impressed them 
 anew with the fact that the most populous of European capi- 
 tals is the most melancholy of cities. 
 
 A cab, which struck M. Pinson as an admirable vehicle, soon 
 deposited the travellers at the gate of the British Museum. 
 Here again it was necessary to pay ; but if the pictures failed 
 to enchant them, especially when compared with the treasures 
 of art in the, Louvre, the two engineers were filled with admira- 
 tion by the bass-reliefs from the Parthenon, brought home by 
 Lord Elgin in 1810. For a long time the noble lord was de- 
 nounced for that act of vandalism, and yet, but for him, this 
 work of the great Phidias would have perished, like many other 
 art treasures, in the bombardment of Athens by the Turks in 
 1827. The only thing to be regretted is that some Frenchman 
 did not anticipate Lord Elgin and endow his country with 
 those masterpieces of sculpture. 
 
 The engineers were also attracted by the galleries in which 
 the natural - history collections were exhibited. They were 
 forced to admit that the great halls they went through far sur- 
 passed in convenience, and in the value of the collections, the 
 meagre galleries of their own museum — which have long been un- 
 worthy of such a country as France, of such a capital as Paris. 
 Quicksilver derived much more pleasure from the stufEed ani- 
 mals than from the pictures and statuary. For some time he 
 gazed on the former in silent admiration, then he remarked. 
 
52 AN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 " How beautiful it must be to see tbose birds with red and 
 green and blue feathers flying in the air or perched in the 
 trees ! Here in London, except for the sparrows, which are all 
 gray with soot and coal-smoke, one hardly would believe there 
 were any birds at all. Tell me, sir," the boy went on, address- 
 ing M. Pinson, " did Eobinson Crusoe bring these creatures 
 here ?" 
 
 " No," replied the engineer, who could not help smiling ; " in 
 the first place, because Robinson Crusoe is an imaginary char- 
 acter; secondly, because what we see here cost the study and 
 labor of hundreds of scientific men." 
 
 "Kobinson Crusoe never existed?" exclaimed Quicksilver. 
 
 " That is to say, Daniel Defoe, his biographer, has simply 
 founded a romance on the adventures of Selkirk, the sailor." 
 
 " But Man-Friday ? the cannibals ?" 
 
 M. Pinson tried to explain what was imaginary and what 
 real in the history of Robinson Crusoe ; but Quicksilver de- 
 fended his favorite hero with obstinacy. He hardly knew any 
 book except this; a hundred times he had read it aloud to 
 Mother Pitch, and Mother Pitch had never doubted the exist- 
 ence of Robinson Crusoe any more than he had. 
 
 " Bah," said Boisjoli to bis friend, " let the little man be- 
 lieve the story ; it will do him no harm, and he will find out 
 the truth in good time." 
 
 The moment they were out of the British Museum, although 
 it was late. Quicksilver ventured to propose that they should 
 go to the Zoological Gardens ; but M. Pinson's views were in 
 favor of the Tower of London, and in that direction they pro- 
 ceeded. 
 
 The Tower, which, according to some writers, was founded in 
 the time of Julius Caesar, was certainly in existence in William 
 the Conqueror's day. It is an immense fortress, was once sur- 
 rounded by a deep moat, and at the beginning of this century 
 contained the state-prison, the royal mint, a great armory, the 
 
IN LONDON, 53 
 
 crown-jewels, and a menagerie of wild beasts. Such a ming- 
 ling of dissimilar objects is no uncommon thing in England, 
 that country of odd contrasts. After visiting the armory, es- 
 corted by guides in the ancient costume of the Guard of Henry 
 VIII. — after looking through an iron lattice at the crown-jew- 
 els, whose value is said to be two millions sterling — M. Pinson 
 and Boisjoli bethought themselves of dinner. Thanks to their 
 young interpreter, the two friends were able to get what they 
 ■wanted and to know what they had to pay. That business 
 disposed of, the next question was how to spend the evening ? 
 Boisjoli and M. Pinson, not knowing the language, had been 
 sadly bored the previous evening, and now they wanted some- 
 thing amusing to look at. 
 
 " If you like," said Quicksilver, " I will take you to Astley's : 
 the performance there is simple enough, and you have only to 
 see it to understand it. I will put you safely into the theatre, 
 and then go and take my small part in the performance, so as 
 not to lose my situation and the tenpence it brings me." 
 
 The two friends agreed to this, and after placing them Quick- 
 silver took his leave. He had explained to them that he was 
 to appear as a page, mounted on a pony, in the procession at 
 the close of the performance. The two friends admired the 
 agility of the clown, the skill of the riders, the beauty and per- 
 fect training of the horses ; and they observed that the English, 
 instead of crying " bis " when they wanted a scene which pleased 
 them to be repeated, always used the French word " encore." 
 Quicksilver appeared first in a little comic scene ; his costume 
 was admirably suited to his arch and merry countenance. 
 When the procession came on, he saluted the engineers ; after- 
 wards he came and joined them at the entrance door, and an 
 hour later he was leaving them at their hotel and hurrying 
 homewards at a run, to hear what Mother Pitch had to say 
 about her warming-pan. 
 
54 AN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 CHAPTER YI. 
 
 LIVERPOOL. 
 
 It was ten o'clock next morning when M. Pinson rang the 
 bell. Quicksilver made his appearance just as before. 
 
 " Well, my boy, what news ?" 
 
 " I am to thank you for Mother Pitch, sir, for I have told 
 her that it is to you she is indebted for the beantiful warming- 
 pan, with which she is delighted. Last night she waited up till 
 I returned, in order to learn where the present came from, and 
 she told me to say that she would be glad to speak with you 
 about my father and me." 
 
 " When I come back from Liverpool," said M. Pinson, " you 
 shall take me to see her. Now we will have breakfast and 
 hurry off." 
 
 " What are we going to do to-day ?" asked Boisjoli. 
 
 " First, to have a look at the East India Docks?" 
 
 " Then ?" 
 
 " The Zoological Gardens," said Quicksilver, " would be beau- 
 tiful in this fine weather." 
 
 " We will go to the Docks," replied M. Pinson ; " after that 
 you may take us where you please." 
 
 Quicksilver's eyes sparkled with delight, and at about two 
 o'clock, after making a tour of the vast warehouses belonging 
 to the East India Company, whose immense possessions are 
 now the property of the British government, Quicksilver, who 
 was rather tired of listening to the talk of the engineers on 
 
LIVERPOOL. 55 
 
 subjects he could not understand, at last received permission to 
 take them whither he liked. He embarked them first on one 
 of the steamboats, which serve the purpose of omnibuses on the 
 Thames, then he took them on foot across the river through 
 the famous tunnel which for many years was a marvel to sight- 
 seers, but not otherwise useful. This tunnel, which was con- 
 structed by the Frenchman Brunei, is now used by the East 
 London Eailway, which is one of the curiosities of London. 
 From the tunnel they drove in a cab to the Zoological Gardens. 
 So soon as they had passed the wicket at the entrance, Quick- 
 silver, in spite of his promises of good behavior, could not re- 
 frain from turning a catherine-wheel. 
 
 The garden of the Zoological Society of London is a private 
 enterprise, and so, to attract visitors, who have to pay for the 
 privilege of walking there, it is necessary to keep the menage- 
 rie full by constantly replenishing it with animals brought from 
 the four quarters of the globe. The bears, leopards, panthers, 
 rhinoceroses, and elephants specially attracted the attention of 
 Quicksilver. Once in front of their cages, the boy could not 
 bear to leave them ; and his unbounded admiration, his shouts 
 of delight and clapping of hands, amused his companions be- 
 yond measure. 
 
 " How happy he must have been !" said the small boy, sud- 
 denly, heaving a deep sigh. 
 
 " Who ?" said M. Pinson. 
 
 " Eobinson Crusoe. It is impossible to believe that he never 
 existed": the countries all these beasts came from exist, do they 
 not? And to see bears, lions, and tigers going by, Robinson 
 had only to sit and smoke his pipe on his door-step." 
 
 " I don't know whether Eobinson was a smoker, my boy," 
 replied M. Pinson, who could not suppress a smile ; " but his 
 island, I am sure, contained neither rhinoceroses nor elephants, 
 for these animals are natives of Africa and Asia only." 
 
 "There are none in America?" 
 
56 ^-iV INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 " No, no more than in Europe. But America Las the buifalo, 
 tlie alligator, the cougar, the jaguar, the boa-constrictor, and 
 many kinds of wild cats, and also bears and monkeys." 
 
 " And you are going to see all those, with your own eyes ?" 
 said Quicksilver to Boisjoli, looking at him with envy. 
 
 " Not quite, my boy. I am going to the United States, a 
 country which produces almost the same things as Europe." 
 
 " In what part of America do those wild beasts live ? Where 
 do they find them ?" 
 
 " In Mexico and Brazil and Guiana, in the deserts of the old 
 Spanish colonies." 
 
 " If I ever get money enough to pay my passage on a 
 steamer," said Quicksilver, "I shall go to India and Africa 
 and America — ever so far." 
 
 " You like to travel ?" 
 
 " Oh yes ! I want to see the countries where monkeys and 
 paroquets and boa -constrictors live; where cocoa-nuts and 
 pineapples and diamonds are to be picked up. Sometimes I 
 help to unload ships in the Docks which have come from those 
 countries, and I hear the sailors talking about them. They say 
 that there are no fireplaces or chimneys there, that the trees are 
 always in bloom, and the sun never sets. They tell about such 
 delightful things, sir, that if you were to hear them you would 
 want to go too." 
 
 " No, never," said M. Pinson, decisively ; " I like Europe and 
 France. In spite of its mud, I find Paris a very tolerable place 
 to live in. When the fancy seizes me that I must see 'a tiger 
 — and that is not often — I go to the Jardin des Plantes ; that 
 is quite enough for me." 
 
 The monkeys' cage so delighted Quicksilver that not until 
 the gardens were about to be closed was he willing to leave it. 
 The two engineers were more and more pleased with the vivac- 
 ity and frankness and other good qualities of the young guide 
 whom chance had thrown in their way. They allowed him to 
 
LIVERPOOL. 67 
 
 beset them -with questions about the native countries of the 
 animals he had seen, and the habits of the beasts brought from 
 so far. At dinner tliey talked of nothing else, and Quicksilver 
 learned so many curious facts that his longing to visit the 
 tropical countries became more intense than ever. But the 
 later the hour grew, the less communicative and more silent 
 the engineers became. 
 
 Boisjoli was to sail the next day. The two friends could not 
 forget this ; and, in spite of themselves, they kept thinking of 
 the blank their separation would leave in the life of each. 
 
 Quicksilver's company had been so useful to the travellers, 
 in their ignorance of the language, that it occurred to M. Pin- 
 son to take him with them to Liverpool. After Boisjoli's de- 
 parture, M. Pinson would bring the lad back to London, and 
 then go and consult with Mother Pitch about taking him away 
 from his half-vagabond way of living, and restoring him to his 
 family. It was a marvel that, left to his own devices, as he 
 had been for three years, in a city like London, Quicksilver 
 should have continued honest and industrious. Poverty and 
 bad company might, after a while, lead him astray and corrupt 
 his young mind. M. Pinson, with his friend's concurrence, re- 
 solved to rescue the poor orphan from the life of misery and 
 vice which seemed to be his lot. 
 
 Quicksilver fairly turned pale for joy when he received or- 
 ders to tell Mother Pitch that he was going to Liverpool. At 
 last, then, he was to leave London and see something besides 
 streets and house-tops ! 
 
 " Will yon take me to France, too ?" he asked, in great ex- 
 citement. 
 
 " Perhaps," replied M. Pinson. 
 
 "Do take me, sir," urged the boy with much earnestness. 
 " I still remember Paris so well that I should know the streets 
 where I used to walk with my father, the house we lived in, 
 the very room where I slept. The sun shines at Paris, and 
 
 3* 
 
68 AN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 Paris is my own coiintiy. I feel that I sliould be happier there 
 than here." 
 
 M. Pinson patted the lad's cheek and said, " On the day after 
 to-morrow we will see." 
 
 The next morning the three travellers set out for Liverpool, 
 the commercial capital of Lancashire. It was a journey of two 
 hundred miles, and as they travelled by daylight the two en- 
 gineers were able to study the railway, its viaducts and stations, 
 and to form a correct opinion of them. It struck them that 
 seventy leagues in seven hours was very good speed. Arriving 
 at ten o'clock, the two friends went first to visit the great tun- 
 nel, one mile in length, which underlies a part of the town ; 
 then they went to see the Manchester railway, one of the first 
 built in Europe, dating from 1826. 
 
 Liverpool, a large and beautiful city of 400,000 souls, was in 
 the thirteenth century only a fishing village, and as late as the 
 year IVOO had only 5000 inhabitants. It now supplies Man- 
 chester with raw material for manufacturing, chiefly cotton, and 
 disputes with its neighbor the title of the second city in Eng- 
 land. There is much culture there, and its Museum of Egyp- 
 tian Antiquities, its Botanical Garden, and its Public Library 
 are famous. The great port of Liverpool, with fine, wide streets, 
 is built on the river Mersey, which, after a course of only fifty 
 miles, flows into the Irish Sea, about two miles below the town. 
 
 Though our travellers had been constantly on the move, for 
 they wanted to see as many as possible of the sights of the 
 great English town, M. Pinson and his friend sat down to din- 
 ner that evening with heavy hearts. They had gone down to 
 the port for a look at the steamer Canada, which, lying quietly 
 moored in the stream, was taking in the last of her coals for 
 the voyage. Quicksilver appeared absent and moody. They 
 all retired at an early hour, and, notwithstanding the fatigue of 
 railway journey and their wanderings during the afternoon, 
 neither of the three travellers slept well. 
 
IN THE MERSEY. 
 
UYERrOOL. 59 
 
 The two friends did not rise until about nine next morning. 
 It seemed Iiardly to be daytime, for a dense fog enveloped the 
 town, and rain was falling. The circumstances were not calcu- 
 lated to raise their spirits, and they breakfasted in silence. 
 
 Boisjoli's luggage was placed on a little handcart, and they 
 all proceeded to the port. To go on board the Canada they 
 had to hire a small boat. Boisjoli, so soon as he got upon the 
 deck, went in search of the clerk, who, by a fortunate chance, 
 as it seemed then, spoke tolerably good French. The clerk 
 showed Boisjoli to his state-room ; he was to have it all to him- 
 self, because of the limited number of passengers on board. 
 The two friends now held each other's hands in a long parting 
 clasp : they were unable to exchange a word. Tears started to 
 their eyes as they explained to the clerk that they were about 
 to be separated for the first time in thirty-two years. 
 
 " "We shall go down the river to the sea at half speed," said 
 the officer to M. Pinson, " and, if you like, you can go so far 
 with us and come back with the pilot ; that will give you an- 
 other hour with your friend." 
 
 Boisjoli seconded this suggestion so warmly that M. Pinson 
 yielded, and* went in search of Quicksilver, whom he found 
 looking at the engines. 
 
 " Go ashore, my boy, and wait for me at the hotel, or on the 
 quay," said M. Pinson. 
 
 " Are you going to America, too ?" cried the boj'. 
 
 " By no means," said M. Pinson. " What put that into 
 your head? I am going down to the mouth of the river, 
 and the pilot will bring me ashore. I shall be back in two 
 hours." 
 
 Quicksilver went to take leave of Boisjoli, who embraced 
 him ; then, slowly and with apparent reluctance, he approached 
 the ladder and disappeared. 
 
 M. Pinson wanted to see every part of the ship which for 
 about twelve days was to be the floating prison of his friend. 
 
60 AN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 Suddenly the wheels began to revolve, and the Canada, guid- 
 ed by the pilot stationed near the helmsman, began the first 
 stage of her voyage. The rain fell continuously, small, cold, 
 penetrating ; a stifi breeze was blowing, and the. waves gave 
 the ship a rolling motion, which boded ill. 
 
 " I am not going to wait until I feel the inconvenience of 
 sea-sickness," said Boisjoli, with a grimace ; " I shall be wise, I 
 think, to arrange the things in my state-room at once." 
 
 " I have already put a dozen oranges and two bottles of 
 gooseberry syrup by your bedside," said M. Pinson. 
 
 " I observed your kind thoughtfulness, and I thank yon for 
 it, my friend." 
 
 M. Pinson and Boisjoli, returning to the cabin, proceeded to 
 stow aw'ay the latter's luggage in such a way that the articles 
 needed on the voyage should be within easy reach. Once the 
 ship came to a stop ; and M. Pinson hurried on deck, thinking 
 the time for parting had come ; but it was only a check to let 
 a steam-tug, with a line of coal barges, go by. At last, every- 
 thing being properly arranged, the two friends became absorbed 
 in parting messages and promises to write regularly ; they spoke 
 of the past, and particularly of the future ; and they went to 
 the bar to drink together for the last time. Meanwhile, the 
 rolling motion of the ship increased every moment, and Bois- 
 joli, who was already livid, felt cold perspiration starting on 
 his brow. They went upon deck ; M. Pinson could see noth- 
 ing all around him but the sea; Liverpool and the land had 
 vanished. With one look astern, the engineer sprang towards 
 the man at the helm. 
 
 " The pilot ? "Where is the pilot ? 
 
 "Pilot?" returned the sailor, understanding the word be- 
 cause it is just the same in French as English. " He is gone, 
 sir!" 
 
 And the sailor pointed to the horizon behind them. 
 
 " What does he say ?" asked M. Pinson, looking about him. 
 
LIVERPOOL. Qi 
 
 " He says tbe pilot has gone ashore,'' replied a Canadian pas- 
 senger in French. 
 
 " Gone !" echoed M. Pinson, in amazement ; " what jest is 
 this ? I am sure the steamer has never stopped." 
 
 " The pilot slid down a rope to his boat, which the Canada 
 had in tow ; that was half an hour ago." 
 
 " Stop !" shouted the engineer, flinging himself upon the man 
 at the helm. " Turn back, man, I am not going to America." 
 
 The helmsman thrust M. Pinson back rather roughly, not at 
 all understanding the meaning of his attack. 
 
 " Stop ! stop !" screamed the engineer ; " where is the cap- 
 tain ? the mate ? Stop !" 
 
 The passengers gathered round, puzzled by this strange scene. 
 Boisjoli, in the throes of sea-sickness, simply gazed at his friend 
 in utter bewilderment. 
 
 " Speak !" cried the engineer, turning to him, " you know 
 some English words, you can explain." 
 
 " Give me," stammered the wretched Boisjoli, some bread, 
 some turtle-soup, some plum-pudding, some — " 
 
 Here he was obliged to rush to the side of the ship. 
 
 " The captain ! where is the captain ?" called M. Pinson. And, 
 regardless of the rolling of the ship, zigzag from right to left, 
 from left to right, and back and forward, he made a rush tow- 
 ards the commander, of whom he caught sight at this moment. 
 
C2 ^-V INVOLUNTARY rorAGK. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 " Captain !" shouted M. Pinson, almost breathless, " mate 
 haste and stop the ship !" 
 
 " Presently, presently," replied the oflScer in English, for, be- 
 ing absorbed in his duties on the bridge, he did not catch what 
 ■was said, and thought it was only some trifling matter. 
 
 ■ " Stop !" repeated M. Pinson, intensely excited, " I am not 
 going to America ; I am going to Paris, to Batignolles ; stop 
 the ship, I say !" 
 
 The shouts of the engineer, and especially his wild gesticu- 
 lations, had brought a crowd of passengers about him ; and the 
 Canadian, who had told him of the pilot's departnre, now ex- 
 plained to the puzzled captain what had happened. 
 
 "How very unlucky," said the officer; "lam extremely sorry 
 for the gentleman, but unfortunately there is nothing I can do." 
 
 " What !" cried M. Pinson, to whom this reply was transla- 
 ted, " does this man dare to take me to America against my 
 will ? "We are some miles from land, and — Will you tell this 
 captain, sir, that I am a Frenchman, an engineer, that — " 
 
 The captain had just then too much on his mind to trouble 
 himself further about the unfortunate M. Pinson. He left him 
 surrounded by passengers, not one of whom understood him, 
 but to whom nevertheless he described his strange position, 
 begging them to aid him in getting back to land. 
 
 " You are to blame, unhappy man," said the engineer sud- 
 denly to his friend ; " it was you who brought me here to be a 
 prisoner in this galley." 
 
THE CANADA. 
 
AT SEA. 63 
 
 " You are wrong to complain,'' replied poor Boisjoli, feebly ; 
 " you are not sea-siclc, Pinson, and you are a liappy man ; for 
 myself, I would gladly undertake to go round the whole world 
 if I could be relieved from this frightful anguish." 
 
 " Happy man, indeed !" said M. Pinson, bitterly, " happy to 
 be making an ocean voyage, to be going to America, where I 
 have nothing whatever to do, and to be kept from going home, 
 where I am needed. Are you mocking me ? You have laid 
 a snare for me, Boisjoli, that is evident ; you have laid a snare 
 in which I am caught like a silly bird." 
 
 " Oh, my friend !" 
 
 " Why did you persist in keeping me here when I wanted to go 
 ashore?" continued M. Pinson ; " speak, explain yourself ! "What 
 will become of my travelling-bag, left as security at the hotel ? 
 What will Quicksilver do, forsaken and forlorn on the quay? 
 What will VioUet-le-Duc think of me for not coming at the time 
 promised in my letter ? And, Marguerite, how will she pay the 
 landlord when he comes for his quarter's rent ? Who will look 
 after my dividends, Avhich are just falling due ? I shall go mad !" 
 
 The anger of M. Pinson, who was usually so self-possessed, 
 seemed to increase every moment ; for he knew that each rev- 
 olution of the steamer's paddles diminished his prospects of 
 getting to land. Suddenly he started for the quarter-deck, 
 where the clerk had just made his appearance. 
 
 " You — you here !" exclaimed that officer, in amazement. 
 
 " Yes, monsieur, I, who by your advice — But you under- 
 stand my case, you know that 1 am not a passenger ; you un- 
 derstand me when I speak to you. I beg you to explain to the 
 captain what has happened, so that he may put me ashore." 
 
 " Ah, but unfortunately that would be against the law." 
 
 " Against the law 1" exclaimed M. Pinson ; " am I under po- 
 lice supervision ? am I an exile ? am I — Against the law ; 
 whose law, what law ?" 
 
 " The marine regulations : a ship once outside of port can- 
 
64 AN JXVOLVNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 not put back there, except in case of damage endangering the 
 safety of the passengers." 
 
 " Is this a joke ?" 
 
 " Not at all. If the captain were to take the Canada back 
 to Liverpool, besides bringing considerable expense upon the 
 owners of the vessel, he would be tried by a jury and lose his 
 command." 
 
 " But no one has the right to take a man on a voyage against 
 his will ; it is impossible !" 
 
 " Observe, sir, that the captain is not to blame for your being 
 here." 
 
 M. Pinson was completely overwhelmed. 
 
 " This," said he, " is the most monstrous outrage that ever an 
 honest citizen was subjected to. The laws you speak of ought 
 to be inscribed in staring capitals on board every ship." 
 
 " They say in your country," said the clerk, " that no one is 
 supposed to be ignorant of the law. You would find, sir, that 
 things were managed much in the same way on board a French 
 steamer." 
 
 M. Pinson sat down on a bench and buried his face in his 
 hands. How he wished he had some gunpowder or explosive 
 cotton that he might damage the Canada and make her turn 
 back. The rain continued to fall, the passengers withdrew to 
 the saloon ; but Boisjoli, although his illness was increasing, 
 came and seated himself beside his friend, 
 
 " Pinson," said he, sadly. 
 
 " What !" said the engineer, turning from him, "do you dare 
 to speak to me, to come near me?" 
 
 " What have I done, Pinson ?" 
 
 " The question seems to me sublime in its impertinence. I 
 was willing to accompany you to Calais, that was a journey my 
 circumstances permitted me to undertake. From one thing to 
 another, you enticed me to London to lose myself, to Liver- 
 pool, to — No, this is too much !" 
 
AT SEA. 65 
 
 " You will see America, Pinson, and in one month you will 
 be back in Paris." 
 
 " And ■why should I see America ? I command you to ex- 
 plain that to me. Thanks to you, here I am without socks, 
 ■without handkerchiefs, without a change of linen, tossed on the 
 open sea between sky and water, and I don't know how many 
 miles from home." 
 
 Boisjoli made no reply. Livid, his eyes closed, for the sight 
 of the waves and the swaying deck increased his sickness, he 
 endured the rain with stoical silence, though he was shivering 
 with cold. M. Pinson perceived this. 
 
 " Why do you not go to the saloon, or into your state- 
 room ?" he said suddenly, and with some gentleness. 
 
 " I understand your vexation, Pinson, and I don't want to 
 leave you here alone." 
 
 M. Pinson got up, took his friend by the arm, and by slow 
 stages conducted him to his state-room and put him to bed. 
 Then he busied himself in preparing a glass of lemonade for 
 the sufferer, and sat down by his bedside ; but he made no re- 
 ply to the consolatory words which Boisjoli ventured to address 
 to him from time to time. 
 
 There came a knock at the door, and at the same time the 
 voice of the clerk called out : 
 
 " Monsieur!" 
 
 M. Pinson sprang to his feet and was out of the room at one 
 bound. 
 
 " Has the captain changed his mind?" he instantly asked. 
 
 " Once more believe me, it is much against his will to take 
 you away," said the clerk ; " but calm yourself, within twenty- 
 four hours you will be on shore." 
 
 " Have they found that the ship is unseaworthy ?" 
 
 " Not at all ; only we are to touch at Queenstown for the 
 mails and latest despatches. If the, weather permits, you can 
 go on board the despatch-boat," 
 
00 -AN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 M. PInson, overjoj'ed at this news, embraced tlio clerk, much 
 to his astonishment, for embracing is not the custom in Eng- 
 land. 
 
 " Qaeenstown is in Ireland," said the engineer, " but that is 
 much better than going to America. How iittle I thought a 
 week ago that I should be visiting the native land of the great 
 O'Connell !" 
 
 " I suppose it is unnecessary,'' said the clerk, "to advise your 
 being all ready wlien the time comes." 
 
 " Rest assured of that," said M. Pinson ; '.' I am not the man 
 to be caught twice in the same trap. I only ask you to show 
 me at which side of the ship the despatches arc taken aboard ; 
 
 1 shall not move from that spot." 
 
 ]\L Pinson, relieved of the great fear which had oppressed 
 him, rapidly recovered his habitual good-humor. He cheered 
 up Boisjoli, and, when the dinner-hour came, he gayly took his 
 place at the table where the captain presided, and from which 
 more than one unhappy passenger was missing. Thanks to 
 the Canadian, who acted as interpreter, they had much amuse- 
 ment over the adventure of the engineer, who, now that his 
 mind was at rest, was ready enough to laugh at it himself. 
 Immediately after dinner, regardless of the promises of the 
 clerk and the captain that they would summon him when it 
 was time to go ashore, M. Pinson established himself on the 
 quarter-deck, near the helmsman. 
 
 The wind blew a gale, the night was dark, and snow was 
 falling. Nothing eau be more melancholy than the whistling 
 of the wind through the rigging of a ship, the sound of the 
 paddles struggling with the waves, and the perpetual grinding 
 and creaking of the rudder. The sea was disposed to be " ugly," 
 as some sailors, who in thin rubber coats and tarpaulin hats were 
 walking up and down to keep warm, remarked. Sometimes a 
 wave took the ship broadside and deluged the deck with spray. 
 M. Pinson, ignoring these incidents, kept on watching for the 
 
AT SEA. 07 
 
 liglit-house tliey had told him of, and obstinately refused to stir 
 from his place on deck. 
 
 " "We are in a heavy snow-storm," said the captain, who came 
 to look about; " I fear wc shall not be able to run in at Queens- 
 town." 
 
 Happily, M. Pinson did not understand what was said, and 
 soon a light came in view. Then came a moment of general 
 running about on deck, and ^'arious manoeuvres were rapidly 
 executed. The light he saw proved not to be on shore, but on 
 an approaching ship, which passed close to the Canada and 
 quickly disappeared into the darkness. 
 
 About one o'clock in the morning the sailor on watch called 
 out, " Queenstown !" 
 
 A brilliant light gleamed in the distance, e^'idently from a 
 light-house. 
 
 M. Pinson ran to the state-room and embraced Boisjoli. The 
 sick man wanted to get up and witness the departure of his 
 friend ; but his brain reeled, and he was forced to give up the 
 attempt. ^I. Pinson came back twice to grasp his hand, then 
 he hurried up on deck. At the stern four sailors stood by the 
 boat known as the captain's gig. The second officer, on the 
 bridge, was giving orders which a ship's boy repeated down 
 to the engine-room. One could hardly hear one's own voice, 
 so violent were the waves. The light on shore passed from 
 right to left, then from left to right, and this happened three 
 different times in less than an hour. The ship was tacking, 
 as sailors say. M. Pinson, all ready to jump into the boat, 
 on which he kept a watchful eye, did not at all understand 
 this manoeuvre. He saw the captain coming and going, look- 
 ing at the compass, at his watch, at the barometer, mutter- 
 ing to himself, walking up and down, and occasionally con- 
 sulting his lieutenant. Suddenly he gave some rapid orders; 
 the sailors stationed by the gig began to lash it securely in 
 its place again ; and the lantern of the light-house, which had 
 
68 AN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 been shining on the port side of the ship, now appeared right 
 astern. 
 
 " What has happened ?" asked M. Pinson of each sailor, but 
 in vain. They answered him, but he understood not a word of 
 the reply. He went back to the saloon ; the clerk was there 
 talking with the captain. 
 
 " Well, sir," said the oflBcer, shaking his head, "you are truly 
 unfortunate." 
 
 " Why 1" 
 
 " The sea is so rough that it is impossible to get into port, 
 and, after losing nearly three hours, the captain has given orders 
 to put to sea ; we are now on our way to New York." 
 
 M. Pinson turned pale, and remained for a long time rooted 
 to the spot where the clerk had left him. Finally, worn out 
 with fatigue and agitation, he went to the state-room of his 
 friend, who was sleeping peacefully. M. Pinson was about to 
 wake him up. 
 
 "Bah!" said he, "my reproaches will not improve matters; 
 let him sleep ; but, good heavens, what a state of affairs !" 
 
 He got into the berth below Boisjoli's, and, after a while, 
 gently rocked by the motion of the ship, he closed his eyes and 
 dropped asleep. 
 
 It was broad daylight when Boisjoli awoke ; he was much bet- 
 ter, and could look about him without inconvenience. " Twen- 
 
 ■ 
 
 ty-four hours more," thought he, "and I shall be completely 
 well. What a horrible thing this sea-sickness is ! it crushes 
 one's spirit and changes one into a miserable machine. Nine 
 o'clock : by this time Pinson is on his way to Dublin. Dear 
 old Pinson, I never saw him so angry ! After all, the little voy- 
 age was good for him ; but he had a narrow escape.'' 
 
 At this moment Boisjoli thought he heard the sound of 
 some one breathing in the lower berth ; knowing that he had 
 no state-room companion, he leaned over the edge of his own 
 berth and looked down. 
 
BOISJOLI RECOGNIZES M. PINSOIT. 
 
AT S£A. 69 
 
 " You !" lie exclaimed, recognizing liis friend. " You !" 
 
 "I," replied tlie engineer. 
 
 "But you bade me good-by last night; you were going 
 ashore at Queenstown." 
 
 " Man proposes and God disposes !" replied M. Pinson. 
 
 " Has the Canada changed her course ?" 
 
 " The Canada, thanks to bad weather, was unable to stop for 
 the mails ; she is taking me instead." 
 
 " Good ! so much the better," said Boisjoli. 
 
 " I don't consider it so, myself," replied M. Pinson. " See 
 what friendship brings one to," continued he, bitterly : " here 
 am I in the most annoying position that can be imagined, and 
 my best friend, who has been the cause of it all, laughs at my 
 misfortune and says, ' so much the better.' " 
 
 " Believe me, my dear Pinson, to got you back to land I 
 would gladly swim there with you on my back, if I could; 
 that being impossible, my affection for you brought out the 
 selfish exclamation which seems to have wounded you." 
 
 The two friends put on their clothes in silence. Boisjoli 
 was almost well. In his heart he only half regretted the mis- 
 hap of his companion, a mishap which, after all, could have no 
 ill result beyond a useless voyage. Nevertheless, the engineer 
 concealed, as well as he could, the real satisfaction he felt. As 
 for M. Pinson, his spirits were not yet restored, and his mood 
 was gloomy. The two engineers left the state-room together, 
 and went up on deck. 
 
 " Here you are," said the clerk to M. Pinson, who came up 
 first, " I was just going to call you." 
 
 " Is Queenstown in sight ?" asked the engineer eagerly. 
 
 " Queenstown is out of the question. Your son is on board." 
 
 " My son !" cried M. Pinson ; " what new joke is this ?" 
 
 He had hardly spoken, when, with an exclamation of surprise, 
 he beheld Quicksilver in the grasp of two sailors. The hoy 
 was crying, while the captain was asking him questions. 
 
70 AX INVOLUNTARY VOYAGK 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 A RAY OF HOPE. 
 
 If M. Pinson looked with speechless astonishment at Quick- 
 silver, the latter, for his part, opened a pair of eyes proportion- 
 ately large when he saw the engineer. 
 
 " You, sir," he exclaimed, just as the clerk had done, " you 
 here !" 
 
 " And you, unhappy boy," replied M. Pinson, " what brings 
 you here? Where have j'ou come from? Where are you 
 going ?" 
 
 " It is all his fault, sir," said Quicksilver, who now took a 
 plaintive tone ; " but for liim I should still be on shore." 
 
 "Whose fault? Speak!" 
 
 " Robinson Crusoe's ; if I could begin over again, I should 
 obey yon and go and wait for you on the quay ; but I beg you 
 not to let them beat me." 
 
 " Who wants to beat you 2" 
 
 " The captain ; he threatens to give me a flogging with the 
 cat." 
 
 " Let the boy go, and get to your work," said the captain at 
 this moment to the sailors who had found Quicksilver ; " after 
 all, this gentleman is reponsible for him. Upon my word," he 
 muttered, " in the twenty years I have been at sea I never 
 dreamed of such goings-on." 
 
 " And now," said M. Pinson to Quicksilver, " will you kindly 
 explain your presence here ?" 
 
 " Ever since we went to the Zoological Gardens, sir, I have 
 longed so to see the countries where monkeys and tigers live, that 
 
.1 HAY OF HOPE. 71 
 
 I made up my mind as soon as I should get back to London, 
 to sMp as cabin-boy on some vessel going to India. But Amer- 
 ica tempted me more, because M. Boisjoli kept telling bow much 
 money could be got there. It seemed to be such a good chance 
 of going to America that, when I came on board the Canada, I 
 made up my mind at once." 
 
 " Once more, where did you come from jast now .'" 
 
 ''From the hold, the place where the fresh water is kept. 
 AMien you told me to go and wait for you on shore, it seemed 
 to me rather hard, for I thought the pilot-boat might bring me 
 back as well as you, and that at least I should have a look at 
 the sea. I went away quietly, meaning to obey you; but on 
 my way I passed a door leading to the hold ; it was open, and, 
 instead of going up, I went down and hid myself behind a cask, 
 thinking that when the vessel was out at sea they -would be 
 obliged to take me to Xew York. I relied on M. Boisjoli to 
 obtain forgiveness for me ; I meant to beg pardon in your 
 name, for I know how much he loves j'ou." 
 
 " And ever since then you have remained in your hiding- 
 place .-"' 
 
 '"I did not dare to come out. Somebody just now opened 
 the door and discovered me ; but I want to go back to Liver- 
 pool with you, sir ; I don't want to go to sea." 
 
 '■ Go back with me to Liverpool 1" exclaimed M. Pinson ; 
 "would to heaven it were possible. Don't you see, you un- 
 lucky boy, that we are right out at sea, and that the Canada is 
 steaming at full speed ; Don't you know into the bargain that 
 marine regulations forbid our disembarking, and that, willy 
 nillv, we are being carried off to America."' 
 
 " Why," cried Quicksilver, *' were you, too, hiding like me ?" 
 
 " Hiding like yon !" exclaimed M. Pinson, with indignation : 
 '■ no, indeed ; Robinson Crusoe has nothing to do with my being 
 on board this steamer. Eobinson — '' 
 
 " It occurs to me," said M. Boisjoli, interrupting his friend. 
 
72 AN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 " that QuicksilFor must be dying of hunger. He is pale and 
 shivering ; let us see after him, my dear fellow." 
 
 " AVouId you pity him ?" cried M. Pinson. 
 
 " I do pity him," said the engineer. " The poor boy said 
 just now that, when discovered, ho meant to appeal to me in 
 your name ; I am rather touched by this, and I shall take him 
 henceforth under my protection." 
 
 M. Pinson looked at his friend, then at Quicksilver, whose 
 eyes were full of tears. 
 
 " Come, don't cry," said the engineer, in a softened voice. 
 
 " I am thinking of Mother Pitch," answered the boy. " She 
 will be expecting me, and perhaps I shall never see her again. 
 And she wants me, for she is rheumatic and can't work. I did 
 wrong to hide myself ; I feel it now, and I want to go back to 
 London." 
 
 He hid his face in his hands and sobbed. The two friends, 
 moved to pity, could not scold him. 
 
 "He must be hungry," repeated Boisjoli; "if the smell of 
 tar in the saloon did not sicken me, I would go and get him 
 some food. Now you, Pinson, are a regular old sailor ; let me 
 beg of you to feed this poor child." 
 
 M. Pinson took the boy down to the saloon, and obtained 
 from the steward bread, ham, and wine. Quicksilver ate and 
 drank like the starving creature he was. The little fellow had 
 not only sufEered from hunger, but from cold and want of sleep 
 besides, fear of the consequences of his conduct having kept 
 him awake. 
 
 When M. Pinson saw that he was satisfied, he led him to 
 his cabin, put him in his own bed, and covered him with a 
 couple of blankets. 
 
 On reaching the deck, the engineer scanned the horizon ; on 
 every side the sea and sky appeared to meet. Thinking over 
 his own singular position and that of Quicksilver, M. Pinson 
 could not help muttering : 
 
JUICKSILVER IN PURSUIT OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 
 
A JiAY OF HOPE. 73 
 
 " Prodigious !" 
 
 Thanks to the Canadian who was on board, all the passen- 
 gers were soon acquainted with Quicksilver's story. A sub- 
 scription for the orphan was proposed, and M. Pinson and his 
 friend announced their intention of taking charge of the young 
 traveller. On this every one came up and shook hands with them. 
 
 When evening was come, and all were about to sit down to 
 table, the Canadian handed to Quicksilver, who had been up 
 for the last hour, a sum of eight pounds in gold. The boy 
 looked inquiringly in his face. 
 
 "The passengers make. you this present," said the Canadian. 
 " You have two good friends — but we wish to help them a 
 little." 
 
 On the following day, the sky which, since the beginning of 
 the voyage, had been dark and clouded, was radiant. The air 
 was clear and fresh ; and the sea, smooth as glass, was glitter- 
 ing in the sunshine. The fine weather somewhat cheered the 
 passengers on board the Canada, including M. Pinson. From 
 time to time the engineer felt a certain grudge against his 
 friend ; but by degrees he was beginning to make the best of 
 his misfortunes. He could not yet laugh at them, the mortifi- 
 cation was still too recent ; but when any allusion was made to 
 his enforced voyage he answered with good-humor. 
 
 Quicksilver, with the happy heedlessness of boyhood, already 
 seemed quite contented. He wandered from one end of the 
 steamer to the other, anxious to see and to understand every- 
 thing. Thanks to his knowledge of English, he could enter 
 into conversation with sailors, officers, and passengers. He 
 was of great use to the two friends, who, but for him, would 
 have found themselves quite isolated. He gave them English 
 lessons, and he beset them with questions. 
 
 " Why is our steamer called the Canada ?" he said to M. 
 Pinson. " It is neither an English nor a French word." 
 
 " Canada," replied M. Pinson, " is the name of a vast country 
 
 4 
 
74 AN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 which was discovered in 1497, by a Venetian named Jean Cabot. 
 It was visited for the first time by a Frenchman, Denis, in 1523. 
 The Spaniards, in search of gold-mines, came next. But not 
 finding what they sought, they left, saying, ' aca, nada ' (' here, 
 nothing '). This phrase was caught up by the aborigines, and 
 afterwards became the name of the country." 
 
 " Another explanation is," said Boisjoli, " that Canada is an 
 Iroquois word, meaning a cluster of huts." 
 
 " True," said M. Pinson, " but the Spanish etymology is more 
 generally accepted." 
 
 " Is Canada near America, then ?" asked Quicksilver. 
 
 " It is part of it, my boy, just as France and England are part 
 of Europe. North America, for which we are bound, is an im- 
 mense continent divided into six principal regions : Eussian 
 America, lately ceded to the United States, and which is called 
 Alaska ; English America, which comprises Labrador, Canada, 
 and Nova Scotia; Danish America, or Greenland; and the 
 United States, which the French call America, thus taking a 
 part for the whole, to the great indignation of the other peoples 
 of this new continent." 
 
 " And where is Mexico V 
 
 " Mexico and Guatemala complete the six great divisions of 
 North America." 
 
 " Thank you, sir," said Quicksilver, " I shall remember all 
 you have told me." 
 
 Four days after leaving Liverpool there was great commotion 
 on board the Canada. The life of enforced idleness led by the 
 passengers of a steamer makes quite a serious event of the 
 smallest incident. In the afternoon the surface of the sea be- 
 came suddenly silvered. The Canada, steaming on, was soon 
 pressing through a shoal of herrings, crushing them with her 
 paddle-wheels. Quicksilver, perfectly delighted, immediately 
 performed his customary acrobatic feat, to the great admiration 
 of the sailors. 
 
A RAY OF HOPE. 75 
 
 " Where do all those fishes come from ? Where are they 
 going V he inquired of M. Pinson. 
 
 " They come from the Northern Ocean, my boy, for, like 
 swallows, herrings are migratory. They come from the frozen 
 regions of the Polar seas, in hundreds of thousands, as you see. 
 The fishermen of France and England will soon divide the 
 valuable prey which is passing under our eyes, for, besides the 
 enormous consumption of herrings, fresh, salted, or smoked, by 
 different European nations, herrings are used as manure for the 
 land in many countries." 
 
 The shoal of herrings, which stretched out farther than eye 
 could see, was soon left behind, for it was in movement towards 
 the shores which the steamer was leaving. A multitude of sea- 
 birds hovered over the unlucky fishes, and had only to skim 
 the surface of the sea in order to seize them. 
 
 Among these winged fishers, the sea-gull, a bird of so rapid 
 and powerful a flight that it can traverse enormous spaces with- 
 out resting, was the most voracious. 
 
 In the evening, after dinner, while M. Pinson was quietly 
 conversing with his friend, the purser approached him. 
 
 " Excuse me if I interrupt," said the ofiicer, " but the duties 
 of my post require it. Is it quite understood that you retain 
 your cabin and the one you selected for your young com- 
 panion?" 
 
 " Since we are here," said M. Pinson, with a frown, " I sup- 
 pose we must sleep somewhere?" 
 
 "Very good; then I have to ask you to hand me the sum 
 of eighty pounds." 
 
 " Eighty pounds !" cried M. Pinson, rising from his seat, " I 
 have to hand you eighty pounds ! May I ask for what ?" 
 
 " As passage money." 
 
 " This is a pretty business ; you drag me away against my 
 will, in spite of my protestations, and then you want me to 
 pay you, into the bargain — Prodigious ! really prodigious !" 
 
76 AN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 " Did you expect to cross the Atlantic gratis ?" 
 
 " I didn't expect to cross it at all, sir, as you know very well. 
 As for my paying eighty pounds for being dragged from my 
 country — I think that rather a cool request." 
 
 " If you go second-cabin," answered the officer, " the cost 
 will be sixty-four pounds ; but only forty if you consent to live 
 and mess with the sailors." 
 
 " Where do you expect/' said M. Pinson, dejectedly, " that I 
 am to find the fabulous sum you ask of me on the high seas ? 
 I left my home to visit London, not to go to America. If I 
 have ten pounds iu my pocket-book, it is as much as I have." 
 
 " You will please to observe, sir, that the Company has noth- 
 ing to do with the — accident that kept you on board. You are 
 boarded and lodged, and in every country one has to pay for 
 that." 
 
 " And if I refuse to pay ? If it is impossible for me to pay?" 
 
 " Then, to my great regret, I must consign you to the fore- 
 castle, in order to diminish the cost of your support on board, 
 and when we reach New York, the law — " 
 
 " I will pay," said Boisjoli ; " I care little for the cost. Pin- 
 son, since it procures me the pleasure of your society." 
 
 M. Pinson heeded not, he was restlessly pacing the deck. 
 What ! was he not only to lose a month of his time, to run the 
 chance of shipwreck, to be taken against his will to America, 
 but to have to pay eighty pounds, instead of receiving the in- 
 demnity to which he had believed himself entitled ! The ex- 
 asperated engineer would not even listen to the observations of 
 his friend ; he took a seat in the bows of the steamer, and for 
 a long time unconsciously watched the prow of the Canada as 
 it cut its way through the foaming waters. 
 
 The sun was sinking to the horizon ; light white clouds were 
 floating in the air ; some sea-mews circling about the mainmast 
 were preparing to fly to the rocks on which they build their 
 nests. 
 
A MAY OF HOPE. 7^7 
 
 " A sail !" cried the lookout man. 
 
 M. Pinson roused himself from his revery. Just opposite 
 he could see the top of a mast. 
 
 " Quick," said he to Quicksilver, " ask if we shall pass near 
 that ship." 
 
 " Yes," was the answer, " unless she changes her course." 
 
 M. Pinson, holding Quicksilver by the hand, approached the 
 quarter-deck, where the captain, glass in hand, was examining 
 the horizon. 
 
 " Now, boy," said the engineer, anxiously, " ask the captain, 
 in the civilest terms you can find, whether, supposing we pass 
 near to that ship yonder, the regulations of the service would 
 forbid him to put us aboard of her." 
 
 Quicksilver obeyed, the captain shook his head, rubbed his 
 glass, and at length replied : 
 
 " The vessel seems to be coming towards us. If she passes 
 within reasonable distance of the Canada, and if her com- 
 mander consents to take you, I am quite willing to stop long 
 enough to put you on board. There is no rule against that." 
 
 No sooner had Quicksilver translated this reply to M. Pinson, 
 than the latter, having bowed respectfully to the captain, re- 
 turned to the bow of the Canada in order to keep a better 
 lookout upon the welcome vessel, which seemed to his fancy 
 to be already carrying him towards the Eue Nollet. 
 
78 AN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE " F U L T O N." 
 
 After an Lour passed in contemplation, M. Plnson slowly 
 returned to Lis place on tLe poop, more dejected and crest- 
 fallen than he Lad yet been. TLe sLip on board wLicL he Lad 
 fondly Loped to find Limself in a sLort time was no doubt fol- 
 lowing tLc same course as tLe Canada, for, instead of drawing 
 near, sLe Lad at first maintained Ler distance, and tLen by de- 
 grees disappeared. 
 
 " We shall have to go to America, my boy," said the discon- 
 solate engineer to Quicksilver. " TLe tLing is written on our 
 foreheads, as Eastern people say." 
 
 Quicksilver, who, owing to the indulgence with which the 
 two friends Lad treated it, felt a very moderate degree of re- 
 pentance for his escapade, hung his head, and answered not a 
 word ; but hardly had M. Pinson passed beyond him than Le 
 placed Limself in a favorable position for turning a catLerine- 
 wLeel, unseen by tLat gentleman. TLis was a demonstration 
 from wLicL Le was incapable of refraining in moments of great 
 elation. 
 
 Boisjoli, observing Lis friend return witL a slow step, absorb- 
 ed in silent melancLoly, and seat himself on a bench at a dis- 
 tance from him, endeavored to distract him from Lis painful 
 tliouglits by proposing tLat tLey sLould play at bezique. 
 
 "Thanks," said the engineer, dryly ; "but I could not give 
 my mind to the game." 
 
 From that moment until turning-in time, at ten' o'clock, he 
 persisted in talking about his involuntary voyage as the most 
 
THE "FULTON." 79 
 
 painful experience of bis life. The next day no sooner was he 
 awake than he began to sweep the horizon with eager glances ; 
 then, having well rubbed his eyes, be called Quicksilver, who 
 ran to him. 
 
 " What do you see there ?" be asked. 
 
 " The same thing as I saw last night, sir — the top of a mast." 
 
 " Ask the lookout what it means, at once." 
 
 " The lookout man," replied the boy, after having obeyed 
 the injunction of M. Pinson, " says that mast belongs to the 
 steamer we saw yesterday, and that it is coming towards us." 
 
 If M. Pinson had been capable of turning a catherine-wheel 
 or throwing a somersault, no doubt he would have performed 
 either of those feats on hearing this joyful intelligence. 
 
 " Bravo ! bravo !" shouted he, as he pulled ofi his hat and 
 waved it above bis head in triumph. " Run and call Boisjoli. 
 Most likely we shall now have only a short time with him." 
 
 Quicksilver did as he was told, but with a lagging step, as 
 though by his own lingering he could have retarded the ad- 
 vance of the vessel. 
 
 " It is a pity," he repeated ; " yes, it is a great pity." 
 
 Immediately on his friend's joining him, M. Pinson hastened 
 to inform him of bis revived hopes. 
 
 " I am very glad on your account, Pinson," answered Bois- 
 joli. " Nevertheless, I cannot prevent myself from regretting 
 the arrival of this steamer, for, after all, you know you had 
 made up your mind to seeing America." 
 
 " You mean, Boisjoli, tbat, as I could not do otherwise, I had 
 resigned myself to my fate." 
 
 " We should have been another whole week together." 
 
 " Very true ; but we should have had to part at the end ; 
 and I prefer this half-made voyage to the finished experience, I 
 assure you." 
 
 " We are nearly half-way, Pinson ! Six days more and you 
 might be in America, and see New York, and Niagara — " 
 
80 ^AT INVOLUNTAHY VOYAGE. 
 
 " According to your line of argument, my good friend, I 
 might go on to the end of the world. In six days I might be 
 at New York, where I don't want to be, that is true; but in 
 five I might be in the Rue NoUet ! I vote for the Rue NoUet." 
 
 The sea was calm ; the two steamers, steadily advancing tow- 
 ards each other, could not but meet within two hours. All the 
 passengers on board the Canada were on the poop, and M. 
 Pinson, brisk, joyous, and pleased, was shaking hands in one 
 direction, and bowing in another, bidding everybody good-by 
 in advance, for the captain had just renewed his promise to put 
 him on board this vessel, which the engineer regarded as spe- 
 cially sent by Providence. 
 
 " You will be my guest until we get to New York, sir," said 
 the captain, suddenly addressing M. Pinson, after he had stead- 
 ily examined the horizon through his glass for some time. 
 " What I conjectured proves to be the case — the vessel in sight 
 is a man-of-war." 
 
 " A man-of-war !" repeated M. Pinson ; "are you afraid there 
 will not be room for us on board ?" 
 
 " War-ships," explained Quicksilver, interpreting for the cap- 
 tain, " never take passengers ; they are forbidden to do so by 
 the naval rules." 
 
 M. Pinson started up. 
 
 " What, again !" he cried. " What have I, or you, boy, to do 
 with naval rules and regulations? We are not sailors, that I 
 know of; -we are simple civilians. What! It is just because 
 of these absurd rules that we are here, against our own will, 
 and now because of them we are to be kept here ! This is 
 really too bad !" 
 
 "Calm yourself, Pinson," said Boisjoli. 
 
 " Oh, yes ; it is all very fine for you to tell me to calm my- 
 self, when — but there, you are right, after all ; the case is seri- 
 ous, and we must take our measures quietly. Speak to the cap- 
 tain," here M. Pinson addressed Quicksilver ; " beg of him to 
 
THE "FULTO.V." 81 
 
 make the attempt for us; that cannot cost him much. The 
 captain of this man-of-war may be a kind-hearted fellow. I 
 will speak to him ; he will be touched by my hard fate and 
 yours ; you will join with me in explaining — By-the-by, does 
 any one know to what nationality that vessel belongs ?" 
 
 " The captain," replied Quicksilver, " has just stated that she 
 is an American war frigate." 
 
 " Exactly what I wanted !" exclaimed M. Pinson, joyfuUv. 
 " The Americans are a great people, a generous people ; they 
 love liberty ; we shall only have to speak to them. What does 
 the captain say, my boy ?" 
 
 " He says, sir, that he should waste some precious time by 
 stopping, and he advises you to be patient." 
 
 Once more M. Pinson bitterly regretted his inability to speak 
 English. He was convinced that if he could only have pleaded 
 for himself, his arguments would infallibly have touched the 
 captain's heart, and induced him to speak the frigate. 
 
 " If the steaimer passes us at all near," said the engineer to 
 himself, resolutely, " I will throw myself into the sea, and swim 
 towards it ; then they will have to let down a boat to pick me 
 up." 
 
 The two ships were already near enough to each other to ad- 
 mit of mutual observation, and it soon became evident that the 
 American frigate was steering so as to approach the Canada. 
 According to rule, the latter was bound to salute the former, 
 and the English flag was speedily hoisted. Then the frigate 
 displayed the star-spangled flag of the Northern States ; and, 
 placing herself across the bows of the Canada, she fired a gun, 
 charged with powder only, as a salute to the steamer. This 
 was an imperative order to stop. 
 
 The captain of the Canada grumbled, for no seaman obeys 
 cheerfully when the command comes from a foreign superior ; 
 nevertheless, he gave the necessary orders to " stop her," and 
 the two steamers, now advancing only by their own impetus, 
 
 4* 
 
82 ^■'V INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 were soon witliin four hundred yards of eacli otlier. A boat, 
 manned by six sailors and a young officer, put ofE from the 
 American steamer, and pulled to the side of the Canada. The 
 officer, who was the lieutenant of the frigate, sprang lightly on 
 board, and, having courteously sainted the captain of the Can- 
 ada, proceeded to explain his visit. 
 
 " Commodore Warren," said he, " presents his compliments, 
 and begs you to excuse his having caused you a delay. I am 
 the bearer of despatches which he begs you to deliver to the 
 authorities at New York immediately on your arrival in port." 
 
 " Assure the commodore," returned the captain of the Can- 
 ada, "that his commission shall be punctually executed. May 
 I ask you whether there is any news from your country ?" 
 
 " No good news, captain ; the rebels are winning, for the 
 moment, at least." 
 
 The two oflBcers, of whom M. Pinson did not lose sight for 
 an instant, talked together for several minutes on the poop, the 
 lieutenant having declined to go down to the saloon. 
 
 "What are they saying?" the engineer asked Quicksilver. 
 
 "That the war is more determined than ever; that it is in 
 contemplation to set the slaves free ; that the weather is fine — " 
 
 "And what more?" 
 
 "That the pirates of the South are doing great injury to 
 American commerce, and that the frigate yonder is going to 
 Europe to chase them." 
 
 " Another question, my boy. Why does the lieutenant laugh 
 so heartily while he looks at me f 
 
 " Because — " 
 
 " Well ! Go on !" 
 
 " Because the captain is telling him about your adventure." 
 
 At this moment the two officers shook hands and parted, 
 the lieutenant advancing to the side in order to regain his gig. 
 
 " One word, sir," said the engineer, planting himself in the 
 officer's way ; " do you speak French ?" 
 
THE "FULTON." 83 
 
 "A little." 
 
 M. Pinson heaved a great sigh of relief ; at length he might 
 plead his own cause. 
 
 " You are aware of the misfortune which has hefallen me, 
 sir," continued M. Pinson ; " I know the captain of the Canada 
 has told you of it. The adventure is very amusing to every- 
 body except myself, as you may suppose. But you are in a 
 hurry, so I will come to the point. You are going to Europe, 
 perhaps to France ; the mere idea mates my heart beat. Your 
 great nation is at peace with mine ; we are even allies. Between 
 us there is a bond of union, formed by our respective compa- 
 triots, Franklin and Lafayette. My fathers fought the battle 
 of yours for their liberty and for the flag of free America. 
 Once more, pardon me, I am coming to the point: take me on 
 board your ship ; bring me back to my native land ; it will be 
 a noble action on your part." 
 
 The eagerness and the oddity of M. Pinson's speech called 
 up a smile on the lips of the young lieutenant. 
 
 " I am not in command of the Fulton,'''' he replied ; " I am 
 only lieutenant to Commodore Warren." 
 
 " Take me on board, nevertheless. When I am there I will 
 explain matters to the commodore : one can always come to an 
 understanding with a sailor." 
 
 " And if he should refuse to let you go on board," said the 
 lieutenant, " what shall I do with you ? I don't suppose the 
 captain of the Canada is the sort of man to wait for you." 
 
 " If the commodore refuses to take me," replied M. Pinson, 
 in a tone of quiet despair, " you can just throw me into the 
 sea, and there will be an end of the matter." 
 
 The lieutenant was gradually approaching the ladder by 
 which he was to get down to the gig that had brought him to 
 the side of the Canada. The two steamers, swayed about by 
 the swell of the waves, were then three hundred yards apart, 
 and the crew of the Fulton were congregated on the port side. 
 
84 ^.V INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 " Will you lend me your speaking-trumpet for a moment ?" 
 asked the lieutenant of tlie captain. " I should like, if possi- 
 ble, to restore this gentleman to his native land." 
 
 The captain handed him the instrument in question. 
 
 " Commodore !" shouted the lieutenant. 
 
 " Ay, ay," shouted the commodore, who, posted on the 
 foot-bridge -of his ship, was examining the Canada through 
 his glass. 
 
 "A French gentleman is on board the Canada by mistake, 
 and finds himself on his way to America against his will." 
 
 A roar of laughter from the crew of the frigate gi-eeted this 
 communication. The commodore, in a voice of thunder, bade 
 them be silent. 
 
 " What have I to do," he demanded, " with the misadvent- 
 ure of this gentleman ?" 
 
 " He entreats you to take him on board and bring him back 
 to his country." 
 
 M. Pinson, who had not shrunk before the burst of laughter 
 from the frigate's crew, leaned upon Quicksilver's shoulder, 
 gazing steadfastly at the commodore. That oflBcer paced the 
 bridge twice, backwards and forwards, then shouted : 
 
 " Bring him on board !" 
 
 " Our meeting with the Canada, which will take home the 
 news of the destruction of one of the pirates we are charged 
 to chase, has put the commodore in a good-humor," said the 
 lieutenant. " Make haste, sir ; let us get on board at once ; 
 don't give him time to reflect and change his mind." 
 
 Quicksilver had instantly translated the commodore's answer, 
 for the benefit of M. Pinson, and the engineeer would have 
 rushed forward at once, but his joyful emotion paralyzed hira. 
 
 " On, boy, on !" he cried, at length, to Quicksilver ; " quick, 
 quick 1" 
 
 " What ! there are two of you ! wait !" said the lieutenant. 
 
 But M. Pinson made no answer ; he lifted Quicksilver by 
 
" SPEAKING " AT SEA. 
 
THE "FULTON." 85 
 
 the collar of his jacket, passed him on to the sailors in the gig, 
 and then followed him rapidly. 
 
 " Is this your son ?" asked the lieutenant, who did not know 
 what to do. 
 
 " Yes — almost," answered M. Pinson. 
 
 At that moment the purser made his appearance. 
 
 "Stop! stop!" cried he. 
 
 " I will pay you, sir," said Boisjoli. 
 
 This assurance silenced the purser, and two minutes later 
 the gig, vigorously impelled by the oarsmen, was far away from 
 the Canada, which steamed ahead. So great was the joy of 
 M. Pinson at finding himself on board the Fulton that he 
 would fain have embraced the commodore. That officer was, 
 however, fully engaged in directing the movements of his ship, 
 and did hot lend himself to any such demonstration. M. Pin- 
 son then turned towards the Canada, which raised and lowered 
 its flag three times in salute. Boisjoli, standing well forward, 
 waved his handkerchief as a last farewell to his friend. The 
 screw of the Fulton turned on its pivot, and the two ships 
 moved away from each other. 
 
 At last M. Pinson got an opportunity of talking with the 
 commodore, and expressing his gratitude to him. He related, 
 with earnestness and vivacity which greatly amused the Amer- 
 ican officer, all the incidents of his lamentable adventure. M. 
 Pinson talked all the more readily that the commodore and his 
 officers understood French. During this time Quicksilver, lean- 
 ing over the side, looked regretfully after the Canada. 
 
 " It is a pity !" he murmured to himself. " Yes, it is a 
 pity ! A little more and I should have seen America, and 
 known whether Eobinson told truth or not. However, I am 
 going back to see poor old Mother Pitch, and M. Pinson talks 
 of taking me to Paris. All the same, it's a great pity!" 
 
86 AN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE " D A V I S." 
 
 Though of a plain and somewhat peculiar exterior, M. Pin- 
 son was a very learned and most amiable man. No sooner was 
 lie freed ivfixa the terrible nightmare of a voyage to America 
 than he recovered his temper and his good spirits and became 
 an agreeable companion. Consequently, four-and-twenty hours 
 after embarking on board the Fulton he was looked upon as a 
 friend by the commodore and his officers, who all, without ex- 
 ception, spoke fairly good French. The gray-haired commo- 
 dore, an old tar, had learned seamanship more by practice than 
 by theory, and was apt to despise everything unconnected with 
 the sea. Kind and humane, he was inexorable only when the 
 prompt execution of his orders was in question. He had the 
 highest opinion of his native land, to which he would not ad- 
 mit there could be a rival, and could barely endure it to be 
 compared with the nations of Europe. If opportunity offered, 
 he would have contended that England was an ancient Ameri- 
 can colony, and that Christopher Columbus, by birth a New- 
 Yorker, and not a Genoese, had one fine day discovered the old 
 continent. This paradoxical fanaticism, which is common to 
 all Americans, is, without appearing to be so, one of the sources 
 of the strength of that vigorous people. In the United States, 
 as of old in Athens and in Sparta, every citizen is ready to lay 
 down his life and his fortune in attestation of that supremacy 
 which he claims for his country. 
 
 The story of Quicksilver, related in detail by M. Pinson, 
 drew general attention to the orphan boy, who, by his good 
 
THE "DA vis:' SV 
 
 loots, his intelligence, his quickness, and his civility, soon ob- 
 tained the good-will of both officers and crew. Owing to their 
 kindness, the boy was allowed, to his great delight, to exercise 
 his squirrel-like activity. He was constantly running about, 
 from the hold to the poop, from larboard to starboard, from 
 the prow to the rudder of the Fulton, always ready to help 
 those who were at work, no matter what their task. 
 
 The American commodore did things handsomely ; M. Pin- 
 son and his ward were assigned places at the ofBcers' table. 
 Quicksilver gave a proof of his former good training by be- 
 having with propriety in such goodly company. The boy pos- 
 sessed natural refinement which his half -vagabond life had not 
 destroyed, and education would make of him a man worthy 
 of the name. 
 
 M. Pinson decided that he could not better employ the time 
 which fate obliged him to pass on board the Fulton than in 
 studying English, and he employed Quicksilver to teach him. 
 At the same time he contrived, by skilful questioning, to ascer- 
 tain the amount of knowledge possessed by the boy. As soon 
 as he was informed on this point, he could rightly adapt his 
 answers to the ceaseless questions of his young companion, and 
 make them clear to his comprehension. The post of tutor to 
 Quicksilver was no sinecure — a fact of which Pinson speedily 
 became aware. The boy had a restless spirit of inquiry, and 
 the explanations of his kind teacher excited his curiosity, with- 
 out completely satisfying it. 
 
 The weather turned again to cold and rain, and M. Pinson 
 and his pupil preferred remaining in the saloon, where the 
 officers supplied them with books. 
 
 " Do you know, my boy," the engineer said one evening, 
 " that it was a piece of good luck for you to come across Bois- 
 joli ? Thanks to him, you will be restored to your family, for 
 he exacted a promise from me not to forsake you, and what I 
 promise Boisjoli I hold sacred. Boisjoli could teach some of 
 
88 -AN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 the cleverest in Lis own profession ; you will know this later 
 on, for you will certainly hear him spoken of. And, besides, 
 he has one of those noble hearts which the commodore was 
 arguing yesterday — very unjustly — can exist only in the United 
 States." 
 
 " You too, sir, have a noble heart," Quicksilver answered di- 
 rectly ; " I wanted to tell the commodore so, and to tell him, as 
 proof of it, that you bought a warming-pan for Mother Pitch." 
 
 " It was Boisjoli's idea, my boy ; I have told you so often ; 
 you must not forget that again." 
 
 After every lesson, Quicksilver would shake M. Pinson's 
 hand by way of thanks, and then he would run off to see the 
 engines at work, or to help execute some manoeuvre, by way of 
 recreation. 
 
 " I have just been told, sir," he said on one occasion on re- 
 turning to his friend, " that the name our ship bears is that of 
 an American engineer, who was the inventor of steamers. Is 
 this another of our commodore's fancies ?" 
 
 " Not so, my boy ; Robert Fulton was really an American, 
 for he was born in Pennsylvania in 1785. He began by being 
 a painter, rather an indifEerent one, I believe ; then, having a 
 natural taste for mechanical science, he set himself to study it, 
 and invented, first, a machine for sawing marble, and next a 
 boat to explode ships from under the vcater. This invention, 
 modified and brought to perfection by Ms countrymen, has be- 
 come, under the name of torpedo, one of the most formidable 
 instruments of modern warfare. But Fulton's real title to fame 
 is his having applied steam to navigation. He made his first at- 
 tempt in France in 1802 or 1803. No one foresaw the future 
 which successive improvements had in store for the cumbrous 
 and imperfect machine which he exhibited. On his return to 
 America he constructed a new boat, which, to the great admi- 
 ration of the New-Yorkers, soon ran regularly on the Hudson 
 River between New York and Albany." 
 
THE "DAVIS." 89 
 
 " I was in hopes," said Quicksilver, ■with a disappointed air, 
 " that the engineer was mistaken Avhen he told me a part of 
 tliis story." 
 
 " And why so, my boy ?" 
 
 " I should like this splendid invention to have been that of 
 a Frenchman, sir." 
 
 " Make your mind easy," answered M. Pinson ; " whatever 
 the commodore, with whom I was yesterday discussing the 
 question, may say, the French have had something to do with 
 the invention of steam and steamers. So far back as the year 
 1695, Papin, a Frenchman, made a design for a boat of which 
 the oars were to be worked by steam. In 1699, another coun- 
 tryman of ours, Duquet, endeavored to substitute paddles 
 worked by wheels for the oars of our galleys. In 1753, the 
 Abbe Gautier, of Luneville, read a paper on the subject before 
 the Academy of Nancy. And besides, in 1'7'75, Perier con- 
 structed a steamboat which he ran on the Seine, an experiment 
 which was repeated on the Doubs, in 1780, by the Marquis de 
 Joufiroy. It has frequently been stated that Fulton witnessed 
 these experiments. This is not the case, for the American en- 
 gineer was not born until later. The truth is that he was ac- 
 quainted with the work of the Marquis de JoufEroy. There- 
 fore, without denying Fulton's merits, we may be allowed to 
 do justice to our own countryman, whose priority has, in fact, 
 been recently declared by the Academy of Sciences." 
 
 " I will go and tell the engineer this," said Quicksilver, " to 
 show him that the French are not so stupid. But one word 
 more, sir: the Canada is worked by paddle-wheels, and the 
 Fulton by a screw." 
 
 " As for the screw," said M. Pinson, " that is a thoroughly 
 French invention ; Duquet or Du Quet, of whom I was speak- 
 ing just now, first conceived the idea of it. In 1803, Charles 
 Dallery published a paper in which the screw propeller is clear- 
 ly described. Nevertheless, the first screw that worked sue- 
 
90 -^-V INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 ccssfully was constructed by Captain Ericsson, a Swede, in 
 1836." 
 
 " The screw is then preferable to paddle-wheels ?" asked 
 Quicksilver. 
 
 " The screw, my boy, is especially valuable to ships of war, 
 whose paddle-wheels, as you can easily understand, might be 
 easily destroyed by cannon-balls, and the ships thus disabled. 
 Besides, a screw steamer can, in case of need, be put under can- 
 vas, for she is both lighter and narrower. The screw of a ship 
 — it is well that you should know these details — rotates on its 
 axis two hundred times in a minute ; its paddles, striking the 
 water obliquely in the same way that the sails of a wind- 
 mill strike the air, drive a ship along at the rate of eight or ten 
 miles an hour." 
 
 Five days after he had been taken on board the Fulton, at 
 about three in the afternoon, M. Pinson was standing on the 
 fore-deck of the steamer. Every minute the coast of England 
 was expected to come in sight, and the engineer's heart was 
 beating quickly. The Fulton was to cruise in the Channel, to 
 enter every harbor, and to search for the daring privateer 
 which, for some months past, had caused serious losses to the 
 trade of America by burning several of her ships. 
 
 " Land ahead !" was suddenly sung out. 
 
 M. Pinson, quite overcome, had at first some difficulty in rec- 
 ognizing land in the whitish mist which was pointed out to 
 him above the waters. The immobility of this mist, of which 
 the outlines became rapidly distinct, brought tears to his eyes, 
 and ho pressed the shoulder of Quicksilver, on which he was 
 leaning. 
 
 Quicksilver, thinking of Eobinson, of America, of tigers, and 
 of Friday, murmured : 
 
 " It's a pity though ! I am glad to think of seeiiig Mother 
 Pitch again ; but, for all that, it's a pity not to have seen an 
 island !" 
 
THE "DAVIS." Cji 
 
 The coast they had sighted was Cape Lizard; after recon- 
 noitring it, the steamer returned to the open sea at the mouth 
 of the Channel. Many ships were soon in sight. The com- 
 modore and his officers examined these ships with their glasses, 
 and interchanged opinions. 
 
 The Fulton, abruptly changing her course, steamed towards 
 a large brig, which she neared in less than an hour. On the 
 approach of the man-of-war the brig ran up Swedish colors. 
 The Fulton steamed around her, saluted, and then made 
 towards another vessel on her left. M. Pinson's sensations 
 were indescribable when he perceived the tricolor flag of Franco 
 floating from the after-deck of this vessel, and when, by being 
 three times raised and lowered, it saluted the stars and stripes 
 of the United States. 
 
 During the rest of the evening the Fulton passed in review 
 eight ships, for the entrance of the Channel is always crowded 
 with vessels either outward or homeward bound. Twice or 
 thrice the commodore questioned their captains, asking whence 
 they came or whither they were bound. The last one he in- 
 terrogated was an American ship, and the conversation in this 
 instance lasted a quarter of an hour. The vessel was from 
 Havre, and the commodore learned that the privateer which 
 he was seeking was at Cherbourg, having been forced by vari- 
 ous disasters to put into harbor. This was important news, 
 and the commodore immediately turned his ship's head to the 
 great French seaport. 
 
 " You will see a nice dance, Mr. Engineer," he said to M. 
 Pinson, " if, as I little doubt, I succeed in laying hold of this 
 Davis. He hunts rabbits bravely enough ; but the coward 
 flies from before a shark. I have heard that they know how 
 to fight in your country ; but you shall see that Americans 
 don't do things by halves." 
 
 " They can't do more than get themselves killed, I suppose," 
 said M. Pinson. 
 
92 A\ INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 " That's true, sir, but there are different ways of getting one's 
 self killed, and I hope to show you that ours is a good way." 
 
 M. Pinson was an ardent lover of his country, and could 
 scarcely bear to hear her attacked, even indirectly, without tak- 
 ing her part. But just then he was so delighted at the pros- 
 pect that before forty-eight hours were over he should be on 
 land, free to go whither he would, that he freely conceded to the 
 commodore that the American way of despatching a ball or of 
 receiving one was greatly superior to all other known fashions. 
 
 " Is Cherbourg like Liverpool, sir ?" asked Quicksilver. 
 
 " No, my boy. Liverpool is a commercial port, and Cher- 
 bourg is, above all, a port of war. It is the only one that 
 France possesses in the Channel, and it is the handiwork of 
 man. You will see a dike three thousand eight hundred yards 
 in extent, behind which a whole fleet can take shelter. Before 
 we come back to London, we will inspect the docks hollowed 
 out in the rock, a whole series of works, of which the smallest, 
 notwithstanding contrary assertions, has not been surpassed in 
 the United States." 
 
 Night came on ; the Fulton steamed along the great high- 
 way for &l»ps from Hamburg, Flushing, Antwerp, Portsmouth, 
 Plymouth, Dunkirk, Havre, etc., whence they disperse over the 
 ocean, and carry the products of European industry to the 
 ends of the earth. Two sailors were placed on the lookout, to 
 watch the horizon and prevent collisions. Towards nine in the 
 evening two schooners were spoken, then an hour later an 
 American brig. The privateer which the Fulton was seeking 
 was a vessel of the same tonnage as the one now before the 
 wind, and for a moment the commodore hoped he had found 
 his enemy. On being hailed through the speaking-trumpet, 
 the brig reported herself to have come from Havre, and con- 
 firmed the statement made by the frigate in the morning, name- 
 ly, that the Davis, twenty guns, and a crew of three hundred 
 men, was quietly at anchor in the roadstead at Cherbourg. 
 
THE "DAVIS." 03 
 
 The Milton's decks tad been cleared for action — that is, the 
 batteries were in readiness to fire, and the hammocks and every- 
 thing else that could hinder the mancBuvres had been removed 
 to the lower decks. Officers, gunners, helmsmen, all were at 
 their post ; the commodore stationed himself on his bridge. 
 
 " Are we really going to fight, sir ?" asked Quicksilver of M. 
 Pinson. 
 
 " I hope not, my boy," answered the engineer. "The Davis, 
 as she is called, has nothing to gain by an encounter with the 
 Fulton. In all probability her captain will as carefully avoid, 
 as our comrnodore eagerly seeks, a meeting." 
 
 " But a privateer is a man-of-war, and carries guns." 
 
 " True, but though a privateer does not always avoid fight- 
 ing, she prefers attacking trading-vessels, in order to destroy, 
 when she cannot take them. Much might be said about this 
 irregular warfare on sea ; the French, however, should not too 
 loudly condemn it, for our navy owes our greatest conquests to 
 it." 
 
 " Why is the North against the South in America ? Do they 
 not belong to the same nation ?" 
 
 " They do ; but men are not always wise. The result of 
 this war will be to restore five millions of black men to liberty ; 
 therefore blood will not have been shed in vain." 
 
 It was near midnight, but still M. Pinson and Quicksilver re- 
 mained on the poop. The waves were becoming shorter, a 
 sign that they were beginning to be confined between the 
 coasts. A light flashed at intervals, and the Fulton was mak- 
 ing towards it. Suddenly the report of a gun was heard in the 
 distance. 
 
 "Is that a signal from a ship in distress?" said M. Pinson. 
 " Quick, my boy, ask that sailor." 
 
 "I think so," answered the man, "for the commodore has 
 just ordered us to bear down straight on the light yonder." 
 
 The Fulton seemed to be going at double speed. Officers 
 
94 AX IXVOLUSTART VOYAGE. 
 
 and crew were silent and listening, their eyes turned towards 
 the distant light, which visibly increased, and presently multi- 
 plied itself. All at once a vi\id flame rose against the sky ; it 
 proceeded from the sides of the ship. 
 
 " Get the boats ready," the commodore called out through 
 his trumpet ; " there may be lives to save ont yonder."' 
 
 There was soon but a short distance between the Fulton and 
 the burning ship. Xothlng could be more imposing, more ter- 
 rible, more awful, than the sight of this whirl of flames in mid- 
 ocean. Thick clouds of smoke surrounded the ship ; and long 
 tongues of fire escaped from her port-holes, running from stem 
 to stem, and reddening the sea with their light. 
 
 "There is no one on deck," cried the commodore; "fire a 
 gun, lieutenant ; the sailors who have abandoned her cannot 
 be far oS ; and it is well, if they see us, to let them know thev 
 can come on board." 
 
 So profound a silence reigned aboard the Fulton that the 
 brief imperious orders of the commodore could be distinctly 
 heard. Every eye scanned the horizon, seeking for the boats in 
 which the crevr of the burning vessel might have taken refuge. 
 
 " She's one of our vessels," suddenly exclaimed the commo- 
 dore. " I can read on her poop, ' The Xiagara. of Xew York.' 
 Write down her name, lieutenant." 
 
 The gun fired by the Fulton had scarcely been discharged, 
 when a great clamor arose. The Fulton had just passed by 
 the Xiagara^ and a couple of miles ahead another conflagration 
 was lighting up the horizon. So soon as it was ascertained 
 that no human being remained on board the Niagara, the Ful- 
 ton bore down on the second ship. A boat was seen rowing 
 away from her, and close alongside, at a very short distance 
 from the burning ship, was a small steamer. 
 
 Towards this latter, her crraceful slender outliue showinof dis- 
 tinctly in the light of the flames, the Fulton s course was directed. 
 To M. Pinson's great surpirise the commodore hoisted the Eng- 
 
THE "DAVIS." 95 
 
 lish flag. The little steamer answered by running up Eussian 
 colors ; but, instead of waiting for the approach of the Fulton, 
 she began to move away. 
 
 " Give her some powder," cried the commodore, " and order 
 her to stop !" 
 
 The little steamer paid no attention to the signal, but con- 
 tinued on her way. 
 
 " A ball, quick !" cried the commodore ; " we are at peace 
 with Eussia, and this vessel seems afraid of us." 
 
 The shot, rebounding against the waves, spent itself a few 
 yards from the little steamer. 
 
 " Hoist our own colors, lieutenant," said the commodore, 
 " let this skulker know who we really are." 
 
 Hardly did the American flag float from the bows of the 
 Fulton than the steamer hoisted French colors. She slackened 
 speed, and no sooner was the Fulton within range than a shot 
 passed over her decks. At the same moment the little steamer 
 hoisted the flag of the Southern States. 
 
 "The-Davw.'" cried the commodore. "At her! Death to 
 incendiaries !" 
 
 " Death !" shouted the crew with one voice. 
 
 A loud hurrah rose from the decks of the Davis. M. Pinson 
 and Quicksilver shuddered at the sound. 
 
 " Are we to be present at a naval engagement nov? ?" ex- 
 claimed the engineer. " This is a pretty business ! It was not 
 enough to drag me from the Eue Nollet, to bewilder me in the 
 streets of London, to — " 
 
 M. Pinson could say no more, a shot from the Davis struck 
 o£E before his eyes the ai-m of one of the sailors who was stand- 
 ing at the wheel. Nearly at the same moment the Fulton shook 
 as if her sides were coming to pieces, and an overpowering noise 
 deafened M. Pinson, who thought the steamer was sinking. At 
 the commodore's command the gunners had simply replied to 
 the shot from the Davis by saluting her with a broadside. 
 
AN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE CANARY ISLANDS. 
 
 " Go between decks, sir," said tlie lieutenant of the Fulton 
 to M. Pinson, as he passed ; " there is danger here." 
 
 Quicksilver, though rather pale, was eagerly watching the pro- 
 ceedings. After a momentary hesitation, the engineer took 
 him by the hand and led him to the saloon ; they had scarcely 
 reached it when a fresh discharge shook the steamer. 
 
 " Stay here, my boy," said M. Pinson, who was in a state of 
 feverish agitation, and could not remain still ; " don't stir." 
 
 " Where are you going, sir ?" 
 
 " On deck; I prefer seeing to hearing." 
 
 " I will go, too," said the boy ; " I will not leave you." 
 
 The engineer drew nearer to Quicksilver. 
 
 "Are you frightened?" he asked. 
 
 " Down here I am ; up on deck, in the open air, I feel more 
 confidence." 
 
 M. Pinson, dreading a bullet or the splinters of a shell for his 
 young companion, sacrificed his own wish to return to the deck 
 and sat down beside him. 
 
 " This is war," he said sadly, " war and its dismal horrors. 
 Every report which we now hear has for its terrible result a 
 mother deprived of the son to whom she has devoted her own 
 youth, of the child whom for twenty years she has sheltered 
 from the slightest scratch. It is frightful to think that human 
 beings endowed with reason — But let me not moralize illogi- 
 cally ; so long as ambitious and wicked men exist on the earth 
 there will be warfare." 
 
M. PINSON AND QUICKSILVER AS SPECTATORS OF THE FIGHT. 
 
THE CANARY ISLANDS. 97 
 
 "The commodore and his officers are good men, sir," said 
 Quicksilver, ''you have often told mo so." 
 
 " Certainly, my boy ! and I am not speaking of them, but of 
 those who have ordered them to fight. The war which rends 
 the United States is fated, and perhaps necessary. But there 
 is only one kind of war, mark you, which is just and righteous — 
 war that is waged against an enemy who, invading our father- 
 land, seeks to dismember or to enslave it. Against such an 
 enemy we must be ready to fight; and we should be content 
 to die, that we might bequeath to the millions who come after 
 us independence and liberty, if nothing else." 
 
 The cannonade went on ; M. Pinson by degrees drew nearer 
 to the stairs, ascended them, and again showed himself on deck. 
 The sea, lighted up by the two burning ships, looked like an 
 immense red plain. A light breeze scarcely ruffled the water, 
 and the white smoke from the guns floated in the air. On 
 board the Fulton men's faces were grave, but their eyes were 
 flashing. The commodore's orders were rapidly passed on 
 from his place on the bridge. The Davis, though much smaller 
 than her adversary, nevertheless held her own and manoeuvred 
 so as not to expose her sides. 
 
 There were pools of blood on the Fulton's decks, and torn 
 rigging hung along her masts. 
 
 " Steer so as to hit the enemy amidships," was a message 
 brought by a sub-officer to the men at the wheel ; " the com- 
 modore wants to make an end of it." 
 
 At the same time the gunners were told to reserve their 
 fire. 
 
 M. Pinson had stationed himself near the funnel, underneath 
 the bridge. He felt some one pressing against him : it was 
 Quicksilver. 
 
 " Let me stay, sir," entreated the boj'. 
 
 Without answering, M. Pinson placed his arms round his 
 young companion. A solemn silence reigned on board the 
 
 6 
 
98 AN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 Fulton, whicli, without replying, bore the enemy's fire. A ball 
 craslied over M. Pinson's bead. 
 
 " Ha !" muttered tbe engineer, " I owe this to that rascal 
 Boisjoli. But for him and his perfidious advice I should be 
 at this moment quietly resting in my bed. Instead of that, 
 here I am, on the open sea, between two fires, in danger every 
 second of serving as a sheath to a bombshell, which, by taking 
 ofE my leg or my arm, will make me fit for the Hotel des Inva- 
 lides without giving me any right of entry." 
 
 M. Pinson cut his soliloquy short. The Fulton under full 
 steam was rapidly nearing the Davis. 
 
 In a few minutes more the two ships, like furious bulls, 
 would come into violent collision. M. Pinson held tightly to 
 the ropes of a boat lashed to the deck, so as to be in readiness 
 to resist the coming shock. 
 
 "Port!" cried the commodore. 
 
 The Fulton answered to her helm and turned to the left. 
 But the Davis had guessed her enemy's intention ; as the Ful- 
 ton came upon her she swung rapidly round. The two steam- 
 ers as they passed exchanged broadsides. Cries of pain, of 
 agony, followed on the terrific discharge, but they were imme- 
 diately drowned in hurrahs. 
 
 Carried away by the mighty impetus with the help of which 
 she had hoped to have cut her adversary in twain, the Fulton 
 swept on for five hundred yards, and had to make a long tack 
 in order to return. The Davis, steaming straight ahead, passed 
 by the second burning ship, and saluted it with a triumphant 
 huzza. 
 
 " The incendiary won't fight !" shouted the enraged com- 
 modore ; " steer straight !" he called out to the helmsmen, " we 
 are bound not to let this pirate escape." 
 
 A considerable distance already separated the two steamers, 
 and the Fulton under full Steam followed in the wake of the 
 Davis. In less than a quarter of an hour the two burning ships 
 
TUE CANARY ISLANDS. 99 
 
 dropped out of sight ; but for a long while the sky was red- 
 dened on their side. Without losing a minute the sailors be- 
 gan to repair the damage done by the guns, and to wash the 
 decks. Their disappointment was great, and while at their 
 work they shook their fists at the corsair flying before them, 
 addressing him with threats and daring him to wait for them. 
 Their voices were lost in the noise of the waves, and the Davis, 
 being probably much damaged, did not seem inclined to renew 
 the fight. 
 
 "Now, Sir Frenchman, a glass of grog in honor of America," 
 said the commodore, approaching M. Pinson. " I watched 
 your face under fire," he added ; " on my word, you are a brave 
 man !" 
 
 " Pretty well," answered the engineer ; " when I can't help 
 myself." 
 
 " Don't be unfair to yourself ; the hold was open, and you 
 could have taken refuge there." 
 
 " I don't like the dark,'' said M. Pinson ; " and, to be quite 
 open with you, commodore, I confess that I would hasten to 
 take leave of you, were it possible to do so. But, tell me, do 
 you think the Davis will renew the fight ?" 
 
 " She must, whether she will or not. The Fulton, sir, is re- 
 markable for speed, as you will see by to-morrow morning. 
 For the present, I drink to your good health, and wish you 
 good-night." 
 
 M. Pinson and Quicksilver followed the commodore's ex- 
 ample and retired to their berths. The boy was still excited 
 by the fight he had witnessed, and he overwhelmed M. Pinson 
 with questions. 
 
 " Do you too, sir, wish to see the Davis destroyed and sunk 
 to the bottom of the sea ?" 
 
 " Certainly not, my boy ; I wish for the death of no man." 
 
 " The crew of the Fulton talk of nothing but of hanging the 
 crew of the Davis." 
 
100 AN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 " I can understand their anger. If, under our very e3'es, an 
 English or German ship had set fire to two poor French traders, 
 I think I should have asked for a weapon in order to join in 
 the fight. But in this instance we have only ardently to desire 
 the end of a fratricidal struggle." 
 
 Although M. Pinson had risen almost with the sun, he found 
 Quicksilver already on deck. Three of the Fulton's crew had 
 been killed, and their mates were busied in wrapping the bodies 
 in sailcloth. The sea was calm, and the Davis was still flying 
 before them far aliead. 
 
 " The pirate is a swift goer," said the lieutenant to M. Pin- 
 son ; " although we are keeping a straight course, she is gain- 
 ing on us a little. Luckily the glass is falling ; in a rough sea 
 I know what the Fulton can do ; she will get the advantage 
 then." 
 
 For a long time M. Pinson watched the Davis ; her black 
 hull, her flag streaming behind her, seemed to defy her power- 
 ful adversary. Light and swift, the little steamer glided over 
 the waves, leaving in her wake a long track of foam. 
 
 At ten o'clock the commodore came on deck in full uniform, 
 and was saluted by a roll of mufiled drums. The crew, bear- 
 ing arms, fell into line on either side of the vessel, while the 
 officers surrounded their captain. The bodies of the three 
 sailors were brought and placed near an open port-hole, from 
 whence protruded an inclined plank. 
 
 The commodore then solemnly read several passages from 
 the Psalms ; he paused at intervals, when the plaintive strains 
 of the fife fell on the ear. 
 
 Nothing could be more impressive than this sad and simple 
 ceremony. Above was the illimitable sky ; beneath, the deep 
 abyss of the sea, ready to open and receive the mortal remains 
 of those who yesterday were full of life, and who had died 
 bravely at their post for their country. 
 
 A gun was fired ; the three bodies, a cannon-ball lashed to 
 
THE CAXARY ISLANDS. 101 
 
 their foet, slid one after the other down the inclined plank, and 
 disappeared in the sea which closed over them. 
 
 M. Pinson and Quicksilver, bareheaded and grave, had borne 
 their part in this sad ceremony; they slowly regained the poop. 
 Quicksilver was crying. 
 
 " What is the matter, my boy ?" asked the engineer. 
 
 "My father, sir; I am thinking of my father. I saw him, 
 one morning, pale and still, wrapped in white linen, like those 
 sailors I have just seen. He was placed on a black carriage 
 and was taken to the cemetery. A grave had been dug, and — 
 I was never to see him again." 
 
 Quicksilver was sobbing so violently that M. Pinson could 
 hardly soothe him. By degrees his sorrow was calmed, and a 
 smile returned to his lips. 
 
 Two hours later every one on board the Fulton had resumed 
 his ordinary occupation. 
 
 When twelve bells announced the hour of breakfast there 
 appeared no diminution of the distance separating the Davis 
 from the Fulton. The commodore, being quite convinced that 
 if the sea became rougher his ship would steam at a pace that 
 would enable him to come up with the enemy, studied the ba- 
 rometer without intermission. 
 
 Breakfast was quickly despatched ; the prospect of an ap- 
 proaching engagement somewhat excited every one on board 
 the Fulton. On reaching the deck the commodore glanced at 
 the sea and gave an impatient stamp. 
 
 " That cursed vessel is American-built," he said, with vex- 
 ation. 
 
 " How do you know that, commodore?" asked M. Pinson. 
 
 " By her speed, sir. Had she come from an English or 
 French builder's yard we should have come up with her long 
 ago." 
 
 "Both the French and the English know how to build a 
 ship, commodore." 
 
102 ^A' INrOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 "I don't deny it, sir; by dint of copying the Americans 
 the French and English have reached to a certain point — but 
 only to a certain point — no farther." 
 
 The commodore was not just then in a sufficiently good- 
 humor for M. Pinson to venture on a discussion with him ; he 
 held his peace, therefore, although ho could easily have proved 
 by unanswerable facts that French naval engineers yield the 
 palm to none in the construction of ships. By way of com- 
 pensation he allowed himself the satisfaction of explaining the 
 commodore's mistake to Quicksilver, and found willing convic- 
 tion in his hearer. 
 
 The day was spent in watching the Davis, which, with her 
 flag streaming behind her, continued to defy her enemy. 
 Hardly repressed rage pervaded the crew of the Fulton. They 
 longed to engage again with the pirate who had almost under 
 their eyes set fire to two of the ships which it was their duty 
 to protect. The commodore frequently consulted with the 
 chief-engineer, urging him to put the highest possible pressure 
 compatible with the safety of the vessel on the screw. 
 
 The Fulton sped along at tremendous speed, cleaving the 
 waters at the rate of twelve miles an hour. 
 
 "Towards which coast is the Davis steaming?" asked M. 
 Pinson of the lieutenant ; " it seems to me that we ought to 
 have sighted land several hours ago." 
 
 "Land!" repeated the lieutenant, "what land?" 
 
 "Either France or England. Is the Channel so wide that it 
 takes more than forty-eight hours to cross it?" 
 
 " The Channel is behind us," answered the lieutenant. " At 
 this moment we are heading for the Canaries." 
 
 "The Channel behind us! The Canaries!" repeated M. 
 Pinson. " This completes the business ! Have I given up my 
 visit to the United States in order to land in the country of 
 canary-birds ? This last trick of Boisjoli's really puts the fin- 
 ishing touch to his incredible conduct !" 
 
THE CAXARY ISLAXDS. 103 
 
 The lieutenant, called away for some manoeuvre, was already 
 far oflE, while M. Pinson was repeating : " The fatherland of 
 canary-birds ! No, that would be rather too much !" 
 
 Quicksilver, stationed not far from M. Pinson, was furtively 
 observing him ; when he perceived him to be somewhat calmer 
 he drew near. 
 
 " Is it true, sir, what you have just been saying ?" 
 
 " \yhat have I been saying, my boy ? That Boisjoli — " 
 
 " No, sir, not that. You were saying that the Canary Isles 
 are the native home of canary-birds." 
 
 " Nothing can be more true." 
 
 " And where are these islands situated ?" 
 
 " On the coast of Africa." 
 
 " They belong to France ?" 
 
 "No, although the French, about 1330, found them again." 
 
 " Found them again !" exclaimed Quicksilver with surprise ; 
 " were the Canary Islands ever lost, then ?" 
 
 " The Canary Islands," continued M. Pinson, " were known 
 to the people of antiquity, and the Carthaginians established a 
 trading port there. They called them the Fortunate Islands, 
 on account of their fertility and the beauty of the climate. 
 After the fall of Carthage the way to these islands was forgot- 
 ten ; their name lived only in the memory of sailors." 
 
 " I understand," said Quicksilver ; " and now to whom do 
 they belong?" 
 
 " To the Spaniards, who, although they came after the 
 French, had the wisdom to take possession of them. It was, 
 in fact, a French gentleman, named Bethencourt, who conquer- 
 ed them, for they were inhabited by a warlike people, the 
 Guanches, said to be the ancestors of the Berbers." 
 
 " And how many islands are there ?" 
 
 " Seven principal ones, my boy, in one of which, called Ten- 
 eriffe, there is a volcano 3710 yards in height, which enables 
 vessels to sight it from an immense distance. Another, called 
 
104 AN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 Iron Island, is celebrated for having been chosen by an order 
 of King Louis XII., in 1634, for the passage of the first merid- 
 ian." 
 
 " Are these islands inhabited?" 
 
 " Certainly they are ; Tcnerifie alone contains eight thousand 
 inhabitants." 
 
 " What a pity !" murmured Quicksilver ; " but tell me, sir, 
 from which of these islands do canaries come ?" 
 
 " From all of them." 
 
 " How amusing it must be to see pretty little yellow birds 
 tlying from tree to tree !" 
 
 " The canary-bird in its wild state," said M. Pinson, " is not, 
 like the tame canary, of a beautiful golden color. It is brown, 
 gray, white, yellow — many-colored, therefore. It belongs, in 
 fact, to the numerous family of the sparrow ; and, although 
 those of the Canary Islands are particularly valued, France can 
 also boast of some." 
 
 M. Pinson's discourse was cut short by a commotion on 
 board ; several sailors came running forward. The sun was 
 setting, and against the golden sky three masts stood out dis- 
 tinctly. 
 
TO THE END OF THE WORLD. 105 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 TO THE END OF THE WORLD. 
 
 The three masts belonged to a sailing vessel, which seemed 
 to be steering a little to the east of the Davis ; but the priva- 
 teer was also gradually taking an oblique direction. 
 
 " Come here," said M. Pinson to Quicksilver ; " no doubt you 
 know that the earth is round ?" 
 
 " Yes, sir; only I never could understand how the people on 
 the other side can walk upside down." 
 
 " They do not do so, my boy ; our globe, flying through 
 space with a double rotatory motion, has in reality neither top 
 nor bottom. On the one hand, gravitation attracts our bodies 
 towards its centre ; on the other, the weight of our atmosphere 
 fixes us firmly to our vast prison. But I called you in order to 
 point out one of those phenomena which prove the rotundity 
 of the earth. Look before you, and tell me what you see on 
 the horizon." 
 
 " I see what we all see, sir, the masts of a ship." 
 
 " And what part of these masts do you see ?" 
 
 " The tops." 
 
 " And the hull of the ship, can you see it?" 
 
 " No," replied Quicksilver, after looking attentively. 
 
 " And why cannot you see the hull?" 
 
 " Because it is too far oflE." 
 
 " The hull of a ship is at least a hundred times bigger than 
 her masts ; if distance prevents you seeing the hull, by what 
 miracle can you distinguish the masts ? It is because the earth 
 is really round that we first discern the tops of this vessel's 
 
 5* 
 
IOC AN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 masts, -while her hull is as yet hidden by the curve described 
 by the sea. If we continue our advance towards those infernal 
 Canary Isles you will see the sumniit of the Peak of Teneriffe 
 first, for just the same reason, and only in proportion as we ap- 
 proach nearer shall we distinguish the sides of the mountain, 
 and last of all its base. Do you understand ?" 
 
 Angry exclamations from the sailors on the bow of the 
 Fulton interrupted M. Pinson. The Davis had hauled in her 
 flag, and hoisted in its place the star-spangled banner of the 
 North. 
 
 "What is the meaning of this?" asked the puzzled engineer; 
 " is it a piece of bravado ?" 
 
 " The meaning is," answered the lieutenant, " that the priva- 
 teer has recognized an American ship in the sailing vessel that 
 is approaching us. He hoists our flag in order not to scare the 
 prey coming towards him. That's a dirty trick, sir, and I hope 
 we shall unmask it presently by firing guns to put the three- 
 master on her guard." 
 
 Night was coming on ; the commodore from his bridge gave 
 a sudden order to fire, and a sharp report vibrated through the 
 air. Telescopes were immediately turned on the three-master ; 
 she was a sailing vessel of large size, probably laden with cot- 
 ton. The report of the Fulton's gun made her change her 
 course for a moment ; but then the Davis in her turn fired a 
 gun. 
 
 The three-master probably understood the double report to 
 convey a hint to her to draw near to the two steamers which 
 seemed to be acting in concert, for she changed her course and 
 steered towards them. 
 
 The commodore, both anxious and indignant, ordered some 
 shots to be fired in the direction of the Davis ; he hoped by 
 this hostile demonstration to attract the attention of the three- 
 master. But the trader, two leagues away from the Fulton, 
 could no longer make out his signals. 
 
TO THE END OF THE WORLD. 107 
 
 The commodore remained at his post. From time to time 
 he called the ship's engineer and urged him to increase the 
 speed of the steamer. But the engineer shook his head ; the 
 Fulton was already steaming at high pressure. The night be- 
 came more and more dark, and little by little the Davis was 
 hidden in the gloom. 
 
 The commodore went forward to the bow, listening to the 
 sounds that came from the sea. 
 
 Suddenly a bright light appeared, gliding over the waves and 
 lighting up the horizon. It soon rested on the Davis, and the 
 crew of the Fulton burst into shouts ; the ship was as distinct- 
 ly visible as in full daylight. 
 
 Then the ray of light, again traversing the horizon, rested on 
 the three-master ; she was coming on in a straight line towards 
 the Davis. 
 
 " What is it ?" asked Quicksilver ; " there is neither moon 
 nor sun, and — " 
 
 " It is the electric light," said M. Pinson, pointing to the top 
 of the main-mast, where there were two sub-officers. " Decid- 
 edly, these Americans are ingenious, and the Davis must feel 
 rather annoyed." 
 
 It was certainly a fantastic sight to watch the white ray 
 start from the summit of the Fulton, follow the Davis in all 
 her movements, keep her in full light, and make all her manoeu- 
 vres as visible as if the sun had been shining on her. 
 
 Several times the privateer tried to escape this inconvenient 
 light, but always in vain. Then she turned straight on the 
 three-master, and began to cannonade her. 
 
 Surprised by this unexpected attack, the trading- vessel im- 
 mediately changed her course. The luminous ray, when 
 turned upon her, showed her strewed with torn sails and rig- 
 ging. Then fiery rockets, thrown from the Davis, described 
 long curves in the air, and fell on the unfortunate three- 
 master. 
 
108 AN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 Cries of anger rose from the Fulton. 
 
 " Blow us up, if need be," cried the commodore to the chief 
 engineer, " but, by Heaven, sir, bring us -within range of the 
 enemy !" 
 
 The cannonading went on. A flame suddenly appeared on 
 the bow of the three-master, and the sea was reddened around. 
 The vessel, encircled with flames, no longer obeyed her helm, 
 and floated hap-bazard. On her deck were a dozen sailors hur- 
 riedly lowering a boat into the sea. 
 
 " That ship will go down ; steer towards her !" shouted the 
 commodore. 
 
 The Fulton obediently answered her helm. Silence reigned 
 among the sailors ; each one held his breath in terrible sus- 
 pense. Little by little the three-master was settling down, her 
 hull sinking gradually to the surface of the water. The Davis, 
 without suspending her fire, passed behind and became invisible 
 to the Fulton. 
 
 The three-master, still swinging wildly round on herself, once 
 more presented her bow to the Fulton. One by one her 
 crew disappeared. All at once a cry came from every observer, 
 the three-master was heeling over. The fragments of her 
 masts beat the air from right to left and from left to right ; 
 then they slowly sank, and the burned ship vanished beneath 
 the waves. 
 
 " This, then, is war !" murmured M. Pinson, covering his 
 eyes with his hands ; " it is horrible !" 
 
 Profound darkness again covered the sea. A triumphant 
 shout from the Davis reached the ears of the crew of the Ful- 
 ton. The electric light was immediately turned on the priva- 
 teer ; she had just hoisted the Southern flag. 
 
 The commodore, standing on the quarter-deck, squeezed his 
 spy-glass with such force that it broke. 
 
 " Is it not terrible, sir," he said to M. Pinson, " to see such 
 atrocities committed, and not be able to prevent them ?" 
 
THE BUKNING SHIP. 
 
TO THE END OF THE WORLD. J 09 
 
 " It is, indeed," replied the engineer. " But what has be- 
 come of the crew of the three-master?" 
 
 " I fear there was not time to lower the boat, and that they 
 have been sucked in with their vessel as she sank." 
 
 The electric light, directed over the sea at this moment, 
 showed the little boat in question ; it was being vigorous- 
 ly rowed towards the Davis, which had stopped to wait 
 for it. 
 
 " Ah !" exclaimed M. Pinson, with a sigh of relief, " these pi- 
 rates still retain some human feeling." 
 
 " That is to say, they recruit sailors," answered the commo- 
 dore, dryly. " Can one understand those fools," he continued, 
 pointing to the boat, " going to seek refuge on board the ene- 
 my who has just sunk their ship ?" 
 
 The commodore ran to his bridge ; the Fulton was rapidly 
 nearing the Davis. A shot from this latter fell spent into the 
 sea at scarcely twenty yards from the steamer. A few minutes 
 more and the range would be easy. The little boat got along- 
 side; the men were taken on board in a moment, and the 
 Davis resumed her course, with a fresh shout of triumph and 
 defiance to the Fulton. 
 
 Towards midnight the two vessels, whose course was clearly 
 the same, continued to sail as it were in concert — rather nearer 
 together than in the morning, but still too far apart to ex- 
 change shots. M. Pinson took Quicksilver down to bed. The 
 boy, still excited by the scenes he had witnessed, plied his 
 companion with innumerable questions before he could fall 
 asleep. 
 
 As for the engineer, he, too, for a long time sought sleep in 
 vain. 
 
 " There is in life," he thought, " so much which is unexpect- 
 ed that nothing is more adapted to humble our reason. That 
 fine three-master, only this morning sailing so majestically 
 along, rushed blindly, notwithstanding the signals of the Ful- 
 
110 A\ IXVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 ton, on the guns of the Davis, which no doubt she took for a 
 friend ! Talking of friends, I think I have something to say. 
 My dearest friend drags me from my home, takes me to Liver- 
 pool, puts me on board a ship, and, thanks to him, here I am 
 on the high-road to the ' land of canary-birds ' as Quicksilver 
 calls it ; without counting that a shot from the Davis has al- 
 ready nearly put an end to my voyage, and that the same pi- 
 rate has, doubtless, others in store for us. Meanwhile M. Bois- 
 joli, gay, smart, and jolly, lands at New York and walks about 
 on terra firma. Oh, terra firma! the day that I feel you once 
 more beneath my feet — But I must not think of this or I 
 shall begin to execrate Boisjoli." 
 
 Notwithstanding this good resolution, all M. Pinson's advent- 
 ures since his departure passed before his closed eyes, and it 
 was only by degrees that they became confused, and he at last 
 fell asleep. 
 
 At daybreak he was up again. The Davis had not recover- 
 ed the advantage she had lost by stopping, and the Fulton 
 chased her with more determined eagerness than ever. M. 
 Pinson approached the ship's compass, and found they had 
 changed their course. 
 
 " Is the Davis returning towards Europe ?" he inquired of the 
 commodore, who was coming on deck. 
 
 " She would have to pass over our body for that," answered 
 the officer. " No, sir, the Davis is not on her way to Europe 
 just at present ; she is leading us to the Cape Verd Islands." 
 M. Pinson made a face. 
 
 " Did you hear ?" he said to Quicksilver. 
 
 " Yes," replied the boy, in a disappointed tone, " we shall 
 not see the country of canary-birds. Where are these islands, 
 sir, of which the commodore was speaking?" 
 
 "A long way ofi the cape whose name they bear," an- 
 swered the engineer. " This cape is at the westernmost 
 point of Africa, at the extreme end of Senegambia. The 
 
TO THE END OF THE WORLD. m 
 
 islands of Cape Verd were discovered by Codomorto, a Portu- 
 guese." 
 
 "And we are going to land there?" 
 
 " In order to answer that question," answered M. Pinson, " I 
 must have some conversation with the captain of the Davis, for 
 he has become the arbiter of our fate." 
 
 " But if we touch at those islands, shall we disembark?" 
 
 " Yes, on my honor," answered M. Pinson, with vehemence. 
 " Whatever the land we may approach we will set foot on it, 
 in order to return to Europe as best we may — quit of mari- 
 time routes and regulations, if the thing is possible." 
 
 " I wish, sir, we could disembark in a monkey-country, 
 so as not to have travelled so far and seen only sky and 
 water." 
 
 Just then the commodore drew near his passengers. 
 
 " I should have let well alone, M. Pinson," he said ; " I 
 thought I was rendering you a service by taking you on board, 
 rather against the rules, and now I am carrying you Heaven 
 knows where." 
 
 " Everything comes to an end in this world, commodore, and 
 your chase after the Davis will be no exception. This is my 
 consolation. Would it be indiscreet to ask what are your 
 plans ?" 
 
 " I have none, just now, except to come up with the Davis 
 and sink her." 
 
 " But how long and how far do you mean to follow 
 her ?" 
 
 " To the end of the world, sir, if necessary." 
 
 " This is pleasant !" said M. Pinson to himself. " Modern 
 science having demonstrated that the world has no end, here I 
 am at sea for all eternity. I sometimes think I must be on 
 board that phantom ship which troubles the dreams of sailors, 
 and which they all declare they have caught sight of in their 
 voyages, flying before them in mist or in storm. And now. 
 
112 AX INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 tlianks to Coisjoli, I am on my way to the end of the world ; 
 is it not really absurd ?" 
 
 " Whale astern !" cried the lookout. 
 
 M. Pinson, lost in thought, paid no attention to this an- 
 nouncement, which was repeated to him by Quicksilver, who in- 
 stantly darted away to catch sight of the monster. 
 
CliOSSIXG THE LINE. 113 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 .CROSSING THE LINE. 
 
 On tlie almost perfectly calm surface of the sea there had 
 just appeared astern of the Fulton a dark mass, which, seen 
 from a distance, resembled the hull of a ship, bottom upwards. 
 Quicksilver, who had climbed the rigging to obtain a better 
 view, saw this mass suddenly move, describe a kind of curve, 
 and then an enormous tail appeared above the water. At 
 the same moment an intolerable stench pervaded the atmos- 
 phere. 
 
 For two or three minutes the sea remained undisturbed ; 
 then it bubbled up, the end of a gigantic snout was seen, and 
 two colnmns of salt water, thrown up to a height of about two 
 yards, fell back in a shower of vapor. At the same time a 
 bluish object rose half out of the sea and instantly sank down 
 again. 
 
 " Is that a real whale, sir?" asked Quicksilver of M. Pinson, 
 who had joined him. 
 
 " It is a relation only, my boy, the large cachalot, or sperm- 
 whale, called by the scientific Physeter macrocephalus." 
 
 " It must be the biggest of fish ; it seemed to me as long as 
 our boat." 
 
 " Yes, the cachalot and the whale are giants among the in- 
 habitants of the sea. Only the cachalot is no more a fish than 
 the whale, the narwhal, the dolphin, or the porpoise are fishes. 
 All these are marnmiferous animals." 
 
 " What ! those creatures living in the sea are not fishes ?' 
 cried the boy, much surprised. 
 
114 AN INVOLUNTAIiY VOYAGE. 
 
 " They live in tlie sea," said M. Pinson, " but are obliged to 
 come to the surface every few minutes in order to breathe, as 
 you will see presently. Besides this, these creatures are warm- 
 blooded, while fish are cold-blooded animals." 
 
 " And what does this cachalot feed on ?" 
 
 " It is carnivorous, and almost as voracious as the shark; it 
 feeds on fish, and on shell-fish, and would willingly take a bite 
 at you if you gave it the chance." 
 
 Quicksilver held on tighter to the rigging. 
 
 " I have been told," he said, '' that the whale could not even 
 defend itself." 
 
 " Quite true ; it has no teeth, to begin with, but a sort of 
 fringe of whalebone ; then it is so timid that a bird hovering 
 over the water puts it to flight. Maternal love alone gives it 
 courage ; it will defend the young it suckles. As to the cacha- 
 lot, that's a different matter." 
 
 The idea of a whale suckling her young made Quicksilver 
 laugh : he at first thought M. Pinson was jesting. 
 
 " I am not jesting at all," said the engineer; " and whalers 
 know so well the affection of the whale for her offspring that 
 they often attack these little creatures, although of no value to 
 them, knowing that the mother will sooner let herself be killed 
 than forsake them." 
 
 " Poor whales !" said Quicksilver, " if they only had the 
 sense to go away from their young ones." 
 
 The cachalot showed himself again. As at first, he half rose 
 from the water, then plunged in once more, leaving the air 
 poisonous after him. 
 
 " The sailors say, sir," said Quicksilver, " that the head of this 
 f — , this animal, I mean, is as big as his body, and that it con- 
 tains spermaceti, with which candles are made. Is that true ?" 
 
 " Quite true, my boy." 
 
 " They say also that his body contains ambergris ; what is 
 ambergris ?" 
 
CROSSING THE LINE. 115 
 
 " A fatty matter, wliicli is thought to be secreted from the 
 stomach of the cachalot. Ambergris is found sometimes float- 
 ing on the surface of the sea; it has an odor of musk, which 
 makes it of use to perfumers." 
 
 Five or six other cachalots now showed themselves at some 
 distance, tumbling about in the water, chasing each other as if 
 at play. 
 
 Quicksilver learned with some surprise that these gigantic 
 creatures sometimes travel in companies of two or three hun- 
 dred. 
 
 " One curious fact," M. Pinson also told him, " is that whales, 
 against whom man has waged so relentless a war for ages that 
 they have been destroyed by millions, are very little known to 
 naturalists, who for a long time failed to distinguish between 
 different species. Now, thanks to the progress of science, we 
 have classified no less than eighty different species of the whale, 
 many of which are not yet thoroughly investigated. Nearly 
 all these mammiferous creatures dwell in the Arctic seas ; con- 
 tinually hunted about, they seek more and more for refuge in 
 the inaccessible regions surrounding the North Pole, which it 
 is the dream of mariners to navigate." 
 
 The cachalots were soon left behind by the Fulton, to the 
 great disappointment of Quicksilver, who was always hoping 
 that one of them would spring from the water and display its 
 whole body. Towards evening the ship passed through shoals 
 of porpoises, which came fearlessly about the sides and bow 
 of the steamer, as if they would race with her. Quicksilver, 
 who could with ease examine these smaller creatures, plied M. 
 Pinson with questions. 
 
 " Porpoises," said the engineer, " are piscivorous — that is to 
 say, they feed on fish. These formless animals, breathing air 
 as it were in the midst of water, and yet not amphibious, were 
 for a lono- time a puzzle to naturalists, who knew not what 
 place to assign to them. The family of porpoises or dolphins 
 
110 AN INVOLUXTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 is still more numerous than that of whales ; they arc met with 
 in every sea and in all latitudes." 
 
 Meanwhile, the sailors on the bow of the Fulton were whis- 
 tling old English tunes as they leaned over the water. 
 
 M. Pinson began to laugh. 
 
 "In the old times," said the engineer to his young com- 
 panion, who was surprised at his gayety, "dolphins were sup- 
 posed to be great lovers of music ; and I perceive that the be- 
 lief still exists. I often heard that sailors delight in seeing por- 
 poises accompany their ship, and try to induce them to remain 
 by whistling ; I see now that these stories were quite true." 
 
 "Do dolphins really like music?" inquired Quicksilver. 
 
 "Not a bit of it; it is their merry nature, their activity, 
 which attracts them to ships, and not harmony, for which their 
 hearing organs are not adapted." 
 
 " Oh, sir ! look at those two little ones that keep quite close 
 to the two big ones !" 
 
 " They are pressing against their mothers, and are going to 
 suck. The milk is blue in color." 
 
 Quicksilver opened such astonished eyes that M. Pinson had 
 to repeat to him twice that dolphin's milk is really blue before 
 he could believe it. 
 
 The sun set radiantly in a golden haze, and the Davis, still 
 flying before them, seemed on fire. Tliis sight reminded the 
 crew of the Fulton of the two ships which had been burned be- 
 fore their eyes by the privateer, and with threatening gestures 
 they all called down upon her the same cruel fate that she had 
 inflicted on her inoffensive adversaries. 
 
 Night came on, warm and soft, for the Fulton was speeding 
 towards the equator, and, though it was only the beginning of 
 March, the temperature was like that of May. M. Pinson knew 
 that the Davis had again altered her course and was now steam- 
 ing for the Virgin Islands, and he wondered more than once 
 where his involuntary travels would end. 
 
CROSSING THE LINE. 117 
 
 For three days more, while nothing occurred to vary the 
 monotony of the chase undertalvcn by the Fulton, she con- 
 tinued to make for the Virgin Islands. Instead of the rough 
 weather longed for by the commodore, who hoped that then 
 his vessel would prove her superiority to the Davis, the sun, 
 brilliant and blazing, travelled through a blue and cloudless sky. 
 Quicksilver was amazed at the sudden changes of temperature, 
 and could scarcely realize what M. Pinson told him, that they 
 were in the region of those countries where dwells an eternal 
 spring, and that if they could disembark they would find land 
 covered with palm-trees, banana-trees, and latanias, instead of 
 oaks and birches. 
 
 Many weary hours were passed by the engineer seated on the 
 quarter-deck, while he gazed far out to sea, or watched the long- 
 black trail left by the smoke of the Davis across the shining 
 heavens. He could not help counting again and again the 
 hours and the days that had passed since he had left the Can- 
 ada. Had he followed Boisjoli's advice, not only would he 
 have seen New York, but he would now be on his way to Eu- 
 rope. Instead of this he was dragged against his will to un- 
 known lands, and his destination was in the hands of a pirate, 
 who, as the commodore said, seemed to have every disposition 
 to be a general executioner. 
 
 Quicksilver, happily for himself, did not share the painful 
 anxieties of M. Pinson. Although he found life on board ship 
 monotonous, the boy made the best of it. Pie liked to sit on 
 the bow and look into the depths of the transparent waters. 
 He persuaded the sailors to tell him their histories, and, boy-like, 
 he admired these men, who, according to their own accounts, 
 had seen tigers, lions, and monkeys roaming free in the forests. 
 
 In the -evening, when a breeze arose. Quicksilver, still in his 
 favorite place, would watch the prow of the Fulton as it divided 
 the waves and made them sparkle with phosphorescent light. 
 
 He had learned from M. Pinson that these sparks are pro- 
 
118 .l^V INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 duced by millions of infusoria, infinitely minute insects whose 
 existence was only revealed to man after his discovery of the 
 microscope. 
 
 The heat increased to such a degree that, in spite of the ven- 
 tilators set up to cool the interior of the Fulton, it became pain- 
 ful to remain below. As soon as they were dressed M. Pinson 
 and Quicksilver would hasten to the quarter-deck. One morn- 
 ing the boy began to rub his eyes, thinking he must be dream- 
 ing, for the Fulton seemed to be sailing on pale green fields, 
 enamelled with red and blue flowers. 
 
 " Are we on land ?" he cried. 
 
 " No, unfortunately," said M. Pinson, " we are simply cross- 
 ing a bank of tropical grasses, a plant which botanists caWfucus 
 nutans. These sea-weeds alarmed the companions of Columbus 
 several times. They thought in their ignorance that they were 
 sailing on liquid land. 
 
 " But the red and blue flowers, what are they in reality ?" 
 
 " Medusas, animals of the zoophyte family. Their bodies 
 are simply gelatinous matter. They are called by sailors sea- 
 nettles, because a corrosive liquid which burns the hands is se- 
 creted by their bodies." 
 
 All this day and the next they passed at intervals over banks 
 of sea-grasses, and Quicksilver hardly once suspended his watch 
 from the decks. It was the 14th of March, and M. Pinson re- 
 fleeted sadly upon the fact that it was now a month since he 
 had left his home in the Rue Nollet, and sixteen days since he 
 had come on board the Fulton. These were melancholy reflec- 
 tions, and often did the engineer feel inclined to curse Boisjoli, 
 as the involuntary cause of his incredible adventures. 
 
 One morning, as M. Pinson and Quicksilver were about to 
 go on deck, as usual, they were stopped by the lieutenant. 
 
 " They are putting the Fulton into full dress," said the ofii- 
 cer, " and even the quarter-deck is unbearable. Stay down here 
 half an hour longer, if you don't want to be splashed." 
 
AN APPEAL. 
 
cxossjxG rnji line. 119 
 
 M. Pinson took up a book, and Quicksilver, instead of study- 
 ing in liis favorite place near the ship's compass, established 
 himself on the ofiBcers' table. 
 
 At nine o'clock a cabin-boy, with his hair curled, and dressed 
 in a long white gown made of sail-cloth, came to inform M. Pin- 
 son that not only might he go on deck, but that a numerous 
 company awaited his compliance with their invitation. The 
 engineer's heart beat — were they nearing land? Was it to 
 contrive this agreeable surprise for him that the lieutenant had 
 restricted him to the saloon ? He sprang on deck, stopped 
 short, and exclaimed : 
 
 "Prodigious!" 
 
 Opposite him, on a high platform representing a throne, and 
 covered with sail-cloth, sat a man with a long tow beard, dressed 
 in a garment adorned with wreaths of sea-weed. His brow was 
 encircled with a gilt crown, and he leaned majestically on a tri- 
 dent. Around him stood a group of sailors, each holding a 
 shfell, in which he pretended to blow as in a trumpet. Soon 
 the strains of a violin were heard, and a lady, adorned with a 
 black mustache, her head also encircled by a gilt crown, ad- 
 vanced to the platform, while the cabin-boys, naked to the 
 waist, and enwreathed from head to foot with sea-weed, follow- 
 ed her, roughly jostling each other. Having reached the plat- 
 form, the lady courtesied, and shouts of " Long live Neptune 
 and Amphitrite !" rose from the deck, while the fiddle scraped 
 the national air of " Yankee Doodle." 
 
 M. Pinson, astonished at the spectacle, stared open-mouthed 
 at the officers, who were imperturbably grave. As for Quick- 
 silver, he clung instinctively to the engineer. 
 
 Then a sailor approached the two passengers and summoned 
 them in the name of Father Neptune to appear before his 
 throne, in order to answer his questions and explain their pres- 
 ence on board. 
 
 At this request, which Quicksilver interpreted to him, a light 
 
120 AN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 dawned on M. Pinson. The Fulton was about to " cross the 
 line," and the sailors were about to christen the travellers, who 
 would now cross it for the first time. 
 
 The engineer was questioned as to his age, his habits, and 
 the reason of his presence on board the Fulton. 
 
 " God is my witness, my lord," he gayly answered Father 
 Neptune, " that it is quite against my will I am now trespass- 
 ing on the frontiers of your states. Did it depend on me, ev- 
 ery turn of the Fulton^s screw would take me nearer to that 
 old Europe which your commodore considers much younger 
 than America." 
 
 Quicksilver, who was deputed to translate these questions 
 and answers, accomplished his task with the utmost gravity ; 
 it did not occur to him that this masquerade was only a game. 
 The poor boy believed himself to be before a tribunal com- 
 petent to punish his misdemeanors. M. Pinson's replies, how- 
 ever, somewhat reassured him. Nevertheless, when lie had to 
 speak on his own behalf, he entreated his judges not to pun- 
 ish him, promising never again to embark without their per- 
 mission. 
 
 Madame Amphitrite comforted him with kind words, and 
 declared that the gentleness of her sex bound her to plead the 
 cause of the young traveller. 
 
 This fine mustached lady puzzled Quicksilver very much ; 
 he thought he recognized in her one of the sailors with whom 
 he was fond of talking. 
 
 M. Pinson having placed a small piece of silver in the money- 
 box, which was handed to him by a Triton, was invited to as- 
 cend the platform with his companion, in order to receive from 
 Father Neptune himself a permission, signed and countersigned, 
 to travel within his empire. The two sovereigns politely made 
 room for the engineer and Quicksilver ; they even obliged them 
 to sit on the throne. Then the fiddle struck up, accompanied 
 by fife and drum. Father Neptune gallantly presented his 
 
CROSSING THE LINK. 121 
 
 band to his lovely companion, who was going through a thou- 
 sand mincing tricks with her fan. The bridal pair majestically 
 descended the steps, and had scarcely reached the bottom when 
 the whole platform suddenly turned over, upsetting M. Pinson 
 and Quicksilver into a tank of water. 
 
 6 ^ 
 
122 'A.N INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE VIRGIN ISLANDS. 
 
 Just as tlie platform gave way and let liim fall into tlie tank, 
 treacherously concealed beneath a sail, M. Pinson was explain- 
 ing to Quicksilver the meaning of this performance, which had 
 greatly puzzled the boy. He informed him that it was a cus- 
 tomary recreation for sailors, who, during the long voyages to 
 which their hard and dangerous calling condemns them, have 
 very few opportunities of amusement ; that an involuntary bath 
 was a frequent consequence of the entertainment, and he had 
 proceeded thus far in his explanation when his sudden upset 
 gave practical proof of the correctness of his assertions. 
 
 When they had recovered the shock of their tumble, which 
 they took in good part, M. Pinson and Quicksilver emerged 
 streaming from the tank, and were instantly assailed by jets of 
 water from three pumps and by the contents of about twenty 
 buckets. The engineer was strong and active, and soon passed 
 from the defensive to the offensive. He speedily captured one 
 of the buckets, and returned shower for shower. The fray, in- 
 terspersed with shouts of laughter, became general. Quicksil- 
 ver was not behindhand ; seizing a pump-hose, he climbed on 
 the little bridge, and liberally showered on those who had be- 
 sprinkled him. An imperative whistle from the boatswain put 
 an end to this hydraulic engagement. The fun came to an end, 
 and discipline resumed its sway. But M. Pinson, wet to the 
 skin, had to purchase clothes for himself and Quicksilver, for 
 they possessed only those they stood upright in. Luckily, they 
 found all their requirements in the kits of a cabin-boy and a 
 
THE VIRGIN ISLANDS. 123 
 
 sailor, and M. Pinson was soon pacing the decks arrayed in a 
 jersey and a sou'wester. 
 
 A similar scene to that which had enlivened the Fulton was 
 taking place on board the Davis, and the sounds of a drum and 
 the scraping of a fiddle could be heard over the sea. Thus the 
 very men who, by a slight change of wind, might bo brought 
 together in bloody affray, were giving themselves up to the 
 same wild pastime. As M. Pinson had remarked, life is full of 
 these strange contrasts, and human nature requires such alter- 
 nations of joy and sadness, of gravity and folly, in order to pre- 
 serve its equilibrium. 
 
 Towards half-past eleven the Fulton was in her accustomed 
 order. The commodore and his officers were taking the sun's 
 altitude with their sextants. This operation was always puz- 
 zling to Quicksilver, who now questioned M. Pinson concerning 
 the meaning of the words meridians, latitude, and longitude, 
 which he heard frequently repeated at the hour when the ship's 
 bearings were taken. 
 
 " Well, my boy," said the engineer, " you know that the earth 
 is round ?" 
 
 " Yes," answered Quicksilver, " and you proved it to me the 
 other day, by pointing out to me that we could perceive the 
 masts of a ship before we could see her hull." 
 
 " You know also that the earth, revolving on her axis, of 
 which the ends are. called the poles, besides her journey of three 
 hundred and sixty-five days round the sun, turns on herself 
 once in twenty-four hours." 
 
 " Yes, sir, you told me this, and yoil explained to me that 
 the earth's axis may be compared to the axle-tree of a carriage, 
 which remains motionless while the wheels turn round." 
 
 " Very good ; well, a great circle has been traced by man in 
 a perpendicular direction from the earth's axis, which he has 
 placed at an equal distance from the poles, and it divides our 
 globe into two equal portions. One of these is called the boreal. 
 
124 AN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 or northern, hemisphere, and the other the austral, or southern, 
 hemisphere. The great circle is the equator, called by seamen 
 the line." 
 
 " I understand." 
 
 " A meridian, on the other hand, is a circle which, passing 
 through the axis of the earth and the two poles, is perpendicular 
 to the equator. Each meridian divides the earth into two new 
 hemispheres, one called eastern, the other western. There are 
 one hundred and eighty meridians in each hemisphere, three 
 hundred and sixty in all." 
 
 " I understand this too," said Quicksilver. 
 
 " Now the tropics are two parallel circles, situated one to the 
 north and one to the south of the equator, circles beyond which 
 the sun does not travel in his apparent yearly course round the 
 earth. The north tropic is called the tropic of Cancer — it is 
 the one we have just crossed ; the southern tropic is called the 
 tropic of Capricorn. Tropic means return, because the sun 
 when it has reached the tropic of Cancer appears to ascend no 
 farther, but to begin to descend." 
 
 Quicksilver, with wide-opened eyes, was looking in his teacli- 
 er's face, and listening to him with earnest attention. M. Pin- 
 son remarked some uncertainty in his expression, and to make 
 his lesson clearer he traced out the lines of which he was 
 speaking. He then continued : 
 
 " Now the longitude of any spot is the arc or segment of 
 the equator, or of any one of its parallels, which is comprised 
 between the meridian that runs through this spot and another 
 meridian arbitrarily fixed. The longitude of the different spots 
 on the globe is measured by the difference in their hours, which 
 are multiplied by fifteen degrees, because the sun in his appar- 
 ent course of each day travels three hundred and sixty degrees 
 in twenty-four hours, and consequently fifteen degrees in one 
 hour. In order to make an exact calculation, seamen are pro- 
 vided with a chronometer which indicates the hour of their 
 
THE VIRGIX ISLANDS. 125 
 
 iiatiouul meridian. Tims, -where we now are it is noon, but 
 tlieir chronometer declares it to be three o'clock in Paris ; now 
 three times fifteen degrees make forty-five degrees, from which 
 it results that the Fulton is forty-five degrees longitude west 
 of Paris." 
 
 " I understand," said the boy, after looking once more at the 
 geometric figure traced by his friend. 
 
 " The latitude of a place," continued M. Pinson, " is the arc 
 of the meridian comprised between the parallel which passes 
 there and the equator ; it is measured by the elevation of the 
 celestial pole above this spot. The knowledge of latitude and 
 longitude is of the greatest importance in geography, and no 
 one nowadays ought to be ignorant of the manner in which 
 they are taken. And it is owing to this knowledge, my boy, 
 that every day at noon the commodore can tell us on what pre- 
 cise spot of the globe we then are." 
 
 " I always thought," said Quicksilver, " that sailors directed 
 their course by the compass." 
 
 " The compass helps them to keep straight on the wide sur- 
 face of the waters ; it is but a sign-post, nothing more — for it 
 points to the north without marking the distance. It is only 
 by an exact knowledge of latitude and longitude that a ship 
 can be steered to any given point." 
 
 The next day but one, the 20th of April, the commodore, 
 having taken the altitude, made his calculations, and consulted 
 the barometer, came back on deck rubbing his hands. 
 
 "What is your good news, sir?" asked M. Pinson. 
 
 "The glass is falling at last," answered the officer, "and be- 
 tween this and night there will be a squall, which will bring us 
 nearer the Davis." 
 
 " God grant it !" cried the engineer ; " I am by nature a 
 peaceful man, but I would willingly help in a struggle which 
 would sufficiently damage the Davis to make her stop her 
 course." 
 
126 JiN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 " That's just what the villainous pirate wants to do ; but I 
 hope to spoil his game." 
 
 " What do you mean ?" 
 
 " That in a few hours we shall sight the Virgin Isles ; that 
 the pirate, whose coals are beginning to run short, will, in all 
 probability, try to reach the harbor of St. Thomas, in order to 
 replenish and refit in safety." 
 
 The commodore bad scarcely ceased speaking when the look- 
 out signalled land. 
 
 M. Pinson perceived the same bluish cloud above the water 
 that he had seen when he was hoping to approach the English 
 coast. Quicksilver, hearing that the land just in sight was part 
 of America, could scarcely conceal his joy. At last he was 
 going to see one of the wonderful countries visited by the great 
 Robinson ! 
 
 " What are the Virgin Isles, sir ?" he inquired of M. Pinson. 
 " Are they large ?" 
 
 " The Virgin Isles," answered the engineer, " were discovered 
 in 1493 by Christopher Columbus. They are forty in number, 
 without counting a multitude of little islets scattered among 
 them. The principal island, St. Thomas, whicb is simply a 
 vast rock, belongs to Denmark. The Danes have made it a 
 free port." 
 
 " And are these Virgin Isles inhabited ?" 
 
 " A few only ; for some of them are without water, and they 
 are exposed to frequent hurricanes.'' 
 
 Quicksilver was soon absorbed in watching the manoeuvres 
 of the Davis and the Fulton. Great black clouds gathered on 
 the horizon ; the wind blew fiercely, and the sea, so calm for 
 the last fortnight, began to be disturbed. The waves were 
 working, as the sailors expressed it, and the commodore con- 
 tinaed rubbing his hands as he saw the foam dash against the 
 sides of his ship and the spray fall on her deck. 
 
 As her captain had predicted, the Fulton behaved bravely 
 
THE VIRGIN ISLANDS. 12'/ 
 
 amid tlie tossing waves. It soon became evident that she vpas 
 gaining on the enemy whom she had been chasing for more 
 than a fortnight. Every instant the wind became higher, and 
 the sea consequently more rough. 
 
 The Davis could be seen rising, sinking, bending, as if she 
 were about to be swallowed by the waves. This astonished 
 Quicksilver, who could not believe that the Fulton was execut- 
 ing pretty much the same movements. As for M. Pinson, when 
 he saw, as it were, a mere little wooden shell thus dancing before 
 him, he could but admire the daring of those men who brave 
 the elements on so slender a support. 
 
 They were fast nearing land, and the palm-trees which crown 
 the summit of St. Thomas came in sight. These trees, stand- 
 ing out against the sky, astonished Quicksilver, who asked a 
 multitude of questions. 
 
 But M. Pinson scarcely replied. The engineer was engrossed 
 with the mancBuvres of the Fulton, which suddenly ceased to 
 follow in the track of the Davis and ran for land. 
 
 What could be the meaning of this ? At the very moment 
 when his ship appeared on the point of coming up with the 
 enemy, did the commodore intend to give up the pursuit? The 
 engineer was lost in wonder. 
 
 The strongholds surmounting the heights of St. Thomas soon 
 became visible to the naked eye. Quicksilver, using a spy-glass, 
 could distinguish the guns and the sentries, and was jumping 
 for joy. 
 
 " But where is the harbor ?" he asked of a sailor. " I can- 
 not see a single house." 
 
 " The harbor lies at the end of the roadstead, which is shel- 
 tered by the two headlands you see before you," answered the 
 sailor. "You don't see it until you follow the canal between 
 these headlands." 
 
 '' And is there a town ?'' 
 
 " Yes ; a town of ten thousand inhabitants. It is built on 
 
128 AN mVOL UNTARY VO YA GE. 
 
 the side of a nearly perpendicular mountain. The streets, ex- 
 cept the principal one, which runs alongside the sea, are only 
 accessible by flights of steps." 
 
 " Well, my boy," said M. Pinson just then, " so we have come 
 to an end of our voyage." 
 
 " Are we going to land ?" 
 
 " I hope so. St. Thomas is the port to which the steamers 
 which run between Europe and South America come for coal ; 
 therefore there will be little delay before we embark for France 
 or England." 
 
 " Would not one think, sir, that the Davis had stopped ?" 
 
 " Yes, the commodore has been explaining her manoeuvres to 
 me. By means of the FultorCs superior speed she has got 
 ahead, so as to bar the way to the Davis, who intended taking 
 shelter in the harbor, and oblige her to fight. Only the Davis 
 seems nowise inclined to engage with the Fulton, and is en- 
 deavoring to get near enough to the island to be in Danish 
 waters." 
 
 " In Danish waters ?" echoed Quicksilver. 
 
 " Yes. International law has decreed that in time of war 
 two foreign ships may not attack each other within a certain 
 distance from the coasts of a neutral country, that space heing 
 held to form part of the territory which it surrounds." 
 
 " So the Fulton could not attack the Davis if she came in as 
 near as we are ?" 
 
 " No, not without violation of Danish territory.'' 
 
 The Davis had resumed her way, and directed her course 
 towards the southern point of the island. Instantly the Fulton 
 steamed in the same direction, and outstripped her adversary. 
 The Davis turned back, and when she had reached a point op- 
 posite the canal leading to the roadstead she put her head 
 towards the narrow passage. 
 
 But the stormy sea seemed to have given wings to the Ful- 
 ton, and she was again in time to stop the corsair's way. The 
 
THE VIRGIN ISLANDS. 129 
 
 two steamers thou exchanged several shots ; the Davis, know- 
 ing she would be disabled if she kept within range of her for- 
 midable enemy, disappointed her several times by unexpectedly 
 putting about : a series of skilful manoeuvres were thus execut- 
 ed which extorted praise from the commodore. 
 
 " The captain of that ship knows his business," he grumbled. 
 " He must be a Northerner." 
 
 M. Pinson smiled. He hoped that the captain of the Davis, 
 by reason of the skill which even his enemy acknowledged, 
 would succeed at last in running the blockade and reaching the 
 harbor. 
 
 Suddenly the privateer returned to the open sea, and ap- 
 peared to direct her course towards Europe. 
 
 The Fulton contented herself with tacking along the island. 
 
 " She's going off and will escape you," said the engineer in- 
 voluntarily. 
 
 " Not at all," answered the commodore ; " the rascal is trying 
 a trick which might succeed with a Frenchman or an English- 
 man, but not with me. The Davis, sir, like ourselves, is short 
 of coal, and could only return to Europe under canvas. At all 
 risks she must get into St. Thomas or St. Domingo. Now, if 
 rough weather continues to help us along, she will only accom- 
 plish this after having tasted the quality of our shot." 
 
 M. Pinson made no reply ; the joy this information caused 
 him was overpowering. His singular voyage was thus drawing 
 to a close. Both steamers must of necessity give in after a few 
 more hours for lack of fuel ; the commodore had just admitted 
 this, and the engineer felt inclined to embrace him for the good 
 news. 
 
 Night came on ; despite the bad weather the Fulton con- 
 trived to keep the Davis under the rays of the electric appa- 
 ratus. Twenty times the corsair tried to draw near the canal, 
 twenty times she was driven back. She returned shot for shot, 
 find several sailors were wounded ; but through all her evolu- 
 
 0* 
 
130 AN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 tions she avoided getting too near her adversary, who at close 
 quarters "would have smashed her in a few minutes. 
 
 Towards ten in the evening the wind fell, the heavens were 
 starlight, and by degrees the sea grew calm. Not before mid- 
 night did M. Pinson retire to rest, in full confidence of landing 
 on the following day. At five in the morning, surprised at 
 feeling the Fulton in movement, the engineer dressed hastily 
 and repaired to the quarter-deck. St. Thomas was no longer 
 in sight, but in its stead he beheld a multitude of little islets, 
 against which the sea was raging furiously. The Davis, still 
 within view, seemed to be steaming among reefs, and a boat, 
 still carrying a sail, was drifting about at less than two hun- 
 dred yards from the Fulton. 
 
"MAN OVERBOARD." 131 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 "man overboard." 
 
 M. PiNSON could not believe his eyes. 
 
 " Prodigious !" he exclaimed. 
 
 Then, looking about, he sought for some one to question, be- 
 ing quite at a loss to understand what he saw. 
 
 The commodore, his first officer, and the chief-engineer were 
 standing on the bridge ; two sub-officers transmitted their orders 
 to the men in charge of the helm. There was a heavy swell 
 on from yesterday's storm, and the Fultori rose up, bent over, 
 and sank again, the sport of the liquid mountains on her bow. 
 
 " What has happened ? What is happening ?" asked the en- 
 gineer of Quicksilver, who, after a visit to the prow, was slowly 
 returning to the quarter-deck. 
 
 " The sailors," answered the boy, " have just told me that 
 the Davis, finding she cannot get into the roadstead at St. 
 Thomas, has resolved on regaining the open sea. The com- 
 modore at first thought it was a trick, and he let her gain a lit- 
 tle advantage, but when he saw the Davis was really going off 
 for good, he began to chase her again." 
 
 " Where are we ?" 
 
 " Opposite the reefs which divide the Virgin Isles." 
 
 "And the deserted boat yonder, floating hap-hazard, does she 
 belong to the Davis P' 
 
 " That is the boat belonging to the pilot whom the Davis 
 has just taken on board." 
 
 M. Pinson asked his young companion no more questions. 
 The commodore was giving orders. 
 
132 ^A' IWOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 The coiuinand of a man-of-war is a heavy responsibility, and 
 he who undertakes it must have a profound knowledge of the 
 sea and the winds, and their caprices ; coolness that nothing 
 can disturb, a keen eye, and the power of prompt decision. 
 The lives of many hundreds of men often depend on the ma- 
 noeuvres he may dictate, and he is responsible to his country 
 for the ship confided to him. He is bound to know her speed, 
 her qualities, her defects, her behavior in all weathers, just as 
 a rider should know the horse he has to break or to drive. A 
 ship which lags in calm weather becomes light and swift when 
 battling with a raging sea. Another obeys the helm but re- 
 luctantly, or rears, as it were, at the touch of the curb, and 
 dashes eagerly at the desired course. For five years Commo- 
 dore "Warren had commanded the Fulton; he knew her thor- 
 oughly, and had the same perfect confidence in his crew that 
 they placed in him. 
 
 Hardly had the Davis entered the reefs than out of bravado 
 she hoisted her flag, and a mocking cheer reached the Fulton 
 across the water. 
 
 " Run up our colors, sir," said the commodore to the boat- 
 swain ; " and you, boy," he added, turning to a gunner, " give 
 her a salute." 
 
 The stars and stripes were soon flying, and the report of a 
 gun rang sharp and clear, while the spent ball fell at ten yards 
 from the Davis. 
 
 " Steer her more to the north," cried the commodore to the 
 helmsmen. 
 
 The Fulton turned towards the reefs. The commodore's 
 orders became numerous, and ten minutes later the big steamer 
 in her turn entered the passage taken by her enemy, amid the 
 prolonged cheering of the crew. 
 
 " This is well done !" said M. Pinson to Quicksilver, " now 
 it only remains to be seen to what these dashing measures will 
 lead." 
 
"MAiV OVERBOARD." X33 
 
 " Are we making for a harbor ?" asked the boy. 
 
 " jN"ot exactly ; all these little islets arc desert and uninhab- 
 itable." 
 
 " Desert !" said Quicksilver ; " yet we can see grass and trees ; 
 and the one we are now nearing looks like a regular island." 
 
 " You are right, and I would not answer for it that that ' reg- 
 ular island' will not shortly become our dwelling-place ; because, 
 besides the little islets against which we see the waves breaking, 
 there must be many others under the surface. It would hardly 
 improve our prospects to have Boisjoli here, but I should not 
 grudge him a share in the sensations of which he is the cause." 
 
 Quicksilver, with sparkling eyes, was watching the little islets, 
 which the Fulton, as she exactly followed the track of the Da- 
 vis, sometimes passed within a very short distance. He did not 
 altogether dread a shipwreck ; for, being able to swim, he felt 
 sure, should the worst happen, that he should be able to gain 
 one of the shores among which they were threading their way. 
 Whenever he caught sight of one on which was a clump of 
 trees, he gazed at it longingly ; it seemed to him the very place 
 where he might realize his most ardent wish, that of living a 
 wild life, like the departed Robinson. 
 
 For nearly four hours they rounded islands, islets, and rocks, 
 then all at once the broad deep sea appeared between the two 
 ships. A great sigh of relief was breathed by all ; even the 
 commodore took time to wipe his glass, and came down fi'om 
 his observatory. 
 
 " Well, sir, and what do you think of our chase ?" he asked 
 M. Pinson. 
 
 "I think that you are a bold sailor, commodore." 
 
 " I am an American, sir, and I know my country's motto, 
 ' Go ahead !' " 
 
 *' Have you already sailed in these parts ?" 
 
 " Yes, once, by good luck." 
 
 "Shall I be too inquisitive if I ask where we are going ?" 
 
134 ^N INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 " To Charleston, to Baltimore, perhaps to New York." 
 
 " Are we then in the open sea ?" 
 
 " Not precisely ; we are in a gulf, bounded by reefs similar 
 to those we have just left. In about two hours' time we shall 
 be navigating a channel." 
 
 " It's going to be a queer business," said the engineer with a 
 grimace. 
 
 " Yes," answered the commodore, " especially after sunset, 
 when I hope the Davis will be driven into a corner." 
 
 " This gulf in which we are has no outlet, then ?" 
 
 " It has, sir, but I don't think the Davis, even with a pilot on 
 board, will venture to try it." 
 
 The commodore returned to his post. As he had predicted, 
 the man on the watch soon sang out, " Breakers ahead !" 
 
 " Notice the shores carefully as we pass by," said the en- 
 gineer to Quicksilver. " I have a presentiment that our com- 
 modore's daring will end by leaving us on the coast some- 
 where." 
 
 The prospect of such an occurrence did not seem to disturb 
 the boy in the slightest degree. 
 
 " Just now, sir," he said, drawing nearer the engineer and 
 speaking in a low tone, " they were feeding the poultry on 
 board ; and I took care quietly to fill my pockets with barley 
 and wheat." 
 
 " Why, my boy ?" 
 
 " In order to sow it on the island where we are going to 
 be shipwrecked," answered Quicksilver with great seriousness. 
 " And I have," added he, " a great hunch of bread besides." 
 
 " This bread is to keep us until the corn grows ?" 
 
 " Yes, sir." 
 
 Notwithstanding the real gravity of their position the engi- 
 neer could not help laughing. Quicksilver was not in the least 
 disconcerted. 
 
 " I have also," he said, " a knife and a big nail, and I know 
 
"MAN OVERBOARD." I35 
 
 wliere the carpenter keeps his tools ; tliey are in a cliest, and 
 •\ve can take it on the raft we are going to make when the I''ul- 
 ton is wrecked." 
 
 " The deuce we can !" said M. Pinson ; " your imagination 
 travels fast, my boy." 
 
 " Yon see we must be ready for everything, sir, and I advise 
 you to keep an eye on the safety-buoys that are hanging along 
 the deck. So soon as the Fulton strikes on a rock, cut the 
 rope of one of the buoys and throw it down into the sea. I 
 will do the same, and we shall thus be able to reach the island 
 that seems the biggest. We ought to have a gun, but I am 
 afraid of taking any of the officers' !" 
 
 " Well, well !" said M. Pinson, stroking Quicksilver's hair, 
 " you will soon be making me believe that the series of ad- 
 ventures I owe to Boisjoli will really end tragically. Certainly 
 we are in danger; the serious looks of all the sailors prove 
 that ; but the commodore values his own life, by Jove ! and he 
 will think twice before smashing his vessel on a rock." 
 
 " He is an American, sir, and to serve out the Davis would 
 not mind throwing us all overboard ; he told me so just now.'' 
 
 " That was a joke. Quicksilver ; for his giving us all a cold 
 bath could do no harm to the Davis." 
 
 The engineer stopped short ; they were then coasting round 
 a flat, barren island, where there grew only a few stunted trees. 
 Having passed it, they found themselves opposite another, 
 standing about a hundred yards above the level of the sea. On 
 the summit a man and woman were visible. They were look- 
 ing at the two ships with evident astonishment, and were mak- 
 ing signs, and pointing to the horizon. 
 
 " Are they savages ?" inquired Quicksilver of M. Pinson. 
 
 " No, my boy, their garments are of European manufacture ; 
 to all appearance they are fishermen staying for a short time in 
 this place, for I see a boat anchored at the foot of the rock." 
 
 For a long time Quicksilver watched the fisherman and his 
 
130 -l-V LWOLVNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 wife, envying the happiness of those who dwell on desert isl- 
 ands, a lot which seemed to the boy to be the height of felici- 
 ty. He was calling to mind all the feats of Robinson, when 
 his attention was caught by a flock of birds rising from the 
 rocks, and hovering over the Fulton. Among them were two 
 frigate birds, which derive this name, on account of their power 
 of flight, from the ships that are reckoned the best sailers. The 
 frigate {hirunda marina)., or sea swallow, is of great width be- 
 tween the wings, and usually soars high into the sky. Its sight, 
 which is as piercing as that of the eagle, enables it to perceive 
 fishes swimming on the surface of the water, on which it falls 
 with the swiftness of lightning. The sea-swallow inhabits trop- 
 ical climes, and seldom leaves the coast for more than a dis- 
 tance of one degree. 
 
 Quicksilver soon noticed other birds, ^\■hose tails seemed to 
 be ornamented with two long straws. 
 
 " You are not mistaken," said M. Pinson ; " and it is on ac- 
 count of these tail-feathers that this bird is vulgarly called 
 ' straw-tail.' It is also called the bird of the tropics, for it is 
 rarely met with beyond the zone of the equator. On this ac- 
 count the great Linnseus, with his poetical imagination, gives it 
 the name of Phaeton, or bird of the sun." 
 
 The attention of both pupil and teacher was now recalled to 
 the commodore, who, standing on the bridge, was rapidly giv- 
 ing orders. The Fulton had entered a narrow creek, and was 
 carefully following the track of the Davis. The latter was at 
 times hidden behind the islets, and the distance between her 
 and the Fulton seemed to increase. The sun was sinking 
 towards the horizon, and M. Pinson could not think without 
 alarm of the dangers that both steamers must incur if surprised 
 by night in this narrow passage. They had now emerged from 
 the creek, and the sea was comparatively open, although on all 
 sides land was in sight at a distance of about nine miles. The 
 commodore came down from his bridge for a moment's rest. 
 
"^fAN OVERBOARD." 137 
 
 " If tlie charts are correct," he said to M. Piiison, " we are in 
 a ' no thoroughfare,' from wliich there will be no escape for the 
 Davis, so I am rather of a mind to wait for her here. After 
 she has made the round of the gulf, she must come back, to a 
 dead certainty." 
 
 " Night is coming on, commodore, and prudence — " 
 
 " Prudence is not the point, sir ; the point is to destroy the 
 Davis. If my charts were only American, I could rely abso- 
 hitely on them, but they are drawn up by officers of your coun- 
 try, and I fear tliat tlie pilot — By heaven ! the Davis seems 
 uncertain — " 
 
 The commodore sprang to his bridge ; the Davis was hesitat- 
 ing — she was slowly coasting round a rock on her left. The 
 Fulton was gaining fast on her enemy. M. Pinson, in order to 
 obtain a better view, hoisted himself up on the after part of the 
 ship, and leaned against the staff from the top of which floated 
 the flag of the United States. 
 
 The Davis, probably on account of tlie narrowness of the 
 passage, continued to steam slowly ; suddenly she veered round 
 and fired a broadside into her enemy. A shot, striking the 
 flagstaff against which M. Pinson was leaning, shivered it, and, 
 unable to keep his foothold, M. Pinson was precipitated into 
 the sea. 
 
 At this sight Quicksilver, with wonderful presence of mind, 
 cut a safety buoy loose and threw it overboard ; then the poor 
 boy leaned over to watch his friend, from whom the Fulton 
 was rapidly steaming away. M. Pinson reappeared on the sur- 
 face, and then sank. 
 
 " He can't swim," cried Quicksilver in an agony ; and, with- 
 out further reflection, the brave little fellow threw himself into 
 the water and struck out towards the engineer. 
 
 The cry, "A man overboard I" echoed dismally from one end 
 of the Fulton to the other ; soon the ship was five hundred yards 
 away from the drowning man. 
 
138 AN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 Quicksilver swam like a fish : in a very short time lie had 
 caught hold of the buoy he had cast overboard ; helped by this, 
 he pushed it towards the engineer, who, although surprised and 
 bewildered by his unexpected fall, had speedily recovered his 
 presence of mind, and was swimming vigorously. 
 
 " Courage, sir !" cried Quicksilver ; " I am coming." 
 
 " Husband your strength," answered the engineer, calmly. 
 
 Ten minutes later, M. Pinson also had hold of the ropes at- 
 tached to the buoy. 
 
 "How was it?" he said, as he shook himself; "were you, 
 too, knocked overboard ?" 
 
 " No," answered Quicksilver ; " but after I had thrown you 
 the buoy, I saw you turning round and sinking ; I thought you 
 could not swim, and I came to help you." 
 
 The simplicity with which the boy spoke of his heroic action 
 made M. Pinson first turn pale, then red. 
 
 " My boy, my boy !" he said, seizing him by the arms ; "what 
 have you done ! — good heavens ! — but we will speak of it af- 
 terwards." 
 
 The two swimmers, pushing the buoy before them, turned 
 towards the Fulton. They saw, with horror, that she was steam- 
 ing away from them. 
 
 " It is impossible !" exclaimed M. Pinson ; " they can't be 
 leaving us to perish." 
 
 " Did not the commodore say, this morning, sir, that to reach 
 the Davis he would throw us all overboard?" 
 
 M. Pinson once more scanned the horizon ; doubt was no 
 longer possible, the sun was sinking, his disk already was half 
 hidden, and the Fulton continued her way, without appearing 
 to trouble herself about the unfortunate swimmers. 
 
THE LIFE-BDOY. 
 
A TERRIBLE NIGIIT. 139 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 A TERRIBLE NIGHT. 
 
 With that mechanical instinct which urges men to strug- 
 gle against dangers which threaten their lives, M. Pinson and 
 Quicksilver continued to swim without exchanging a word for 
 nearly a quarter of an hour. Thought was succeeding thought, 
 rapidly, unceasingly, in the engineer's brain. By a curious 
 phenomenon his imagination, instead of being fixed on present 
 danger, carried him away to the past. He seemed to be again 
 with his mother, and then in the great school-room at Sainte- 
 Barbe's sitting by the side of Boisjoli. The griefs, the joys, 
 the smallest incidents of his simple, calm, laborious existence, 
 passed before his eyes like things of yesterday. He recalled 
 the evil night on which he had allowed his friend to over-per- 
 suade him, and muttered as he shook his head: 
 
 " Prodigious ! Yes, prodigious." 
 
 Bitter, painful reality recalled M. Pinson to the present. He 
 turned his eyes anxiously around. On every side there was 
 land — that is, small islets or rocks against which the waves 
 were breaking. The nearest of these rocks was on the. left at 
 a distance of at least six miles. They must reach this rock or 
 they must die. 
 
 A somewhat heavy swell gently moved the sea ; large smooth 
 waves slowly rose and fell, like noiseless breathing. Sea-gulls 
 were regaining the crevices which served them for shelter, and 
 would hover for an instant above the swimmers ; then, circling 
 in the air, would resume their flight, uttering the hoarse cry 
 which sailors compare to the groans of a drowning man. 
 
140 AN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 M. Pinson turned towards liis companion ; Quicksilver was 
 holding by one hand to the buoy, and swimming easily. 
 
 " But for this dear boy," thought the engineer, " I should 
 now be dead, and but for his passion for Robinson Crusoe he 
 would never have thought of throwing over the buoy, which is 
 so great a help to us. The childish preparations which made 
 me smile this morning have been the very means of my safety ! 
 "Well, our business now is to get out of the present difficulty, 
 were it only in order to relate to Boisjoli all the disasters of 
 which he has been the cause." 
 
 ]M. Pinson energetically nodded his head. 
 
 " Swim more slowly," he said to Quicksilver; " thanks to the 
 help which your presence of mind has procured for us, we can 
 get on without exerting ourselves overmuch, and it is important 
 to husband our strength. Come now, let me hoist you on to 
 the buoy, and I will push it towards land. When I feel tired 
 we will change places." 
 
 The buoy was a circle of cork, at least two yards in diame- 
 ter ; it was covered with strong canvas, and fitted on every side 
 with loose ropes. Quicksilver was soon seated on it, and M. 
 Pinson, swimming with calmness and self-possession, pushed 
 the improvised skiff before him. 
 
 " The largest island is on this side, sir," said Quicksilver, 
 pointing to the east. 
 
 " The point is to reach one, whichever it may be," answered 
 the engineer, '' and the nearest will be the best for us." 
 
 A last glimmer of light tinted the western sky ; it soon van- 
 ished, and darkness fell over the sea. Twice or thrice Quick- 
 silver begged his companion to take his place on the buoy ; but 
 M. Pinson continued swimming. At the end of an hour he 
 consented to take some rest, and with many precautions suc- 
 ceeded in placing himself on the buoy. 
 
 With delicious feelings of rest, he stretched his arms, his 
 legs, his whole body, on a comparatively solid surface. He 
 
A TERRIBLE iXIGIJT. 141 
 
 hastened to take ofi bis jersey, which impeded his movements. 
 Quicksilver had ah'eady taken the same precaution. 
 
 A breeze was driving clouds over the sky, and the pale light 
 of the stars soon ceased to shine on the shipwrecked pair. 
 "Whither were they going ? From time to time M. Pinson lis- 
 tened attentively for any sounds. It seemed to him then that 
 be could hear the sea breaking over rocks on his right. At 
 first this appeared to be inexplicable. After much reflection he 
 began to fear that his exertions and those of his young com- 
 panion were of no avail, and that one of the numerous ocean- 
 currents was drawing them away from the point they were try- 
 ing to reach and carrying them towards other rocks. 
 
 Three hours passed ; they seemed an eternity to the poor 
 waifs. They no longer swam, but the buoy drifted on. Al- 
 though the night was warm, their long immersion in the water 
 had chilled them, and they shivered. Every quarter of an hour 
 they changed places ; but M. Pinson only ceased swimming when 
 he felt his arms stiffening or his hands becoming cramped. 
 
 The engineer's mind was full of presentiments of evil, which 
 he carefully kept from Quicksilver. Fortunately the boy was 
 of high courage and spirit ; besides, thanks to the liveliness of 
 his imagination and the carelessness natural to his youth, he 
 always believed himself on the point of landing. One thing- 
 only troubled him — the bread in his pocket was soaked, and 
 the matches with which he had taken the precaution to provide 
 himself were going to be " spoilt," as he expressed it, and would 
 be useless. 
 
 " How can we light a fire," he said, " if the matches won't 
 strike ?" 
 
 " "We will dry them in the sun, if we have the luck to see it 
 again," answered the engineer, who fell in with the boy's fan- 
 cies, so as not to discourage him. 
 
 "It is settled, sir,' that you are to be Kobinson," continued 
 Quicksilver. " I should have liked being Robinson myself ; but. 
 
142 AN INVOLUNTARY- VOYAGE. 
 
 of course, you must be the head. I sha'n't make a bad Friday, 
 you'll see." 
 
 " I am sure of it, my boy." 
 
 " We shall find animals in our island. I shall take charge 
 of them and tame them. The salt water won't spoil my corn, 
 will it?" 
 
 " No, dear boy ; we will dry it, like the matches." 
 
 " You'll see," Quicksilver went on, " we sha'n't be so very 
 wretched. What made Eobinson so sad was having no one to 
 talk to. Now, we can talk together. We will have a summer 
 house and a winter house ; instead of hens we will have sea- 
 birds ; and then we'll hunt !" 
 
 " Certainly." 
 
 " We'll stick up a mast, and in ten or twenty years, when a 
 ship discovers us, you will have a long beard. Then we shall 
 go back to Europe, and we shall sell our island. Oh !" added 
 Quicksilver, whose turn had now come to climb upon the buoy, 
 " but how I wish we had arrived !" 
 
 " Patience, dear boy." 
 
 " We shall have," said the little fellow, after he had stretched 
 himself on the buoy, " one great advantage over Eobinson, 
 sir." 
 
 " What?" asked M. Pinson. 
 
 " You are an engineer. If we get tired of our island we will 
 go to St. Thomas, and they'll be greatly astonished when we 
 arrive there." 
 
 Quicksilver talked on for a long time ; then an interval oc- 
 curred between his sentences, he muttered, and was silent. 
 Overcome by fatigue, he had fallen asleep. 
 
 The engineer called up all his strength and, for an hour, he 
 held on to the buoy. Twenty times, feeling himself failing, he 
 was on the point of awakening Quicksilver, and twenty times 
 by vigorously striking out he succeeded in driving away the 
 stupor that was creeping over him. Once he started, thinking 
 
A TERRIBLE NIGHT. I43 
 
 lie heard tbe engines of the Fulton. He rose as far as possi- 
 ble above the water, listening attentively, but could only hear 
 the sad and monotonous wail of the sea as it broke, without in- 
 termission, on far-distant rocks. 
 
 " Man proposes, God disposes," he thought. " We are but 
 weak playthings in the hands of the Eternal God. I had ar- 
 ranged to spend my life at Batignolles. I had taken a long 
 lease from my landlord, so that I might alter my house as I 
 pleased. I went to the expense of carpeting my floors and cov- 
 ering ray walls so as to make my nest warmer and nicer ; and 
 here am I, drifting along on the ocean, sustained by a wretched 
 piece of cork that is taking me Heaven knows where !" 
 
 " Thank you, sir, you are very kind," Quicksilver murmured 
 in his sleep. 
 
 M. Pinson gazed tenderly on him. 
 
 "God relieves him from my anxieties," he thought; "and 
 he will protect this young life." 
 
 " Good-morning, Mother Pitch,^'' murmured the boy in Eng- 
 lish. 
 
 M. Pinson's face was near Quicksilver's ; he softly kissed him. 
 
 " It is my turn now to save him," said the engineer, reflect- 
 ing that it was through devotion to himself that the boy was 
 in his present danger. "Yes, I will save him." 
 
 A distant report was heard, followed by several others. 
 
 " The Fulton and the Davis are at loggerheads at last," 
 thought the engineer. " Truly, war is a fine business ! The 
 commodore didn't even look back to help us ; and yet he is a 
 good man." 
 
 The firing ceased. M. Pinson, quite exhausted, was at last 
 about to awake his companion when he felt himself rapidly 
 drawn on. He made an attempt to swim, and found that he 
 was in shallow water. His surprise and joy were so great that 
 he stood up and let go the buoy, which stranded a few yards 
 farther on. 
 
" ROBINSON " REALIZED. 
 
A TERRIBLE NIGHT. I45 
 
 " All !" exclaimed Quicksilver, " did I not tell you that we 
 should reach land somewhere or other ? Do you believe now, 
 sir, that the adventures of Kobinson are only an invention ?" 
 
 " No, my boy ; but the reality is none the more consoling, 
 for all that." 
 
 " There's an island opposite, a real island !" exclaimed the 
 boy, " with trees on it and grass, and we shall be there imme- 
 diately." 
 
 " I think it must be quite two miles from ns." 
 
 " Well, we are able to swim, and we have the buoy. Had 
 not I better, sir, load it with these pretty shells we are standing 
 on, and — " 
 
 The report of a gun interrupted Quicksilver. In the long- 
 creek which separated them from the shore they wished to 
 reach the shipwrecked pair suddenly perceived the Davis, 
 which slowly appeared from behind a mass of rock. M. Pin- 
 son threw up his arms to attract attention, and soon the whole 
 crew crowded to the ship's side. In less than half an hour the 
 Davis reached a spot opposite them, but she proceeded on her 
 way. Scarcely had she passed the little islet than M. Pinson, 
 turning towards his companion, gazed anxiously at him. 
 
 " We are condemned to perish,'' said he in a low voice. 
 
 " To perish ! and an island with plenty of trees on it just 
 in front of us? You can't really mean it, sir," cried the boy. 
 " What would have happened to Robinson if he had given up 
 instead of trying his best? Besides, if the Davis would not 
 pick us up, the Fulton, which is sure to follow soon, will cer- 
 tain stop for us." 
 
 M. Pinson shook his head. 
 
 As if to prove the boy in the right the Fulton now came in 
 sight at the end of the creek. 
 
 " Ah !" thought Quicksilver, " if only the commodore does 
 not take it into his head to get us on board and prevent us 
 from becoming Robinsons ! That would be, indeed, unlucky." 
 
 1 
 
146 A-N INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 Not daring to breathe these fears aloud, Quicksilver stood 
 close beside M. Pinson, who began at once to throw up his 
 arms and shout, so as to attract the notice of the commodore 
 and his oiBcers. 
 
 Making every kind of signal, M. Pinson drew the buoy after 
 him, and waded through the shallows towards the creek, at the 
 end of which the Fulton had just come in sight. The water 
 soon became too deep for wading. The sailors on board had, 
 however, perceived the pair, for they crowded to the side, and 
 the voice of the commodore rang out. 
 
 " Climb on the buoy," said M. Pinson ; " we will get as near 
 as possible to the Fulton's course ; if they basely abandon us 
 we shall still not have labored in vain, for we shall be nearer the 
 island, where we will try to land." 
 
 Quicksilver slowly obeyed ; he complained of giddiness, and 
 that his head was aching ; but he tried to swim, nevertheless. 
 And the two, pushing the buoy before them, ventured once 
 more into the sea. 
 
 But their weary limbs rendered them poor service ; their ex- 
 ertions on the previous day, their prolonged stay in the water, 
 and, in addition, the want of food, had greatly weakened them. 
 Quicksilver, pale and shivering, could soon swim no longer. M. 
 Pinson helped him to climb on the buoy ; but this was no easy 
 task, for the boy had suddenly become indifferent to what was 
 passing around him, and was muttering incoherently. 
 
 " Fever !" thought M. Pinson ; " if it attacks me, too, we are 
 lost." 
 
 The engines of the Fulton ceased working, and with lessen- 
 ing speed the great steamer moved over the waters. A boat 
 manned by six rowers appeared at her stern, and directed its 
 course towards the buoy. A quarter of an hour later M. Pin- 
 son and Quicksilver were on the deck of the Fulton, which im- 
 mediately proceeded on her "way. 
 
 " I am glad to see you — yes, glad to see you !" cried the com- 
 
.1 TERRIBLE NIGHT. 147 
 
 modore, as be heartily shook hands witli the engineer. " Since 
 yesterday, sir, we have constantly talked about you ; we were 
 afraid we should never see you again." 
 
 " It is no fault of yours that we are still alive," answered M. 
 Pinson. 
 
 "In war," replied the commodore, gravely, "the service ex- 
 acts behavior which is cruel, even inhuman, if you choose to 
 call it so. A man's life counts for nothing under certain cir- 
 cumstances ; those about me here know that well. Had I 
 stopped my ship yesterday to save you I should perhaps have 
 endangered the lives of thousands ; for once let the Davis get 
 away from me and she would immediately re-commence her 
 career of destruction. But here you are, and I am glad of it !" 
 
 M. Pinson could have said much in reply to this, but two or 
 three incoherent words from Quicksilver made him start. He 
 took up the boy, carried him to his cabin, and seated himself 
 by his bedside. 
 
 For eight -and -forty hours the sick boy was delirious; he 
 spoke of Eobinson, of Friday, and recited whole pages of the 
 story that had been the cause of his coming to sea. The ship's 
 surgeon feared he would have brain fever ; but this danger was 
 happOy escaped. M. Pinson, though himself worn out, would 
 not leave his young companion for one minute. In spite of 
 the entreaties of the commodore and his lieutenant, the engi- 
 neer refused even to join them at meals, and took his food by 
 the boy's bedside. 
 
 " This dear little fellow saved my life," he would say, " and 
 I should be neglecting a sacred duty did I not now try to save 
 him from death." 
 
 Then, seated beside Quicksilver's bed, he would meditate on 
 the strange links which unite human destinies. 
 
 " Only for the little fellow's admiration for Robinson," he 
 thought, " he would never have hidden himself on board, and 
 I should have made my extraordinary voyage alone. And only 
 
148 ■^N INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 for Eobinson, the boy would never have dreamed of the possi- 
 bility of a ship-wreck, nor have thought of throwing me the 
 buoy that saved us. One should not despise anything in this 
 world, and I begin to think Robinson was a great man." 
 
 The devotion of the two passengers to each other won for 
 them the sympathy of all on board the Fulton. When, five 
 days after their rescue, M. Pinson came on deck, carrying Quick- 
 silver in his arms, and placed him under shelter of a sail, loud 
 cheers were raised in their honor, and all the ship's company 
 wanted to shake hands with them. 
 
 While heartily acknowledging the welcome they received, 
 M. Pinson and Quicksilver looked around them with surprise. 
 A long line of coast was on their port side, and sufficiently 
 near for them to be able to discern the trees and buildings 
 upon it with the naked eye. Less than a mile ahead the Da- 
 vis seemed to be sailing in concert with her enemy. Between 
 them was a large steamer, from whose mast a red-and-white 
 flag floated. A little to their stern was another man-of-war 
 bearing Spanish colors. 
 
 " What is the meaning of this ?" M. Pinson at last inquired 
 of the lieutenant. " What land is that ? Have the North and 
 South made peace that the Fulton lets the Davis come within 
 half a gun's range ?" 
 
 " The coast," answered the lieutenant, " is that of St. Do- 
 mingo — we have been since yesterday in the -waters of the 
 Haytian Empire. This in itself might not perhaps have pre- 
 vented the commodore from attacking the Davis, only that the 
 Spanish frigate yonder seemed inclined to support the authori- 
 ty of Soulouque's flag." 
 
 "And where are we going? to Port-au-Prince?" 
 
 "We are going in all probability to Havana; the Davis, 
 like ourselves, is short of coal and under canvas.'' 
 
 The commodore joined them ; he took the engineer's hand, 
 which lay nearly passive in his own. 
 
A TERRIBLE NIG ST. I49 
 
 " You still owe me a grudge," said the irave sailor, " and I 
 can understand it ; but however sincere my regard for you, sir, 
 my duty is the first consideration. Had my lieutenant, instead 
 of you, fallen overboard, my conduct would have been the same. 
 In time of war, let me say it once more, the life of one man 
 counts for little compared with the result we want to gain, and 
 it is a rule that we must sacrifice a hundred men, if need be, in 
 order to save a thousand." 
 
 " I admit that I was wrong to be in the way of the ball that 
 shattered your flagstaff, commodore," said M. Pinson ; " and 
 I am under too much obligation to you to bear malice longer. 
 Toil took your time about it, but still you did fish us up, and 
 I thank you in my own name and that of my dear boy." 
 
 " The little fellow is getting better, I see." 
 
 " He is talking of getting up," said M. Pinson, " but low diet 
 has so weakened him that he can hardly stand. The surgeon, 
 however^ says that in less than three days more he will be able 
 to run about as he used — and so I wish I were already older by 
 three days." 
 
 Having made peace with the commodore, M. Pinson returned 
 to his companion. 
 
 " This coast must be America, sir," said the boy. " I fancy 
 I can see palm-trees." 
 
 " You are not mistaken : we are opposite St. Domingo, an 
 island discovered in 1492 by Christopher Columbus, who gave 
 it the name of Hispaniola. St. Domingo was called by the 
 Caribbees, who inhabited it at that time, the Isle of Hayti, which 
 in their language signifies mountainous country.'" 
 
 "Is that island large?" asked Quicksilver, looking first east 
 and then west. 
 
 " It is of considerable size. It is divided into two parts ; 
 the Republic of St. Domingo on one side, the Empire of Hayti 
 on the other. This island, the most prosperous of French col- 
 onies, rebelled against the mother country in 1'791. The ne- 
 
150 AN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 groes, in consequence of a misapprehension, massacred the 
 whites who had just given them their liberty. From that 
 time, notwithstanding an attempt to reconquer it in 1802, St. 
 Domingo has always been independent." 
 
 When he had begun with his questions. Quicksilver knew 
 not where to stop. The whole history of St. Domingo had to 
 be related to him, with that of its liberator, Toussaint L'Ou- 
 verture, and of his lieutenant, Dessalines. When he learned 
 that the land he was looking at produced sugar, cocoanuts, 
 and coffee, and that its woods contained monkeys and par- 
 rots. Quicksilver conceived an ardent desire to explore it, and 
 longed that the Davis might anchor at Port-au-Prince, its cap- 
 ital. 
 
 An explanation also had to be given him as to the reason 
 why the Davis and the Fulton were sailing in company, es- 
 corted by a Spanish frigate and a Haytian brig. The next 
 day, when with M. Pinson he reached the quarter-deck, he was 
 able to walk unassisted. Everything seemed exactly like the 
 day before : a long coast stretched from east to west, and the 
 four ships pursued their way at a distance of five hundred yards 
 the one from the other. The decks of the Davis were crowd- 
 ed with men who, instead of being in uniform like the sailors 
 on the other vessels, wore woollen shirts of every color. 
 
 " On board that ship," said the commodore to M. Pinson, 
 "there are scum from every nation, whom I should like to 
 hang from my yard-arm. I am a humane man, sir, and, not- 
 withstanding their error in fighting us, I recognize brave ene- 
 mies in the Southerners ; but what business have these stran- 
 gers in our quarrel ?" 
 
 M. Pinson might have replied that the army of the North 
 contained both Irish and German recruits ; but he had made np 
 his mind never to commence a discussion of this kind with the 
 commodore, and once again he repressed the words which, to 
 use the vulgar expression, were on the tip of his tongue. 
 
A TERRIBLE NIGHT. 151 
 
 " Will the island of St. Domingo, sir," suddenly asked Quick- 
 silver, " never belong to France again ?" 
 
 "No, my boy ; our country lias relinquished her former rights ; 
 but the land you are looking at is no longer Hayti, we are op- 
 posite the neighboring island of Cuba or Havana." 
 
 " Havana," said Quicksilver ; " isn't it thence such good 
 cigars come ?" 
 
 "Yes, and they deserve their reputation. The island of 
 Cuba, which won from St. Domingo its title of Pearl of the 
 Antilles, is the largest of the group of islands divided by geog- 
 raphers into the Great and the Little Antilles. The Great An- 
 tilles comprise Cuba, Hayti, Jamaica, and Porto Rico ; to the 
 Little Antilles belong St. Thomas, St. John, Ahguilla, St. Bar- 
 tholomew, St. Eustache, Desirade, St. Domingo, Martinique, To- 
 bago, Trinity, Curagoa, and others. But to return to Cuba : it 
 was discovered by Christopher Columbus ; like St. Domingo, it 
 produces co£Eee, cocoa, and rice, and contains gold and copper 
 mines." 
 
 Quicksilver was overjoyed to hear that in all probability the 
 Fulton would cast anchor at Havana. He was continually 
 watching the coast through a spy-glass, and exclaimed with de- 
 light when he distinguished the houses and the inhabitants. 
 
 A poor bird, blown from the land, settled on the main-yard, 
 and a sailor brought it to Quicksilver. It was a pretty sky- 
 blue sparrow, and the admiration of the child for countries 
 where such birds fly about was redoubled. 
 
 For three days longer the four vessels sailed onward ; at last 
 they sighted Morro, behind which lies Havana. 
 
 The Haytian brig suddenly saluted her sailing companions 
 and put about to return to harbor. The Fulton and iliQ Davis 
 were often driven near each other by the breeze. On such oc- 
 casions the commodore could hardly restrain his anger, and 
 spoke of fighting the pirate, even should the Spanish ship join 
 in the battle. But the want of coals, which had previously im- 
 
152 AN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 peded his action, was too great a disadvantage ; lie "was obliged 
 to give up the idea. Besides, the North had enough on her 
 hands, in her contest with the South, without engaging herself 
 with other enemies. 
 
 It was three o'clock in the afternoon when the Davis entered 
 the narrow canal which runs to Havana, the fine roadstead of 
 which is not visible from the sea. 
 
 M. Pinson, having gathered together the few shirts which 
 comprised his whole luggage as well as Quicksilver's, stood 
 near the gangway, so as to be the first to land. He was chat- 
 ting with a sub-ofiicer who was acquainted with the harbor of 
 the great Spanish island, and was making inquiries as to how to 
 return to Europe. With great satisfaction he learned that a 
 monthly packet ran between the Island and Cadiz, and that 
 another ran to England. In his anxiety to return to France, 
 M. Pinson resolved to embark on that steamer which should 
 start first. 
 
 Meanwhile the commodore and his oflScers were in the midst 
 of a warm argument. He was scanning the horizon with his 
 glass ; the masts of about twenty vessels could be discerned, 
 some leaving the harbor, others tacking so as to enter it. 
 
 They were already near enough to the stronghold of the Morro 
 for Quicksilver to be able to see the sentries on the ramparts 
 without the help of a glass, when a thick cloud of smoke rose 
 from the funnel of the Fulton, the sails were hauled down, the 
 engines began to work, the ship was put about, and steamed 
 rapidly away from the point where M. Pinson had believed 
 himself already at anchor. 
 
 " We are going away !" cried Quicksilver. 
 
 The engineer was incapable of a reply ; he sank down on a 
 bench. 
 
A STRATAGEM OF WAR. 153 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 A STRATAGEM OF WAR. 
 
 For at least ten minutes M. Pinson remained motionless, 
 witli his bundle of sLirts at his feet. He was in a state of ab- 
 solute collapse. 
 
 " Well," lie muttered, " bere I am, tbanks to M. Boisjoli, tbe 
 very rival of the Wandering Jew." 
 
 He suddenly rose to his feet, and, glaring at Quicksilver vpbo 
 was near him — 
 
 " Where are we going ?" he asked ; " to Europe ? to the Unit- 
 ed States ? to China ? Where ?" 
 
 " I don't know, sir," answered the boy, who was also terribly 
 disappointed. 
 
 " What a sour face, M. Pinson !" said the commodore, rub- 
 bing his hands as he came up. 
 
 " Did not you tell me," said the engineer, " that you were 
 short of coal ; that we should be at Havana this evening ; that 
 the Fulton—" 
 
 " Come, come," interrupted the officer ; " have a little pa- 
 tience, sir, and my promises will prove realities." 
 
 "May I inquire where we are going?" 
 
 " To speak with those five ships you see yonder." 
 
 " For what purpose ? Are they pirates ?" 
 
 " They are coaling-vessels from Newcastle." 
 
 " Are you going to put me on board one of them ?" 
 
 " That shall be just as you please," answered the commo- 
 dore, " but in eight-and-forty hours I hope the Fulton will be 
 at anchor at Havana." 
 
 7* 
 
154 AN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 " She is scarcely going the way thither," said M. Pinson, 
 pointing to the sea ; " the Fulton, which was supposed to be 
 short of coal, is steaming at this moment faster than ever." 
 
 " We are burning our last," answered the commodore, " and, 
 to make your mind easier, I will explain to you ray plan. You 
 are not perhaps aware, sir, that Havana is a port from which it 
 is not always easy to get out. The Spanish Government is 
 suspicious ; it is constantly in fear of losing Cuba, and it scru- 
 pulously observes the old regulations." 
 
 " Naval regulations !" cried M. Pinson. " Do naval regula- 
 tions again prevent me from landing ?" 
 
 " Let me finish," said the commodore. " I was explaining 
 to you that a ship, having cast anchor in the port of Havana, 
 can only leave it between the hours of six A.M. and six P.M. 
 On the other hand, the Davis, according to the same regula- 
 tions, has only the right to stay in port the strictly necessary 
 time for revictualling. Now, while I should be getting my 
 coals in, the pirate might suddenly weigh anchor, and away 
 with her, before the Fulton had time to move. She would 
 slip through our fingers like an eel ! I won't be made a fool 
 of in that way. So I'll not enter the port until I am pro- 
 visioned with coals, and consequently able to follow each move- 
 ment of the enemy." 
 
 This explanation somewhat comforted M. Pinson, especially 
 when the commodore added that even if he succeeded in tak- 
 ing in coal he should still follow the Davis into port, so as to 
 watch her more closely. During this conversation the steamer 
 had drawn near the coaling-vessels, which ran up English col- 
 ors. The commodore, using his speaking-trumpet, ordered the 
 nearest one to " lower her sails and heave to." 
 
 " What do you want?" asked the English captain, with vex- 
 ation. 
 
 " Your cargo of coal," answered the commodore. 
 
 " That's impossible. I have not the right to sell my cargo." 
 
A STRATAGEM OF WAH. 155 
 
 " Eeef up !" shouted the commodore, imperiously, " or in ten 
 minutes I'll cut down your masts." 
 
 " England is at peace with the States," said the captain. 
 
 " The transaction shall be friendly," answered the commo- 
 dore ; " and I will pay for the coal on the spot." 
 
 The captain of the coaling-vessel cast his eyes over the sea in 
 hopes of discovering one of his country's men-of-war, from 
 whom he could ask help. 
 
 Although a near kinship unites the English and the Ameri- 
 cans, the two cousins, John Bull and Jonathan, heartily hate 
 each other. 
 
 No English ship was to be seen on the horizon, therefore 
 compliance was inevitable. The two ships lay side by side, 
 and the whole crew of the Fulton were engaged in shifting 
 the coal, which operation lasted not less than twenty -four 
 hours. 
 
 Struck by a sudden thought, M. Pinson took Quicksilver 
 with him on board the coaling-vessel, and approached the cap- 
 tain, who, in a very bad temper, was superintending the transfer 
 of his cargo. The engineer, thinking that the empty vessel 
 would no doubt immediately return to England, wished to take 
 a passage in her. Once more he was out of luck ; the vessel 
 was bound for Sisal, a port of Yucatan, and was obliged to pro- 
 ceed thither to take in her return cargo. M. Pinson returned 
 very moodily to the Fulton^ and looked towards land ; he hoped 
 that some skifE from the harbor might pass within hail of the 
 steamer, and would agree to put him on shore. 
 
 Towards evening the Fulton, with the coaling-vessel in tow, 
 drew near the coast for the purpose of better observing it. 
 The sailors worked all night, but without ceasing to keep watch 
 for one moment. At daybreak, after a sleepless night, caused 
 by the noise made by the emptying of the coal-baskets, M. 
 Pinson and Quicksilver came on deck. The sun was rising, 
 suiTOunded by a dull golden haze ; and, by reason of the dense 
 
156 AN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 atmosphere through which his rays had to penetrate, he might 
 be looked at "with impunity. The land was green, with small 
 white habitations scattered here and there. On the heights of 
 the hills the curious outlines of great palm-trees and cedars 
 stood out dark against the blue sky. 
 
 " Here are pilot-fish," said a sailor. " The sharks are not 
 far off." 
 
 At the word " shark," Quicksilver drew near the sailor, who, 
 leaning over the water, which was so transparent that one 
 could see to the depth of several yards, showed him five fish 
 marked with black stripes. Each was about the size of a pike. 
 These fish were swimming slowly by the side of the Fulton ; 
 they were pilots, who, according to the sailors, serve as guides 
 to the sharks. 
 
 This seemed strange to Quicksilver, and he ran to M. Pin- 
 son. 
 
 " Is it true, sir," he asked, " that sharks are nearly all blind, 
 and that the fishes called pilots guide them like blind men's 
 poodles ?" 
 
 " It is altogether an invention of sailors' imaginations. The 
 pilot-fish is the remora of the naturalists, and it is in order to 
 get a share of the shark's prey that it keeps near him." 
 
 " Is the shark a cetaceous animal ?" asked the boy. 
 
 " No, the shark is a fish — that is to say, it breathes through 
 gills. It belongs to the terrible family of squalus, the most 
 voracious beings in existence." 
 
 Shortly after, five or six of these monsters appeared along- 
 side, and there was great commotion among the sailors, who 
 feel a natural hatred against the terrible fish always ready to 
 devour them. 
 
 The sharks, followed by a band of " pilots," were swimming 
 round the two vessels, keeping an inexorable watch upon them. 
 The commodore gave the crew leave to harpoon them, and a 
 boat was immediately lowered. An old boatswain, with a sort 
 
A STRATAGEM OF WAB. 15-7 
 
 of dart fixed into a handle, to whioli was fastened a long rope, 
 stood at the end of the boat. 
 
 Shark-spearing is a dangerous and exciting game ; all the 
 crew, except those who were on coaling duty, came to the sides 
 of the ship to watch it. 
 
 M. Pinson and Quicksilver stood on the quarter-deck, whence 
 they had a better view. 
 
 The boat was scarcely at four yards' distance when a large 
 piece of pork was thrown into the sea. 
 
 The sharks lost no time in proving the keenness of their 
 sight, for they at once darted at the bait. The first to arrive 
 turned on his side, and swallowed the prize whole. 
 
 Although this was very rapidly efEected, Quicksilver caught 
 sight of the terrible open mouth of the monster, filled with 
 sharp teeth, and equal in size to nearly one half of the whole 
 animal. 
 
 Allured by the first bait, the sharks continued to swim about 
 near the boat. The boatswain, his harpoon ready poised, wait- 
 ed for the moment of casting it. A second lump of pork was 
 fiung into the sea at not more than a yard's distance, and as 
 one of the sharks turned on its side to seize this bait (a move- 
 ment to which the formation of their terrible jaw obliges 
 them), the harpoon, thrown by a strong and skilful hand, 
 pierced the creature's side, and then it opened by the action of 
 a spring, fonning a crossed hook which caught in the ribs of 
 the wounded fish and held him prisoner. The shark immedi- 
 ately plunged down into the water, leaving behind him a track 
 of blood. The rope fastened to the harpoon was slackened ; 
 and very soon the boat was violently jerked and shaken, and 
 the sailors cautiously drew in the rope. Half an hour later 
 they came alongside the Fulton, dragging the monster, whose 
 death convulsions were still formidable, as if in a leash behind 
 them. 
 
 The other sharks, instead of being alarmed, still continued to 
 
158 ^^ INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 prowl round the boat. The captured shark measured about 
 nine yards in length. 
 
 The sailors -wished to cut it up for the sake of its skin, which 
 is useful in various ways ; but the commodore ordered them 
 back on board. 
 
 Towards four in the afternoon the coaling-vessel was set at 
 liberty, and she set sail for Sisal, this time without saluting. 
 The commodore, wishing to ascertain the speed of the Fulton 
 when laden with coal to her very decks, put her through vari- 
 ous evolutions for more than an hour. During these manoeu- 
 vres the decks were washed, so that all might be trim before 
 entering the port. It was close upon six o'clock when the 
 ship reached the fort of the Morro, just as gun-fire announced 
 that the roadstead was closed. 
 
 M. Pinson bore this disappointment well, for the commodore 
 liad warned him that he could scarcely hope to land on that 
 day. The Fulton therefore stood out in the ofBng in order to 
 tack about till morning, a precaution rendered necessary by a 
 stiff breeze from the north. The next morning at daybreak 
 her head was put to land, and she steamed rapidly for the 
 harbor. 
 
 Two ships were issuing from the port ; and, although passing 
 at a great distance from the American vessel, they both saluted 
 her by hoisting their colors. 
 
 Behind the two was a steamer, painted white, and carrying 
 the Spanish flag. 
 
 " Only for that vessel's hull being white, and for the height 
 of her masts," said the commodore to his lieutenant, " I would 
 swear she is the Davis." 
 
 The white steamer was hugging the coast at half speed. 
 
 "What do you see on her decks, lieutenant?" asked the 
 commodore. 
 
 " Sailors in Spanish uniform, sir," replied the lieutenant. 
 
 The little steamer lay across the Fulton's bows, and saluted 
 
A STRATAGEM OF WAR. I59 
 
 her by lowering her flag, while the drum beat as a signal for 
 departure. Tha Jt'idton acknowledged this courtesy by saluting 
 in her turn, and continued on her way to the port. 
 
 M. Pinson, with his bundle of shirts under his arm, could 
 scarcely contain himself for joy at seeing the land so rapidly 
 Hearing. 
 
 " AYe were fated to see Havana," he said to Quicksilver ; 
 " but don't let us complain. We will bring away with us sev- 
 eral boxes of cigars; I have friends in France who will be 
 pleased to have some. Talking of friends, poor old Boisjoli 
 must be settled somewhere by this time. How surprised he 
 will be to receive a letter from me dated Cuba ; he will scarce- 
 ly be able to credit our adventures. We are going to see the 
 town founded by Diego Velasquez, and the tomb of Christo- 
 pher Columbus, who was buried in the land he had discovered, 
 although he died in Spain. Here we are, in the straits — hur- 
 rah !" 
 
 The Fulton had just passed the point of the Morro, and the 
 interior of the bay could be discerned. The steamer stopped 
 for a moment to reply to the port captain, who demanded 
 through his speaking-trumpet her name, her nationality, whence 
 she came, and whither she was bound. 
 
 Meanwhile a skifE approached the steamer. 
 
 " Are you looking for the Davis ?" asked the master of the 
 skiff, a pilot who had come to meet the Fulton. 
 
 " Yes," said the commodore, " bring us near her anchorage." 
 
 " She put to sea this morning." 
 
 " What are you saying ?" said the commodore, leaning over 
 to such an extent that he looked as if he were about to jump 
 into the sea. 
 
 " That the Davis painted her hull white, bought a lot of old 
 Spanish uniforms, and went out to sea this morning at six 
 o'clock precisely." 
 
 The commodore swore his roundest oath, smashed his speak- 
 
160 ^N INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 ing-trumpet against the rail on whicli lie leaned, and in a voice 
 of thunder shouted to the helmsmen : 
 
 " Tack about !" 
 
 The Fulton immediately described a long curve and stood 
 out to sea. 
 
 " Stop !" cried M. Pinson, " one minute, only one minute, 
 just time to jump into this boat — " 
 
 The boat had paddled to a short distance o£E, and ^& Fulton, 
 finishing her evolution, was leaving the straits at full steam, not 
 even giving herself time to return the salute from the fortress 
 of the Morro. 
 
THE GULF OF MEXICO. 161 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 THE GULF OF MEXICO. 
 
 This time M. Pinson uttered no remonstrance. He retijrned 
 to tLe quarter-deck, put down his handle on a bench, and be- 
 gan to pace to and fro, grave and absorbed, taking no notice 
 of what went on around him. Occasionally, when his walk 
 brought him face to face with the land, he would stop short, 
 and contemplate the bare, rugged rocks which form a natural 
 defence to Havana, or the black vultures poised in the sky. 
 At other times he would stand watching the sea, whose blue 
 waters melted in the distance into the azure of the atmosphere." 
 
 Some sea-gulls were following on the track of the Fulton, 
 darting down in rapid flight to seize the fragments cast from 
 the ship. Then M. Pinson would shake his head and utter that 
 longing of every poet : 
 
 " Oh, that I had wings !" 
 
 Nor did Quicksilver feel pleased, although he said nothing. 
 He too looked with longing on the land, not towards the 
 rooks, but lower down, to some clifEs crowned with curious 
 foliage. Where was the ship going ? The boy longed to ask 
 this question. Unfortunately, M. Pinson seemed too much 
 absorbed for him to venture on disturbing him ; and the 
 oflBcers were all so much engasred that he did not dare to 
 approach them. 
 
 By degrees the coast -line assumed a bluish color. Con- 
 fused masses, black, white, or green, were alone distinguishable; 
 then all melted into gray, and the boy's attention reverted to 
 the Davis. 
 
1C2 AN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 The privateer, whose white hull seemed to glide over the 
 waves, had a start of about five miles, and seemed besides to be 
 gaining on the Fulton. The commodore, from liis post on the 
 bridge, constantly gave orders to the engine-room to increase 
 the heat, to put on more steam, to quicken the movement of 
 the screw. All at once the Davis tacked, put about, and stood 
 for the north. The Fulton put about also, and advanced in a 
 parallel line with her. 
 
 " If this pirate contrives to shoot ahead of us," said the com- 
 modore to his lieutenant, " she will lead us back to Europe. 
 Let the safety-valves be closed, sir ; we had better blow up 
 than endure such an afEront." 
 
 For an hour the two steamers advanced side by side. 
 
 The commodore, surrounded by his officers, followed their 
 double progress with anxiety, taking note every minute of his 
 own position and that of the enemy. 
 
 Clouds of black smoke were poured forth through the funnel 
 of the Davis, showing that the pirate's engines were, like those 
 of the Fulton, being strained to their utmost. Land had been 
 out of sight for a long time, before M. Pinson, ceasing his walk 
 on the quarter-deck, began to interest himself in the race be- 
 tween the two enemies. In his heart, and without letting it 
 appear, the engineer was ardently wishing that the Davis might 
 outstrip the Fulton, and lead her on either to the United States 
 or to Europe. 
 
 It soon became evident that the Davis was losing some of 
 the start she had gained, and a triumphant cheer rang out on 
 board the Fulton. 
 
 But the big steamer could not long maintain her furious rate 
 of speed ; notwithstanding the oil with which the stokers del- 
 uged the engines, the pistons were gradually getting hot. For 
 a moment the Davis seemed inclined to fight. Had she known 
 the state of affairs on board her enemy she would certainly have 
 persisted, risked a broadside, and shot ahead. That would, how- 
 
THE GULF OF MEXICO. 163 
 
 ever, have been to expose herself to probable destruction ; so, 
 after having lost some of the start that her stratagem had 
 gained her on leaving the harbor, she resumed her course to 
 the west. She entered the Gulf of Mexico, that enormous boiler 
 where the waters of the ocean come for heat, before returning 
 under the name of the Gulf Stream to wash the shores of Europe 
 with waves still tepid after their long journey. 
 
 " A good ship ! a good ship !" said the commodore gleefully, 
 striking the deck with his foot. " What do you think of her, 
 M. Pinson ?" 
 
 " I deplore," replied the engineer, " the conduct of the Davis. 
 A French commander, in her captain's place, would have fought 
 long ago." 
 
 '' And he would have been beaten, sir," said the commodore, 
 " for all the chances are in our favor. It is a defect of your 
 countrymen that they will never reckon their enemies. It is 
 true that a dashing deed of rashness sometimes succeeds ; but 
 what would you say to a chess-player who should trust to 
 chance and push his men about anyhow? While the Davis is 
 afloat she will be a terror to our trading-ships ; her commande-r 
 knows that well, and so he takes good care of her." 
 
 "You seem pleased, commodore?" 
 
 " I am pleased. At this present moment the Davis is in a 
 ' no thoroughfare,' where I confidently expect to lay hands on 
 her." 
 
 " We are in the Gulf of Mexico ?" 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " And we are bound for — " 
 
 " Sisal, Vera Cruz, Tamplco — who knows whither ? That 
 depends on the enemy." 
 
 M. Pinson made no comment, but resumed his pacing of the 
 deck. 
 
 " I was to have gone to Calais," he thought — " I went to 
 Liverpool ; I was to have gone to New York — I was taken 
 
164 JiN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 round, first to tlie Canary Islands, then to the Cape Verd Isl- 
 ands, and lastly to the Virgin Isles. From the Antilles, which 
 I never thought to see, I have now set sail for Mexico, and all 
 this means that I may find myself in China, at Labrador, the 
 Sandwich Islands, or Madagascar, and all because I have a 
 friend who — " 
 
 " Sir," said Quicksilver, softly. 
 
 "What is it?" 
 
 " I want to ask you about the Gulf of Mexico." 
 
 " The Gulf of Mexico is a vast inland sea, bounded on the 
 south by Yucatan, on the north by Florida, and on the west by 
 the Mexican provinces of Tabasco and Vera Cruz. It is divided 
 from the Atlantic Ocean by the Straits 6f Bahama, along which 
 we coasted as we came here. In these straits are situated the 
 Lucayo Islands." 
 
 Quicksilver went to look at a map, and studied for a long 
 time the Archipelago of Lucayo, which is very dangerous to 
 navigate, on account of sand-banks. 
 
 At dinner the commodore, overjoyed at having barred the 
 way to the Davis, opened several bottles of champagne. This 
 sparkling beverage from his own country somewhat cheered M. 
 Pinson, and the officers assured him that the pirate could not 
 possibly go far, now that the passage was barred. 
 
 Two more days were passed between sky and sea ; the heat 
 was suffocating, for the month of April, which was approach- 
 ing, is the hottest month in the year in the regions which they 
 were then crossing. Quicksilver knew that in Mexico, the coasts 
 of which would soon be visible, there were primeval forests in- 
 habited by pumas, monkeys, and parrots, and prairies roamed 
 over by buffaloes and wild horses. His one wish, therefore, 
 was to see this privileged land, and above all to set foot on it. 
 And when he heard the officers saying that in all probability 
 the Davis would seek shelter in Port Campeachy or Port Tam- 
 pico, he greeted the information by turning a noble Catherine- 
 
TEE GULF OF MEXICO. 165 
 
 wlieel beliind the long-boat. But, on the other hand, when a 
 discussion was held on the possibility of the Davis rounding 
 an island, and then making for Europe, Quichsilver went and 
 sat sadly in the bow, watching the deep waters cleft by the 
 powerful action of the screw. 
 
 One morning, when Quichsilver had reached the quarter-deck 
 earlier than M. Pinson, and had assured himself that the Davis 
 was still in sight, and at about the usual distance from the Ful- 
 ton, he was astonished to see a bird skim along the sea and 
 then plunge into it and disappear beneath the waves. The 
 boy stared, thinking his eyes were deceiving him. All at once 
 he saw a shoal of fish spring from the water, skim along its 
 surface, plunge into it again, and spring from it once more, like 
 a flight of sparrows. 
 
 " Am I dreaming ?" he said to himself, " or have we at last 
 reached those wonderful countries which the sailors so often 
 talk about »" 
 
 He ran to M. Pinson, who was observing the state of the 
 sea and the position of the Davis. " 
 
 "What is that?" asked the boy, who, as he reached the side 
 of the engineer, pointed to another shoal of fish skimming over 
 the water. 
 
 " They are flying-fish, as you can see." 
 
 " Flying-fish ?" repeated Quicksilver. 
 
 Flying from a dory who was pursuing them, the fish came 
 tumbling against the sides of the Fulton ; one of them, spring- 
 ing higher than the others, fell on the deck. Quicksilver ran 
 to pick it up. He greatly admired the long pectoral fins, and 
 the silvery blue of the pretty little fish. Some one suggested 
 it should be cooked ; Quicksilver, quite indignant, instantly 
 threw his little prisoner back into the sea, where it was lost to 
 sight in the foamy track of the vessel. 
 
 Towards evening a council was held among the officers ; the 
 ship was approaching some rocks level with the water, known 
 
166 AN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 as the Alacranes, or Scorpions ; and fhe Davis, to judge by her 
 speed, seemed to be ignorant of her danger. As soon as night 
 was come the officers took the altitude of various stars and 
 made minute calculations. 
 
 There was no longer room for doubt, the privateer, at full 
 steam, was making for the Scorpions. The watch was doubled, 
 and the electric light thrown on the Davis. 
 
 Towards midnight the Fulton was discovered to have gained 
 on the privateer, which seemed to have slackened her speed. 
 Already the ships were within range, and the gunners of the 
 Fulton were getting ready to fire, when the Davis veered to 
 the left. The electric light, falling beyond her, showed a line 
 of black dots against which the sea was frothing. 
 
 " LufE ! luff !" cried the commodore. 
 
 There was a moment of agony aboard the Fulton, as she 
 scraped the rocks on which her enemy had hoped to inveigle 
 her. But the delay caused by the stratagem nearly cost the 
 Davis dear. She received several broadsides. 
 
 A real engagement seemed imminent, when to M. Pinson's 
 great surprise the commodore gave the order to stop the ship. 
 
 The Davis was rounding the reef ; and, but for the commo- 
 dore's presence of mind, the Fulton, making the same curve, 
 would have left a passage open to her enemy, who, taking the 
 lead, might have led her adversary back to Europe. After 
 manoeuvring for an hour against the Fulton, without success, 
 the Davis once more steamed ahead. 
 
 "We have her at last!" exclaimed the commodore; "in 
 forty-eight hours," added he, turning to M. Pinson, "I will 
 crush this pirate against the coast of Mexico ; I can apologize 
 afterwards to the Juarez government." 
 
 The next day but one, at sunrise, the peak of Orizaba, visible 
 at sea from a distance of thirty leagues, was signalled by the 
 man on the lookout. Quicksilver, astonished to see a snow- 
 capped mountain on the horizon, ran to fetch the bundle of 
 
THE GULF OF MEXICO. 167 
 
 sliirts, and tlicn took up his post by the side of M. Pinson. At 
 ten P.M. they were opposite the fort of San Juan de Ulloa, taken 
 by the French in 1839. Behind the fort, which is built on a 
 small island, stretches a vast sandy plain, in the midst of which 
 is situated the town of Vera Cruz, adorned with domes which 
 make it resemble an Eastern city. 
 
 M. Pinson looked on with such indifference as to surprise 
 Quicksilver. 
 
 " We are going to land, sir," said the boy. "Don't you care 
 about it ?" 
 
 " To land ?" said the engineer. " Do you really think so, 
 my boy ? Were we not to land at Queenstown, at St. Thomas, 
 at St. Domingo, at Havana? We shall land here after the 
 same fashion; we are at the end of the Gulf of Mexico, but 
 not yet at the end of the world." 
 
 The Davis took a pilot on board, and was soon in safety 
 under the guns of San Juan de Ulloa. The commodore, follow- 
 ing in the track of his enemy, passed in his turn before the 
 fort, and entered the open roadstead of Vera Cruz. 
 
 He placed himself a hundred yards from the Davis, and 
 ordered the anchor to be let go. 
 
 The night was sultry ; the moon, full and bright, shone on 
 the jetty, constructed at great cost by the Mexicans, and which 
 projects three hundred yards into the sea. Behind was a line 
 of white fortifications, for Vera Cruz is a stronghold. 
 
 " Would you like to land ?" the commodore suddenly in- 
 quired of M. Pinson. 
 
 The engineer sprang up. 
 
 "Should I like it?" he cried. 
 
 "Lower a boat," said the officer. 
 
 When M. Pinson saw that the commodore's order was obey- 
 ed, when he was told that the boat was ready for him, a sudden 
 emotion brought tears to his eyes. 
 
 He warmly thanked the crew of the Fulton, who surrounded 
 
168 ^1^ INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 Lira, and, shaking hands with the commodore and his officers, 
 gave them his address in Paris, and wished them good luck. 
 
 " When the Davis leaves this," said the commodore, " we 
 shall follow her at a distance of a hundred yards, and her busi- 
 ness will be soon settled. Now, come, M. Pinson, won't you 
 remain with us ?" 
 
 " No," answered the engineer ; " in your engagement with 
 the Davis some stray ball might find me out, or Quicksilver. 
 Were I a Northerner, your ofEer would be tempting ; but I 
 come from BatignoUes, and I prefer returning to Europe by the 
 steamer which runs direct from the Antilles and Mexico. I 
 hope to see you again some day, commodore, and I thank you 
 a thousand times." 
 
 A quarter of an hour later M. Pinson and Quicksilver, who 
 had been trembling lest the engineer should have been induced 
 by the commodore's invitation to remain, were landed on the 
 jetty. Their boat immediately put back. The travellers could 
 watch it in the moonlight until it regained the Fulton — they 
 then shouted a last farewell to their friends, and directed their 
 steps towards a stone gate at the landward end of the jetty. 
 
i 
 
 
 
 1 V. 
 
 " GOOD-BYE, GOOD-BYE !" 
 
VESA CRUZ. 169 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 VERA CRUZ. 
 
 M. PiNSON and Quicksilver were surprised to find, when they 
 began to walk, that the ground seemed to move beneath their 
 feet, exactly as if they were still on board the Fulton. This 
 sensation remains during several days with people who have 
 just made a long sea voyage, and is a phenomenon well known 
 to sailors. But it was the first time it had occurred to our 
 travellers, and they imagined in consequence that the tessellated 
 pavement on which they walked was really rising and sinking 
 on the waves which broke against it. Managing as best they 
 could to preserve their equilibrium, they at last reached the 
 great gate, which, like a triumphal arch, stands at the head of 
 the jetty, and gives access to the town. 
 
 After inspecting the principal gate and the two smaller ones 
 at each side, they were reluctantly convinced that all three were 
 hermetically closed, and that they also lacked knocker or bell. 
 M. Pinson struck the gate with his foot. 
 
 '' Quien vive?" called out a voice. 
 
 Neither M. Pinson nor Quicksilver understood the question, 
 but they both answered together ; 
 
 " Open the gate !" 
 
 " A lo largo," returned the voice. 
 
 There was a long silence, during which the engineer thought 
 they were preparing to open the gate. 
 
 But hearing nothing more he struck it again. A wicket 
 opened in a groove, a bayonet glittered, and a threatening and 
 imperious voice ordered the two travellers to go away. M. 
 
 8 
 
170 ^N INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 Pinson understood the sign, if not the words, and renewed 
 his request. 
 
 The words " reglamentos maritimos'" caught his ear. 
 
 " ' Reglamentos maritimos,^ " he repeated, turning to Quick- 
 silver ; " that clearly must mean naval regulations. Are we 
 going to knock our heads again against these confounded — " 
 
 The wicket was so violently shut that M. Pinson was quite 
 taken aback. 
 
 " Could you see the man who just spoke?" asked Quicksilver. 
 
 " No, he was in the shadow." 
 
 " It's a black man, sir, with great white eyeballs." 
 
 " Were he the devil himself," said the engineer, " he shall 
 open to us." 
 
 And he was about to knock for the third time when Quick- 
 silver seized hold of his coat. 
 
 " Sir," said the boy ; " do not let us provoke this man ; he 
 levelled his bayonet at us." 
 
 " On the contrary, my boy, let us provoke him. He will 
 give us in charge ; will send us to the station for creating a 
 nocturnal disturbance, and we shall not have to sleep under 
 the open sky." 
 
 " But this man, sir, speaks a language which we do not un- 
 derstand, and we cannot explain ourselves. What can we do 
 or say if he wants to beat us ?" 
 
 " Beat us !" cried M. Pinson, clinching his fists ; " is it be- 
 cause I used to give in to the commodore, whose guest I was, 
 that I am to let myself, or you, be beaten ? We will see 
 about that !" 
 
 M. Pinson moved forward ; suddenly he stopped. 
 
 " You are right,'' said he to the boy ; " don't let us begin a 
 quarrel. Naval regulations, so far as I can make out, forbid 
 our entering Vera Cruz, after bringing us here against our will. 
 Let us respect these precious regulations and wait for the day." 
 
 Midnight struck. Voices, sad and monotonous, rose up in 
 
THE WATCHMAN. 
 
FERA CRUZ. 171 
 
 tlio niglit, apparently chanting prayers. Other voices echoed 
 along the ramparts and died away in the distance. 
 
 M. Pinson and Quicksilver seated themselves on a stone 
 bench. The causeway was barely five or six yards in width, 
 and it was washed on each side by the waves, which frequently 
 covered it with spray. 
 
 Before them rose the dark mass of the fortress of San Juan 
 de Ulloa, behind which the Fulton and the Davis were in shelter ; 
 to their riglit and left the sea was breaking over the rocks with 
 a monotonous regularity of sound, like a smith's hammer fall- 
 ing in measured cadence. 
 
 When one o'clock struck, the voices they had previously 
 heard were raised again. M. Pinson, listening attentively, was 
 able to distinguish the words " Seiitinela, alerta/" and "Ave 
 Maria f The night watchmen in Mexico were calling the 
 hour as they used to do in Europe in the Middle Ages, and bid- 
 ding the inhabitants sleep in peace. 
 
 After asking a hundred questions about Mexico, which, con- 
 quered from the Aztec emperors in 1519 by Ferdinand Cortcz, 
 shook off the Spanish yoke in 1821, and constituted a federal 
 republic, Quicksilver, soothed by the monotonous rhythm of the 
 waves, fell into a profound sleep. M. Pinson reflected awhile 
 on the strangeness of his destiny, and then he too was over- 
 come by slumber. 
 
 It was barely dawn when our travellers were awakened by 
 -the sound of voices. Quicksilver awoke with a start, and drew 
 close to M. Pinson. Six mulattoes in military uniform, barefoot, 
 armed with matchlocks, and wearing broad-brimmed hats, had 
 surrounded them and were addressing them in unintelligible 
 language. M. Pinson began a narrative of his adventures, of 
 which the soldiers did not understand one word. They made 
 sio-ns to him to follow them. Glancing towards the fortress, 
 the eno-ineer perceived that the Fulton and the Davis were no 
 longer in sight. 
 
172 AN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGK 
 
 M. Pinson and Quicksilver passed through the great gate at 
 which they had knocked in vain the night before, entered a 
 passage, and found themselves in the presence of a young oflB- 
 cer. The engineer recommenced his story ; but his interlocu- 
 tor, not knowing a word of French, sent for the captain, who 
 spoke that language. 
 
 " Your passports ?" said the captain, after saluting the pris- 
 oners. 
 
 This request, preferred in French, relieved M. Pinson, who 
 began once more the history of his adventures. 
 
 His auditor heard him with patience, but shook his head 
 incredulously. 
 
 " This is all very well," he said, " but you can only enter 
 the Mexican Republic with papers in proper order. Where 
 are yours ?" 
 
 " Did I not tell you," returned M. Pinson, " that I left my 
 house in the Rue Nollet, at Batignollcs, on a mere excursion, 
 and—" 
 
 The captain exchanged a few words with his young subal- 
 tern, then, on a sign from the latter, a corporal and six men 
 shouldered arms. 
 
 " Follow these gentlemen," said the Port Captain to M. Pin- 
 son, " they will conduct you to your consul ; if his Excellency 
 answers for you, you will be set at liberty." 
 
 " What !" exclaimed M. Pinson, " are we to walk through 
 the town, with a guard, like criminals ?" 
 
 " Forward. March !" said the corporal to his men. 
 
 M. Pinson and Quicksilver, who, rather frightened, kept close 
 to him, were surrounded by the soldiers, and obliged to ad- 
 vance. They left the guard-house and soon reached a large 
 open square. The shops and coffee-houses were still closed — 
 the town was not yet astir. Nevertheless the prisoners had 
 scarcely advanced half a hundred paces when a crowd of about 
 fifty persons — women wrapped in long scarfs, men in great 
 
VERA CRUZ. 173 
 
 striped blankets, and half-naked children — began to follow 
 them with curiosity. These people were all of a deep copper 
 color, and the wide-brimmed hats worn by the men made them 
 look like brigands. 
 
 It was already known that a pirate, chased by a United 
 States steamer, had taken shelter below the fort during the 
 night, and a rumor spread that M. Pinson was no other than 
 the corsair himself, who had been captured by the Mexican 
 authorities. 
 
 " Now, my boy," said the engineer to Quicksilver, " Boisjoli 
 may say and do what he likes, he can never clear himself of 
 this last piece of iniquity. It is through taking his advice that 
 I am two thousand miles away from my home and my coun- 
 try. It is on his account that I am now marching along, a 
 public prisoner — No — it is too bad." 
 
 When the little troop reached the consul's house, it was fol- 
 lowed by at least five hundred persons. 
 
 The secretary to the consulate received the visitors, and M. 
 Pinson gave him the outlines of his deplorable adventures. 
 The secretary, much surprised, called the consul, and M. Pinson 
 had to begin his story over again. 
 
 "And now, sir, what proof can you give us of your ve- 
 racity ?" 
 
 Honest M. Pinson reddened to the forehead. Restraining, 
 however, the indignant words that rose to his lips, he drew out 
 his -pocket-book, showed several letters addressed to himself, 
 and explained every circumstance with composure and straight- 
 forwardness such as an impostor would in vain try to assume. 
 
 The consul, notwithstanding the singularity of the story, 
 soon felt scarcely any doubt about it. The engineer, besides, 
 expressed himself in terms which showed him to be a well- 
 educated and well-informed man. The secretary, therefore, 
 handed to the travellers a pass, which authorized them either 
 to remain in the town or to travel whithersoever they pleased. 
 
174 -l^V IXVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 On leaving the consulate, M. Pinson and Quicksilver could 
 scarcely make their vs^ay tlirougli the curious crowd. At the 
 request of the secretary their escort accompanied them to the 
 Hotel du Commerce, situated opposite the harhor, and kept by 
 a Frenchman. On their way thither the soldiers vainly endeav- 
 ored to explain to the crowd that, far from being a pirate, M. 
 Pinson was but a simple French citizen. Convinced that this 
 was an attempt to put them ofi the scent, an inquisitive crowd 
 remained until nearly ten o'clock opposite the hotel ; the heat 
 of the sun alone drove them away. 
 
 With what a feeling of delight did M. Pinson, after a plenti- 
 ful breakfast, seat himself in the window of the double-bedded 
 room which had been allotted to him ! From this window 
 there was a view of the Place du Mole, and at the farther end 
 of it of the custom-house. Above stood the fortress of UUoa, 
 and beyond the sea was glittering in the light of a tropical sun. 
 Yielding to the heat, and to the tranquillity around him, as 
 well as that of his own mind, SI. Pinson fell asleep. 
 
 Quicksilver, from his station at the window, was eagerly 
 watching the scene before him and the passers-by. On board 
 the Canada, and on board the Fulton, it had always seemed to 
 him that he was in England ; but now, as if by the stroke of 
 a magician's wand, he suddenly found himself in a town of 
 novel architecture, with men of another race and color, speak- 
 ing a lanffuage of which he was ignorant : then, before him in 
 the street, instead of the sparrows he had seen in the London 
 squares, great vultures were hopping about, so tame that they 
 scarcely condescended to get out of the way of the passers-by. 
 
 By noon all movement seemed to have ceased in the town ; 
 a few pedestrians indolently passed the windows, keeping close 
 in the shade of the houses and dragging themselves along 
 rather than walking. The burning heavens seemed to be one 
 vast sun ; a thin blue vapor pervaded the atmosphere ; it re- 
 quired an effort to breathe. Quicksilver, though sitting mo- 
 
VERA CRUZ. lYo 
 
 tionlcss, was surprised to feel drops of perspiration on his fore- 
 head. The fact is that Vera Cruz is one of the hottest places 
 on our globe, and the months of May, June, and July are pe- 
 culiarly unbearable. 
 
 The boy's attention was soon concentrated on some mulatto 
 women, who, squatted before heaps of watermelons, oranges, 
 lemons, pineapples, and twenty other fruits unknown to Eu- 
 rope, defied the furnace-like heat of the atmosphere and of the 
 ground. Now and then a little cart would pass by, drawn by 
 a couple of lean mules ; or some Indians, each bending under 
 a burden which was kept in its place on his back by a strap 
 passed round the forehead. 
 
 For the three hours during which M. Pinson enjoyed his 
 nap Quicksilver did not stir from the window. He was en- 
 chanted with all he saw, and congratulated himself on the 
 splendid idea he had had in hiding on board the Canada. 
 Twenty times he was sorely tempted to try a Catherine- wheel, 
 but he refrained for fear of awakening his companion. 
 
 When M. Pinson stood by him in the window, the boy, as if 
 still half doubting, made him repeat that they really were in 
 Mexico, in one of its chief cities. Vera Cruz. 
 
 " Vera Cruz," said the engineer, " was founded on the spot 
 where Cortez landed in 1519. Its fortress, which had long- 
 been believed to be impregnable, surrendered in 1839 to Ad- 
 miral Baudin. I think I told you all this before." 
 
 "" Shall we go to Mexico, sir?" asked Quicksilver. 
 
 " No, indeed. To-day is the 30th of May ; to-morrow, or 
 the day after, according to the consul, the English packet, 
 which runs monthly between England and Mexico, comes back 
 from Tampico, and we will go on board her without delay." 
 
 " Without having seen the primeval forest, or the prairies, 
 or the monkeys and pumas ?" 
 
 " We will take a ramble outside the town," answered M. 
 Pinson, " and look from a distance at the forests and plains of 
 
1Y6 AN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 whioh that little head is so full. As to pumas and monkeys, 
 you shall see as many as you wish in the Zoological Gardens 
 in Paris." 
 
 Quicksilver did not venture on a reply, but his heart sank 
 within him. Had they come such a distance, and were they 
 to go back again without seeing the interior of this splendid 
 country, where vultures walked about the streets, and where 
 parrots perched in couples on palm-trees ? In his secret soul 
 the boy ardently wished that some accident, such as had hap- 
 pened before, might upset M. Pinson's present plan. 
 
 At five o'clock the two travellers set out to inspect the town, 
 of which the highest houses have but one story, and all have 
 terraced roofs, where the inhabitants pass the evening, enjoy- 
 ing the breeze from the sea. In less than a quarter of an hour 
 they had traversed the town, which is of but small extent. "What 
 was not Quicksilver's disappointment when, instead of the beau- 
 tiful scenery he expected, he found himself in the midst of a 
 boundless plain of sand 1 Here and there were some stunted 
 mimosa-bushes, but not a tree, not a blade of grass, not a flower. 
 The boy could not make it out. Far away on the horizon were 
 the outlines of high mountains, the snowy peak of Orizaba 
 rising above them all. 
 
 For a long time our travellers gazed on these mountains, 
 which run parallel to the sea, and on whose summit lies the 
 great plain, two hundred leagues in length, on which is built 
 the city of Mexico, two thousand yards above the level of the 
 sea. This great chain of mountains, with its hundred ramifi- 
 cations, is called in the States the Rocky Mountains ; in Mexico 
 it bears the name of the Cordilleras, and in Peru that of the 
 Andes. 
 
 Our two explorers having trudged for some time along the 
 sandy plain, whose aspect was continually changing under the 
 north wind, drew nearer to the sea in order to return to the 
 town. Quicksilver was struck with the size, the shape, and the 
 
VJERA CliUZ. 177 
 
 coloring of the hundreds of shells beneath his feet. He filled 
 his pockets with them, and M. Pinson followed his example, 
 judiciously remarking that these shells, so plentiful there, would 
 be regarded as very great cariosities in Europe. 
 
 At six o'clock M. Pinson and Quicksilver sat down to a long 
 table d'hote, and partook of fish and fruits unknown to them. 
 Conversation in Spanish interesting them but little, they left 
 the table as soon as dinner was over, in order to ramble once 
 more through the town. The only establishments they found 
 open were coffee-houses, where ices and cooling drinks were to 
 be had in plenty. Towards eight o'clock, ladies and gentlemen, 
 in European dress, walked up and down on the mole, or jetty, 
 which is the only public promenade of Vera Cruz. At nine 
 the town seemed to be asleep, and the watchmen, carrying hal- 
 berds and lanterns, and stationed at the corners of the walls, 
 began to chant the hours in somewhat melancholy fashion. 
 
 The next morning at eleven o'clock, just as breakfast was 
 over, a gun was fired. Every one rushed from table and out to 
 the jetty. The monthly steam-packet from England could be 
 distinguished on the horizon, and its arrival was a cause of great 
 excitement in Vera Cruz, which at that period could only re- 
 ceive news from Europe through this channel. 
 
 8* 
 
178 -^'V INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 ANOTHER JOURNEY. 
 
 M. PiNSON and Quicksilver repaired to the jetty, which was 
 already crowded by the Vera Cruz merchants and by idlers. 
 In less than half an hour, a boat, carrying the letters and news- 
 papers from Europe packed in heavy leathern bags, touched at 
 the end of the mole, and English officers in full uniform escort- 
 ed the despatches to their consul's house. 
 
 M. Pinson was then informed that the mail steamer, which 
 was forty-eight hours behind time, would probably start again 
 that very day. The engineer immediately hastened to the 
 agent of the Royal Mail Company, to arrange for a passage for 
 himself and Quicksilver. The agent spoke French, and after 
 having scribbled the two passengers' names on a sheet of pink 
 paper, he handed it to them, saying : 
 
 " I will trouble you for ninety-two pounds sixteen shillings 
 and eight ponce." 
 
 M. Pinson started and turned pale. He drew out his pocket- 
 book and his purse, and nervously began to reckon their con- 
 tents. After having protested against the charges of the Can- 
 ada, he had not allowed his friend to pay for him. Was 
 he not about to return to Europe, while Boisjoli, unless he 
 could find some employment, would need all his money for 
 himself ? When he left the Fulton, where he had been enter- 
 tained as a free guest for a month, M. Pinson had thought 
 himself bound to be liberal, and had handsomely feed the 
 servants who had waited on him. All told, there remained 
 to him but a sura of sixteen pounds, from which his expenses 
 
ANOTHER JOURNEY. 179 
 
 of thirty francs a day at the H6tel du Commerce must be de- 
 ducted. 
 
 " I should prefer, su-," he said to the agent, " not paying my 
 passage-money, and that, of the boy, until we arrive at South- 
 ampton ; can this be arranged ?" 
 
 " Certainly," replied the agent, " provided the luggage or 
 merchandise you bring on board is of the value of ninety-two 
 pounds sixteen shillings and eight pence." 
 
 A cold perspiration broke out on M. Pinson's forehead ; his 
 four shirts, and even Quicksilver's added to them, could not be 
 considered as equivalent to ninety-two pounds sixteen shillings 
 and eight pence. 
 
 Then, in the most touching words that occurred to him, the 
 engineer began the recital of his adventures. 
 
 "Excuse me, sir," said the agent of the Steam Companj^, 
 " but I have to see to the steamer's papers, she goes to sea in 
 four hours ; you can understand that I have no time to listen 
 to you. I will trouble you for ninety-two pounds sixteen shil- 
 lings and eight pence." 
 
 " But you will have me in person, and the boy, as guaran- 
 tees," exclaimed M. Pinson ; " give instructions to the captain 
 of the steam-packet not to let ns land until we have paid ; once 
 at Southampton, I can procure funds in twenty-four hours." 
 
 "And if you fail to procure them," returned the agent, " you 
 will have reached Europe, and the captain, at whose cost you will 
 be living, will find it shortest to let you land. Then I should 
 have to pay your expenses on board out of my own pocket, 
 which I cannot undertake to do. I am perfectly satisfied you 
 are an honorable man ; but if you wish to go on board the mail 
 steamer, bring me either ninety-two pounds sixteen shillings and 
 eight pence, or the guarantee of some merchant in the town." 
 
 " I have only been in Vera Cruz since the day before yester- 
 day ; I know nobody ; I left my home — " 
 
 The agent was not attending, he had too much to do. M, 
 
180 ^N INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 Pinson, quite cast down, took Quicksilver by the hand, and re- 
 paired to the house of the French consul, to whom he explain- 
 ed the difficulty in which he found himself. 
 
 " And what do you want me to do ?" asked the consul. 
 
 " To he good enough to advance me the sum required to re- 
 store me to my country, sir ; and to be my guarantee. I am a 
 French citizen, and — " 
 
 " Be good enough, sir, to remark," said the consul kindly, 
 " that your reasons for asking me to lend you the large sum 
 you require are insufficient. Every day some poor immigrant 
 finds himself in the same difficulty. If I were to listen to the 
 dictates of my heart, I should have to spend four thousand 
 pounds a year, whereas I only receive a salary of four hundred, 
 ■which, owing to the high prices of provisions here, scarcely suf- 
 fices for my support." 
 
 " I only ask a loan from you," answered M. Pinson ; " I pos- 
 sess, thank God, some small property which will enable me to 
 repay you at a fixed date." 
 
 " I am quite willing to believe it, but I cannot give you what 
 I have not got. Were there a French man-of-war in the port, 
 I would interest myself to get you taken on board; but, much 
 ps I ^yish to help you, I am not able to lend you the heavy sum 
 you require." 
 
 M. Pinson persevered for a long time, the consul always re- 
 plying with the same arguments. He received petitions similar 
 to that of M. Pinson every day, and was obliged to turn a deaf 
 ear to them. 
 
 " But what am I to do ?" cried the engineer in despair. 
 
 " Write to France for funds," said the consul. 
 
 " When shall I get a reply ?" 
 
 " In three months, if your correspondent is prompt." 
 
 " Three months !" exclaimed M. Pinson ; " I shall have to 
 stay here three months ! while my servant at home, my rent, 
 my business — " 
 
ANOTHER JOURNEY. 181 
 
 The engineer was choking ; as to Quicksilver, though out- 
 wardly he wore an aspect of dismay, he was in reality longing 
 to turn his very best catherine-wheel. 
 
 The consul, like the agent of the Royal Mail Company, had 
 to prepare his letters for the packet ; and therefore had to dis- 
 miss M. Pinson. The engineer immediately returned to the 
 hotel, where he took the landlord aside, and endeavored to 
 move him to pity. 
 
 " I do not doubt your honesty," said the landlord ; " but you 
 will admit, sir, that one does not lend a large sum ofE-hand to a 
 creditor one has only known two days, and who is going away 
 to a far-distant country." 
 
 M. Pinson then obtained a guide and sought the office of a 
 French merchant, to whom he explained the position in which 
 he found himself, and offered to return double or thrice the 
 sum he wished to borrow. This offer had the opposite effect 
 to what he intended. The merchant replied that he was no 
 usurer, and that he could not afford to risk the affair ; and poor 
 M. Pinson once more turned his steps towards the office of the 
 company's agent. 
 
 This time he could not even see that official. 
 
 " Well, well," he said as he took Quicksilver back to the ho- 
 tel, " it is our fate to live three months in this furnace ; I will 
 write, since I must." 
 
 M. Pinson had hardly begun to write his letter when he heard 
 the report of a cannon. He ran to the window ; black clouds 
 of smoke were pouring from the funnel of the mail packet. 
 The steamer, with the English flag floating from her poop, 
 trembled and shook, then saluted the fort of San Juan de Ul- 
 loa, and, winding through the reefs, stood out to sea. 
 
 M. Pinson thought at first it was a mere manoeuvre, but he 
 soon h^d to acknowledge that it was a reality. The mail 
 steamer was gone, and for a month at least he must remain at 
 Vera Cruz. 
 
182 '^N INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 For about ten minutes lie ■watohed the horizon, as if expect- 
 ing to see the ship put back and return to port. A slight noise 
 made him look round, and he remained staring at Quicksilver, 
 who was standing on his head with his heels in the air. The 
 boy sprang to his feet, reddening, and not daring to look up. 
 
 " Perhaps you are rejoicing over our deplorable position," 
 said the engineer severely. " Don't you know, you unlucky 
 urchin, that we are at an immense distance from France, with- 
 out money, and fated perhaps to die of hunger? Don't you 
 know— ?" 
 
 " We can work, sir," replied the boy ; " after all, it can't be 
 worse to be lost in Vera Cruz than in London. We don't know 
 Spanish, certainly, but there are both French and English in the 
 town, and we will go and ask them for work. Then, though 
 the consul carmot lend you money, he will help us to work for 
 our bread, since we cannot live otherwise." 
 
 " I am afraid of everything," returned M. Pinson in a low 
 voice. " It is easy to talk, but do you think that at a mo- 
 ment's notice I could obtain work in this town, where I am a 
 stranger ?" 
 
 " M. Boisjoli is a stranger in New York, and — " 
 
 " Boisjoli !" exclaimed M. Pinson ; " you choose a nice mo- 
 ment to speak of that — Silence ! Boisjoli takes diplomas, 
 certificates, letters of introduction, with him, and enough money 
 to keep him for two years doing nothing, or to bring him back 
 to France if he likes. Why do you talk of Boisjoli, and com- 
 pare his position with ours ?" 
 
 Until evening M. Pinson paced up and down the room. 
 Quicksilver, seeing his state of anxiety, kept quiet in a corner, 
 and did not venture to open his mouth. The dinner-bell rang, 
 but M. Pinson seemed not to hear it. 
 
 " Sir," said Quicksilver ; " we had better eat our dinner to- 
 day ; it will be so much to the good." 
 
 M. Pinson shook his liead, and tlie two travellers went down 
 
ANOTHER JOURNEY. 183 
 
 togetlier to the dining-room. Quicksilver made a plentiful re- 
 past, and frequently whispered to his companion, who let the 
 dishes pass him untasted, to follow his example. The boy, who 
 was accustomed to live from hand to mouth, and to rely on 
 Providence for to-morrow's dinner, was perplexed by the anxi- 
 ety of his companion. He heard him walking up and down 
 the room during part of the night, and, depressed by seeing 
 him so cast down, he himself slept but badly. 
 
 After breakfast, next day, M. Pinson called upon the consul. 
 
 " I have been interesting myself about you, sir," said that 
 gentleman, "for I am greatly concerned at your misfortunes. 
 Unluckily, I have no good news for you. There is a French 
 ship in the harbor, and the captain is willing to take you back 
 to France. But he is obliged to go and get his cargo at Cam- 
 peachy, and will hardly sail for Havre before six weeks." 
 
 " Better than remaining here for four months," cried M. Pin- 
 son. " I accept." 
 
 " You must observe," said the consul, " that, owing to the 
 delays sailing vessels always meet with in these parts, the cap- 
 tain's six weeks will probably extend to at least two months ; it 
 will then take you two months more to reach Europe, and it 
 might, perhaps, be better for you to write to your friends, and 
 to take your passage in the mail steamer as soon as the funds 
 arrive." 
 
 " lu the meantime how am I to live ?" said the engineer. 
 
 " Sir," replied the consul, " although one hundred pounds is 
 a larger sum than I could lend, I can advance you a few hun- 
 dred francs." 
 
 M. Pinson gratefully shook the hand of the consul, who con- 
 tinued : 
 
 " Let us consider the case. Living is expensive at Vera Cruz. 
 You cannot live here, you and your young companion, under 
 twenty francs a day. Moreover, yellow fever is making its ap- 
 pearance, and you should not needlessly expose yourself to it. 
 
184: AN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 Go to Jalapa or Orizaba ; you can there wait until it is time 
 for you to embark, and you will be out of danger of tbe dread- 
 ful disease which once a year transforms Vera Cruz into a ceme- 
 tery." 
 
 This advice was too sound to be disregarded. Provided with 
 a letter of introduction to a merchant at Jalapa, M. Pin son took 
 leave of the consul, who authorized him, if necessary, to draw 
 on him to the amount of twelve pounds. When he had settled 
 his hotel bill, and bought a revolver and shoes and walking- 
 stick for himself and Quicksilver, there still remained to him 
 about eight pounds. On the next day but one, at daybreak, and 
 taking with them written instructions and a little manual, or 
 vocabulary, of Spanish phrases, M. Pinson and Quicksilver left 
 Vera Cruz and entered on the sandy plain that surrounds it. 
 In order to reach Jalapa they had to cross woods inhabited 
 by monkeys, and prairies over which buffaloes roamed. In his 
 eagerness to enjoy these delights, Quicksilver would have liked 
 to run, instead of walking. 
 

 OUTSIDE THE WALLS OF VERA CRUZ. 
 
YELLOW JACK. 185 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 YELLOW JACK. 
 
 No sooner ■were the •walls of Vera Cruz left behind him than 
 Quicksilver gave free expression to his satisfaction. At last he 
 was going to see those primeval forests, those countries of the 
 New World, which to his fancy, kindled by the adventm'es of 
 Robinson Crusoe, and further excited by the yarns of the ship's 
 crew on board the Fulton, were a sort of Paradise, planted with 
 trees bearing azure leaves, with flowers of gold and with fruits 
 of diamonds. 
 
 As for M. Pinson, he seemed to have made up his mind to 
 the fresh journey which circumstances had forced him to un- 
 dertake ; but he was full of forebodings, and he wondered 
 whether an unexpected accident might not take him to an op- 
 posite point from that he wished to reach — whether he should 
 not find himself at Mexico while trying to get to Jalapa. 
 
 For an hour the two travellers pursued their way over little 
 mounds of shifting sand — a miniature Sahara, whose aspect is 
 constantly altered by the action of the north wind, the simoom 
 of the Mexican coast. 
 
 No vegetation except dried-up and stunted mimosas, Avith 
 here and there a cactus, was to be seen. Great green or gray 
 lizards ran across the path from time to time, or disappeared 
 down a hole. The heat was so oppressive that Quicksilver 
 walked on with his head sunk on his breast, scarcely looking 
 about him, but drinking constantly from the gourd of water 
 with which M. Pinson had provided him. 
 
186 AN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 " Shall we have to walk over sand all the way to Jalapa, sir ?" 
 the boy asked, at length. 
 
 "According to the route the consul traced out for me,'' an- 
 swered the engineer, " we have nearly five miles of sandy plain 
 to cross before we get to solid ground. But as in every three 
 steps that we take the shifting sand makes us lose one, we 
 must reckon over five miles." 
 
 " This road, sir, is neither pretty nor cheerful." 
 
 " No, indeed, and it is very fatiguing, as are all shifting foot- 
 holds to bipeds. This was one of the active causes of road- 
 making. But don't drink so often, it is not healthy." 
 
 For another half-hour M. Pinson and Quicksilver walked on 
 in silence. They reached the foot of a sand-hill higher than 
 any they had hitherto climbed. The ascent was toilsome ; 
 their lips were dry ; their eyes burning from the refraction of 
 the sand ; and they were panting for breath. At the summit 
 they halted for a moment ; before them, at a distance of about 
 a mile, they could discern a line of verdure. 
 
 " Is it a primeval forest ?" asked Quicksilver. 
 
 " I think not," said M. Pinson, smiling ; " primeval forests 
 are scarcely to be found at the side of a high-road. We are 
 on one of the branches of the main road from Vera Cruz to 
 Mexico, which was made by the Spaniards, and along which, I 
 have been told, there are buildings worthy of the Romans. 
 Hitherto, however, I have seen nothing to admire." 
 
 The two wayfarers, having turned to estimate the distance 
 they had travelled, found their gaze fixed on the glittering 
 sea. M. Pinson, who was extraordinarily affected by the 
 heat,~complained of headache. He quickened his steps in order 
 to reach the dark line which from afar o£E looked like a little 
 wood. 
 
 The engineer sank rather than sat down at the foot of the 
 nearest tree. Quicksilver, almost worn out with the long tramp 
 on burning sand, did not even notice that the birds which flew 
 
YELLOW JACK. 18Y 
 
 away from tlie dusty-leaved gum-tree as he approached it were 
 actually a pair of parrots. 
 
 No sooner had M. Pinson reached the shade .than he 
 stretched himself on the ground and fell asleep. When Quick- 
 silver had drunk copiously and rested himself, his inquisitivc- 
 ness returned. 
 
 Decidedly, thought he, it is harder work walking about Vera 
 Cruz than in the streets of London. "What a sun ! One would 
 think it is not the same sun that shines in England, it is so 
 large, so red, and so scorching. 
 
 Looking about him, he also perceived that the tufts of grass 
 on which he was seated bore no resemblance to the grass in the 
 London parks, and he jumped up when he saw a big horned 
 beetle approaching him, and thought, 
 
 " Wouldn't the English sparrows be glad to snap up a cock- 
 chafer of that size ? They would think they had caught three 
 at a time !" 
 
 The insect crept along a branch, and Quicksilver saw with 
 admiration that it was bigger than a bird with emerald green 
 plumage which just then came hovering over a flower, like a 
 bee. 
 
 Quicksilver was going to chase the tiny bird, when he saw a 
 swarm of large butterflies with red, blue, black, yellow, white, 
 silver, and golden wings. What a sight ! it seemed to the boy 
 like a bouquet of flowers scattered in the air. He began to pur- 
 sue the beautiful lepidopters. But the heat soon brought him 
 back to his companion. 
 
 The engineer, whose brow was wet with perspiration, still 
 slept on. Quicksilver, seated by his side, began to feel uneasy 
 at this long slumber, and wondered what he should do if a lion 
 or a boa-constrictor should turn up. 
 
 Two men, driving before them lean asses laden with crockery, 
 passed by and saluted Quicksilver, who, astonished to see men 
 clothed only in short drawers thus braving the heat of the sun, 
 
188 AN INVOLUNTAUY VOYAGE. 
 
 would have taken them for savages but for their salutation. 
 A little later, seven or eight Indians, wearing various costumes, 
 according to the villages to which they belonged, and each one 
 carrying a load, passed in single file. 
 
 Quicksilver, only half -reassured by the civil manners of these 
 aborigines, gently shook M. Pinson. 
 
 "What is it? Who is there? Boisjoli ?" said the engineer. 
 
 " It is I, sir," answered Quicksilver. " Ought we not to be 
 starting again ?" 
 
 " Starting for Liverpool, for Calais, for the Virgin Isles — 
 Swim, swim, the buoy will support you." 
 
 Quicksilver, alarmed by the incoherent words and the fixed 
 gaze of the speaker, shook him again. 
 
 " Wake up, sir," he said. " Your looks, your words — you 
 frighten me !" 
 
 M. Pinson, who was in a high fever, did not answer. A quan- 
 tity of dark blood flowed from his mouth, and Quicksilver ut- 
 tered a cry. 
 
 The child knew they were leaving Vera Cruz in order to es- 
 cape vdinito negro, or yellow fever ; and now, without doubt, his 
 companion was attacked by this terrible disease. 
 
 For a quarter of an hour Quicksilver, alarmed and in tears, 
 tried to induce M. Pinson to rise and resume their journey. In 
 vijin : the engineer either answered incoherently or remained 
 passive and inert. At length the boy nodded his head, and 
 said to himself, 
 
 " It is stupid to cry, and it does no good." • 
 
 He wiped away his tears, and stationed himself on the road- 
 side to watch for a passer-by. 
 
 For more than an hour, and a very long hour it seemed to 
 poor Quicksilver, he waited in vain. At last he perceived a 
 team of mules, and, running to one of the drivers, he took him 
 by the hand and led him to M. Pinson. 
 
 The muleteer, surprised to meet with two Europeans on foot 
 

 ifl '/ 
 
 
 CAUGHT BY YELLOW JACK.'' 
 
YELLOW JACK. 189 
 
 in tliat place, questioned Quicksilver in Spanish. The boj' an- 
 swered first In French, then in English, but made the situation 
 no more intelligible than before. The muleteer called to his 
 companions ; they put the engineer on the pack-saddle of one 
 of the mules, and the team started again for Vera Cruz, where 
 they arrived at five P.M. 
 
 In the Mexican hotel which the muleteers frequented there 
 was a negress from Jamaica, who interpreted for Quicksilver. 
 He had again become the sensible little man he had been in 
 London, where he had had to provide for himself every day. 
 He did nothing hastily. Having inquired the charges, and bar- 
 gained over them, he settled M. Pinson in a tolerably comforta- 
 ble room and sent for a medical man. 
 
 The doctor soon made his appearance. After a careful exam- 
 ination, he pronounced that M. Pinson really had yellow fever. 
 Fortunately there were none but ordinary symptoms, and a man 
 of robust constitution ought to recover from the disease. 
 
 " If you nurse him well," said the doctor, " and if nothing 
 unfavorable occurs, he will be out of danger in a week." 
 
 There were a few complications. For two weeks, at every 
 hour of the night or day, whenever M. Pinson opened his eyes, 
 he saw Quicksilver bending over him with a cup of cooling 
 drink in his hand. The boy lifted him up, helped him to drink, 
 and then gently placed him again on the pillow. The engineer 
 would try to speak, but his weakness was so great that he could 
 barely articulate a few words. 
 
 "You know, sir," said Quicksilver to him one morning, 
 " that you are now quite convalescent, and that you are to eat 
 an egg to-day." 
 
 " I owe you my life," said the engineer, in a languid voice. 
 " I was unable to speak these last few days, but I was quite con- 
 scious, and I noticed everything: you have behaved like a man." 
 
 " Like one who loves you, sir, and has to give an account of 
 you to M. Boisjoli." 
 
190 AN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 " Boisjoli !" cried M. Pinson, trying to sit up ; " is it not 
 he—" 
 
 "Hush! hush!" said Quicksilver, "don't let ns talk of any- 
 thing that vexes you; the doctor forbids any excitement. He 
 has warned me that your recovery will be slow ; but that's no 
 matter. The point is that you are getting well." 
 
 M. Pinson drew the boy to him and kissed him. 
 
 " Dear child !" he murmured, " who would have thought the 
 day, or rather the night, I picked you up in the streets of Lon- 
 don—" 
 
 " You must not excite yourself," exclaimed Quicksilver, with- 
 drawing himself from M. Pinson's clasp ; " that is quite against 
 orders." 
 
 In four days M. Pinson was able to get up, to dress himself, 
 and to sit in an arm-chair. He could not as yet walk, and felt 
 vexed with himself for his own weakness. He asked for a look- 
 ing-glass, and could scarcely recognize himself, his cheeks were 
 so hollow, his beard was so long, his face was so pale. His 
 greatest consolation was his good appetite. 
 
 From that time forth the engineer spent long hours near the 
 window of his room, whence he could look on the sea and 
 breathe the life-giving breeze. In another week he was able 
 to go down into the court-yard of the hotel and to walk about, 
 leaning on his stick. 
 
 Quicksilver, who had stayed so assiduously by his pillow 
 while M. Pinson was confined to bed, would now go out every 
 morning, only reappearing once or twice during the da}'. 
 
 " Poor little fellow," thought M. Pinson ; " he was so long a 
 prisoner, he must want a little freedom." 
 
 But, surprised that the boy stayed away more and more, he 
 thought it necessary to question him. 
 
 " You don't play with the street-boys, I suppose," he said to 
 him, one evening when Quicksilver seemed worn out and almost 
 asleep on his feet. 
 
YELLOW JACK. 191 
 
 " I ? Oh, of course not. I walk about." 
 
 " Why don't you stay with me ? I begin to walk pretty 
 quick. I went to the beach yesterday. I am studying Span- 
 ish." 
 
 " So am I, sir ; but I study it in the harbor, listening to the 
 people talk. But pray always walk on the beach ; the doctor 
 recommended it." 
 
 For a while M. Pinson continued very weak ; but when his 
 good constitution at last triumphed, and he began to regain 
 strength, ho questioned Quicksilver about their hotel expenses, 
 and remarked that the boy answered evasively. 
 
 " There's no more money in my purse," said M. Pinson, one 
 evening. 
 
 " True, sir. Doctors, chemists, and chickens are dear here. 
 Cut we are not yet starving, and that is the great point." 
 
 " I must make up my mind to speak to the landlord ; I 
 must tell him he shall not lose by mo ; that if need be the 
 consul — " 
 
 " I have told him all that," returned Quicksilver. " Don't 
 worry yourself, and, above all, walk on the beach." 
 
 " Well, dear boy, don't let me walk there by myself ; it vexes 
 lue to think you are wandering about the town all day long." 
 
 " Very well, sir, I will do as you wish." 
 
 Notwithstanding this promise, however, Quicksilver would 
 still slip away every morning, and M. Pinson made up his mind 
 to call him to order. One day, after Quicksilver had disap- 
 peared as usual, M. Pinson resolved to go down into the town. 
 In the porch, at the principal entrance, he met the landlord, 
 and felt himself bound to speak to him of the long stay he was 
 making at the hotel, and of his expenses. 
 
 " Stay as long as you like, senor," answered the innkeeper. 
 " When people pay as you do, exactly to a farthing every fort- 
 night, business is satisfactory." 
 
 " Every fortnight !" repeated M. Pinson, mechanically. 
 
192 AN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 " Your little boy, senor, has never failed to pay me, and no 
 later than yesterday he settled with me np to date." 
 
 "Then I owe you nothing?" asked M. Pinson, with a little 
 hesitation. 
 
 " Nothing," replied the innkeeper. 
 
 M. Pinson made no remark, but bent his steps towards the 
 centre of the town. The heat was overpowering, and the en- 
 gineer was surprised at his own strength and recovered activity. 
 He looked about him as he walked along. The streets of Vera 
 Cruz are never very animated, especially at mid-day. M. Pinson 
 reached the custom-house, opposite the jetty. Here there were 
 more signs of life. Sailors, bathed in sweat, were hauling about 
 huge heaps of goat-skins, cases of indigo, bales of cochineal, in- 
 gots of gold and silver — in fact, everything that constitutes the 
 Mexican trade with Europe. On his left was a pile of enormous 
 casks of flour and bacon, imported from the United States. 
 One of these casks seemed to be rolling all by itself from the 
 jetty to the custom-house, and as it came nearer, M. Pinson 
 watched it with curiosity. All at once, behind this enormous 
 load he caught sight of Quicksilver, pushing it with all his 
 might. 
 
 For an instant M. Pinson remained open-mouthed, staring at 
 his little companion. The boy had stopped for a moment to 
 take breath, and to wipe the heat-drops from his forehead. 
 
 An unspeakable emotion stirred M. Pinson's heart. He un- 
 derstood now the reason of the boy's absence. "While he had 
 thought him to be sauntering about, or at play. Quicksilver had 
 been at work for — 
 
 M. Pinson sprang forward. Before the boy, who was aston- 
 ished at his appearance, could say one word, he felt himself 
 lifted from the ground in the arms of the engineer, who was 
 weeping. 
 
GOOD LUCK AT LAST. 193 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 GOOD LUCK AT LAST. 
 
 " Sib," said Quicksilver, trying to escape, " people are look- 
 ing at us." 
 
 " All the better," cried M. Pinson. " I should like the 
 whole town to know of your conduct, and, above all, that 
 Boisjoli — " 
 
 The engineer broke off, in order once more to embrace Quick- 
 silver ; then he continued, 
 
 " This, then, is the explanation of the riddle. While I was 
 feasting on chicken and drinking the best wine, you — And I 
 was fool enough to think you were enjoying yourself." 
 
 "And so I was, sir, be sure of it. The reason that we are 
 not in debt at the hotel, and that you were able to have chicken 
 as the doctor ordered, is that I had safely kept the present from 
 the passengers on the Canada. About a fortnight ago, when I 
 saw our five-franc pieces — they call them piastres here — flying 
 away like birds, I began to reflect, and I thought that in a town 
 like this it ought not to be dilBcult to find work. I was not 
 mistaken. I had not been hanging about the jetty more than 
 an hour when a boat from an American ship came alongside. 
 The boatswain who was in charge of her was looking for a man 
 to roll the casks they were going to put on shore, as far as this. 
 I offered my services ; the boatswain, quite pleased to hear me 
 speak English, engaged me at once. Since then I have stuck 
 to the work ; it is not hard." 
 
 "Not hard !" exclaimed M. Pinson. "Oh! the brave little 
 man ; he pushes loads bigger than himself, beneath a tropical 
 
 9 
 
194 AX JXrOLUNTAEY VOYAGE. 
 
 sun, and — Go and rest, my boy, out there in the shade ; it is 
 my turn to work." 
 
 " Oh, sir !" said Quicksilver, " go back to the hotel and don't 
 risk falling ill again ; besides, this is not work for you." 
 
 " You are wrong : all work is honorable, and you have tri- 
 umphantly proved it. Now, let me see ; your task is to roll 
 these casks from the jetty, and place them opposite the custom- 
 house 1" 
 
 " Yes, sir ; but let me finish it, I will go back with you to 
 the hotel when it is done." 
 
 " It will be done all the quicker, my boy, if two work at it." 
 
 In spite of Quicksilver's protestations and entreaties, M. Pin- 
 son took off his coat and helped to roll the casks. The sight 
 of this white man employed at a task which, in the colonies, is 
 the lot of the colored race, attracted many curious on-look- 
 ers. Among them was the consul, who was leaving the custom- 
 house. 
 
 " You here, sir !" he exclaimed, with amazement, " and work- 
 ing at — But how pale you are ! Have you been ill ?" 
 
 In a few words M. Pinson related their departure, his own 
 illness, and Quicksilver's conduct. 
 
 " How was it," said the consul to the boy, " that you never 
 thought of coming to me and telling me all these things ?" 
 
 " I did not know, sir, whether you would sec me ; and, be- 
 sides, Mother Pitch, t)ne of my friends, used always to tell me 
 it was better to ask for work than for charity. If I had not 
 found work on the jetty, I would have come to you sooner than 
 let M. Pinson want for anything.'' 
 
 The consul drew the engineer into the shade of the custom-' 
 house. 
 
 " Sir," said he, " three days ago I wrote to you at Jalapa, be- 
 lieving you to be there. You know, probably, that the English 
 steamer we were expecting has been wrecked ?" 
 
 " No,'' said M. Pinson, turning to Quicksilver. 
 
',*fir-^ Ml 
 
 . ^A±^'^'''rl 
 
 M. PINSON TAKES HIS TURN. 
 
GOOD LUCK AT LAST. 195 
 
 " I would not tell you, sir," said the boy, looking down ; " I 
 knew it would vex you, and — " 
 
 " So," said the engineer, " we are prisoners here for an extra 
 month." 
 
 " What does it matter ?" said Quicksilver. " You have noth- 
 ing to fear now from yellow fever — " 
 
 "And your 
 
 " Oh, I am in no danger ; yellow fever, it seems, does not 
 like boys !" 
 
 " No, it only kills them,'' muttered the consul. " Now, sir," 
 added he, turning to M. Pinson, " will you be good enough to 
 call on me to-morrow morning? We must have a talk." 
 
 M. Pinson promised to be pimctual ; then, notwithstanding 
 the entreaties of the consul, who joined Quicksilver in begging 
 him to return to the hotel, the engineer insisted on helping his 
 young companion to finish his task. 
 
 The next day, at the hour that had been agreed on, M. Pinson 
 went to the consul's. 
 
 "Here," said that functionary, taking a roll of paper and 
 handing it to the engineer — " here is a plan for the reconstruc- 
 tion of the jetty at Vera Cruz. It contains some calculations 
 of the relative strength of iron, wood, and stone in resisting 
 the action of the sea, which seems, so far as I can judge, not to 
 be accurate. I wish to have them examined by a competent 
 person. Will you undertake the work and submit to me your 
 remarks upon it ?" 
 
 "I shall require four days," said M. Pinson, after looking 
 through the documents in his hand. 
 
 " Take the necessary time," said the consul ; " there is no 
 hurry." 
 
 On returning to his hotel, M. Pinson, whose strength was 
 rapidly returning, instantly set to work. It was understood 
 that the consul would remunerate him ; he would therefore not 
 allow Quicksilver to return to his work on the jetty. 
 
196 AN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 " Let it be, my boy," he said ; " if we are driven to it, vpe will 
 go and work together, and at any kind of labor. But in the 
 meantime study your Spanish." 
 
 " I begin to speak it a little," said Quicksilver ; and, in fact, 
 thanks to the ease with which young people learn a foreign 
 tongue, especially when they are willing to take a little trouble, 
 Quicksilver could already make himself understood in the Span- 
 ish language. 
 
 Five days after receiving the papers, M. Pinson took them 
 back, together with his own notes and remarks. The consul 
 paid him eight pounds on account, and gave him hopes that 
 the proposed works might be intrusted to him. But a fort- 
 night passed away and M. Pinson heard nothing more of the 
 matter. His health was re-established, and his appetite was 
 alarming. 
 
 " I really believe," he said one morning to Quicksilver, " that 
 as our funds decrease my appetite increases. The consul makes 
 no sign, and I think we must return to our work at the harbor." 
 
 "If you had allowed me my way, sir, we should now have 
 some money laid by," said Quicksilver, dolefully. 
 
 That same evening a mulatto brought a message from the 
 consul to the effect that he would see M. Pinson the next morn- 
 ing at nine o'clock. The engineer kept the appointment punct- 
 ually. 
 
 "The loss of the English steam -packet on the Scorpion 
 Rocks is confirmed," said the consul, without further preface. 
 " I tell you this rather abruptly, perhaps, for it must delay your 
 return to Europe, and keep you perforce a visitor in Mexico for, 
 it may be, six months." 
 
 M. Pinson hung his head : he thought of the Rue Nollet, of 
 Boisjoli, of Liverpool, of the Fulton, and made no reply. 
 
 " You are an engineer and a skilful one," continued the con- 
 sul ; " I know it, for I handed your report to the town archi- 
 tect, and there can be no doubt of your abilities." 
 
GOOD LUCK AT LAST. I97 
 
 M. Pinson raised his head. 
 
 "You must excuse rue for these preliminary observations," 
 said the consul, " as I have a serious proposal to make to you. 
 I think I mentioned that I had written to you at Jalapa, where 
 I believed you to be ?" 
 
 M. Pinson assented. The consul continued : 
 
 "And that I am not mistaken in understanding you to be 
 without means and obliged to wait at least five months before 
 you can return to France ?" 
 
 M. Pinson bent his head as an affirmative reply. 
 
 " Well, then, one of our wealthy landowners, Don Ambrosio 
 Lerdo, wishes to introduce several modern improvements on his 
 estate, and to substitute them for the old fashions which keep 
 Mexico so far behindhand in agriculture and trade. Don Am- 
 brosio Lerdo wrote to me to get him over from France an en- 
 gineer capable of carrying out his purpose. Don Ambrosio of- 
 fers a salary of eight hundred pounds a year. I must add, for 
 it will always be an incentive to a Frenchman, that there is fame 
 to be won by carrying out such an undertaking. The plans 
 that I gave you to look over have proved your capacity ; will 
 you for a term of three years become chief-engineer on the 
 Heronniere lands, and undertake the wise disbursement of the 
 millions that Don Ambrosio is prepared to spend 1" 
 
 M. Pinson remained silent and thoughtful. After the incred- 
 ible series of adventures which, in spite of himself, had brought 
 him from Batignolles to Vera Cruz, a position was freely of- 
 fered to him such as Boisjoli had hoped to win for himself by 
 the hardest work. Strange are the turns of fate. 
 
 "Probably you would like a few days to think over it?" 
 said the consul. 
 
 M. Pinson still kept silence. A country to be civilized and 
 eight hundred a year formed a combination which might fairly 
 tempt a less ambitious man than he. Nevertheless, for the sake 
 of the Eue Nollet and of his old ways of life, he might have 
 
198 AN IN VOL UNTA R Y VO YA GE. 
 
 declined it, but there was Quicksilver. Eight hundred a year ! 
 It was enough to found a fortune for the boy to whom he 
 owed his life, and of whom he desired to make a great man. 
 
 " I accept the offer, sir," said he, as he rose from his seat, 
 " and I thank you with all my heart." 
 
 Two hours later M. Pinson aflSxed his signature to a deed by 
 which he undertook to execute, with all the care and skill of 
 which he was capable, the necessary works for turning the He- 
 ronniere into a model domain. 
 
 " This deed will make your fortune," said the consul to the 
 engineer; "Don Ambrosio oflEers hundreds, but he will pay in 
 thousands, and you are going to live in a new country where 
 yellow fever is unknown." 
 
 When M. Pinson returned to the hotel, he found Quicksilver 
 battling with a Spanish exercise. He approached him without 
 speaking, and, taking from his pockets two handfuls of gold 
 pieces, he flung them on the table. 
 
 Quicksilver sprang up and stared at his friend, who embraced 
 him heartily. 
 
 " But, sir," said the boy at last, on seeing his companion 
 turning out more gold from his pockets, " to whom does all 
 this money belong ?" 
 
 " To me and to you, my boy." 
 
 " Who gave it you ?" 
 
 " Providence, whose will it is that you should be rich, and by 
 whose help I am now able to repay you in part what I owe you." 
 
 Then M. Pinson sat down, and told Quicksilver all that had 
 passed at the consul's. 
 
 " And so, sir," he said, " we are going to live in primeval for- 
 ests !" 
 
 " Yes, and even to make clearings in them." 
 
 " And what are you going to do with the gold ?" 
 
 " Get our outfits with it, and buy some of the instruments I 
 shall need." 
 
GOOD LUCK AT LAST. 
 
 199 
 
 "And will you have to spend it all?" 
 
 "That depends; any way, we have unlimited credit." 
 
 Quicksilver became thoughtful. 
 
 " Well," said M. Pinson, " what are you thinking about?" 
 
 " You are so kind, sir, that I will tell you. Would it incon- 
 venience you to let me have the eight pounds that the passen- 
 gers of the Canada gave me ?" 
 
 "No, certainly not ; but what will you do with eight pounds?" 
 
 " I should like to send it to poor Mother Pitch ; I should 
 like to feel certain she will have a fire next winter." 
 
 M. Pinson embraced Quicksilver once more, and allowed him 
 to send not eight pounds, but twenty pounds, to good old Moth- 
 er Pitch. 
 
 For a week M. Pinson and Quicksilver were engaged in pur- 
 chasing at the shops of Vera Cruz their outfit and the instru- 
 ments which the engineer would require. M. Pinson wrote to 
 his landlord in Paris, and also to his old servant, and intrusted 
 his letters to the consul. A fortnight later, Don Ambrosio 
 Lerdo being apprised of their coming, M. Pinson and Quicksil- 
 ver were accompanied by the consul to the little schooner on 
 which they were to embark. They were to land at Alvarado, 
 ascend the river Papaloapam, and then to travel through the 
 uncultivated country. 
 
 M. Pinson had cheerfully made up his mind to his new life, 
 but he did not fail to grumble sometimes at Boisjoli. As to 
 Quicksilver, he was transcendently happy. 
 
 The schooner set sail ; the fort of San Juan de Ulloa disap- 
 peared below the horizon ; and, coasting along the southern side 
 of the Gulf of Mexico, our travellers watched for the Heron- 
 niere, which was to be the last stage of their voyage. 
 
 And the Fulton ? The Davis ? 
 
 M. Pinson retained too keen a recollection of the kindness of 
 the commodore, his officers and crew, not to feel interested in 
 their fate. He had therefore begged the consul at Vera Cruz 
 
200 A^ INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. 
 
 to communicate to him anything he might hear about these two 
 enemies. Three months after the engineer's arrival at the He- 
 ronniere, the consul, mindful of his promise, wrote to him that 
 the Davis, caught by a northerly gale and driven against the 
 coast of Texas, had been wrecked on a rock. Humanity then 
 resumed its rights ; the commodore and his men risked their 
 own lives to save those of their enemies, and in part succeeded. 
 Commodore Warren had recognized his own cousin in the cap- 
 tain of the Davis ; and among the crew of the privateer many 
 of the Fulton's seamen had found a friend or a brother. Such 
 are the inevitable consequences of all wicked wars ; in other 
 words, of civil war. The brother slays his brother, the friend 
 his friend; and every blow wounds their native land, the mother 
 of both. 
 
 When he looked at his prisoners, whom he had so often 
 wished to hang, the commodore repented. He made interest 
 with the Federal Government to obtain pardon for the rebels, 
 and was fortunate enough to succeed. 
 
 May France, so cruelly tried, know no war in the future ex- 
 cept it be declared by a foreign country ! 
 
 And Boisjoli 1 Shall we ever learn whether, in time, he came 
 to hear all about the Odyssey of his friends ? 
 
 THE END. 
 
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