"
"But this pilot! you remember that he holds us by our necks, and can run
us all up to the yard-arm of some English ship, whenever he chooses to
open his throat at their threats or bribes."
"It would have been better that he should have cast the ship ashore,
when he had her entangled in the shoals; it would have been our last
thought to suspect him of treachery then," returned Griffith, "I follow
him with confidence, and must believe that we are safer with him than we
should be without him."
"Let him lead to the dwelling of his fox-hunting ministers of state,"
cried Barnstable, thrusting his book of signals into his bosom: "but
here is a chart that will show us the way to the port we wish to find.
Let my foot once more touch terra firma, and you may write craven
against my name, if that laughing vixen slips her cable before my eyes,
and shoots into the wind's eye again like a flying-fish chased by a
dolphin. Mr. Griffith, we must have the chaplain with us to the shore."
"The madness of love is driving you into the errors of the soldier.
Would you lie by to hear sermons, with a flying party like ours?"
"Nay, nay, we must lay to for nothing that is not unavoidable; but there
are so many tacks in such a chase, when one has time to breathe, that we
might as well spend our leisure in getting that fellow to splice us
together. He has a handy way with a prayer book, and could do the job as
well as a bishop; and I should like to be able to say, that this is the
last time these two saucy names, which are written at the bottom of this
letter, should ever be seen sailing in the company of each other.
Pages:
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118