"
"We must have patience till the morning," added the boy, "for no boat
would attempt to land in such a sea."
"No boat could land! The best boat that ever floated, boy, has sunk in
these breakers! But the wind lessens, and before morning the sea will
fall. Let us on, and find a berth for our poor lads, where they can be
made more comfortable."
The two officers now descended from their elevation, and led the way
still farther up the deep and narrow dell, until, as the ground rose
gradually before them, they found themselves in a dense wood, on a level
with the adjacent country.
"Here should be a ruin at hand, if I have a true reckoning, and know my
courses and distances," said Barnstable; "I have a chart about me that
speaks of such a landmark."
The lieutenant turned away from the laughing expression of the boy's
eye, as the latter archly inquired:
"Was it made by one who knows the coast well, sir? Of was it done by
some schoolboy, to learn his maps, as the girls work samplers?"
"Come, younker, no sampler of your impudence. But look ahead; can you
see any habitation that has been deserted?"
"Ay, sir, here is a pile of stones before us, that looks as dirty and
ragged as if it was a soldier's barrack; can this be what you seek?"
"Faith, this has been a whole town in its day! we should call it a city
in America, and furnish it with a mayor, aldermen, and recorder--you
might stow old Faneuil Hall in one of its lockers.
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