LIBRARY 
 
 UNIVERSI . 1 OF 
 CALIFORNIA 
 
 SAN DIEGO
 
 THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 
 
 .UNIVERSITY OF CALih'ORNIA, SAN DIEGQ 
 
 LA JOLLA, CALIFORNIA 
 
 JOO& 
 
 3 1822 01169 8024

 
 LITTLE BY LITTLE; 
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY, 
 
 for |0ng $01lt$. 
 
 BY 
 
 OLIVER OPTIC, 
 
 AUTHOR 01i"'TIIK BOAT CLUB," "ALL ABOARD," "NOW OR NEVER, 
 
 " TRY AGAIN," " POOR AND PROUD," " IN DOORS AN!) OUT," 
 
 ETC. ETC. 
 
 CINCINNATI: 
 RICKEY, MALLORY & CO. 
 
 BOSTON: CROSBY, NICHOLS, LEE & CO. 
 
 NEW YORK: PHINNEY, BLAKEMAN & MASON. 
 
 1861.
 
 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1SCO, by 
 
 WILLl AM T. ADAMS, 
 In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. 
 
 STEREOTYPED AT THE 
 BOSTON STEREOTYPE FOUNDRY.
 
 TO 
 
 CHARLES LABAN ADAMS, 
 
 IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED, 
 
 BY HIS UNCLE.
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 IN presenting to his young friends the sixth volume of 
 the "Library for Young People," the author cannot be 
 unconscious of what the readers of his former books re- 
 quire of him. They will turn the leaves of "Little by 
 Little," expecting to find an abundance of stirring incidents ; 
 and he hopes they will not be disappointed. Some of the 
 older readers and sterner critics will look for romantic and 
 rather exaggerated events ; but he thinks they will look in 
 vain, for as we grow older we become more reasonable, and 
 do not expect showers of gold to fall upon every seedy 
 hero, or to see nice young gentlemen leap over lofty preci- 
 pices without sometimes being dashed to pieces. 
 
 But the author hopes that something more than exciting 
 incidents will be found upon his pages ; that, though he has 
 seldom, if ever, gone out of his way to define the moral 
 quality, or measure the moral quantity, of the words and 
 deeds of his characters, the story will not be found wanting 
 in a true Christian spirit. 
 
 ' 1 * (5)
 
 6 PREFACE. 
 
 Paul Duncan, the hero of this volume, is a nautical 
 young gentleman, and most of the events of the story occur 
 upon the water ; but the author hopes his young lady 
 friends will not make faces at him on this account. The 
 boys insisted upon having a sea story, and being the " lords 
 of creation," of course they must be indulged ; but the 
 writer most solemnly promises to remember the girls next 
 time. 
 
 Thanking my young friends again for the continued 
 kindness manifested towards my pets, I give them " Little 
 by Little," hoping that the excellent spirit of Paul Duncan 
 will pervade their minds and hearts, and lead them forward 
 to the material and moral triumphs which crowned his use- 
 ful life. 
 
 WILLIAM T. ADAMS. 
 
 DORCHESTER, August 28, 1860.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAP. I. Paul Duncan disobeys Orders 11 
 
 CHAP. II. Paul is cool and self-possessed 25 
 
 CHAP. III. Paul hears bad News 38 
 
 CHAP. IV. Paul becomes the Head of the Family. . . 52 
 
 CHAP. V. Paul cooks his own Breakfast, and g-oes a-fishing. 66 
 
 CHAP. VI. Paul makes a good Speculation 79 
 
 CHAP. VII. Paul goes into Business on his own Account. 93 
 
 CHAP VIII. Paul takes a Cold Bath 107 
 
 CHAP. IX. Paul becomes Skipper of the Fawn. . . .120 
 
 CHAP. X. Paul and John are very much excited. . . . 134 
 
 CHAP. XI. Paul's First Cruise in the Fawn 147 
 
 CHAP. XII. Paul sleeps on his Watch 160 
 
 CHAP XIII. Paul makes a Night Run in the Storm. . . 173 
 
 CHAP. XIV. Paul scolds the First Officer of the Fawn. . 186 
 
 CHAP. XV. Paul goes on a Cruise in the Flyaway. . . 198 
 
 CHAP. XVI. Paul witnesses a Mutiny 211 
 
 (7)
 
 8 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAP. XVII. Paul discovers that Mischief is brewing. . 224 
 
 CHAP. XVIII. Paul is made a Prisoner 237 
 
 CHAP. XIX. Paul takes Command of the Flyaway." . . 250 
 
 CHAP. XX. Paul exercises a strong moral Influence. . . 2C3 
 CHAP. XXI Paul advances Little by Little, and the Story 
 
 ends .... 275
 
 LITTLE BY LITTLE,
 
 LITTLE BT LITTLE; 
 
 OK, 
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAITI, DUNCAN DISOBEYS ORDERS. 
 
 " I'LL give you a quarter, Paul, if you will 
 take me down to the Point in your boat," said 
 Thomas Nettle, as he came down to the beach 
 where the boy addressed was baling out an old 
 dingy-looking boat. 
 
 " It blows too hard," replied Paul Duncan. 
 
 "The club went down in their boat." 
 
 " But it didn't blow so hard then as it does 
 now. It's a regular sou'easter." 
 
 " What are you afraid of, Paul ? " 
 
 (ii)
 
 12 MTTLE BY LITTLE, OB 
 
 " I'm not afraid ; but there's no use of risking 
 your life for a quarter." 
 
 f 
 
 " I'll give you a half, then." 
 
 Paul Duncan hesitated. Half a dollar was a 
 great deal of money to him, and more than often 
 found its way into his exchequer. He glanced 
 at the white-capped waves in the bay, and then at 
 Thomas. 
 
 " There's no ballast in her," said he. 
 
 " Put some rocks in, then." 
 
 " I think it's rather dangerous, and I don't be- 
 lieve your mother would agree to have you go 
 out in a boat in such a blow as this." 
 
 " My mother ! Humph ! Let me tell you I'm 
 not tied to my mother's apron string. I think 
 I'm old enough to have a will of my own. Don't 
 talk to me about my mother," replied Thomas, 
 contemptuously. " I'm not a baby." 
 
 " Just as you please ; but I think it blows too 
 hard to go out." 
 
 " Let me have your boat, and I'll go alone then, 
 if you are afraid to go."
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 18 
 
 " I'm not afraid," answered Paul, stung by these 
 repeated implications upon his courage. " Jump 
 in, and I'll give you enough of it before you get 
 half way to the Point." 
 
 Thomas got into the boat, which was any thing 
 but a beauty in hef shape and appointments. 
 Paul pushed her off the beach upon which she had 
 grounded, and as she receded from the shore, 
 leaped on board of her. Placing an oar at the 
 stern, he sculled her out a short distance from the 
 land, and then shook out the sail. The first 
 flaw of wind that struck it heeled the boat over 
 so far that Thomas leaped with desperate haste 
 up to the windward side. 
 
 " Don't be afraid, Tom," said Paul, with a 
 smile. " She has got the wind now." 
 
 " Who's afraid ? " demanded Thomas. 
 
 " I thought you were by the way you jumped." 
 
 "Well, the gunnel of your old craft went un- 
 der." 
 
 "Not quite." 
 
 " I say it did ; and ypu don't suppose I was 
 2
 
 14 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OK 
 
 going to sit there and be spilled into the drink 
 do you ? " continued Thomas, sharply. 
 
 " I won't dispute with you ; she heeled over, 
 as a boat always will when she first gets the wind." 
 
 " You think you are an|pld salt, Paul, but you 
 don't know enough to navigate a herring pond." 
 
 " Just as you like," replied Paul, whose good 
 nature was proof against the assaults of his com- 
 panion. " I don't pretend to know much ; but I 
 think I understand this old boat pretty well." 
 
 " Paul ! Paul ! " cried a voice from the shore. 
 
 "That's my mother," said the young boatman, 
 as he discovered a woman on the beach. " What 
 do you want,- mother ? " 
 
 " Come ashore," replied Mrs. Duncan, whose 
 voice was almost drowned by the noise of the 
 waves as they beat against the boat. 
 
 Paul's mother seemed to think she had said 
 enough, for her son was generally a very obedient 
 boy, and she turned to walk up the bluff towards 
 the house. But she knew enough about the man- 
 agement of a boat to perceive that, in this instance, 
 her order was not obeyed.
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLY AAV AY. 15 
 
 " Come ashore right off, Paul," she repeated 
 with an emphasis that was calculated to make an 
 impression upon the rebellious party. 
 
 " Do you want me, mother ? " asked Paul, as 
 he put the boat about;, and brought her upon the 
 home tack. 
 
 " No, I don't want you ; but it blows too hard 
 for you to be out there. You'll capsize, as true as 
 you're alive," replied Mrs. Duncan ; and seeing the 
 boat headed towards the shore, -she hastened home. 
 
 " Are you going to back out, Paul ? " demanded 
 Thomas, as the boat came about. 
 
 " My mother won't let me go," replied Paul, 
 rather sheepishly, for he was not proof against 
 the derision of his companion. 
 
 " Won't let you go ! " sneered Thomas. 
 
 " You heard what she said." 
 
 " I did ; my mother would no more dare to say 
 as much as that to me than she would dare to cut 
 my head off. She knows her place better." 
 
 Paul was not a little shocked by this unfeeling 
 speech, and could not help seeing that Thomas
 
 16 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OE 
 
 had not much regard for his mother. For his 
 own part, he loved his mother very mujch, though 
 he was not exactly willing to confess the fact to 
 a boy who entertained such opinions as those of 
 Thomas Nettle. He had been accustomed to obey 
 his mother for the respect and love he bore her, 
 and it had never before occurred to him that she 
 overstepped the bounds of reason and propriety 
 in presuming to command him. Paul had the 
 reputation of being a good boy, both at home and 
 among the neighbors ; but it must not be inferred 
 that he was perfect, that he never disobeyed his 
 father and mother, though the instances were very 
 rare, or that he never did what he knew to be 
 wrong. He had his faults and his weaknesses ; 
 but for the present I shall let my young reader 
 discover them from what he says and what he docs. 
 He was disturbed by the derision of his friend, no 
 less than by his impudent self-possession. He 
 even asked himself why he should be tied to his 
 mother's apron string, as Thomas expressed the 
 subjection of the child to the parent. He was only
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 17 
 
 a year younger than his companion, and he began 
 to question whether it was not about time for him 
 to assert his own independence, and cut the apron 
 string when it pulled too hard upon his inclina- 
 tion. 
 
 Paul was the oldest of a family of six children, 
 and was now in his fourteenth year. His father 
 was a journeyman ship carpenter an honest, tem- 
 perate, hard-working man, who was obliged to 
 struggle with the realities of life in order to win a 
 comfortable subsistence for his large family. In 
 the inoffensive sense of the term, he was a poor 
 man ; that is, he lived from hand to mouth, and 
 had not saved a single dollar with which to meet 
 the misfortunes of life. But he had brought up 
 his family as well as he could, and given the old- 
 est the best education his limited means would 
 afford. 
 
 Thomas Nettle's father was a wealthy merchant, 
 
 who had retired from active business, and lived 
 
 upon his beautiful estate in Bayville, in which 
 
 transpired the events of my story. Major Nettle, 
 
 2*
 
 18 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 as his townsmen called him, for he had attained 
 to the rank indicated by his military ttile in the 
 militia, was an easy, careless man, and had but a 
 very low appreciation of the moral and religious du- 
 ties and responsibilities of a parent. It was a favor- 
 ite theory with him that a boy would do well enough 
 if only let alone. It was of no use to cram his 
 head or his heart with notions, as he called them, 
 about morality and religion ; the boy would find 
 them out himself when he wanted them. In sup- 
 port of his doctrine, he used to point to the min- 
 ister's son who was in the state prison, and the 
 deacon's son who had run away to sea to avoid 
 the house of correction. Of course, then, Master 
 Thomas Nettle's parental training was never very 
 severe, for he had no one to dispute his inde- 
 pendence when he chose to assert it. 
 
 Paul had seen enough of the world to find out 
 that wealth commands a certain respect, and he 
 could not always keep down a sense of deference 
 with which his rich companions inspired him ; and 
 when they admitted him to their friendship, he
 
 TllE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 19 
 
 could not help being greatly influenced by their 
 words and their actions. Thomas was always 
 dressed well, and always had money in his pocket ; 
 and these things made Paul realize the difference 
 in their social positions. It is true, he tried to 
 make himself believe that he was as good as any 
 one else, and would not bend his neck or his 
 knee to the smartest boy in Bayville ; yet he could 
 not but feel the disparity between himself and the 
 sons of his rich neighbors. He would not go out 
 of his way to court their favor, though it flattered 
 his vanity to be their chosen companion. 
 
 " Steady ! why don't you luff her up, when the 
 puffs come," said Thomas, as a flaw of wind struck 
 the sail, and careened her so far that she took in 
 a little water over the side. 
 
 " O, I don't mind a little dash of water over 
 the side," replied Paul, with a smile ; for it must 
 be owned that he was disposed to punish his com- 
 panion for the imputations he had cast upon his 
 seamanship and his courage. 
 
 " Well, are you going ashore ? " continued
 
 20 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 Thomas. " Are you going to let your mother 
 domineer over you ? If you do, I hope she will 
 put you in the cradle and rock you to sleep when 
 you get ashore." 
 
 " We must get some ballast," answered Paul, 
 who had not yet got far enough to declare his inde- 
 pendence of maternal authority. 
 
 " You are afraid to go ! " 
 
 " I think I can stand it as long as you can." 
 
 " Then what are you going ashore for ? " 
 
 " After more ballast," replied Paul, who, though 
 deeply stung by the sneers of Thomas, had not 
 yet decided to disobey his mother. 
 
 " Will you take me down to the Point when 
 you get the ballast ? " 
 
 " I don't know ; I'll see." 
 
 The old boat dashed on, and in a moment or 
 two grounded \ipon the beach. There was a great 
 struggle in the soul of Paul. He did not like to 
 go contrary to the express command of his mother 
 on the one hand, and he did not like to incur the 
 derision of Thomas on the other, for he would tell
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 21 
 
 it to all the boys, who would call him " chick- 
 enish." 
 
 " There are two rocks that will just answer 
 your purpose," said Thomas, as they leaped out 
 of the boat. " You take one and I will take the 
 other. Come, bear a hand, or I shall not get to 
 the picnic till the fun is all over." 
 
 The two large stones were placed in the boat, 
 and still Paul was undecided. He had not the 
 courage to face the ridicule of his independent 
 friend, nor the heart to disobey the mother whom 
 he loved and respected. 
 
 " I guess I won't go, Tom," said he, as a mo- 
 mentary resolution supported the better impulse 
 of his nature. 
 
 " Chicken-hearted ! Are you afraid of your moth- 
 er or of the wind and waves ? " sneered Thomas, 
 and his features curled up into an expression of 
 contempt which moved the hesitating boy quite as 
 much as his words. 
 
 " Of neither. If you think I'm afraid to go 
 any where that you dare go, you are very much
 
 22 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 mistaken. It's a very easy thing for you to stand 
 there and talk, but when the boat takes in a pint 
 of water over the side, you jump as though an 
 earthquake had taken you all aback," said Paul, 
 smartly. 
 
 " Humph ! Get into the boat, and we'll soon 
 see who's afraid ; though perhaps you had better 
 go and get your mother to go with you." 
 
 " I have proved you to be a coward, and I don't 
 think there is any use of going now. I don't like 
 to be in a boat with a fellow who is skittish when 
 the wind blows," continued Paul, who was deter- 
 mined to make the most of their previous experi- 
 ence. " It isn't safe to have a fellow jumping about 
 in the boat when there's a heavy sea on. You 
 might upset her, cantering about over the thwarts 
 like a frightened colt." 
 
 " You are smart, Paul ; but your big talk sounds 
 silly while I stand here and stump you to carry 
 me down to the Point. You are afraid of the sea, 
 and afraid of your mother. You dare not go ! " 
 
 " Jump in ! " cried Paul, desperatelv. as his fail-
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 23 
 
 ing resolution fled before these taunts. " Jump in, 
 Tom." 
 
 " Now don't back out if you happen to see one 
 of your mother's aprons on the clothes-line." 
 
 " Never fear me ; and if you don't wish yourself 
 ashore before you get half way to Tenean Point, I 
 lose my guess ; that's all," answered Paul, as he 
 pushed the boatoff into deep water. " The wind 
 is dead ahead, and we must beat all the way 
 down." 
 
 " Put her through, Paul." 
 
 " Ay, ay, my hearty, I'll put her through, and 
 you too," replied the young boatman, as he shook 
 out the sail, and hauled the sheet home. 
 
 As she felt the strong blast, the old boat lay 
 down before it, and a large wave broke over her 
 gunnel ; but Paul luffed her up, so that she did 
 not fill. Whatever Thomas thought of this stir- 
 ring experience, he kept his seat upon the weather 
 side, and appeared to be perfectly unconcerned. 
 As they came out from under the bluff, where 
 the windows of the house above commanded a
 
 24 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 view of their position, they were discovered by 
 Mrs. Duncan, who again hastened to the beach to 
 repeat her command more imperatively than be- 
 fore. Paul had steeled his heart to do wrong in 
 this instance, and he pretended not to see or 
 hear her ; and the boat dashed on her course.
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 25 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 PAUL IS COOL AND SELF-POSSESSED. 
 
 BAYVILLE is situated about seven or eight 
 
 . 
 miles from Boston, on the line of one of the 
 
 principal railroads. A large portion of the in- 
 habitants, even at the time of which I write, were 
 gentlemen doing business in the city, though the 
 place had a ship-yard and several wharves from 
 which the surrounding country was supplied with 
 wood, coal, and lumber. The town is located on 
 both sides of Tenean River, the estuary of which 
 forms a very good harbor, though the place has 
 not yet attained to any considerable commercial 
 importance. 
 
 The ship-yard and the wharves were on the 
 north side of the river, which was known as 
 Mercantile Point. On the south side a penin- 
 sula extended about half a mile out into the sea, 
 3
 
 26 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 at the extremity of which was the little cottage 
 of Mr. Duncan, the ship carpenter. It was built 
 upon the high bluff, and below it was the beach 
 which had been formed by the continued caving 
 of the earth from the high bank. The cottage 
 was over a mile from the ship-yard, by the road, 
 and not more than half the distance in a straight 
 line across the water. As an easy and pleasant 
 way to get to his work, Mr. Duncan had pur- 
 chased the old boat, in which Paul had just em- 
 barked, for a few dollars, and in good weather 
 generally went over to the ship-yard by water. 
 He was a skilful boatman, and under his tuition 
 his son had learned all the mysteries of sailing 
 a boat. Like most boys, he was disposed to be 
 more daring than was necessary, and it was often 
 that his father and mother found occasion to 
 check him in the pursuit of bold enterprises. 
 Paul was passionately fond of the water, and was 
 proud of his nautical skill and knowledge. 
 
 Aquatic sports were all the rage at Bayville, 
 and there were very few gentlemen who had the
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 27 
 
 means that did not own boats of some kind. In 
 the summer season the harbor always presented 
 a brilliant display of yachts, sail boats, and wher- 
 ries. The largest of these was -the Flyaway, a 
 splendid yacht of fifty-two tons, which was jointly 
 owned by Major Nettle and Captain Littleton. 
 Even the boys of the High School had a club 
 boat, which, in the warm season, not only afford- 
 ed them fine sport, but plenty of healthy exercise 
 for the proper development of their physical or- 
 ganization. 
 
 On the first day of May, when our story opens, 
 the scholars of the High School had a picnic 
 at Tenean Point, and the boat club had gone 
 down to participate in the festivities of the occa- 
 sion. Thomas Nettle had been to the city in 
 the morning, and had not returned in season 
 to go down with the club, of which he was a 
 member. It was four miles to the Point by 
 the road, and only half that distance by water, 
 when the wind permitted the passage in a straight 
 line. He did not like the idea of walking so far,
 
 28 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OK 
 
 choosing rather to incur the danger of being 
 drowned by the upsetting of Paul's old boat. 
 
 In spite of the strong wind and the heavy 
 sea, Paul kept the boat on her course, though, 
 as the tide was against her, she did not make 
 much headway. 
 
 " Can you weather South Point, Paul ? " asked 
 Thomas, who had been silent for some time. 
 
 "I'm afraid I can't; this old boat makes about 
 as much leeway as headway." 
 
 "It is pretty rough out here isn't it?" 
 
 " Rather," replied Paul, indifferently. 
 
 ** She takes in a good deal of water." 
 
 " Mostly spray ; you can bale her out, if you 
 have a mind to do so." 
 
 Thomas was glad to have something in the 
 shape of occupation, for it required all his power 
 to conceal a certain nervousness, which he would 
 not have had Paul see for all the world. He took 
 the tin kettle, and worked as though the safety 
 of the craft depended entirely upon his efforts. 
 
 The wind seemed to increase rather than diminish
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 29 
 
 in force, and the sail was becoming more exciting 
 every moment ; but Paul maintained his self-pos- 
 session, and though he had some doubts about his 
 ability to keep the old craft right side up, he 
 did not permit his companion to know that he 
 had a single misgiving. 
 
 "We can't fetch by the Point," said he, when 
 Thomas had done baling. 
 
 " Better come about then ; we may get ashore 
 on the rocks." 
 
 " Good ! " exclaimed Paul, with a hearty laugh. 
 
 " What is the matter now ? " demanded Thomas. 
 
 " The idea of striking a rock on the weather 
 side ! " laughed Paul. 
 
 "You are right; I didn't think." 
 
 The boat now came into comparatively still 
 water, under the lee of Long Island, as the outer- 
 most of three small islets, extending out in a 
 line from the mouth of the river, was called. 
 The island was a mass of rocks, rising from ten 
 to twenty feet above high water mark, and as 
 they got behind it, they were sheltered from the 
 3*
 
 30 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OK 
 
 force of the wind. In this situation, Paul at- 
 tempted to tack ; but the old boat would not 
 come round in stays, for she had partially lost 
 her headway, and the tide was against her. 
 
 "That's bad," said Thomas; "we shall lose 
 all we have gained by this." 
 
 " Take an oar and heave her head round, 
 then," replied Paul. 
 
 " Ay, ay ; " and Thomas took the oar, and 
 brought her head up to the wind. 
 
 There was a coolness and self-possession in the 
 demeanor of Paul which filled his companion 
 with confidence as well as admiration, though he 
 was in no humor to acknowledge it. If Thomas 
 was not actually terrified by the sweeping billows 
 and the rude pitching of the boat, it was only 
 because he felt that he was in the charge of a 
 skilful boatman. The old craft soon caught the 
 wind on the other tack, and drove out among the 
 big waves again. 
 
 Paul's mother was still on the beach watching 
 the uneasy movements of the boat, and in mo-
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 31 
 
 mentary expectation that she, would be swamped. 
 Her earnest gestures were disregarded by her son, 
 and she was prepared for the worst fate that could 
 befall him. Paul tried to keep his eyes away 
 from her; but he could not help stealing an occa- 
 sional glance at her, though his conscience re- 
 proached him for the pain and terror he was 
 giving her. But he felt that his courage and his 
 reputation as a boatman were at stake, and that, 
 if he failed to achieve the purpose before him, he 
 would be the derision of Thomas Nettle and all 
 his companions. 
 
 For two hours the boat labored heavily in the 
 rough sea, and had accomplished about two thirds 
 of the distance to Tenean Point. The young ad- 
 venturers were now in the worst place in the 
 bay, and the boat was exposed to the full force 
 of the wind and the sea, from which they had 
 before been partially protected by an island. 
 
 " What do you think, Paul ? " said Thomas, 
 suspending for a moment the work of baling, in 
 which he had been engaged for the last hour.
 
 32 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OK 
 
 " What do I think ? " replied Paul, coolly, as 
 he wiped the spray from his eyes ; "I think it 
 blows tremendous hard." 
 
 "So do I." 
 
 " Then we shan't quarrel about that, any how." 
 
 " Do you think you can make the Point ? " 
 
 " Certainly I do ; I'm. in for it, at any rate." 
 
 " We don't make much headway." 
 
 "That's true." 
 
 " I shan't get to the picnic in any kind of 
 season," continued Thomas, crouching down under 
 the weather rail, as a huge wave gave the boat a 
 slap that made her quiver like a leaf. 
 
 " I can't help that, Tom ; I didn't want you to 
 come this way." 
 
 " Don't you think we had better run for the 
 shore, and give it up ? " 
 
 " I don't think any such thing. If the old 
 boat will only hold together long enough, I'll put 
 you ashore on Tenean Point." 
 
 " I'm afraid she won't hold together much 
 longer."
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 33 
 
 " No matter ; we will go it while she does 
 hold together. Can you swim, Tom ? " 
 
 " You know very well I can swim, Paul." 
 
 " Better get your boots off, then." 
 
 " Who do you suppose could swim ashore in 
 such a sea as this ? Besides, it is over a half a 
 mile, and the surf on the beach would tear a fel- 
 low all to pieces." 
 
 " You ought to have thought of these things 
 before you came out here." 
 
 " It is a great deal worse than I had any idea 
 of," answered Thomas, who had proceeded far 
 enough to be willing to yield a point. " For my 
 part, I am willing to be landed here ; " and he 
 pointed to a little cove on the Tenean shore. 
 
 " You don't say you have got enough of it, 
 Tom," said Paul, with a smile. 
 
 " Enough of it ! I want to get to the picnic 
 some time to-day. I hope you don't think I am 
 frightened." 
 
 " Of course I don't ; you daresn't be frightened 
 after all your big talk before we came out."
 
 34 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 " I'll give up on that, Paul. You are the 
 
 spunkiest fellow with a boat I ever saw. I am 
 
 willing to say that and stick to it." 
 " That's saying a good deal." 
 " But you mustn't suppose I am afraid." 
 " Of s course not ; you're only in a hurry to get 
 
 to the picnic ; that's the idea." 
 
 "That's just it, and if you will put me ashore 
 
 at the cove, I will be just as much obliged to 
 
 you as though you carried me all the way to 
 
 the Point." 
 
 " Let's not back out, Tom." 
 
 " I don't back out ; and I'm sure you don't." 
 
 " It looks a little like backing out to give up 
 
 the chase." 
 
 " You ought to be satisfied, if I am." 
 
 "I shan't be satisfied till I land you at the 
 
 Point." 
 
 " Come, come, Paul, don't carry the joke too 
 
 far. The sea is getting heavier and heavier, and 
 
 the wind blows a young hurricane." 
 
 " O, well, if you really want to back out, I'm 
 
 willing."
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 35 
 
 " I don't want to do any thing of the sort. If 
 you think I can't stand it as long as you can, 
 you are mistaken," replied Thomas, proudly ; and 
 taking the dipper, he continued to bale out the 
 water, whistling an air to indicate his indifference 
 to the perils that surrounded them. 
 
 " Put her through, then ; we shan't be much 
 longer, if we don't get swamped." 
 
 The boat was now standing out from the shore, 
 and while Thomas was still busy, whistling off 
 his fears, a violent gust of wind struck the sail, 
 causing the boat to heel over so far that she 
 drank up several buckets of water, and would 
 have filled if the sprit had not broken, thus re- 
 moving the pressure. 
 
 " Come, Paul, I have got enough of this," cried 
 Thomas, uneasily. 
 
 " I don't think you will be able to get any 
 more of it, for the sprit has snapped, and we 
 can't carry sail any longer," replied Paul, appar- 
 ently unmoved by the accident. " Bale her out 
 as fast as you can, and I will take an oar, 
 and keep her head up to the sea."
 
 36 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 " What will you do now ? " asked Thomas, 
 whose courage was sorely tried by the perilous 
 situation of the boat. 
 
 " Get the water out, and we will see what can 
 be done," answered Paul, who, though lie had 
 already decided this important question, would 
 not permit his passenger to enter into his coun- 
 sels, preferring to tantalize him by his mysteri- 
 ous manner. 
 
 " Let us get ashore, Paul, as soon as possible." 
 
 " Going to back out ? " 
 
 " No ; what's the use of talking in that way, 
 about backing out, when you can't carry sail ? " 
 replied Thomas, whose pride was still uncon- 
 quered, though his courage was rapidly failing 
 him. 
 
 " I shall rig a new sprit ; there's the boat-hook, 
 which will make a very good one ; it is just the 
 right length." 
 
 " I'll give up then, and back out," said Thomas, 
 despairing of any relief from the misfortunes that 
 had befallen the boat.
 
 THE CRUISE OP THE FLYAWAY. 37 
 
 "Don't back out on my account; I will put 
 you ashore at the Point, if you say the word," 
 
 replied Paul, satisfied now that he had kept his 
 
 promise and given his friend enough of it. 
 
 "Run for the shore, Paul." 
 
 " Just as you say ; " and the boatman, proud 
 of the triumph he had won over his boastful 
 companion, turned the boat's head towards the 
 shore. 
 
 The corner of the sail hung down for the want 
 of a sprit to support it, but as they had the wind 
 free, there was canvas enough to drive her rap- 
 idly towards the shore. While they were still 
 half a mile from the cove, Thomas called Paul's 
 attention to a horse and chaise on the beach, 
 from which a man was making violent gestures 
 for them to come ashore. 
 4
 
 38 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OK 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 PAUL HEARS BAD NEWS. 
 
 " WHO is it, Tom ? " asked Paul, very anxiously. 
 
 "I don't know; can't make him out." 
 
 " What can he want with us ? " 
 
 " Perhaps your mother has sent him after her 
 runaway boy ; but whoever he is, I will tell him 
 you are a fellow of the right spunk." 
 
 "Who can it be?" 
 
 " What matter who it is ? Your mother won't 
 whip you will she ? " 
 
 " No, of course not. My mother don't whip 
 me." 
 
 " I thought she did, you seem so much afraid 
 of her." 
 
 " I am not afraid of her." 
 
 " If you are, there is nothing else that can 
 frighten you."
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 39 
 
 " I mind my mother because she is my mother ; 
 because I like to do so, and not because I am 
 afraid of her. You had better not say much more 
 about being afraid, Tom." 
 
 " Do you mean to say I was afraid ? " said 
 Thomas, smartly. 
 
 " If you wasn't afraid, you was confoundedly 
 scared," replied Paul, whose paradox was fully 
 appreciated by his companion. 
 
 " Look here, Paul ; are you going to tell the 
 fellows that I was scared ? " demanded Thomas, 
 rather in a beseeching than an intimidating tone. 
 
 " That will depend on circumstances." 
 
 " What circumstances ? " 
 
 " You may as well understand me first as last. 
 You keep talking about my being afraid of my 
 mother, and all that sort of stuff. I'm not 
 afraid of her, and I don't like to be told that 
 I am." 
 
 " I won't say it again, then." f 
 
 " Fellows that live in glass houses mustn't 
 throw stones."
 
 40 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 " Do you really think I was frightened, Paul ? " 
 
 " I really think you was. Didn't you back 
 out ? " 
 
 " Not till the sail broke down." 
 
 "I offered to fix that." 
 
 " It's no use to risk a fellow's life for noth- 
 ing." 
 
 " That's the point exactly. Don't you say a 
 word about my mother, and you may talk as big 
 as you please about this scrape." 
 
 " I'm not going to talk big about it. I shall 
 give you all the credit you deserve." 
 
 " Of course you will. The fellow that holds 
 the bag can let the cat out when he chooses. I 
 don't like to have my mother spoken of as you 
 speak of your mother. She's my mother, and 
 she has always been a good mother to me, and I 
 would do any thing in the world for her. There's 
 only one thing about this scrape that I'm sorry 
 for ; and that is, that I didn't mind her. It 
 makes me feel bad." 
 
 " She won't say much to you ; she will be so
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 41 
 
 glad to have you safely home, that she won't feel 
 like jawing you," answered Thomas, in what he in- 
 tended for words of consolation, but which were 
 really heartless and offensive to the penitent. 
 
 " My mother don't jaw ; it will make her feel 
 bad that I didn't mind her ; and that is ten 
 times worse than a scolding or a whipping. That 
 man keeps shaking his hat to us. Who do you 
 think it is?" 
 
 " It looks like Captain Littleton." 
 
 " What can he want of me ? " said Paul, anx- 
 iously. 
 
 "If it is Captain Littleton, it is more like he 
 wants me." 
 
 In a few moments more the boat darted into the 
 cove, and the boys recognized Captain Littleton 
 in the gentleman who had been beckoning to them. 
 
 " Come ashore, Paul, as quick as you can ! " 
 shouted he, as he jumped into his chaise, and drove 
 nearer to the point where the boat was to land. 
 
 " Do you want me, sir ? " asked Paul. 
 
 " Yes ; you are wanted at home." 
 4*
 
 42 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 Our hero was filled with terror and anxiety by 
 this reply. He was sure that something had hap- 
 pened, or a gentleman like Captain Littleton would 
 not have taken the trouble to come after him. 
 As the boat struck the bank, he brailed up the sail, 
 and jumped ashore with the painter in his hand. 
 
 " Come, Paul, never mind the boat ; Thomas 
 will take care of her. Get into the chaise with 
 me as quick as you can," said Captain Littleton. 
 
 " What is the matter, sir ? What has hap- 
 pened ? " demanded Paul, trembling with the most 
 painful solicitude. 
 
 " Get into the chaise first, and I will tell you 
 as we return." 
 
 " Has any thing happened to my mother, sir ? " 
 cried Paul, the tears rushing to his eyes. 
 
 " Nothing has happened to your mother, Paul. 
 She is quite well," answered Captain Littleton, as 
 he urged the horse to his utmost speed. 
 
 Paul was greatly relieved by this assurance, 
 though it was still evident from the manner of the 
 gentleman, and the speed at which he drove the
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 43 
 
 horse, that some dreadful event had occurred. His 
 conscience smote him for his disobedience to his 
 mother, and he was not in a fit moral condition to 
 meet the shock of adversity with courage and forti- 
 tude. He would have given the world, in that 
 anxious moment, to have undone the work of the 
 last three hours, and effaced their record from 
 his conscience. 
 
 " Tell me what has happened, if you please, sir," 
 he continued. " Is any of the folks dead ? You 
 say it is not my mother." 
 
 " Your mother is quite well, and none of your 
 family are dead, though ." 
 
 Captain Littleton paused, and looked at the hoy's 
 face, which was still bathed in tears. He saw the 
 misery that he was enduring, and he hesitated to 
 utter words which he knew must carry grief and 
 woe to his heart. 
 
 " You must be calm and firm, Paul," continued 
 the kind gentleman. " It is not so bad as you 
 suppose, and we may hope for the best. Your 
 father has just met with a serious accident."
 
 44 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 " Is he dead, sir ? " gasped Paul. " You don't 
 tell me the whole story, sir." 
 
 " He is not dead, Paul ; but he is very badly 
 hurt." 
 
 " He is alive, then ? " 
 
 " He is." 
 
 Paul closely scrutinized the expression of Cap- 
 tain Littleton, fearful that he had not told him 
 the whole truth. 
 
 " Are you sure he was not killed ? " he asked, 
 still unsatisfied. 
 
 " He was alive when I left him, but that was 
 nearly an hour ago." 
 
 " I am thankful if he is alive. How did it hap- 
 pen, sir ? " 
 
 " He fell from the bow of the ship upon which 
 he was at work, and struck a pile of timber. I 
 am afraid he is very badly hurt. I happened to 
 be near the ship-yard at the time, and assisted in 
 carrying him home. He is conscious, and asked 
 for you. Your mother said you were out in the 
 boat."
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 45 
 
 Paul burst into tears again at these words, for 
 he realized the nature and depth of his mother's 
 feelings when she had uttered them, and how bit- 
 terly did he regret his act of disobedience ! The 
 dreadful event had come to intensify the anguish of 
 his penitence, and he felt that, if he had not done 
 wrong, he could have met the calamity with pa- 
 tience and resolution. When children do wrong, 
 they know not what event may occur to increase a 
 thousand fold the bitterness of their remorse. 
 
 " Do you think my father is alive now ? " sobbed 
 Paul. 
 
 " I hope so ; but it is impossible to foretell the 
 result. The doctors spoke very despondingly of 
 his case ; but we must hope for the best." 
 
 " How does my mother bear it ? " 
 
 " As well as could be expected, considering the 
 suddenness of the calamity." 
 
 " O, it will kill her," groaned Paul. 
 
 " I hope not ; you must be calm, my boy. It is 
 dreadful, I know ; but we must not add to the 
 pain of the sufferer by useless lamentation."
 
 46 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 " I will be as calm as I can, sir ; but it is awful 
 to have such a thing happen just now." 
 
 " We know not what a day or an hour may 
 bring forth, Paul." 
 
 " Yes, but to have it happen now ! If it had 
 been at any other time, I could have borne it 
 better," continued the penitent boy, wiping away 
 the tears that blinded him. 
 
 " We cannot choose the time for such an event 
 to happen." 
 
 " If it had only come before I left home ! 0, 
 dear." 
 
 " Be calm, Paul ; we could not select a time 
 when we should be prepared for such a calamity. 
 You must not suppose one time is better than an- 
 other for trials and sorrows." 
 
 " You do not understand me, Captain Little- 
 ton," replied Paul, earnestly. " I disobeyed my 
 mother in going out in the boat. She told me to 
 come ashore, and stood on the beach oeckoning 
 and calling to me not to go, but I didn't mind her. 
 That's what makes me feel so bad about it."
 
 THE CKUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 47 
 
 " I am sorry you disobeyed her, for you must 
 suffer the more for your disobedience." 
 
 " I was sorry I did so before I came ashore, 
 and now I would give all the world if I had minded 
 mother, and let Tom Nettle laugh at me as much 
 as he pleased." 
 
 " Tom is a wild boy, and you must not heed 
 his jeers." 
 
 " I will not, another time. You think my fa- 
 ther is not dead ? " 
 
 " I think not," replied Captain Littleton, as he 
 increased the speed of the horse. 
 
 Paul did not say much more, but wept in silence 
 as the chaise dashed along the road. Every mo- 
 ment seemed like an hour, till he came in sight of 
 the cottage of his father. There were the two 
 sulkies of the doctors, and a crowd of people at 
 the gate, to enable him to realize the dreadful ca- 
 lamity which had overtaken him. The panting 
 horse stopped before the door, and Paul's limbs 
 almost failed him, as he dragged himself into the 
 house.
 
 48 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 " Paul," sobbed his mother, who met him 
 at the door, " I thought you would never come. 
 I'm afraid you won't have a father a great while 
 longer." 
 
 " Forgive me, mother, for what I did," cried 
 Paul. 
 
 " I do forgive you, my son ; but come, your 
 poor father wants to see you very much." 
 
 His mother took him by the hand, and led him 
 into the chamber where his father lay. He was 
 shocked by the change which a few short hours 
 had produced, and he needed not the skill of the 
 physicians to assure him that Mr. Duncan had but 
 a short time to live. 
 
 " Paul," said his father, faintly, " I shall soon 
 be no more, and I leave your mother and your 
 brothers and sisters to your care. Take good care 
 of them, Paul, for they will soon have no one else 
 to help them. Be a good boy, and be an honest 
 man, and every thing will go well with you. Be 
 true to your God and true to yourself, and then all 
 the world cannot harm you. May God keep you 
 in the path of duty as long as you live."
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 49 
 
 Mr. Duncan closed his eyes with an audible 
 sigh, and Paul burst into tears, realizing that he 
 was about to lose the kindest and best of fathers. 
 
 " Don't cry, my boy," said the sufferer ; " be a 
 man, and in a little while the struggle will be 
 over with me." 
 
 The' whole family were gathered round the bed, 
 and Mr. Duncan gave them his blessing, for the 
 doctors assured him his hour was at hand. We 
 will not dwell upon the painful scene. In an hour 
 all was still in that room save the sobs of the be- 
 reaved widow, who stood gazing in agony upon the 
 silent form which she had seen go out from her 
 that morning in the full vigor of health and 
 strength. The angel of death was there, and had 
 done his work. 
 
 Paul was stupefied by the suddenness of the 
 shock, and all the currents of his existence seemed 
 to stop in their flow. He spent the afternoon in 
 his chamber, trying to understand the nature of 
 his situation. He had dried his tears, but the 
 deeper grief had gone in upon his heart. He spent 
 5
 
 50 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OB 
 
 a wakeful night in thinking of the past, and in 
 endeavoring to make himself believe that his father 
 was dead. All that he had ever done for him, all 
 that he had ever said to him, came up before him 
 with a vividness that made them seem like re- 
 alities. 
 
 In this condition he moved about the house till 
 after the funeral, mechanically executing such du- 
 ties as he was required to perform ; but every 
 thing was so unnatural to him that he could hardly 
 persuade himself of the reality of his being. The 
 death of his father was an epoch in his existence, a 
 turning point in his career, and the wheels of 
 time, the current of events, stopped, soon to re- 
 sume their course in a different direction. 
 
 When the last rites of love and respect had 
 been paid to the remains of his father, Paul roused 
 himself from his stupor, and began to examine the 
 future. At the death bed of his parent he had re- 
 ceived a solemn charge, and he carefully reviewed 
 the words, and recalled the expression with which 
 it had been committed to him. His mother and
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 51 
 
 his brothers and sisters had heen given into his 
 care, and he felt the responsibility of the position 
 he had accepted. He determined, to the best of his 
 ability, to discharge his duty to them ; but he was 
 sorely troubled to think of some way by which 
 he could earn money enough to support them, for 
 he had put a literal construction upon the dying 
 words of his father.
 
 52 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OB 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 PAUL BECOMES THE HEAD OF THE FAMILY. 
 
 FOB, a week after the funeral Paul racked his 
 brain in devising expedients to supply the place 
 of his father in a pecuniary point of view, but 
 without success. If he went into a store, or ob- 
 tained such a place as a boy can fill, it would pay 
 him only two or three dollars a week, and this 
 would be scarcely any thing towards the support 
 of the family, for his father had generally earned 
 twelve dollars a week during the greater portion 
 of the year. He wanted to do something better. 
 He did not expect to make so much as his father 
 had, made, but was determined, if possible, to earn 
 at least half as much. 
 
 Thus far his reflection had been to little purpose, 
 for it was no small matter for a boy to charge 
 himself with double the work of one of his age.
 
 THE CKUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 53 
 
 He had not yet consulted his mother, nor obtained 
 her views in regard to the support of the family. 
 He did not know whether she expected him to do 
 the whole of it, but it did not appear reasonable 
 to him that she could do any thing more than to 
 keep house and take care of the children. He 
 wished that he could go to her and relieve her of 
 all responsibility in regard to the money affairs, 
 and let her live just as she had been accustomed 
 to live before the death of his father; and he al- 
 most cried with vexation, after he had vainly ran- 
 sacked his brains for the means, to think he could 
 not do so. He could not hit upon any plan that 
 would meet his expectations, and he decided to 
 have a talk with her in relation to the future. 
 
 " What are we going to do, mother ? " he asked, 
 as he seated himself in the kitchen where Mrs. 
 Duncan was getting supper. 
 
 " That is what I have been thinking of myself," 
 she replied. " I have been talking with Captain Lit- 
 tleton to-day, and he gave me some good advice, 
 and offered me any assistance I might require." 
 5*
 
 54 HITLE BY LITTLE, OB 
 
 " You surely don't mean to live on charity, 
 mother," added Paul, proudly. 
 
 " Certainly not. Captain Littleton did not offer 
 to give me any thing ; only to assist me in get- 
 ting work for myself and you." 
 
 " O, well, that's all right." 
 
 " While we have our health and strength, we 
 shall not have to ask other help of any one." 
 
 " Of course not." 
 
 " I hope I am above asking charity, or taking it 
 either." 
 
 " I knew you were. What did Captain Little- 
 ton say ? " 
 
 " Thanks to the goodness and forethought of 
 your father, we are not left entirely destitute," re- 
 plied Mrs. Duncan, wiping a tear from her cheek. 
 
 " I didn't know there was any thing left." 
 
 " After paying all the funeral expenses and the 
 doctors' bills, I shall have fifty dollars in money. 
 Your father had no debts." 
 
 " Fifty dollars isn't much, mother, towards sup- 
 porting the family. It wouldn't last two months."
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 55 
 
 " That is very true ; we have more than that. 
 Three years ago your father had his life insured 
 for a thousand dollars, and this sum will be paid 
 to me in a few days." 
 
 " I didn't know that," said Paul, greatly sur- 
 prised to find they had what seemed to him so 
 vast a sum. " We shall get along very well." 
 
 " Your father used to calculate that it cost him 
 about eight dollars a week to live, or about four 
 hundred dollars a* year. If he had had work all 
 the year round, he might have saved a very hand- 
 some sum, he used to tell me." 
 
 " It will not cost us eight dollars a week now." 
 
 " No ; we must live very prudently ; but if 
 it cost us only five, a thousand dollars would last 
 but a few years, and what should we do then ? " 
 
 " We must not spend it then." 
 
 " Captain Littleton told me what he thought 
 we had better do. This house in which we live 
 can be bought for fifteen hundred dollars, though 
 the owner has always asked eighteen hundred^ 
 and ."
 
 56 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 " You don't really think of such a thing as 
 buying the house ? " interrupted Paul, filled with 
 amazement at the magnitude of the idea. 
 
 " That is what Captain Littleton advises me 
 to do." 
 
 " But you haven't money enough." 
 
 " I can give a mortgage for five hundred dol- 
 lars. The rent of the house is one hundred 
 and forty dollars, and Mr. Freeman says he can- 
 not afford to let it for any less. Now, if we 
 buy it, we can pay a thousand dollars down, 
 and we shall owe five hundred, on which we 
 shall have to pay the interest, amounting to 
 thirty dollars. By this plan, we should have to 
 pay out only about fifty dollars a year for interest 
 and taxes, or about a dollar a week. In this 
 way we can get along on five dollars a week." 
 
 " Buy the house then, by all means, mother. 
 Five dollars a week! Well, I think I shall be 
 able to support the family, after all." 
 
 " You, Paul ? " exclaimed Mrs. Duncan, with a 
 smile.
 
 THE CBUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 57 
 
 " I am sure I can." 
 
 " What do you intend to do ? " 
 
 "I don't know yet." 
 
 " Your poor father intended that you should 
 enter the High School this fall ; but I suppose that 
 cannot be. Captain Littleton said he would get 
 you a place where you could have two or three 
 dollars a week." 
 
 " I must make more than that, mother," replied 
 Paul, shaking his head. 
 
 " You must not be too ambitious. If you get 
 two or three dollars a week, you will do very 
 well, and that sum will be a great help to me." 
 
 " You hifeard what father said to me in his 
 last moments ? " said Paul, with solemn earnest- 
 ness. " He told me to take care of my mother 
 and of my brothers and sisters, and I mean to 
 do so." 
 
 "But he never had a thought that you could 
 earn money enough to support the whole of us. 
 You are a good boy, Paul, but you must not try 
 to do too much."
 
 58 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OK 
 
 " If we can live on five dollars a week, I am 
 almost sure I can earn that." 
 
 "That is a good deal for a boy like you." 
 
 " I can do it, I know." 
 
 " Captain Littleton said he would find a place 
 for you." 
 
 " I shall be very much obliged to him, and 
 will take any place I can get; but I am certain 
 before long that I can make five dollars a 
 week." 
 
 " Don't think of such a thing. There are a 
 great many men who get no more than that. 
 You must work your way up, little by little, 
 Paul, and one of these days you will obtain a 
 good situation." 
 
 " That's just what I mean to do. Little by 
 little that's my motto ; and if I can only get 
 hold any where, you may leave the rest to me." 
 
 " You are a good boy, Paul, and you will suc- 
 ceed by and by," said Mrs. Duncan, proudly. " I 
 expect" to get some work myself next week, and 
 I have no doubt we shall do very well."
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 59 
 
 " What work, mother ? " asked Paul, a shadow 
 of dissatisfaction passing over his face. 
 
 " Captain Littleton thought he could get me a 
 chance to make bags for the flour mills." 
 
 " I don't mean to have you take in work, 
 mother. You have enough to do to take care of 
 the house and the children." 
 
 " I can do a good deal besides. Sarah can 
 help a great deal about the house, and with what 
 we can all do, we shall get along very well in- 
 deed. We ought to be very thankful for all the 
 blessings that surround us." 
 
 " We are enough sight better off than I thought," 
 replied Paul ; " but I don't want to have you 
 make a slave of yourself. You used to work 
 hard enough ; and now, if you are going to take in 
 work, you will wear yourself out in a few years." 
 
 " I guess not, Paul. There is somebody knock- 
 ing at the door ; go and see who it is." 
 
 Paul went to the door, and the visitor proved 
 to be Captain Littleton. 
 
 " I was looking for you, Paul," said he. " I'm
 
 60 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 going to give a dinner party to-morrow, and I 
 want a mess of perch, fresh from the rocks, by 
 twelve o'clock. I want you should go down and 
 catch them for me. You always have good luck 
 at fishing. Will you do this for me, Paul ? " 
 " Yes, sir ; certainly I will." 
 " I will speak to your mother about it." 
 Paul conducted Captain Littleton into the little 
 parlor, and called his mother. She was willing 
 that he should go, and glad to have him do 
 something in return for the gentleman's repeated 
 acts of kindness. 
 
 " I will give you twenty cents a dozen for 
 them, Paul, and I want at least five dozen," con- 
 tinued the captain. 
 
 "He will not charge any thing, sir," added 
 Mrs. Duncan." 
 
 " Not a cent, sir, " repeated Paul. 
 " It's a fair trade, young man, and I won't take 
 them unless I pay for them." 
 
 " I don't want any pay from you, sir." 
 
 " But I choose to pay you, and you must take
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 61 
 
 your orders from me in this instance. Have you 
 any clams for bait ? " 
 
 " No, sir. I will get some to-night." 
 
 " Very well ; you may go and get them now, 
 and I will talk to your mother about business." 
 
 Paul took his hat and went down to the 
 beach. Embarking in the old boat, he sailed 
 over to Tenean, where plenty of clams were to 
 be had, and a bucket full was soon procured. 
 Like a prudent fisherman, he made all his ar- 
 rangements for the next day. First he repaired 
 the worn-out sail, then made a new sprit, and 
 refitted the tiller to the rudder head. When 
 every thing was in ship-shape order about the 
 boat, he took out his perch lines, ganged on a new 
 hook, and rigged an extra sinker for use in case 
 of accident. 
 
 " Going a fishing, Paul ? " said John Duncan, 
 his brother, a lad of ten, who joined him when 
 he had nearly completed his preparations. 
 
 " I'm going down in the morning to get a 
 mess of perch for Captain Littleton." 
 6
 
 62 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 " Let me go with you, Paul ? " 
 
 " You must go to school." 
 
 " It don't keep." 
 
 " Ask mother, then ; if she is willing, I am." 
 
 " Have you got a line for me ? " 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 John Duncan, for his years, was almost as 
 much of a sailor and fisherman as Paul. Both 
 of them took to the water like ducks, and seemed 
 to understand all about a boat as if by instinct. 
 The prospect of a day down below fired the im- 
 agination of the " young salt," and he ran up 
 the bluff with all his might to obtain the desired 
 permission. 
 
 " May I go a-fishing with Paul to-morrow, 
 mother ? " shouted he, as he rushed into the par- 
 lor, without noticing the presence of Captain Lit- 
 tleton. 
 
 " We will see about that by and by. Take off 
 your cap." 
 
 " How do you do, John ? " said Captain Lit- 
 tleton.
 
 THE CKUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 63 
 
 " Pretty well," replied John, whose head keeled 
 over on the port side, as he discovered the visitor, 
 and three fingers found their way into his mouth. 
 
 " You want to go a-fishing, do you ? " 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 " Do you think it is safe to let him go ? " 
 asked Mrs. Duncan. 
 
 "I ain't afraid, mother," interrupted the young 
 hopeful. 
 
 " I know you are not, and that's one reason 
 why I don't like to trust you in the boat." 
 
 "Your boys take to the water in a natural 
 way ; and when boys have a decided taste of that 
 kind, it isn't of much use to thwart them." 
 
 " I know it isn't ; but John has worried my life 
 out since he was four years old, for he is always 
 in the water." 
 
 " I should use proper precaution with him ; but 
 Paul is so good a boatman that I should not be 
 afraid to trust him in his care." 
 
 li " You may go, John," added Mrs. Duncan. 
 " I have almost made up my mind to let him
 
 64 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OK 
 
 live in the water ; but I can't help going to the 
 window when he is out on the beach, at least 
 twenty times a day, to see if he isn't in trouble." 
 
 " To return to Paul," said Captain Littleton, 
 resuming the remarks which the entrance of John 
 had interrupted. " I have the refusal of a place 
 in a lawyer's office, where the salary is two 
 dollars and a half a week. It is small pay, but 
 it is better than nothing." 
 
 " He expects more than that. It would have 
 astonished you to hear him talk a little while 
 ago. He is going to assume the whole bur- 
 den of supporting the family, and is not willing 
 that I should do any thing." 
 
 " He is a smart boy, and ought to have a good 
 place." 
 
 " He says he means to make five dollars a 
 week ; but that is mere boy-talk." 
 
 " I like his spirit, but he will hardly be expected 
 to earn five dollars a week at present. I hope I 
 shall be able to find him a better place than the 
 one I spoke of."
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FiYAWAY. 65 
 
 "You are very good, sir; I shall never be able 
 to repay you for your kindness." 
 
 " Don't mention it, ma'am. I am very glad to 
 do any thing I can for you. You have made up 
 your mind then to purchase the house ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir." 
 
 " I think that's the best thing you can do un- 
 der the circumstances. The property is rising in 
 value, and in a few years, if you should want to 
 sell, it would bring two thousand dollars. I will 
 see Freeman as I return, and the papers shall be 
 made out immediately." 
 
 "Thank you, sir." 
 
 Captain Littleton took his leave, and Mrs. Dun- 
 can was very grateful to him for the friendly in- 
 terest he manifested in her affairs. When Paul 
 returned to the house, his mother informed him 
 that her friend had found a place for him ; but 
 the young aspirant had got an idea, and made up 
 his mind to decline the situation, 
 6*
 
 66 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OB 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 PAUL COOKS HIS OWN BREAKFAST, AND GOES 
 A FISHING. 
 
 ABOUT six miles east of Bayville was a rocky 
 island, around which perch were abundant. Paul 
 had often been there with his father, and was fa- 
 miliar with the locality. He knew just where to 
 moor his boat to have good luck in fishing, and 
 was acquainted with all the channels, currents, 
 and bars in the bay. He was not only a skilful 
 seaman, but a good pilot, and felt as much at 
 home on the bay as in the streets of Bayville. 
 
 It would be low tide in the bay at seven 
 o'clock, and Paul made his calculations accord- 
 ingly. The best time to fish was on the " young 
 flood," or soon after the tide had turned to come 
 in ; and, if the wind should happen to be light or 
 contrary, it would take ' him a long time to run
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 67 
 
 down to Rock Island, as the place was called ; 
 therefore he must go down with the tide. To 
 accomplish his purpose it was necessary that he 
 should start by five o'clock in the morning, which 
 was an hour before his usual breakfast time. 
 
 He did not sleep very well that night, for the 
 great idea to which we have alluded was creating an 
 immense commotion in his mind. He had reasoned 
 out the certainty of his being able to support the 
 family, and he felt as proud of his great resolu- 
 tion as though he had achieved its full fruits. 
 When, at last, he dropped asleep, it was only to 
 dream of great speculations, and of the satisfac- 
 tion he should have in giving his mother money 
 enough on Saturday night to pay all the expenses 
 of the family for a week. 
 
 He woke very early in the morning, and as he 
 jumped out of bed he heard the clock on the 
 Town Hall strike four. He did not mean to dis- 
 turb his mother, and therefore cautioned John 
 not to make any noise. He was not like some 
 boys, who growl and grumble at their mothers if
 
 68 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 their meals are not ready when they want them. 
 Stealing softly down stairs, he went to the back 
 kitchen, and made a fire in the stove. 
 
 "Now, John, you go down to the boat, and 
 bale her out," said he to his brother, as the lat- 
 ter joined him. 
 
 " Are you going without any breakfast ? " asked 
 John. 
 
 " No ; breakfast will be ready by the time you 
 have baled out the boat." 
 
 " You haven't called mother yet ? " 
 
 " I don't mean to do so." 
 
 " Where will you get your breakfast, then ? " 
 
 "I will get it myself." 
 
 " You don't know how to cook," replied John, 
 incredulously. 
 
 " You see if I don't ; now go ahead, and 
 don't make a noise, or you will wake mother." 
 
 Paul then went down cellar, and brought up a 
 few potatoes, which he washed and put into the 
 kettle. A piece of pork and a slice of veal were 
 deposited in the frying pan, ready to be cooked
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 69 
 
 at the proper time. The coffee, not omitting the 
 important bit of fish skin, was put in the coffee- 
 pot, and operations in that quarter were suspend- 
 ed till the water in the tea-kettle should boil. 
 Though our hero had never actually performed 
 these manoeuvres with his own hands, he had 
 seen them executed so many times that he was 
 perfectly familiar with the routine. 
 
 Every thing upon the stove was doing very 
 well, and he pulled out the table, which he pro- 
 ceeded to cover with the proper articles for the 
 morning meal. Each article was carefully dis- 
 posed in its proper place, for Paul had already 
 learned that food tastes better in the midst of 
 order and neatness, than when taken in dirt and 
 confusion. It is true, he made some mistakes for 
 the want of experience, and was frequently obliged 
 to stop and think what articles were required ; 
 but when the table was set, he was satisfied with 
 its cheerful and neat appearance. By this time 
 the tea-kettle was spouting out long jets of 
 steam, and the lid was rattling under the influence
 
 70 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 of the commotion beneath it. Paul poured a lit- 
 tle of the boiling water into the coffee-pot, and 
 then came an appalling difficulty he did not 
 know how much to put in, and was not sure that 
 he had taken the proper quantity of coffee. At a 
 venture he filled the pot half full, and then pro- 
 ceeded to cook the meat. After the coffee had 
 boiled ten or fifteen minutes, he tested its strength, 
 and added more water. He was delighted with 
 his success, and when John returned from the 
 beach, he was putting the breakfast upon the 
 table. 
 
 " Breakfast is ready," said Paul. 
 
 " Did you cook it, though ? " 
 
 "I did; I told you I could." 
 
 "I'll give up now. Why don't you hire out 
 for a cook ? " 
 
 " Perhaps I shall, one of these days." 
 
 " Wouldn't mother's eyes stick out if she should 
 happen in about this time ! " 
 
 " I guess not much." 
 
 But they did, for just as the boys were seating
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 71 
 
 themselves at the table, Mrs. Duncan entered the 
 room. 
 
 " Why, boys ! what have you been doing ? " 
 exclaimed she, astonished at the regularity with 
 which every thing seemed to be proceeding in her 
 absence. 
 
 " Only getting something to eat before we go," 
 replied Paul. 
 
 " Why didn't you call me ? " 
 
 " I thought I wouldn't get you up so early ; 
 besides, I could get breakfast just as well my- 
 self." 
 
 " I declare you are a good cook, Paul. Your 
 potatoes and meat look as nice as can be. How is 
 your coffee? Did you put a piece of fish-skin in 
 the pot?" 
 
 "Yes, ma'am." 
 
 " Did you put any salt on the meat ? " 
 
 " I did ; come, mother, sit down and eat your 
 breakfast." 
 
 Mrs. Duncan accepted this polite invitation, and 
 seating herself in her accustomed place, began to
 
 72 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 pour out the coffee. It was clear, and of the right 
 strength, and she liberally praised Paul for his 
 culinary skill, and declared that her son was a 
 jewel about the house. The breakfast seemed 
 even better than usual that morning, and our hero 
 was as proud as though he had built a meeting 
 house. 
 
 " Come, John, we must bear a hand ; there isn't 
 a breath of wind, and it will take us some time 
 to make Rock Island," said Paul, as he rose from 
 the table. " Have you filled the jug with water ? " 
 
 "No, but I will." 
 
 " Here is some gingerbread and cheese for 
 luncheon," added Mrs. Duncan, as she handed 
 Paul a basket she had filled for their use. " Now, 
 be very careful, and don't run any risk. Look 
 out for squalls, and don't carry sail too long." 
 
 " I'll be very careful, mother. You may trust 
 me to go round the world," replied Paul. 
 
 " But I wish you had a better boat." 
 
 " She'll do very well, mother, though I hope to 
 have a better one some time or other."
 
 THE CKUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 73 
 
 The jug was filled at the pump, and with their 
 provisions and water the boys set off with light 
 hearts for the work of the day. 
 
 Paul felt the responsibility of the trust which 
 Captain Littleton had imposed upon him. He was 
 going to make some money by the operation, and 
 upon this day's success depended the hopes which 
 he had been cherishing in regard to his new 
 scheme. 
 
 There are always some drawbacks to disturb the 
 best-laid plans, and when Paul reached the bluff, 
 he discovered the boat adrift at some distance 
 from the shore. 
 
 " You are a careless fellow, John," he cried. 
 " You didn't make fast the boat." 
 
 " That's too bad, Paul ; I didn't mean to do 
 that," replied John, vexed at the accident. 
 
 "I don't suppose you did; but you are care- 
 less." 
 
 " I thought I made her fast. What shall we 
 do, Paul ? I would rather given any thing than 
 had this happen." 
 7
 
 74 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 " So would I ; but there is no use of crying 
 about it. There isn't a skiff within half a mile 
 of here." 
 
 " I'll tell you what I'll do, Paul," said John, 
 putting down the jug and throwing off his jacket. 
 " I'll swim out to her and scull her in." 
 
 Paul made no objection to this plan, and in half 
 a minute more, John had stripped and was swim- 
 ming with all his might after the boat, which was 
 perhaps fifty rods from the shore. He was a 
 vigorous swimmer, as self-possessed in the water 
 as on the land, and his brother had no fears in 
 regard to his safety, or his ability to reach the 
 boat. 
 
 It did not take the little fellow long to catch the 
 boat, and the accident did not make more than 
 half an hour's delay. The stores were taken on 
 board, and before John had time to dress himself, 
 the boat was under sail, and working slowly down 
 the bay. A light breeze from the west had sprung 
 up, and a gentle ripple at the bow assured the 
 young fishermen that every thing was progressing 
 in a satisfactory manner.
 
 THE CETJISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 75 
 
 " I should like to be a fisherman, Paul," said 
 John, who sat on the bottom of the boat opening 
 clams for bait. 
 
 " Perhaps you may be one of these days," re- 
 plied Paul, moodily. " I think I shall do some- 
 thing in that line right off." 
 
 " You, Paul ? " 
 
 " Yes, but don't you say a word about it to any 
 body, above all, not to mother. I have been think- 
 ing about it all night." 
 
 " What do you mean, Paul ? " 
 
 The ambitious youth had a great idea in his 
 mind, which was struggling to be actualized. More 
 than twenty times since the preceding evening had 
 the words of Captain Littleton crossed his imagina- 
 tion, and kindled up a great blaze of possibilities 
 and probabilities. " I will give you twenty cents 
 a dozen for them," the captain had said. If he 
 would buy perch, others would buy them. He 
 had a boat, and there would not be many days 
 when he could not catch as many as five or six 
 dozen. Even at a shilling a dozen he could make 
 a dollar a day.
 
 76 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OK 
 
 This was his scheme to supply Bayville with 
 fresh fish. He had as good a chance to sell them 
 as the men who went through the place blowing 
 their tin horns. He should have an advantage over 
 them, for his fish were certain to be fresh, and he 
 was sure the people would be willing to patronize 
 him. The plan promised exceedingly well, and 
 he wished to talk it over with some one, though he 
 was not quite ready to have it made public. It 
 was true, John was only ten years old, and didn't 
 know much; but he wanted to talk with some- 
 body about it, and so he concluded to take his 
 brother into his confidence. 
 
 " What do I mean, John ? " said he. " Why can't 
 I catch perch every day, and sell them in town ? " 
 
 " Sure enough, why can't you ? " replied John, 
 delighted with the idea, and perhaps bringing some 
 selfish motives to bear upon it. 
 
 " We can haul 'em in as fast as we can throw 
 over the line off the rocks, and there are rich folks 
 enough in Bayville to buy them." 
 
 " It's a first-rate idea," exclaimed John, with en-
 
 THE CKUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 77 
 
 thusiasm. " You might go down farther, and catch 
 cod and haddock." 
 
 " I would if I had a good boat." 
 
 " Father used to go out after cod and haddock 
 in this boat." 
 
 " I know, but she is getting rather shaky." 
 
 The great idea was discussed in all its bearings 
 till they reached Rock Island, when Paul carefully 
 selected his position, and let go the anchor. The 
 hooks were baited and the lines thrown over, and 
 never before had Paul taken his fishing apparatus 
 when so much seemed to depend upon the success 
 of his efforts. His heart beat as the sinker touched 
 the bottom, and he pulled it up the proper distance. 
 All his fortunes for the future appeared to hang 
 upon the result. 
 
 " Hurrah ! I've got one ! " shouted John, as with 
 childish eagerness he pulled in his line. 
 
 It was a sculpin ! 
 
 Was this a type of his own success ? Was he 
 to watch his chance on the great sea of life, and 
 finally, after all his anxious watching and toil, was 
 7*
 
 78 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OK 
 
 he to pull in only a sculpin ? These were painful 
 thoughts to Paul, and his heart almost sunk within 
 him, as he considered the possible failure of his 
 favorite scheme. If he failed in this, he must 
 accept the paltry two dollars and a half a week, 
 and let his mother drudge like a slave. He could 
 not tolerate the thought of failure, and 
 
 A bite! 
 
 Paul did not whistle till he got out of the woods, 
 and announced his success to John by slapping 
 a monster perch upon the bottom of the boat. 
 If that was a type of his success he was satis- 
 fied. Before he had time to follow out the reflec- 
 tions suggested by the event, John hauled in the 
 mate to the big fish, and another had taken hold 
 of his own hook. 
 
 By ten o'clock there were six dozen perch in 
 the basket, besides three handsome tautog and 
 half a dozen sea flounders. The young fisher- 
 man was satisfied, hauled up killock, and made 
 sail for home. His heart was as light as the upper 
 air, and he was confident of the success of his grand 
 scheme.
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 79 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 PAUL MAKES A GOOD SPECULATION. 
 
 " Now, John, you must steer, while I skin the 
 perch," said Paul, as he resigned the helm to 
 his brother. 
 
 " That I will," replied he, with alacrity, for he 
 did not often get a chance to handle the boat, 
 and was fond of the amusement. 
 
 " But you must be careful, and keep your eyes 
 open, for we have no time to spare," added the 
 youthful skipper. 
 
 " Do you think I don't knoAv how to steer a 
 boat ? " asked John, hurt by the insinuation. 
 
 "You know how well enough, if you will pay 
 attention to it, and not be fooling with her." 
 
 " I'll keep her right." 
 
 Paul took from under the thwart an old shoe- 
 knife which had been ground down to one third
 
 80 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OB 
 
 of its original width. It had been well sharpened 
 for this important occasion, but he had provided 
 an old whetstone as a further precaution against a 
 dull blade. To skin a perch neatly and expe- 
 ditiously is a nice operation ; but Paul had had 
 sufficient practice in the art to render him a skil- 
 ful hand. Seating himself on the lee rail, he 
 commenced work in earnest, occasionally glancing 
 up to see that the boat was doing her best in 
 the way of sailing. 
 
 " How much will you make, Paul, if you sell 
 all your fish ? " asked John. 
 
 "The perch will bring a dollar and twenty 
 cents, if I get twenty cents a dozen for them." 
 " The tautog are worth something." 
 " They are worth a quarter apiece." 
 " You have done a good day's work then ? " 
 "If I sell the fish, I shall," answered Paul, 
 with a smile of satisfaction. " Come, John, the 
 sail is shaking, and you have lost the wind," he 
 added, as his brother carelessly luffed her up. 
 " I was adding up the perch and the tautog."
 
 THE CKUISE OP THE FLYAWAY. 81 
 
 " You must mind the boat ; you must stop 
 talking, if you can't do your duty without." 
 
 John promised to be more careful, and Paul 
 had no further occasion to complain of his inat- 
 tention. The younger fisherman was a good boy, 
 but he had not yet been trained to that steadi- 
 ness of purpose which is necessary to success. 
 He was only ten years old, and it was not to 
 be expected that he should fully appreciate the 
 earnestness of his brother's purpose, though he 
 was beginning to realize that close attention was 
 necessary in order to accomplish great deeds. He 
 was fond of trying experiments, just for the fun 
 of the thing ; and when he had been permitted 
 to take the helm on other occasions, he wanted 
 to do something besides keep her in a direct 
 course to see how close she would lie to the 
 wind without letting the sail shake, to run down 
 a floating mass of seaweed, or chase a stick of 
 wood ; but on this trip, he was guilty of no 
 greater indiscretion than carelessness. 
 
 Long before the boat reached Bayville, Paul
 
 82 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 had skinned and strung the fish ; and their ap- 
 pearance on the line was creditable to his skill. 
 Leaving John to secure the boat, he took the fish 
 and hastened up to the house of Captain Little- 
 ton. He found that gentleman in his garden 
 with his guests. 
 
 " Well, Paul, what luck ? " asked he, as the 
 young fisherman came in sight. 
 
 "First-rate, sir." 
 
 " How many have you got ? " 
 
 "Six dqzen." 
 
 "Just the number I want. Carry them into 
 the kitchen, Paul. I declare, you have dressed 
 them very nicely." 
 
 " I tried to have them right, sir, and I am 
 glad they suit you," replied Paul, modestly, as 
 he walked towards the rear of the house. 
 
 " Stop, Paul ; what have you got there ? " said 
 Captain Littleton. 
 
 " Tautog, sir ; and if you will permit me, I 
 will leave them in the kitchen with the perch." 
 
 " You are a lucky fisherman, Paul ; those are
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 83 
 
 handsome fish, and if you will leave them, I will 
 make ifr all right when you come out. That is a 
 luxury I did not expect." 
 
 Paul was delighted by the commendation of his 
 friend, and the splendid scheme of his future op- 
 erations increased in importance with every word 
 that was uttered. With a light heart he ran 
 into the kitchen with his stock, and then returned 
 to Captain Littleton. 
 
 " Here is two dollars, Paul," said he, handing 
 him a bill. 
 
 " That is too much, sir," stammered Paul, over- 
 whelmed at the idea of having made two dollars 
 in one day. 
 
 " It is right, my boy ; take it. You mustn't 
 be bashful if you are going to fight your way 
 through the world." 
 
 " You are very kind, sir, but this is more than 
 the fish come to," answered Paul, taking the 
 bill. 
 
 " No, it isn't ; the perch come to a dollar 
 and twenty cents, the tautog to seventy-five,
 
 84 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OH 
 
 which make a dollar and ninety-five cents. So 
 we will call it square, and I am very much obliged 
 to you besides." 
 
 " I didn't mean to charge you any thing for 
 the tautog, sir." 
 
 " Look here, Paul ; when you get rich I will 
 accept your gifts ; but now, my boy, I will take 
 the will for the deed, and I feel just as grateful 
 to you as though you had presented me a ser- 
 vice of plate. You have done well, and I am 
 glad of it." 
 
 " Thank you, sir ; I am very much obliged to 
 you for this, and for all you have done for my 
 mother," replied Paul, as he put the bank bill in 
 his pocket. 
 
 " By the way, how about that place in the 
 lawyer's office, Paul ? " said Captain Littleton, as 
 the young fisherman turned to go home. 
 
 " If you please, sir, I had rather not take the 
 place." 
 
 " You are going to do better, then ? " 
 
 "Yes, sir, I think I can. I am very much
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 85 
 
 obliged to you for the trouble you have ta- 
 ken." 
 
 " Not at all, my boy ; I didn't think the situa- 
 tion would be large enough to suit your ambition. 
 What are you going to do, Paul ? " 
 
 " I am going to catch fish, and sell them in 
 town, sir," replied Paul, boldly, though he could 
 hardly keep down the emotions that swelled in 
 his bosom. 
 
 " Good, my boy ! I like an enterprising spirit, 
 and I dare say you will do very well. You may 
 put me down for two dozen perch every Satur- 
 day." 
 
 " Thank you, sir." 
 
 " I will speak to my neighbors, and I have no 
 doubt you will find a market for all the fish you 
 can catch." 
 
 " You are very kind." 
 
 " What does your mother say about the plan ? " 
 
 " I haven't told her yet. It is a new idea. I 
 am afraid she will not like it very well." 
 
 " She will not object very strongly." 
 8
 
 86 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 " If you would speak to her about it, if you 
 please, sir ; she will think every thing of what 
 you say." 
 
 " I will, Paul. When you catch any more tau- 
 tog, be sure and bring them to me." 
 
 " I certainly will, Captain Littleton," answered 
 Paul, as he bounded towards home, his heart filled 
 with gratitude to his friend, and with hope for 
 the success of his darling scheme. 
 
 Half a dozen times on the way, he put his 
 hand into his pocket to feel of the old black wallet, 
 that contained the proceeds of his first day's work. 
 He had never done a job before which produced 
 more than half a dollar, and the immense sum in 
 his pocket seemed enough to make or break an 
 ordinary bank. Such a run of luck was almost 
 incredible. Wouldn't his mother be astonished 
 when he handed her that two dollar bill ! 
 
 He had some misgivings in regard to his moth- 
 er's consent ; for like all good mothers, who love 
 their sons, she did not like to have him exposed 
 to danger. Put that two dollar bill, and the
 
 THE CRUISE OK THE FLYAWAY. 87 
 
 brilliant promise of success which the future held 
 out to him, would be strong arguments in favor 
 of the scheme, and he hoped to triumph over 
 every objection she could present. 
 
 Before he reached the cottage, Paul contrived to 
 subdue some of his enthusiasm, and walked into 
 the kitchen, where his mother was getting dinner, 
 as coolly and indifferently as though nothing ex- 
 traordinary had happened. It was hard work for 
 him to keep down the excitement that was raging 
 within, but he had determined not to make a fool 
 of himself. 
 
 "Well, Paul, have you had a good time," said 
 Mrs. Duncan, as he entered the room. 
 
 " First-rate, mother," he replied ; though he 
 was not exactly pleased to find that she regarded 
 the trip to Rock Island in the light of a pleasure 
 excursion. 
 
 " Did you get as many fish as Captain Little- 
 ton wanted ? " 
 
 " Yes, more too ; I left six dozen perch and 
 three handsome tautog in his kitchen just now."
 
 88 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OK 
 
 "You were lucky." 
 
 " I am good for as many as that every day. 
 Look here, mother ; " and he pulled out his wal- 
 let, and took therefrom the two dollar bill. 
 "What do you think of that?" 
 
 "Did he give you all that?" 
 
 "He did." 
 
 " He is very liberal." 
 
 " That he is ; but the fish came to about that ; 
 the tautog are worth a quarter apiece." 
 
 " You have done bravely, my boy. If you 
 could make half as much money as that every 
 day, we should have all we want, and more too." 
 
 " I can, mother ; and I mean to do so," replied 
 Paul, thinking this a good opportunity to an- 
 nounce his magnificent intentions. 
 
 " You mustn't be too confident, Paul." 
 
 " I know I can." 
 
 "And, pray, what do you mean to do?" in- 
 quired Mrs. Duncan, with an incredulous smile. 
 
 " I am going into the fishing business, mother." 
 
 "Into what?"
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 89 
 
 " Into the fishing business." 
 
 "What in the world do you mean by that?" 
 
 " I mean just what I say, mother ? " 
 
 " Is the boy crazy ! " demanded Mrs. Duncan, 
 suspending her culinary operations, and looking 
 with interest into the animated face of her son. 
 
 " I am as regular as I ever was in my life. 
 I've thought it all over, and spoken to Captain 
 Littleton besides ; and he says go ahead," replied 
 Paul, making an early use of the captain's en- 
 couraging words. 
 
 " But I don't understand what you mean ? Go- 
 ing into the fishing business ? " 
 
 "Yes, ma'am; we've got a boat, and I mean 
 to go down to Rock Island every day, Sundays 
 excepted, and catch perch. I mean to sell them 
 here in Bayville, and Captain Littleton told me 
 to put him down for two dozen every Saturday. 
 That's the idea, mother." 
 
 " But, Paul " 
 
 " If I can get a shilling a dozen for them, I 
 can make a dollar a day as easy as you can turn 
 8*
 
 90 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 your hand over," added Paul, who was not dis- 
 posed to let his mother speak upon impulse. 
 
 " You would have to be on the water every 
 day." 
 
 " What of that, mother ? The water is a good 
 thing to be on, and just as safe as the land, if 
 you are only a mind to think so." 
 
 " Rather dangerous, I'm afraid." 
 
 " O, no, mother ; it's only a notion some folks 
 have, that the water isn't safe." 
 
 " Hundreds of people are drowned every year." 
 
 "And hundreds smashed up and killed on the 
 railroads. Why, Captain Mitchell don't think it 
 is safe to go about much on the land. He only 
 feels secure when he is in his old whale boat. 
 He won't get into a chaise or a wagon don't 
 think it is safe to ride in them ; but he knocks 
 about the bay in all sorts of weather. Please 
 don't object to it, mother, for I've set my heart 
 upon the business, and I'm satisfied I shall do 
 well," said Paul, with kindling enthusiasm. 
 
 "Well, if you are set upon it, I don't want to
 
 THE CKUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 91 
 
 say too much against it," replied Mrs. Duncan, 
 doubtfully. 
 
 " Captain Littleton will speak to you about it, 
 and he understands these things." 
 
 " I know he does ; but after all, I would rather 
 have you safe on land." 
 
 " I shall be safe enough, mother ; and I shall 
 be able to take care of the family without your 
 making bags." 
 
 " You are a good boy, Paul," added his mother, 
 turning from him to wipe away the tears that 
 moistened her eyes, for in the loneliness of her 
 widowhood she realized what it was to have such 
 a noble and devoted son. 
 
 Paul was delighted to think he had so easily 
 smoothed over matters with her. He had expect- 
 ed to have a hard beat to windward in reconciling 
 her to his plan, but she had proved much more 
 reasonable than he anticipated. He attributed his 
 ready victory in a great measure to the influence 
 of Captain Littleton's name, and he was confident 
 he would remove any remaining doubts she might 
 harbor.
 
 92 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 After dinner Paul went up to his room, and 
 taking from his drawer a little account book, 
 which had long been waiting to be used, he en- 
 tered the amount of the day's sales upon the first 
 page. 
 
 " Little by little," said he, as he returned the 
 book to the drawer, " and one of these days I 
 shall be rich." 
 
 This was a very comforting reflection, and not- 
 withstanding the possible slip between the cup 
 and the lip, he enjoyed the full benefit of it.
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 93 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 PAUL GOES INTO BUSINESS ON HIS OWN AC- 
 COUNT. 
 
 BEFOKE night, all the arrangements for the next 
 day's trip were completed, and Paul retired at an 
 early hour, so as to be up in season in the morning. 
 The excitement which his great project created in 
 his mind, however, would not let him sleep till he 
 was actually exhausted with thinking. He did 
 not wake till five o'clock in the morning, which 
 made him so ashamed of himself, that he could 
 hardly conceal his vexation, especially as he found 
 his mother was up, and his breakfast was nearly 
 ready, when he went down stairs. But on reflection 
 he found he was early enough, for it would be low 
 tide nearly an hour later than on the preceding day. 
 
 While he was eating his breakfast, his brother 
 John came down. It was an unusually early hour
 
 94 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 for him to rise, and it was evident from the haste 
 with which he completed his toilet, after he found 
 Paul had not gone, that he had an idea of his own, 
 as well as his brother. 
 
 " Mayn't I go with you, Paul ? " asked he. 
 
 " You must go to school." 
 
 " Mayn't I stay away from school to-day, moth- 
 er ?" added he, turning quickly to Mrs. Duncan. 
 
 " I'd rather you wouldn't, John." 
 
 " Why not, mother ? " whined he. 
 
 " I don't want you to stay out of school a single 
 day, when it can be prevented." 
 
 " I should think I might go with Paul. I can 
 catch as many fish as he can." 
 
 " Paul is older than you are, and he always 
 kept close to his school till he left." 
 
 " I want to do something towards supporting 
 the family, as well as he." 
 
 Mrs. Duncan laughed, and so did Paul; for how- 
 ever ambitious the young gentleman might have 
 been to bear his full share of the burden of the 
 family, it was too evident that his taste for boating
 
 
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 95 
 
 and fishing was the dominant motive for absenting 
 himself from school. 
 
 " Let me go with you, Paul." 
 
 " Mother says you must go to school, and I 
 think you had better be there." 
 
 " Who will steer the boat while you skin the 
 fish ? " demanded John, who had a proper idea of 
 the value of his services, and was not at all pleased 
 at the thought of having them undervalued. 
 
 " I shall try to get along some way without you. 
 I should like to have you go, first rate, John ; but 
 I don't think you ought to stay out of school. 
 You will have a vacation next week, and you may 
 go every day then, if you want to." 
 
 " You ought to take me with you, Paul," con- 
 tinued John, resorting to the persuasive, now that 
 the argumentative had failed. 
 
 " I tell you I should like to have you go with 
 me, if it were not for your school." 
 
 John exhausted his store of arguments and per- 
 suasions without effect, and then fled to his room 
 to cry over his defeat. Paul sympathized with
 
 96 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 his brother in his disappointment, but as the 
 head of the family, he could not, on principle, 
 yield the point. Taking his jug of water and his 
 lunch, he left the house and hastened to the beach. 
 The wind was light, as on the preceding day, and 
 it took him nearly two hours to run down to Rock 
 Island, for the old boat was a very heavy sailer 
 even under the most favorable circumstances. 
 
 Paul did not feel quite so nervous as on the 
 day before, for he was so confident of success that 
 he did not feel uneasy even when he did not get 
 a bite for quarter of an hour. The perch were ac- 
 commodating in the main, and did not disappoint 
 him, for at twelve o'clock as he judged it to be 
 by the height of the tide he had seven dozen 
 in the boat, and they were still biting as greedily 
 as when he first commenced. He had two lines 
 on board, and he tried the experiment of using 
 them both at the same time, though without much 
 success ; for perch are fastidious, and require a great 
 deal of attention. While he was pulling in a fish 
 upon one line, the sly rogues in the brine stole his
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 97 
 
 bait from the other, and he came to the conclusion 
 it was not best to have too many irons in the 
 fire at once. 
 
 Paul did not like to abandon the field while 
 it was yielding such a rich harvest ; but he was 
 a prudent fisherman, and not disposed to run any 
 risks. The tide would turn in less than two hours, 
 and he knew it would be impossible to run up to 
 Bayville against both wind and tide. The old 
 boat was not equal to any such emergency, and he 
 reluctantly wound up his line and made sail for 
 home. 
 
 The seven dozen perch were to be cleaned, and 
 when he got fairly under way he missed John, 
 for it was difficult for him to skin fish and work 
 the boat at the same time. Seating himself in 
 the stern, he passed his arm round the tiller, 
 for there was no comb to keep it in place, and 
 commenced his labors. He soon found that he was 
 working at a great disadvantage, and he exerted his 
 ingenuity to devise a plan for overcoming the diffi- 
 culty. Taking a small line, he made the middle of it 
 9
 
 98 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OK 
 
 fast to the end of the tiller ; then passing it round 
 the cleets, he tied the ends together. This apparatus 
 kept the tiller in its place, and he could change 
 it to any required position by pulling the line. 
 Resuming his labors upon the fish, he found his 
 plan worked very well, and the perch were in 
 readiness for market when he reached the shore. 
 After securing the boat, he hastened with the 
 fish to the cottage, where his dinner was waiting 
 for him. His mother congratulated him upon his 
 success, and told him that Captain Littleton had 
 been to see her during his absence, and that she 
 was entirely reconciled to his new occupation. 
 
 The most difficult part of the business, in Paul's 
 estimation, was yet to come that of selling the 
 fish. As he left the house with his precious load 
 of merchandise, he could not help feeling that the 
 grand scheme was still an experiment, for it had 
 not been demonstrated that Bayville would buy six 
 or eight dozen of perch every day. It was a large 
 place, containing about six thousand inhabitants ; 
 and as he walked along, he brought his mathemat-
 
 THE CRUISE OF XKfi FLYAWAY. 99 
 
 ical knowledge into use in an attempt to convince 
 himself that the market was large enough to keep 
 him busy during the season. At the least calcu- 
 lation there were six hundred families in the town, 
 and probably a thousand. If each family would 
 buy a mess of perch once in ten days, it would 
 make six hundred dozen in that time, or sixty 
 dozen a day ; but, to make allowance for over- 
 estimates, he was willing to reduce the total one 
 half, and call it thirty dozen a day. The fisher- 
 man would supply a large portion of the demand, 
 but he concluded that he should have no difficulty 
 in selling all the perch he ' ~uld catch. 
 
 Passing the house of Captain Littleton, the next 
 was that of Major Nettle, and he resolved to make 
 his first attempt to sell. The gentleman was not 
 at home, and the servants didn\ know any thing 
 about it ; and he was just leaving when Thomas 
 Nettle accosted him. 
 
 "What have you got, Paul?" 
 
 " Perch ; do your folks want to buy any ? " 
 
 " Yes, I guess they do. Where did you catch 
 them ? "
 
 100 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OK 
 
 " Down at Rock Island ; I am going down every 
 day." 
 
 " Are you, though ? I should like to go with 
 you some time." 
 
 " I shall be glad to have you. I have gone 
 into this business." 
 
 " What for ? " 
 
 " Since my father died, I have to do something 
 to help my mother," replied Paul, not caring 
 to announce to his friend the whole of his stu- 
 pendous plan. 
 
 " Do you expect to do any thing at this busi- 
 ness ? " 
 
 " Certainly I do ; I made two dollars at it yes- 
 terday." 
 
 " Did you though ? " 
 
 " Do your folks want any perch to-day ? " 
 
 " I guess they do ; how much a dozen ? " 
 
 " Seventeen cents," replied Paul, who had de- 
 cided to be moderate in his prices. 
 
 " I will speak to my mother." 
 
 Thomas returned in a short time, and took two
 
 THE CKUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 101 
 
 dozen of the fish, and paid the money for them. 
 Overjoyed at this success, he proceeded to the 
 next house ; but though he was eloquent in regard 
 to the freshness and fineness of his wares, he could 
 not make a trade. He met with no better success 
 at the next three or four places at which he called, 
 and he began to feel a little discouraged. But the 
 next house in his way was a large, genteel board- 
 ing house, and he had the satisfaction of selling 
 four dozen at the price he had before fixed, though 
 he had almost made up his mind to let them go 
 at ninepence. The gentleman who kept the house 
 was pleased to get the perch, and wanted the 
 young fisherman to bring him some three times 
 a week for the present, for his boarders were very 
 fond of them. 
 
 Paul could scarcely contain himself for the joy 
 he felt, as he glanced at the only remaining dozen 
 of his stock, and at the very next house he dis- 
 posed of them. With a dollar and nineteen cents 
 in his pocket, he walked towards home, proud as 
 a lord of his success. The result of this day's 
 9*
 
 102 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 work afforded him far more satisfaction than that 
 of the preceding day, though the proceeds were 
 considerably less ; for he was conscious of the in- 
 fluence of Captain Littleton's generosity in the 
 transaction. But the second day's triumph was 
 achieved hy his own unaided labor and skill. 
 What he had done this day was a fair specimen 
 of what he might hope to do in the future. 
 
 "Sold out so soon, Paul?" said his mother, as 
 he entered the kitchen. 
 
 " Yes ; I had good luck. They took four doz- 
 en at the boarding house. I think if I had had 
 twenty dozen I could have sold them all. There 
 is a great deal of difference between perch just 
 out of the water, fresh and good, and perch which 
 have been dragged about in a fish cart, under a 
 hot sun, for two or three days." 
 
 Mrs. Duncan fully agreed with this sage re- 
 mark, and did not think it improved any kind of 
 fish to keep them a great while after they were 
 caught. 
 
 " One dollar and nineteen cents, mother ; here
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 103 
 
 is the money," continued Paul, emptying the con- 
 tents of the wallet into her lap. " What do you 
 think of the fishing business now, mother ? " 
 
 " It has proved to be a very good business so 
 far; but you must not expect people to eat perch 
 all the year round, Paul. They will get sick of 
 them after a while." 
 
 " Then I shall go farther off; but there are 
 other fish besides perch, and I don't intend to con- 
 fine my operations to one kind. There are eels, 
 and smelts, and cod, and haddock ; and if worse 
 comes to worse, I can go into the clam trade." 
 
 " What a boy ! " laughed Mrs. Duncan. " You 
 are so determined that I have no doubt you will 
 succeed." 
 
 " If I don't, it shall not be my fault," replied 
 Paul, complacently. 
 
 " But you don't mean to follow this business all 
 your life ? " 
 
 "Why not?" 
 
 "The life of a fisherman is not the pleasantest 
 in the world."
 
 104 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OE 
 
 "That's according to one's taste. If I only 
 had a good boat, I can't think of any thing that 
 would suit me better." 
 
 "It is hard work." 
 
 " So much the better. You said that five dol- 
 lars a week would support the family. Now, if 
 you have no objection, I will save up all I make 
 over that sum, till I get enough to buy a boat." 
 
 " Certainly, Paul ; and if you give me three dol- 
 lars a week, or even two, I can get along very well." 
 
 " I shall not do that, mother. I am going to 
 support the family, any how ; and I wish you 
 wouldn't take any more bags to make." 
 
 "You mustn't think of doing too much, Paul." 
 
 " Too much ! I shall be idle half the time, at 
 this rate. Here I am, with my day's work done 
 at three o'clock in the afternoon. I don't want 
 you to do any thing, mother, but take care of the 
 house, as you always used to do." 
 
 " There will certainly be no need of it, if you 
 get along as well as you expect. How much will 
 such a boat as you want cost, Paul ? "
 
 THE CBUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 105 
 
 "Well, I don't know; when I buy I want to 
 g3t a first-rate one." 
 
 " How much do you think ? " 
 
 " Fifty to seventy-five dollars ; but I won't think 
 of such a thing yet a while. The old one will 
 do very well for the present. I can save up 
 something every week, and little by little, I shall 
 make up enough to get just such a boat as I 
 want." 
 
 "You might take the money from the life in- 
 surance ; for Mr. Freeman will perhaps sell us 
 the house, if we pay nine hundred dollars down." 
 
 " I won't do that, mother. My boat shall be 
 bought with my own earnings." 
 
 " I will lend you the money, then." 
 
 " No, I won't get in debt." 
 
 "But a new boat would be safer." 
 
 "The old one is safe enough; all the fault I 
 find with her is, that it takes her so long to get 
 down to the fishing ground." 
 
 Paul resolutely refused to run in debt, or to 
 touch the money which had been appropriated for
 
 106 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 the purchase of the house. He intended, when he 
 had time, to fix up the old boat, and rig a jib on, 
 which he thought would overcome his principal 
 objection to her. 
 
 When he went to bed that night, he entered 
 the proceeds of this day's work in his book, and 
 then, with pardonable pride, he congratulated him- 
 self on the sum total of the earnings of the two 
 days.
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 107 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 PAUL TAKES A COLD BATH. 
 
 THE limits of our little volume do not permit 
 us to follow Paul Duncan into the minutiae of his 
 prosperous business, and we are reminded that great 
 events in his experience are yet to be introduced. 
 He was successful in his undertaking, though, like 
 all in this inconstant world, he was subjected 
 to trials and disappointments. There were some 
 days when it was so rough off the rocks that he 
 could not fish ; and there were others when he, 
 had to travel many miles before he could sell his 
 fish. During John's vacation, his receipts amounted 
 to about two dollars a day, which went a great way 
 in counterbalancing the ill luck of the next week. 
 On an average, he earned about a dollar a day. 
 
 He had won a reputation in Bayville which 
 helped him a great deal in disposing of his mer-
 
 108 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 chandise. People saw him working hard to sup- 
 ply the place of his father, and they were glad to 
 encourage him, as there are always found enough 
 who are willing to help those that help them- 
 selves. The sympathy and kindness of his neigh- 
 bors were a great assistance to him, and no doubt 
 without them his fish would have oftener been a 
 drug in the market. 
 
 Paul inherited some portion of his father's me- 
 chanical skill ; and on the first stormy day after he 
 set up in business, he commenced his contem- 
 plated improvements upon the old boat. She was 
 a very poor subject to work upon, but he got out 
 the wood for building a half deck over her, which 
 he fitted on as he had opportunity. A short bow- 
 sprit was added to her rig, and his mother made 
 him a jib, which he cut out himself. Thus re- 
 fitted, the old boat, though her main defects could 
 not be remedied, was much improved, and worked 
 better than before. She was far from coming up 
 to the young fisherman's ideal of a trim craft, and 
 lie cherished a strong hope that before many years
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 109 
 
 had passed away, he should have the satisfaction 
 of sailing such a boat as his fancy had already 
 clearly defined. The time was closer at hand 
 than he suspected. 
 
 One day, early in the month of July, Paul was 
 making his way home from the rocks in a smart 
 blow. While he was fishing, the wind had hauled 
 round to the north-east, and continued to freshen 
 till it became a reefing breeze. He had got but 
 a small fare of fish, for the heavy sea had inter- 
 fered with his operations. He disliked to leave 
 the fishing ground, but it was sufficiently evident 
 to him that a storm was approaching. He had 
 often promised his mother that he would be very 
 careful, and the present seemed a proper time to 
 exercise that caution. John was with him, and in 
 spite of this bold youth's most earnest protest, he 
 got up the anchor and made sail for home. 
 
 " What are you afraid of, Paul ? " demanded 
 John, with evident disgust. 
 
 " You are a pretty sailor ! Don't you see it is 
 going to blow a youn^ hurricane?" 
 10
 
 110 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 " What if it does ? I should like to be out 
 in a blow once. I want to know what it's like," 
 replied the reckless boy. 
 
 "You may know now, before you get home. 
 Don't you see the white caps on the waves off to 
 windward?" 
 
 "I like the looks of them, and it's fun to 
 skip over them." 
 
 " I don't want to worry mother. She's at the 
 window by this time, looking out for the boat. 
 Do you think there is any fun in making her 
 uneasy ? Besides, I don't think it is safe to stay 
 here any longer. There comes the Flyaway under 
 jib and mainsail." 
 
 " What of it ? " 
 
 "She went down to be gone all day. What 
 do you suppose she's coming back for at this 
 early hour ? " 
 
 " I suppose Captain Littleton didn't want to 
 make the women seasick," promptly replied John. 
 
 " Would the foresail make them sick ? She 
 has taken the bonnet off her jib too. Captain
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FI.YAWAY. Ill 
 
 Littleton knows when to expect a gale, and we 
 shall have it soon." 
 
 So it seemed by the working of the little boat, 
 for she tossed up and down on the waves like a 
 feather, and thrust her bows under so far, that 
 John had to waste some of his enthusiasm upon 
 the baling kettle. Paul had not hoisted the jib, 
 for the mainsail was all the old craft could stag- 
 ger under, and her youthful skipper expected soon 
 to be obliged to reef. The Flyaway was at the 
 eastward of the island, driving over and through 
 the waves like a phantom. The spray, was dash- 
 ing over her bows, and her jib was wet several 
 feet above the boltrope. She was working to 
 windward till she could clear the island, when 
 she would have the wind free into Bayville Har- 
 bor. Perhaps some of my non-nautical young 
 readers will need to be informed that working to 
 windward means sailing in a zigzag line in the 
 direction from which the wind blows. 
 
 The Flyaway ran close in to Rock Island, and 
 tacked at the very spot where Paul had just been
 
 112 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OK 
 
 lying at anchor, and his boat was not more than 
 the eighth of a mile distant from her. The boys 
 could distinctly see the ladies and gentlemen on 
 board of her, and replied to signals of recognition 
 that were made to them. There were several 
 children on her deck, and Paul identified Carrie 
 Littleton in a little girl of ten, who was waving 
 her handkerchief to him. As the yacht came up 
 into the wind, and before the boom swung over, 
 the young lady jumped upon the taffrail to obtain 
 a better view of them. To the horror of all who 
 saw the accident, the heavy spar struck her on 
 the shoulder, and she was knocked overboard. 
 The Flyaway, catching the wind, flew from the 
 spot, and when the little girl rose to the surface 
 of the water, she was out of the reach of those 
 on board of her. 
 
 "Heavens and earth!" shouted Paul, jumping 
 up from his seat, as he beheld the catastrophe. 
 "There is Carrie Littleton knocked overboard by 
 the boom!" 
 
 " O, dear ! She will be drowned ! " gasped John.
 
 THE CRUISE OF IHE FLYAWAY. 113 
 
 " Take the helm, John ! Don't blubber ! Quick ! " 
 cried Paul, as he leaped forward, and brailed up 
 the sail. "Now, hard down! Lively!" 
 
 The boat, which was making very good head- 
 way, came about, and was headed towards the 
 island. Shaking out the sail again, she bore down 
 towards the unfortunate girl. In the mean time, 
 the Flyaway had luffed' up ; though she was nearer 
 to Carrie than Paul's boat, she was rapidly drift- 
 ing to leeward. Her tender, which was a light 
 canoe, had been placed upon deck, and the crew 
 were launching her ; but as they did so, by the 
 clumsiness of some one engaged in the operation, 
 she filled as she struck the water, and they were 
 obliged to haul her up again with the halliards. 
 
 Before they had made fast to the painter of the 
 canoe, Paul had reached the scene of the disas- 
 ter; but poor Carrie had sunk beneath the angry 
 waves. She had evidently been injured by the 
 blow of the boom, and was unable to make any 
 exertion. 
 
 " Now mind your eye, John ! " snouted Paul, 
 10*
 
 114 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OB 
 
 as he dashed off his coat and shoes. " When I 
 dive, throw her up into the wind." 
 
 " Look out, Paul ; don't do that," remonstrated 
 his brother. " You will be drowned yourself. Fish 
 her up with the boathook. Mother will " 
 
 The intrepid youth, disregarding the terror of 
 his brother, dived over the bow of the boat the 
 moment he saw the form of the poor girl, which 
 was revealed to him by the white dress she wore. 
 John obeyed the instructions he had received, but 
 before Paul reappeared, with the drowning child 
 in his arms, the boat had drifted some distance 
 from the spot. 
 
 " Haul aft your sheet ! " gasped Paul, when he 
 had regained breath enough to speak. 
 
 John obeyed, but his terror had almost para- 
 lyzed his arm, and his action was not so prompt 
 as it might have been; but the boat slowly gath- 
 ered headway, and moved towards the struggling 
 youth. Paul battled manfully with the big waves, 
 which repeatedly swept him under, and determined 
 to die rather than drop his helpless burden.
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 115 
 
 As the boat came down upon Mm, Paul sup- 
 ported Carrie with one arm, and grasped the gun- 
 wale with the other. 
 
 " Luff up ! " said he. " Now, catch hold of her, 
 and help haul her in," he added, as the boat 
 came up into the wind. 
 
 John did his best, but he was not strong 
 enough to draw the lifeless form into the boat. 
 Bidding him hold on for his life, Paul leaped 
 into the boat, and drew her in. 
 
 " Keep her away for the yacht," cried Paul, as 
 he placed the form of the poor girl for he was 
 not certain that it was still animated by the vital 
 spark in the bottom of the boat. 
 
 Turning her face down, in order to let the 
 water run out of her mouth, he used all the 
 efforts his knowledge and his means would per- 
 mit to promote her restoration. In a few mo- 
 ments the boat came alongside the Flyaway, though 
 John, in the excitement of the moment, stove her 
 gunwale in, and had nearly added another calamity 
 to the chapter of accidents.
 
 116 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 Captain Littleton jumped into the boat as she 
 struck the side, and seizing the beloved child in 
 his arms, leaped back upon deck, and then rushed 
 into the cabin. 
 
 "Hand up your painter, Paul, and come on 
 board, both of you," said Captain Gordon, the 
 skipper of the Flyaway. 
 
 "Ay, ay, sir," replied Paul, too much inter- 
 ested in the fate of poor Carrie to think of parting 
 company with the yacht. 
 
 The fishing boat was made fast at the stern of 
 the Flyaway, and she stood off again to clear the 
 rocks around the island. All the party on board 
 had followed Captain Littleton into the cabin, to 
 learn the condition of his child, or to render as- 
 sistance in restoring her. It was very fortunate 
 that Dr. Lawrence was one of the company, for 
 he was a very skilful man, and under his direc- 
 tion the measures for the relief of Carrie were 
 conducted. 
 
 The Flyaway had reached her berth at the 
 mouth of the river before the efforts for the
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 117 
 
 child's restoration promised to be effectual. It 
 was found that the blow of the boom had not 
 seriously injured her. In an hour after the yacht 
 reached her moorings, she was able to speak, and 
 the doctor ordered her to be taken home. 
 
 Before the yacht reached her berth, a pair of 
 anxious eyes, from the chamber window of the 
 cottage, had discovered the dingy old boat towing 
 at her stern. The mother's heart almost failed 
 her, as her imagination pictured some dreadful 
 calamity that had happened to her boys. Filled 
 with dreadful forebodings, she seized her shawl 
 and bonnet, and hastened to the landing, in the 
 rear of Captain Littleton's house. They were 
 bringing home the boat in which her boys had 
 gone out, and she feared that one or both of them 
 had been lost. She tried to believe that the yacht 
 had overtaken them, and that Captain Littleton 
 had invited them on board ; but her fears were 
 stronger than her hopes. 
 
 When she reached the landing place, she saw 
 that the gunwale of the old boat was stove, and
 
 118 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 her heart sank within her. There were several 
 persons at the landing, and she told them what 
 she feared. One of them took a skiff and rowed 
 out to the yacht. Paul and John were both in 
 the cabin, and when the messenger came along- 
 side, the captain called them on deck. Seeing 
 Mrs. Duncan on the shore, they got into their 
 boat, and soon joined her. 
 
 " I never was so glad to see you before in my 
 life ! " exclaimed the delighted mother, clasping 
 them both to her bosom. " Why, Paul, you are 
 as wet as a drowned rat ! You have been over- 
 board ; I know you have ! " 
 
 " That's so, mother ; but I didn't upset nor fall 
 overboard. I went over of my own free will." 
 
 " Yes, he did, mother," interrupted John. " Car- 
 rie Littleton was knocked overboard by the boom, 
 the Flyaway' s boat got swamped, and she drifted 
 to leeward, and we came about, and bore doAvn 
 on her, and Paul dived after her, and I worked 
 the boat, and we hauled her in, and took her on 
 board the Flyaway didn't we, Paul ? " and John
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 119 
 
 sputtered as though his own mouth had been full 
 of salt water. 
 
 "We did," replied Paul. 
 
 "You will catch your death a-cold, Paul. Do 
 come home now." 
 
 " I must take the boat round." 
 
 One of the bystanders, all of whom had lis- 
 tened with eager interest to the particulars of the 
 accident, volunteered to perform this service for 
 him ; and Paul, shivering with cold, ran home, 
 followed by his mother and John, 
 
 " Where is Paul Duncan ? " demanded Captain 
 Littleton, after the doctor had ordered his daugh- 
 ter to be carried ashore. 
 
 " Gone, half an hour ago, sir," replied Captain 
 Gordon. 
 
 "God bless him ! " fervently ejaculated the grate- 
 ful father ; and he proceeded to give directions for 
 the removal of Carrie.
 
 120 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OK 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 PAUL BECOMES SKIPPER OF THE FAWN. 
 
 THE heroic act of Paul, in saving the life of 
 Carrie Littleton, was the principal topic of con- 
 versation in Bayville for the next week. Of 
 course it was the unanimous vote of the people 
 that Paul was a hero, and there was some talk 
 of giving him a complimentary dinner, and making 
 speeches at him ; but the good sense of the strong- 
 minded men and women of the place prevailed, 
 and he was not treated with the honors that turn 
 the head of a third-rate politician. But every 
 body thought something ought to be done, and 
 after a full week had passed by, every body won- 
 dered that Captain Littleton did not do some- 
 thing ; that he did not make Paul a present of a 
 gold medal, or give him a check for a hundred 
 dollars. The gossips could not find out that
 
 THE CEUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 121 
 
 he had done any thing more than thank Paul, 
 with tears of gratitude in his eyes, for the noble 
 service he had rendered him. The captain had 
 the reputation of being a very liberal man, but 
 the glory of his good name seemed to be rapidly 
 passing away. 
 
 Paul attended to his business as usual, and 
 seemed to give but little heed to the compliments 
 that were showered upon him. When any one 
 spoke to him about his gallant deed, he tried to 
 turn it off, declared he had only done his duty, 
 as sentimental heroes generally do, and he did not 
 think he had done any very great thing, after all. 
 But notwithstanding all this seeming indifference, 
 Paul was proud of the act that had made him 
 famous. He was conscious that he had done a 
 noble deed ; and his own heart assured him he 
 deserved the praise which was so liberally bestowed 
 upon him. 
 
 Above all, he was grateful for the opportunity 
 of serving Captain Littleton, who had been so 
 kind to him and to his mother. He was happy 
 11
 
 122 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 in the thought of having saved that darling child 
 from a watery grave, and he had given the fond 
 father a good reason for heing his friend as long 
 as he lived. Paul never thought of any reward; 
 he hoped Captain Littleton would not give him 
 any thing, for that would deprive him of one half 
 the satisfaction the act had afforded him. 
 
 Another week passed by, and still, to the aston- 
 ishment and disgust of the gossips of Bayville, 
 Captain Littleton took no further notice of Paul's 
 heroic deed. Mrs. Green, who was Mrs. Duncan's 
 nearest neighbor, ventured to suggest that the cap- 
 tain was a mean man, and she wouldn't have 
 thought it of him. 
 
 "What would you have him do?" asked Paul, 
 to whom Captain Littleton's reputation was as dear 
 as that of his mother, or even of his dead father. 
 
 " What would I have him do ? " repeated the 
 old lady. "Why, he ought to give you a hun- 
 dred dollar bill, all for your own. At least he 
 ought to give you fifty." 
 
 " I don't want any thing, Mrs. Green," said Paul, 
 stoutly.
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 123 
 
 " That's nothing to do with it. He could just 
 offer it couldn't he? He is a rich man, and a 
 hundred dollars is no more to him than a hundred 
 cents to me. It is downright mean, there." 
 
 " I don't think so, marm. Captain Littleton 
 has done every thing he could for mother and for 
 me, and I'm sure I was glad to have a chance to 
 do something for him." 
 
 " That may be ; but it don't look well for a rich 
 man like him to let you save his little daughter 
 from drowning, and then only say thank'ee for it." 
 
 " I think it does, Mrs. Green, and I hope he 
 will let the matter rest just where it is." 
 
 " There is no danger now but what he will. If 
 he ever meant to do any thing for you, he would 
 have done it before now." 
 
 " I am perfectly contented, marm, and I only 
 wish the neighbors were as easy about it as I am." 
 
 " It ain't none of the neighbors' business, I 
 know," added Mrs. Green, a little tartly ; " but I 
 can't look on and see such meanness without speak- 
 ing of it. It don't make no difference who I say
 
 124 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OB 
 
 it to, neither ; I had just as lief say it to Captain 
 Littleton, as say it to you and your mother. That 
 is just what I think, and I may just as well speak 
 it as think it." 
 
 It was a remarkable fact, under the circum- 
 stances, that Mrs. Green never did give Captain 
 Littleton the benefit of her opinion on this subject. 
 Perhaps she wronged him by her silence, thus de- 
 nying him the practical advantage of her criticism 
 for the direction of his future life. Put Paul 
 never liked Mrs. Green so well after this, for she 
 had spoken ill of him whom he honored and es- 
 teemed. 
 
 Our young fisherman, apparently unmoved by 
 the honors that clustered around his name, pursued 
 his humble avocation with pride and pleasure 
 with pride, because he had been successful by his 
 own unaided exertions ; with pleasure, because he 
 was actually relieving his mother from the entire 
 burden of supporting the family. Since the rescue 
 of Carrie, perch, torn-cod, flounders, and tautog 
 had been in greater demand than ever, for many
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 125 
 
 of the rich people bought fish, even when they 
 did not want them, just for the sake of patronizing 
 the young hero ; and the poor people ate fish oftener 
 than they would if their admiration for the little 
 fish merchant had been less. 
 
 The long summer vacation had commenced, and 
 the boys were let loose from school for six weeks. 
 John felt as though he had been emancipated from 
 a dreadful drudgery. He could scarcely repress 
 his exuberant joy, as he carried home his books 
 on the last day of the term. Paul reproved him 
 for his dislike of school, and told him he might 
 see the day when he would appreciate the advan- 
 tages of a good education. 
 
 " I don't dislike school," growled John, though 
 it was a good-natured growl. 
 
 " Yes you do ; you hate school," added Paul. 
 " If you did not, you would not be so glad to get 
 away from it." 
 
 " ' Not that I love Caesar less, but I love Rome 
 more,' " replied John, laughing. 
 
 " What do you mean by that ? " demanded Pawl, 
 11*
 
 126 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 amused at the attitude into which his brother threw 
 himself as he uttered the quotation. 
 
 " Not that I love school less, but I love fishing 
 more ; that's the idea," replied John. 
 
 " I hope you will get enough of it in six weeks, 
 then." 
 
 " I hope so, but I don't believe I shall. At 
 any rate, I'm going every day, and I'm going to 
 be first mate of the Blowout." 
 
 " The what ? " 
 
 *' The Blowout ; that's what I have christened 
 the old boat." 
 
 " That's a very beautiful name." 
 
 " And she's a very beautiful boat," laughed 
 John. " I wish you had a better one." 
 
 " So do I ; perhaps I may have, one of these 
 days." 
 
 " Somebody's got a new one, Paul," added John. 
 
 \ 
 
 " There is one moored off Mercantile Point. Did 
 you see her ? " 
 
 " No ; whose is she ? " 
 
 " I don't know ; I saw her come up the bay
 
 THE CltUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 127 
 
 as I came home from school. She's a perfect 
 beauty." 
 
 " We will go over and see her by and by," 
 said Paul, for a new boat was an object of interest 
 to him, and he always improved the opportunity 
 to inspect any strange craft that visited the bay. 
 " But, John, we must be off early on Monday morn- 
 ing, and the jib of the Blowout, as you call her, 
 wants mending. We will go down and sew it up." 
 
 The brothers repaired to the beach, where the 
 old boat was now high and dry upon the sand, 
 and taking a little box containing the thread, nee- 
 
 
 
 dies, and wax for mending the sail, they commenced 
 their labors. Their busy hands soon completed 
 the task, and the Blowout was otherwise prepared 
 for duty on Monday, for Paul never went near 
 the boat on Sunday. They were now ready to 
 visit the new craft ; but when they had pushed 
 their boat down into the water, Paul saw a gen- 
 tleman enter the cottage of his mother. 
 
 It was Captain Littleton; and Paul delayed 
 their departure, thinking that he might want to
 
 128 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OB 
 
 see him. Presently his friend appeared on the 
 bluff. 
 
 " Are you busy, Paul ? " he shouted. 
 
 " No, sir ; I will be with you in a moment." 
 
 " Stay where you are ; " and Captain Littleton 
 descended the steep path which led to the beach. 
 "You were going out were you?" 
 
 " We were, sir ; but it is of no consequence," 
 replied Paul. " John says there is a new boat 
 over by the Point, and we were about going to 
 see her." 
 
 " Very well, I will go with you ; " and Captain 
 
 
 Littleton stepped into the boat. 
 
 ' " Our boat is not a very nice one for you to 
 sail in," apologized Paul. 
 
 " I have been in worse ones than this, Paul ; 
 and I have seen the time when I would have given 
 all I had in the world for even so dingy a boat 
 as this." 
 
 " When was that, sir ? " asked John, very prompt- 
 ly ; for he stood his ground, unawed by the dignity 
 of the richest man in Bayville.
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 129 
 
 " Get your boat under way, and I will tell you 
 about it," replied Captain Littleton. 
 
 Paul shook out the mainsail, and then pushea 
 off the boat, while John hoisted the jib. The 
 former then took his place at the helm, and the 
 latter seated himself amidships, both eager to hear 
 the story of the captain. It was fortunate for them 
 that the old Blowout was a very heavy sailer ; 
 otherwise they could not have obtained the whole 
 of the story, which was long and very interesting 
 and exciting. We have not space to repeat the 
 story, but it was all about a shipwreck, and cling- 
 ing to a broken spar for forty-eight hours, without 
 food or water, and being rescued when life was 
 nearly gone. 
 
 " So you see, Paul, I should have been very 
 comfortable even in a worse boat than yours," 
 added the story-teller, as he completed his narra- 
 tive. 
 
 " I should like to be shipwrecked once," said 
 John, musing. 
 
 " Should you, my fine fellow ? " exclaimed the 
 captain.
 
 130 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OK 
 
 " I should, sir, just to see how it would seem." 
 
 " It would seem very uncomfortable, my boy ; 
 and I recommend you never to express such a 
 .wish again. Many shore people think there is 
 something very fine and romantic about the sea, 
 or even about a wreck ; but half a day's experi- 
 ence would teach them better. For my part, I 
 was very glad when I escaped the necessity of 
 going to sea, even as master of a vessel." 
 
 " There is the new boat," interrupted Paul, as 
 the Blowout rounded Dog Island, which had be- 
 fore concealed the new craft from their sight. 
 
 " Isn't she a ripper I " exclaimed John. 
 
 " Don't use such words, John," added Paul, in 
 a low tone. 
 
 " She's a very fine boat," said John. 
 
 " She has a broad beam, but she looks as though 
 she would sail well ; " Paul continued. 
 
 " Keep her away a little ; we will go on board 
 of her if you like," said Captain Littleton. 
 
 Paul, though he would not have ventured on 
 board of the new craft if he had been alone, ran
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 131 
 
 V 
 
 the Blowout alongside of her, for he was satisfied 
 that the presence of his friend would free him 
 from the charge of trespass. John made fast the 
 painter to the new boat, and the party leaped on 
 board. 
 
 " Isn't she a beauty ! " ejaculated John. 
 
 " A perfect beauty," added Paul, with enthu- 
 siasm. " She will sail like a bird." 
 
 " You see she has air chambers at the bow and 
 stern," said Captain Littleton. " You cannot sink 
 her." 
 
 The boys examined her from stem to stern, and 
 their eyes sparkled with pleasure, as they rested 
 upon her useful and elegant appurtenances. John 
 looked over her gracefully rounded stern, and 
 found there the words, FAWN BAYVILLE, in 
 raised gilt letters ; and he immediately gave utter- 
 ance to his opinion that the Fawn of Bayville 
 couldn't be beaten. 
 
 " How do you like her, Paul ? " quietly asked 
 Captain Littleton. 
 
 " First rate, sir ; she is the finest boat I ever 
 saw."
 
 132 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 " Do you think she would sail well ? " 
 
 " I know she would." 
 
 " Suppose we try her. You may hoist the fore 
 and main sails." 
 
 " Does she belong to you, sir ? " 
 
 " She belongs to a friend of mine ; but we will 
 try her." 
 
 Paul and John hoisted the sails, and got every 
 thing in readiness to slip the moorings, when the 
 captain wished John to take the Blowout over to 
 her berth, and they would take him on board again. 
 He consented, and the two boats were soon headed 
 towards the beach ; but the Fawn made three rods 
 as often as the Blowout made one. 
 
 At last John worked the clumsy old boat up to 
 the beach, and jumped on board the Fawn. The 
 language with which he expressed his satisfaction 
 at her performance under sail was not very elegant 
 or well chosen ; but it undoubtedly expressed his 
 opinion, so that no mistakes in regard to his mean- 
 ing could have been excused. 
 
 " You like her, do you, Paul ? " asked Captain 
 Littleton for the tenth time.
 
 THE CRUISE OP THE FLYAWAY. 133 
 
 " Very much indeed. She is a beauty ! Who 
 owns her, sir ? " 
 
 "She belongs to a young friend of mine one 
 Paul Duncan." 
 
 " Sir ! What ! " 
 
 " Exactly so, Paul. She belongs to you, and 
 henceforth you are to be the skipper of the Fawn." 
 12
 
 134 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OB 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 PAUL AND JOHN ARE VEKY MUCH EXCITED. 
 
 PAUL was overwhelmed with astonishment and 
 delight at this unexpected declaration. His eyes 
 filled with tears, and he could not utter a word to 
 express the gratitude that filled his heart. 
 
 " Yes, Paul, you shall hereafter be the skipper 
 of the Fawn," repeated Captain Littleton. 
 
 " And I shall be first mate ! " exclaimed John, 
 jumping up and clapping his hands with rapture. 
 
 " Yes, and you shall be first mate, John ; for 
 I have not forgotten that a part of my debt of 
 gratitude for the rescue of my daughter is in your 
 favor, my fine fellow. The Fawn shall be owned 
 between you." 
 
 " Thank you, sir," replied John ; " but it was 
 Paul that saved Carrie." , 
 
 ' If you had not handled the old boat well, Paul
 
 THE CBUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 135 
 
 could not have saved her. You are fairly en- 
 titled to a share of the honor of that noble ex- 
 ploit." 
 
 "But, Captain Littleton," interposed Paul, "I 
 do not want to be paid for what I did. It was 
 only my duty to save Carrie." 
 
 "Every body does not do his duty in such a 
 trying time as that was, Paul. But I have not 
 said a word about paying you." 
 
 " I know you have not, sir ; but I suppose that 
 is what you mean." 
 
 " I mean nothing of the kind, my boy. I could 
 not pay you. There lies the Flyaway," continued 
 the Captain, pointing to his beautiful yacht ; " she 
 cost me six thousand dollars. If I were called 
 upon to decide which I would lose, Carrie or the 
 Flyaway, which should I choose ? " 
 
 " The Flyaway, of course." 
 
 " Then the Flyaway would have been but a 
 small compensation for my child. Nay, if I were 
 called upon to decide between my child and all I 
 am worth in the world, I would sacrifice all my
 
 136 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OK 
 
 earthly possessions for her. Then, if I paid you 
 all I could pay you, it would be all I have, Paul. 
 You will not, therefore, consider this boat as a re- 
 ward for saving Carrie's life." 
 
 "I didn't mean that, sir," stammered Paul, 
 "but " 
 
 " But you thought I meant it. I did not. I 
 shall never be able to discharge the debt of grat- 
 itude I owe you." 
 
 " We will call it square, if you please, sir," 
 said John. 
 
 " We will not, my fine fellow," added the Cap- 
 tain, laughing at John's matter-of-fact speech. "I 
 had been thinking of making you a present of a 
 boat before this event happened, Paul; but I con- 
 fess, the gift was hastened by your daring act. The 
 long and the short of the whole matter is, that we 
 will consider the Fawn a memorial of the rescue 
 of Carrie, and not a reward. She is a strong, 
 well-built, and safe boat, and I think will just 
 answer your purpose. By the way, how do you 
 like her name?"
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 137 
 
 " First rate, sir," 
 
 " I think I heard you suggest that name for a 
 boat, once." 
 
 " It is just the name I should have given her," 
 replied Paul, so excited by the extraordinary event 
 of the hour, that he could hardly keep his seat. 
 
 " I am glad, then, that she suits you in every re- 
 spect. Now, if you will put me ashore near my 
 house, I will leave the Fawn and her owners to 
 their future destiny." 
 
 Paul landed Captain Littleton on the pier be- 
 hind his house, and after pouring out his thanks 
 for the magnificent gift, they parted company. The 
 Fawn was headed away from the rocks, and again 
 stood out into the bay before the fresh breeze. 
 
 "I say, Paul, isn't this a stunner?" exclaimed 
 John, suddenly jumping up from his seat, after he 
 had remained silent and motionless for the full 
 space of five minutes a most extraordinary oc- 
 currence with him. 
 
 "What do you mean by a 'stunner,' John," 
 asked Paul, with dignity. 
 12*
 
 138 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OB 
 
 " Well, what a what a what a thunder- 
 ing thing this is ! " sputtered John. " Only to 
 think " 
 
 " I wish you wouldn't use those slang phrases. 
 You let them out before Captain Littleton, just 
 as though he were one of the fellows." 
 
 " He's one of 'em, any how. He's a trump ! " 
 
 " Will you quit using slang words ? " 
 
 I'll try." 
 
 It must not be supposed that Paul was always 
 so particular in regard to the choice of words ; but 
 at the present time, the idea of being owner of 
 such a craft as the Fawn, and being the friend of 
 such a man as Captain Littleton, inspired him 
 with a dignity he did not always possess. 
 
 "Talk like a gentleman, if you can, now there 
 is some prospect of your becoming one," con- 
 tinued Paul. 
 
 " I will try ; but I want to talk about the boat 
 now. Isn't she a a beauty! I should like to 
 try her with the Snow-Bird." 
 
 " Very likely we may have a chance. She's too
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAYi 139 
 
 good to go a fishing with," said Paul, glancing 
 around him at the cushioned seats in the stand- 
 ing room. 
 
 " It won't hurt her any ; we can take the 
 cushions out when we fish." 
 
 " We must use her for that, I suppose. But 
 Jack Starr lets his hoat, which is not half as good 
 as this, for four dollars a day. Perhaps we can do 
 a little business of this kind." 
 
 " Very likely we can ; folks always want to go 
 down in the best boat." 
 
 " We can suit them, then. Where are you 
 going now, Paul ? " 
 
 " I am going to run in, and let mother see her." 
 
 " Good ! Won't her eyes stick out ? " 
 
 " She will be surprised," replied Paul, in tones 
 of gentle rebuke. 
 
 The Fawn was run carefully upon the beach, 
 and John was despatched for his mother. While 
 he is absent, we will improve the opportunity to 
 give our young readers a better idea of the new 
 boat than they have yet obtained. She was about
 
 140 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 eighteen feet long, and very broad for her length. 
 Her bow was very sharp, and her build combined 
 the advantages of being a safe boat and' a fast 
 sailer. She was schooner-rigged, carrying a jib, 
 foresail, and mainsail; and there was a staysail in 
 the cuddy for use when the wind was light. 
 
 The deck of the Fawn extended over about half 
 her length, and under it was a cuddy, or small 
 cabin, containing two berths, both of which were 
 furnished with proper bedding. There were four 
 lockers, or closets, accessible from the standing 
 room, where the boys could keep their fish lines, 
 knives, spare ropes, and other articles required on 
 board. 
 
 The Fawn was rather large for a boy of Paul's 
 age to handle, but as this fault would be cor- 
 rected in a year or two, Captain Littleton thought 
 it would be well to prepare for the future as well 
 as the present. But the rigging was so arranged 
 that the new boat was hardly more difficult to 
 manage than the old one, and se was capable of 
 eaving at least one half the time which the Blow-
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 141 
 
 out occupied in going to and returning from the 
 fishing ground. 
 
 While John was absent, Paul again examined 
 every part of the Fawn. He looked into all the 
 lockers, sounded the copper air-chambers, lay down 
 upon each of the berths, and hoisted the mainsail, 
 just to see how easily it could be done. The ex- 
 amination was satisfactory in every respect. 
 
 " Mother, mother ! " shouted John, as he rushed 
 breathless into the house, where Mrs. Duncan was 
 getting tea ; " come down to the beach just as 
 quick as ever you can." 
 
 " What is the matter, John ? What has hap- 
 pened ? " asked Mrs. Duncan, alarmed by his 
 earnest manner. 
 
 " Come down quick, mother ; don't stop a min- 
 ute ! " 
 
 "What has happened?" 
 
 " Nothing, mother ; only come." 
 
 " Is any thing the matter with Paul ? " she in- 
 quired, as she hastily grasped her sun-bonnet, and 
 followed John out of the house.
 
 142 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 The enthusiastic youth did not wait for the 
 more tardy steps of age, but tumbled recklessly 
 down the steep path, and leaped into the boat. 
 
 " Where is mother ? " demanded Paul. 
 
 " She is coming. I wish we had a cannon ; we 
 would fire a salute." 
 
 " No use of burning powder for nothing. There 
 she comes." 
 
 But it was some time before Mrs. Duncan could 
 reach the beach, and John occupied the interim in 
 various antics, such as running up the shrouds of 
 the Fawn, hoisting and lowering the jib, lying 
 down on the bobstay, and finally in tumbling 
 overboard while attempting to perch himself on the 
 end of the bowsprit. This accident did not in the 
 least disturb his equanimity, and he had just 
 shaken himself, like a Newfoundland dog, when 
 his mother reached the beach. 
 
 " Whose boat is that, Paul ? " asked Mrs. Dun- 
 can, who, during the last moments of her walk, 
 had been gazing with admiration upon the trim 
 craft.
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 143 
 
 " Mine, mother," replied Paul, with assumed 
 indifference. 
 
 " Mine, too," added John. 
 
 "We own her together," said Paul 
 
 " Own her together ? What do you mean by 
 that? Haven't you learned better than to make 
 sport of your mother, boys?" 
 
 " It is ours, certain true, mother ! " cried John. 
 
 " You don't mean so ? " 
 
 "It is a fact, mother," replied Paul. 
 
 " Why, where, what in the world " 
 
 " That's it, mother ; I knew you'd come to it," 
 interposed John. " To make a long story short, 
 Captain Littleton made us a present of her." 
 
 "Dear me!" . 
 
 " Isn't she a beauty ? " 
 
 "I should think she was." 
 
 " Come, mother, we are going to take you out 
 to sail in her. You shall try her right off," said 
 John. " Jump aboard." 
 
 " But I can't jump aboard. The water is knee- 
 deep around her. Besides, supper is almost ready."
 
 144 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OK 
 
 " Never mind the supper. Jump in." 
 
 " I can't jump in. Where have you been, 
 John ? You are as wet as a drowned rat ! " 
 
 " I fell into the tub just now ; but never mind 
 that." 
 
 " But I do mind it ; and you must go up and 
 have on dry clothes before you go any where." 
 
 " We will go up and have supper, and after 
 that we will take you out," said Paul. 
 
 John was disposed to rebel at this step ; but 
 Paul was firm and decided, and made fast the 
 Fawn to the stake in the beach. When they 
 reached the house, the young rogue, sorely against 
 his will, was compelled to retire to his chamber 
 and change his clothes. Even then, dripping as 
 he was from the effects of his cold bath, when 
 Paul went up to call him to supper, he' found 
 him standing at the window, in his wet garments, 
 gazing with intense interest upon the Fawn, as 
 she lay moored at the beach. 
 
 Paul, notwithstanding the flutter of emotions in 
 his bosom, ate his supper with dignity and pro-
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 145 
 
 priety, and several times admonished his brother 
 that he behaved more like a young monkey than 
 a reasonable human being. Yet Paul was excited, 
 and so was his mother. The former talked of the 
 good times he should have down the bay, and 
 the latter speaking of the forethought of Captain 
 Littleton in having the copper air chambers placed 
 in the boat. She was glad the Fawn was a life 
 boat, and she could feel a great deal easier, now, 
 when her boys were away on the water. 
 
 Supper was finished, and John, in his impa- 
 tience to get on board the boat again, conde- 
 scended to wipe the dishes, while Paul cleared 
 off the table. Matters thus expedited, the party 
 were ready to embark, and repaired to the beach 
 for that purpose. John was absolutely frantic in 
 his efforts to perform his duty as first officer of 
 the Fawn, and in his eagerness had nearly 
 drowned his mother, and swamped the boat. If 
 the halliards of the new craft had not been new 
 and strong, he would certainly have broken them 
 in hoisting the sails. Paul was disgusted at his 
 13
 
 146 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 conduct, and it was only when he threatened to 
 put him on shore that the mate subsided into the 
 appearance of a tolerable calm. 
 
 The party had a very pleasant sail ; but Joh] 
 almost cried with vexation, after the boat was 
 properly secured at her moorings, to think he 
 could not go on board of her again till Monday 
 morning. Paul was scarcely less excited than his 
 brother ; but the consciousness of being the head 
 of the family restrained any outbreak of enthusi- 
 asm on his part. His thoughts ran deeper and 
 extended farther into the future. 
 
 As he retired that night, he examined the col- 
 umns of his account book, and had every reason 
 to be satisfied with his success. His excitement 
 had moderated, and he looked upon the Fawn as 
 a new blessing, and in his heart thanked God, 
 from whom all his blessings came. 
 
 He regarded his fortune as already made, for, 
 little by little, he felt sure of achieving it.
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 147 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 PAUL'S FIBST CRUISE IN THE FAWN. 
 
 AT breakfast time the next morning, John Dun- 
 can was among the missing. His mother had 
 charged him, when he first got up, to study his 
 Sunday school lesson, which, in the extraordinary 
 excitement of the preceding evening, had been 
 neglected. Paul searched for him in their cham- 
 ber, and in all the other apartments of the house ; 
 but he was not to be found. 
 
 Neither Paul nor his mother had any fears that 
 he had run away or committed suicide ; so that 
 his absence produced more of indignation than 
 alarm. 
 
 " He must have gone down to the boat," sug- 
 gested Mrs. Duncan. 
 
 " If he has, I will throw him overboard." 
 
 " 0, no, my son ! you would not do that."
 
 148 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OB 
 
 " He has no business on board the boat on 
 Sunday." 
 
 " That is very true, Paul ; but I suppose he 
 cannot keep his thoughts away from her. I don't 
 much wonder, either." 
 
 " I don't know as I am very much surprised 
 myself," added Paul, whose second thought was 
 more reasonable than the first. 
 
 When he considered how many times his 
 thoughts had wandered to the beautiful Fawn, 
 and how many times he had permitted himself to 
 anticipate the pleasure of the first cruise in her, 
 during the morning, he was more charitable towards 
 his younger brother, who had only done what he 
 had thought. 
 
 " I will find him," said Paul, taking his cap. 
 
 " Don't be harsh with him, Paul, for he means 
 right, only he has not so much strength of mind 
 as you have." 
 
 " I won't be hard upon him." 
 
 " Because you are older than he is." 
 
 " I won't be a hypocrite, mother, and I may as
 
 THE CBUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 149 
 
 well own that, while getting my lesson, I could 
 not help thinking of the new boat. I don't want 
 you to believe I am better than I am." 
 
 " It is very natural that you should think of 
 her ; but you must try not to do so. It is almost 
 a pity the boat had not come on Monday, so that 
 you could have had a whole week to think about 
 her before Sunday." 
 
 Paul ran down to the beach, and discovered 
 that the door of the cuddy of the Fawn was 
 open. Jumping on board, he found John stretched 
 out upon one of the beds, apparently very busily 
 engaged in studying his Sunday school lesson. 
 
 " What are you doing here, John ? " demanded 
 Paul, though his tones were very gentle. 
 
 " I am getting my lesson," replied John, as 
 demurely as though he had not chosen an unusual 
 place for the exercise. 
 
 " Have you got it ? " 
 
 " All but two questions." 
 
 " What made you come here ? " 
 
 " I couldn't help thinking of the boat, and I 
 13*
 
 150 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 made up my mind that I could get my lesson 
 here better than any where else." 
 
 "I'm afraid you haven't studied it much." 
 
 " Hear me say it, then," said John, jumping 
 up, and handing Paul the book. 
 
 " Not now ; breakfast is ready. But I want to 
 have an understanding with you, as you are part 
 owner of the Fawn, that neither of us go on 
 board of her on Sunday, unless there is some 
 strong reason for it. Will you agree to it ? " 
 
 ** I shan't want to after to-day." 
 
 " No matter ; will you agree to it ? " 
 
 " Yes ; but there was a strong reason this 
 morning." 
 
 "What was it?" 
 
 "Why, I wanted to see her." 
 
 "That's no reason at all. I have just as hard 
 work as you have to keep away from her ; but we 
 mustn't do every thing we want to do. Come, 
 lock the cuddy, and let us go up to the house." 
 
 " That's honest, and not a bit like preaching," 
 said John to himself, as he locked the cuddy, 
 and followed his brother up the hill.
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 151 
 
 " I am trying to make money, John, but I 
 don't believe money is all we have to live for." 
 
 " Of course not ; there is a good deal of fun to 
 be had in this world, that costs money instead of 
 bringing it in," answered John, very soberly ; and 
 it was evident that his thoughts were not upon 
 his Sunday school lesson. 
 
 " I wasn't speaking of fun. Up to the time I 
 went to sleep last night I was thinking how I 
 should make money ; this morning, the first words 
 I saw when I opened the Testament to get my 
 Sunday school lesson, were, ' For what is a man 
 profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and 
 lose his own soul ? ' ' 
 
 " I guess you had the nightmare last night, and 
 have got the blues this morning," said John, trying 
 to get up a laugh, in which, however, he did not 
 succeed very well, for it is hard, even for a tol- 
 erably well-disposed boy, to make fun of serious 
 things. 
 
 " I mean just what I say, John ; you needn't 
 laugh. I feel that we have something else to
 
 152 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OB 
 
 live for besides money. It is a very pleasant 
 thing to make money " 
 
 " Little by little," added John, adopting his 
 brother's favorite motto. 
 
 "But I wouldn't be a rich man, if I had to be 
 as mean and selfish as old no matter who. 
 He is poorer than I am now, with his hundreds 
 of thousands. I mean to lay up good prin- 
 ciples " 
 
 "Little by little," interpolated John. 
 
 " Little by little, if you please ; but even a 
 
 | 
 little every day will make a good man one of 
 
 these days. A good thought every day will make 
 a man rich in good principles ; at any rate, my 
 book says so." 
 
 " How can a fellow help thinking of the boat, 
 if it is Sunday ? " 
 
 " "We must try to think of our lesson, and 
 when we go to church, of what the minister says. 
 I am going to try and not think of the Fawn 
 again till I wake up to-morrow morning." 
 
 " I am willing to try, but it's no use. I wish 
 Sunday was over, and Monday had come."
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 153 
 
 How many boys and girls have thought the 
 same thing ! That Sunday, whose moments seemed 
 so heavy, was a golden opportunity which may 
 have passed never to be recalled. We are in- 
 debted to the still hours of the quiet Sabbath, to 
 the leisure moments of our daily life, nay, to the 
 sleepless couch of pain and suffering, and to the 
 bitter time of woe and bereavement, for some of 
 the best and truest thoughts which illuminate our 
 mortal pilgrimage, and which give birth to our 
 good resolutions. A single instant may produce 
 an impression upon the heart which shall last to 
 the end of life. 
 
 The words of the Scripture which Paul had 
 read and heard read a hundred times, without 
 feeling the tremendous truth they contain, were 
 now full of meaning. They seemed to connect 
 themselves with his individual future, and to have 
 produced an impression which the excitement of 
 possessing the new boat could not overcome. He 
 was in the right frame of mind to receive such 
 an impression, and it had an important influence 
 on all his subsequent career.
 
 154 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OB 
 
 As the family seated themselves at the break- 
 fast table, Mrs. Duncan improved the opportunity 
 to enlarge upon the duties we owe to ourselves 
 and to others, in connection with the Sabbath 
 day. It is true that John's levity occasionally 
 detracted from the effect of the lesson ; but it was 
 not wholly lost, even upon that wayward youth. 
 
 Paul struggled hard with his thoughts during 
 the day, and he was surprised, when night came, 
 to find how successful he had been. It had been 
 a good day to him, and he had profited by the 
 instruction it afforded him ; for the first step 
 towards moral or spiritual improvement is to 
 fasten the mind earnestly upon some moral or re- 
 ligious topic. 
 
 Long before the sun rose the next morning, 
 Paul and John were on the beach. And when 
 Mrs. Duncan rang the bell out the window for 
 them to come to breakfast, they had dug a bucket 
 of elams, and had prepared the Fawn for her first 
 trip down the bay. 
 
 "You won't be anxious about us now, mother,
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYA.WAY. 155 
 
 for we have a boat that can't sink," said Paul, as 
 he took the luncheon prepared for them. 
 
 " I shall feel easier now." 
 
 " Besides, you know we have two good berths 
 on board the boat, and we should be just as 
 comfortable, if out all night, as though we were in 
 our own beds up stairs." 
 
 " That may be, but I hope you will never stay 
 out all night, when you can help it." 
 
 " We shall not, mother ; you may depend upon 
 it ; but we might get aground ; or the wind might 
 die out, and the Fawn is too large to be rowed up." 
 
 " I shan't worry about you, if I can help it, for 
 I know you are very careful, Paul." 
 
 The boys hastened down to the boat, and Mrs. 
 Duncan went out upon the bluff to see them off. 
 The wind blew fresh from the south-west when 
 they started, and the Fawn went out under jib 
 and mainsail only ; but even with this sail, she 
 flew like a racehorse over the waters. 
 
 " Shall I hoist the foresail, Paul ? " asked John. 
 
 " I think not ; she is doing very well."
 
 156 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OH 
 
 " But she will do better with the foresail." 
 
 " Let well enough alone." 
 
 " I want to see her do her best." 
 
 " I have promised mother a hundred times that 
 I would be careful ; and if she should see us put 
 on all sail in this wind, though there might not 
 be any danger, she would think we were going 
 straight to the bottom. We will not hoist the 
 foresail." 
 
 This answer satisfied the impatient boy, and 
 in a short time they reached the perch ground ; 
 but either there were no fish there, or they had 
 not got the hang of the new boat ; for the fisher- 
 men could hardly get a bite. After trying for an 
 hour, and catching only half a dozen small perch, 
 the boys became disgusted with their ill luck, 
 and it required but little persuasion on the part 
 of John to induce Paul to get up the anchor, and 
 go farther down the bay. 
 
 An hour's sail brought them to a reef of rocks, 
 which was quite a noted locality with the fisher- 
 men. The Fawn was anchored in a safe place,
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 157 
 
 and the young fishermen threw over their lines. 
 Better success attended their efforts here, and in 
 three hours they had caught eight dozen fine 
 perch, besides ten handsome rock-cod. 
 
 While they were fishing under the lee of the 
 rocks, they had scarcely noticed that the wind had 
 been steadily increasing, and that it was pro- 
 ducing a heavy sea in the bay. 
 
 " We shall have a chance to find out what 
 kind of a sea boat the Fawn is," said Paul, as 
 he weighed the anchor. 
 
 " I am glad of it," replied John. 
 
 " The wind is freshening every moment," said 
 Paul, casting an anxious glance to windward. 
 
 " Hope it will blow a gale." 
 
 " I think we shall get more than we want." 
 
 " Not more than I want, at any rate." 
 
 Paul hoisted the jib, and the Fawn rushed out 
 among the white- capped waves ; but she walked 
 over them so majestically, that John declared she 
 could weather any gale that ever blew. For a 
 time she breasted the foam of the head sea in a 
 14
 
 158 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 most gallant manner ; but the wind came in fear- 
 ful gusts, increasing in violence every moment, 
 till Paul came ' to the conclusion that it was no 
 longer safe to carry the jib and mainsail, and pro- 
 posed to set a reefed foresail. John scouted the 
 idea, but he did not want the mainmast blown out 
 of her, and consented to the change. 
 
 John took the helm, and Paul, after lowering 
 the jib and mainsail, hoisted the reefed foresail. 
 The boat rode easier then ; but as the wind and 
 tide were both against them, it was soon discov- 
 ered that she made no headway. As the gale 
 steadily increased in fury, Paul would not at- 
 tempt to carry any more sail, though John in- 
 sisted that she could bear the jib and a close- 
 reefed mainsail. 
 
 It was evident to Paul that, unless he put on 
 more sail, he could not beat up to Bayville 
 against the tide ; but it was clearly imprudent to 
 carry any more sail, and for two hours more the 
 Fawn struggled with her hopeless task without 
 making a single mile.
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 159 
 
 " What are you going to do, Paul ? " asked 
 John, impatient, but not terrified by their sit- 
 uation. 
 
 " We can't beat up in this sea." 
 
 " I know that." 
 
 " We will run over to Farm Island, and anchor 
 under the lee of the high bluff; " and he headed 
 the Fawn in the direction indicated.
 
 160 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OB 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 PAUL SLEEPS ON HIS WATCH. 
 
 FARM ISLAND was about two miles distant, and 
 as the Fawn had the wind on the quarter, it re- 
 quired but a short time for her to reach her haven 
 of safety. Under the high bluff on the seaward 
 side of the island, the water was comparatively tran- 
 quil ; and here Paul anchored. 
 
 " We are all right now," said he, with a feeling 
 of relief, as he took in the foresail. 
 
 " When do you suppose we shall get home ? " 
 asked John. 
 
 " I don't know ; we will not borrow any trouble, 
 so long as we are in a place of safety." 
 
 " Mother won't think we are in a place of safe- 
 ty," added John. 
 
 " Yes she will ; I have often told her that, 
 when a gale came on, I should always get into a
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 161 
 
 safe place, and keep quiet till it was prudent to 
 run home." 
 
 " It is lucky we are in the Fawn instead of the 
 Blowout." 
 
 " We should not have gone down so far in the 
 old boat. I felt so safe in this craft that I did 
 not mind much about the weather." 
 
 " We have been safe enough all the time ; and 
 if you would only have put on the jib and reefed 
 mainsail, we should have been at home by this 
 time." 
 
 " I did not think it was prudent to do so. I 
 may have been mistaken ; if I was, I have erred on 
 the safe side." 
 
 " I suppose we must sleep on board," said John. 
 
 "If you don't like the idea, you can' go on 
 shore, and sleep at the farm house." 
 
 " But I do like the idea ; we have good beds, 
 and I had just as lief sleep here as in my own bed 
 at home. In fact, I am rather glad we are caught." 
 
 " I thought so," said Paul, laughing ; " but there 
 is one thing we are not prepared for." 
 14*
 
 162 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OB 
 
 " What is that ? " 
 
 " Supper." 
 
 " I wish we had a frying pan and a furnace ; 
 we could have some fried perch for supper." 
 
 " As we have not those things, we must make 
 the best of what we have. Our luncheon is all 
 gone ; but there are two or three crackers in the 
 locker, which I threw in from the old boat." 
 
 " We shan't starve before morning," replied 
 John, whose philosophy was proof against an empty 
 stomach. 
 
 " I know that ; but it would be a good deal 
 better to have some supper, if we could get it." 
 
 " Can't we go on shore ? " 
 
 " No, we can't land on this shallow beach. It 
 wouldn't be safe to get aground here." 
 
 Both boys were very hungry, for it was now 
 nearly night, and they had taken their lunch in 
 the middle of the day. The crackers were eaten, 
 and washed down with a drink of cold water from 
 the jug ; but it was a dry and unsatisfactory 
 supper, and Paul resolved in future to keep the
 
 IHE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 163 
 
 Fawn provisioned for such an emergency as the 
 present. 
 
 The wind still blew with undiminished violence, 
 and the black clouds indicated rain. By and by 
 the darkness came on, and there was no longer 
 any prospect of getting home before the next day. 
 Just before dark, a man hailed them from the 
 shore, and offered them a bed at the farm house ; 
 but Paul thanked him and declined the offer, at 
 the same time hinting that they had nothing on 
 board to eat. 
 
 " Come ashore, then, and get some supper," re- 
 plied the man. 
 
 " We can't get ashore ; we draw too much 
 water," answered Paul. 
 
 " I will bring you off then." 
 
 The man pushed a skiff into the water, and soon 
 came alongside the Fawn. 
 
 "You have got a fine boat here," said he. 
 
 * 
 
 " Yes, sir ; she is a very nice boat." 
 " But this is pretty heavy weather for boys to be 
 out. Whose boat is she ? " 
 " She belongs to us."
 
 164 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OK 
 
 " To you ? " replied the man, apparently much 
 astonished. 
 
 " Yes, sir ; she was given to us by Captain 
 Littleton." 
 
 " O, ho ! so you are Paul Duncan." 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 " And I understand why he gave it to you. 
 Come, boys, you must go up to my house and 
 stay with me to-night. I should rather have Paul 
 Duncan under my roof than the governor of the 
 state." 
 
 " We must stay on board, sir, to look out for 
 the boat. If any thing should happen to her in 
 the night, I should never forgive myself for de- 
 serting her. We have a nice place to sleep," con- 
 tinued Paul, opening the doors of the cuddy, and 
 pointing to the two berths. 
 
 " That looks very comfortable, but there is not 
 much fun in sleeping on board a small boat such 
 a night as this will be. But come up to the 
 house, and have some supper." 
 
 " Thank you, sir ; we will do that, for we are
 
 THE CRUISE OP THE FLYAWAY. 165 
 
 both very hungry. Stop a moment. John, hand 
 out two or three of those rock-cod. Won't you 
 take these, sir ? " 
 
 " I am much obliged to you for them. Though 
 we live so near the fish, we don't have much 
 time to catch them," replied Mr. Drake, for that 
 was the name of the farmer, as he threw the 
 fish into his skiff. 
 
 The two boys got into the boat with him, and 
 he rowed them on shore. They were warmly wel- 
 comed by Mrs. Drake and the children, and a nice 
 supper was soon placed before them ; but all the 
 arguments and expostulations of the farmer and 
 his wife could not induce them to spend the night 
 at the house. Paul was too fearful in regard to 
 the safety of the Fawn to leave her, and John was 
 too deeply smitten with the romantic idea of sleep- 
 ing on board, to think of spending the night in any 
 other manner. Mr. Drake, therefore, reluctantly 
 put them on board their boat again. 
 
 " Now, Paul, we are in for it," said John, as 
 he saw the farmer land, and draw up his skiff upon
 
 166 TITTLE BY LITTLE, OK 
 
 " Yes, and it is going to be a very dirty night. 
 I think the wind has shifted since we went ashore," 
 replied Paul. 
 
 " So do I ; we feel it as much again as we did." 
 
 " It blows full as hard as it has any time to- 
 day." 
 
 The boys sat down in the standing room, and 
 had a long talk about home and mother, and won- 
 dered what she would think because they didn't 
 come home. It was now quite dark, and there 
 was not a single star to relieve the gloom of the 
 scene. John even went so far as to admit that it 
 " looked kind of pokerish," and he was glad they 
 were in so comfortable a place. 
 
 " Come, Paul, isn't it time to turn in ? " asked 
 John, after they had come to the unanimous con- 
 clusion that it was a decidedly stormy night. 
 
 " You can turn in, John, if you want to," replied 
 Paul. 
 
 " Ain't you going to sleep any to-night ? " 
 
 " I have no idea of leaving the Fawn to take 
 care of herself in such weather as this."
 
 THE CKUISE OP THE FLYAWAY. 167 
 
 " Are you going to sit up all night ? " asked 
 John. 
 
 " It isn't customary, I believe, on board ship, 
 for all hands to turn in, and let the vessel take 
 her chance." 
 
 " There is no danger here." 
 
 " If we both go to sleep, we may wake up and 
 find ourselves nowhere. Suppose the wind should 
 change to the eastward ; we should be fully exposed 
 to all the fury of the storm." 
 
 " I didn't think of that. Suppose we w.atch by 
 turns, then." 
 
 " Very well ; I will keep the first watch, and 
 you may turn in as soon as you please." 
 
 " What is that ? " asked John as he heard three 
 strokes of a bell. 
 
 " There is a large ship at anchor off there." 
 
 " But it isn't three o'clock yet. Her clocks 
 must be out of order." 
 
 " Three bells ; that is half past nine o'clock." 
 
 " I don't understand it ; how should three bells 
 mean half past nine ? " inquired John, who did
 
 168 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OK 
 
 not like to leave any nautical subject till it had 
 been fully investigated. 
 
 " It begins to rain, and we may as well sit in 
 the cuddy ; " and they both retreated to the little 
 cabin, and seated themselves on their berths. " If 
 we only had a lantern to hang up in here, we 
 should be perfectly at home." 
 
 " We will bring one next time ; but about the 
 bells, Paul?" 
 
 " Well, they have two watches on board ship, 
 which are called the larboard and the starboard 
 watches. In large vessels, they are under the 
 care of the first and second mates. The twenty- 
 four hours, on board ship, are divided into five 
 watches of four hours each, and two dog-watches 
 of two hours each. During these watches, the 
 bell is struck every half hour ; that is, one bell at 
 half past eight ; two bells at nine, three bells at 
 half past nine ; and so on, till twelve, when it is 
 eight bells, at which time one watch goes below, 
 and the other comes on deck. At half past twelve 
 the bell strikes one again ; at one it strikes twice, 
 and so on. Do you understand me ? "
 
 THE" CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 169 
 
 " I think I do ; but when are the dog-watches ? " 
 
 " From four to six, and from six to eight in the 
 
 evening. They always strike the bells by twos, 
 
 as you heard just now. But, John, it rains like 
 
 fury," 
 
 " So it does, but it is a dry place in this cabin." 
 " I wish we had a lantern, for it is as dark as a 
 pocket in here. It would make it so much pleas- 
 anter. But you must turn in now, or you will not 
 be able to stand your watch." 
 " I think I will." 
 
 John took off his boots, and placed himself 
 under the blanket and comforter of his berth, for 
 there were no sheets. He gaped several times, 
 and tried to continue the conversation with Paul ; 
 but the poor fellow, worn out with the fatigue and 
 excitement of the day, was soon fast asleep. Paul 
 listened to the sound of his heavy breathing, be- 
 tween the splashes of the waves as they broke upon 
 the bow of the boat, till he began to feel sleepy 
 himself, and then, wrapping the great-coat, which 
 he always carried with him, closely around his 
 15
 
 170 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OK 
 
 body, he went upon deck to see if there was any 
 change in the weather or the position of the 
 boat. 
 
 It was clear to him that the wind had been 
 hauling round to the eastward, for the Fawn tum- 
 bled about as she had done out upon the open 
 waters of the bay. As he lay down upon the 
 deck to examine the cable, so as to assure him- 
 self that it was not chafing the boat, a huge wave 
 broke over the bowsprit, and he would have been 
 drenched to the skin, if his coat had not been 
 water-proof. 
 
 The rain continued to pour down, and Paul re- 
 tired to the cuddy again. It was a weary, lonely 
 watch, and he was so tired he could hardly keep 
 his eyes open. But it seemed to him that the 
 violence of the gale was subsiding, and he again 
 went upon deck to satisfy himself on this point. 
 There was still a heavy sea, but he was satisfied 
 that the wind had very sensibly abated. Six bells 
 sounded from the ship as he returned to the 
 cuddy.
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 171 
 
 Throwing himself on his berth, he listened for 
 a while to John's sonorous snores, and before 
 he was sensible of the danger of his position, he 
 was sound asleep himself. Worn out by the 
 labors of the day, he could no longer keep his 
 eyes open. 
 
 He woke with a start, for he was conscious that 
 he had forsaken the post of duty, and hastened 
 upon deck. Eight bells from the ship told him 
 it was midnight. The wind had nearly subsided, 
 but it rained very hard, and the heavy sea con- 
 tinued to break over the bow of the Fawn. 
 
 John was still sleeping like a log, and Paul, 
 though it was time for the larboard watch to be 
 called, had not the heart to wake up his brother. 
 As the gale had subsided, the boat seemed to be 
 no longer in danger, and he decided to turn in 
 and finish his nap. But while he slept, the wind, 
 which had abated only to come with still greater 
 violence from another quarter, steadily increased in 
 fury, till it blew a gale from the north-east. 
 
 The pitching of the boat soon startled Paul from
 
 172 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 his slumbers, and he rushed out into the standing 
 room to find that the Fawn was rapidly dragging 
 her anchor, and was in imminent peril of being 
 dashed to pieces on the rocky shore.
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 173 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 PAUL MAKES A NIOHT BTJN IN THE STORM. 
 
 " JOHN, John ! " shouted Paul, when he real- 
 ized the dangerous situation of the Fawn. 
 
 But the first mate of the craft slept too soundly 
 to be disturbed by mere words, and the skipper had 
 to shake him before he came to his senses. 
 
 "What is the matter, Paul?" asked he, as soon 
 as he could get his eyes open and realize where 
 he was. 
 
 " Put on your great-coat and shoes, and come 
 out here, and be lively about it," cried Paul. 
 
 John obeyed, and before he was ready to join 
 Paul in the standing room, he began to appre- 
 hend the state of affairs on board, for the furious 
 wind and the angry waves that stormed against 
 the hull and rigging of the Fawn told their own 
 story. 
 
 15*
 
 174 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 " What's the trouble ? " he asked, as he joined 
 his brother. 
 
 "Don't you see there is a gale of wind down 
 upon us ? " replied Paul, sharply. 
 
 " Well, what of it ? " demanded the young salt, 
 with provoking indifference. 
 
 " A good deal of it ; the boat has dragged her 
 anchor, and at this rate will be upon the rocks in 
 fifteen minutes! Come, be alive, and don't stand 
 there like a log." 
 
 "What shall I do? You are the skipper, and I 
 am ready to do any thing you say," replied John, 
 who was by this time fully awake. 
 
 " Can we pay out any more cable ? " 
 
 But this was a useless question, for Paul knew 
 very well that the cable was all out. Our young 
 readers may not all understand the meaning of 
 Paul's question. If the vessel rides at anchor 
 with a short cable, her motion, as she rises and 
 falls with the sea, raises up the shaft of the an- 
 chor^ which has a tendency to detach the flukes, 
 or points, from the bottom. But Paul had been
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 175 
 
 careful the night before to give the Fawn all the 
 cable he could spare; and it was evident, there- 
 fore, that the anchor was not heavy enough, or 
 that there was no holding-ground at the bottom. 
 
 " There is only one thing we can do, John," 
 said Paul, desperately, after he had fully examined 
 the situation of the boat. 
 
 " Say on, then," replied John ; " I am ready for 
 any thing that you say." 
 
 "We must get up *the anchor, and leave this 
 place." 
 
 "Up it is, then." 
 
 " But this is an awful bad time, and an awful 
 bad place to hoist a sail." 
 
 " Let her drive ; we shall go it well enough. It 
 blows like all-possessed ; but what's the use of 
 having a life boat, if you can't go out in her 
 when it blows ? " 
 
 "Stand by the fore halliards, then," cried Paul. 
 "The sail is close-reefed, just as we used it yes- 
 terday." 
 
 The foresail was hoisted, and slammed with tre-
 
 176 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OK 
 
 mendous fury in the fresh gale. The boys then 
 grasped the cable, and it required the full effort 
 of their united strength to weigh the anchor ; but 
 the task was accomplished at last, and Paul leaped 
 to his place at the helm. Laying her course par- 
 allel with the shore of the island, the Fawn dashed 
 over the furious waves, within ten rods' distance 
 from the breakers on the beach. In a few mo- 
 ments she passed beyond the reach of this peril, 
 and rushed out among the billows of the open 
 bay. 
 
 It was a fearful night even for strong men to 
 venture upon the stormy sea; it was doubly peri- 
 lous for these two boys ; yet they had no choice, 
 for to avoid a greater danger they had chosen the 
 less. But the Fawn behaved in a very gallant 
 manner, and her noble bearing promised to achieve 
 all that could be done for the safety of the young 
 fishermen. Notwithstanding the violence of the 
 gale, she rested buoyantly on the top of the waves, 
 and did not seem to labor in her course. 
 
 "Do you know where you are, Paul?" asked
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAAVAY. 177 
 
 his brother, after they had sat in silence for half 
 an hour. 
 
 " Certainly I do ; there is South Point light 
 dead ahead." 
 
 " Yes ; but there is any quantity of rocks be- 
 tween us and the light." 
 
 " I know that ; but I know where they are just 
 as well as I know where the kitchen is, when I 
 get into the house. Don't talk to me now, John ; 
 go below, and turn in, if you like." 
 
 " Don't you want me ? " 
 
 No." 
 
 Paul did not think that John could act upon 
 this suggestion, in such a storm and in the midst 
 of so many perils ; but he did, and as the young 
 skipper heard no more from him, he concluded he 
 was asleep. 
 
 " What a fellow ! " thought Paul. " He could 
 sleep in the midst of an earthquake or a tornado. 
 Well, let him sleep ; he is tired enough." 
 
 The Fawn dashed madly on, yet under perfect 
 control, and the gallant skipper, when he saw,
 
 178 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 through, the deep darkness, the white breakers on 
 Rock Island, felt entirely relieved from the re- 
 sponsibility which had before almost crushed his 
 spirits, for it was plain sailing after he had passed 
 that point and the dangerous reefs which environed 
 it. If the Fawn could stand such a sea as that, 
 she could stand any thing, and her character was 
 fully established for the future. 
 
 His spirits rose as he neared South Point light, 
 which was not more than a mile and a half from 
 his mother's house. He whistled merrily, to give 
 expression to his satisfaction, as he passed the light, 
 for he and the boat were now safe beyond a per- 
 adventure. Taking an extra turn in the foresheet, 
 he laid the course of the boat a little closer to 
 the wind, which soon brought her into the com- 
 paratively still water behind Long Island. 
 
 He saw the cottage of his mother now, and a 
 light was burning in her chamber. He was grieved 
 to see this, for he feared she might be sick, or 
 that in her anxiety for the safety of her boys, she 
 had sat up all night thinking of them. But in a
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 179 
 
 few moments, he let go the anchor off the beach, 
 and lowered the foresail. After making every 
 thing secure on board, he hauled the old boat, 
 which he had moored there in the morning, along- 
 side. John was still asleep ; neither the paying 
 out of the cable, nor the noise of Paul's feet, as 
 he furled the foresail, had roused him from his 
 deep slumbers, and the skipper decided to let him 
 finish his night's rest on board. 
 
 Sculling the old boat ashore, he ran up the hill, 
 and knocked at the side door of the cottage. 
 
 " Who's there ? " asked his mother. 
 
 " Paul." 
 
 The door was opened, and the fond mother 
 clasped her son to her heart, while the great tears 
 coursed down her furrowed cheeks. 
 
 " I am so glad you have got back ! " exclaimed 
 she ; " I was sure you were drowned. Where is 
 John? He isn't with you, Paul! O, he is " 
 
 "Fast asleep on board the Fawn, mother." 
 
 "Then he is safe." 
 
 "Yes; safe yes."
 
 180 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OK 
 
 "You have had a terrible time of it haven't 
 you ? " 
 
 " Not very bad, mother ; the wind and tide 
 were against us, and we couldn't get up without 
 carrying more sail than I thought it was safe to 
 carry; so I ran under the lee of an island, and 
 anchored." 
 
 " But what did you start back in the night for ? " 
 
 " The wind hauled round to the north-east, and 
 blew so that we dragged our anchor, and had to 
 make sail to keep off the rocks." 
 
 " And John is safe, you say ? " 
 
 " Perfectly safe. But why are you not in bed, 
 mother ? " 
 
 " I couldn't sleep in such a tempest as this, when 
 I knew my boys were on the water." 
 
 " Well, go to be<J now, then, for I must go on 
 board again and clean my fish." 
 
 " You shall do nothing of the kind ! I will 
 warrant you haven't had a wink of sleep all night 
 long." 
 
 " Yes ; I slept two or three hours."
 
 THE CBITISE OP THE FLYAWAY. 181 
 
 " Go right up stairs, and go to bed, then. You 
 will kill yourself, working all night, and losing 
 your sleep." 
 
 " But John is asleep in the cabin of the Fawn. 
 Shall I leave him there ? Suppose the boat should 
 go adrift?" 
 
 " Well, then, go down to the boat, and go to 
 bed there. You needn't clean your fish yet." 
 
 Paul decided to adopt this suggestion, and in a 
 few moments he was snoring with his brother in 
 the little cabin of the boat. 
 
 It was six o'clock when the first officer of the 
 Fawn began to show signs of life, and it was fully 
 quarter past six before he realized, in the fullest 
 sense, that he was still in the land of the living. 
 An unpleasant dream that the gallant craft had been 
 dashed in pieces on Rock Island reef, and that 
 he, the before mentioned first officer of the schooner 
 Fawn, had been thrown upon the rocks, where an 
 enormous green lobster, about the size of a full- 
 grown elephant, had seized him in one of his huge 
 claws, and borne him down among the rock weed 
 16
 
 182 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 and devil's aprons for his breakfast, happily proved 
 to be a mere fantasy of his slumbering faculties. . 
 
 John sat upon his berth and congratulated him- 
 self upon his escape from the claw of the lobster. 
 Then the occurrences of the night, the run off the 
 lee shore, and the white capped billows that had 
 growled so in the gloom, began to come to his 
 recollection, and he realized that they had had a 
 tough time of it. But it was all right now, for 
 though the rain pattered upon the deck above him, 
 the boat did not pitch much. And there was Paul 
 fast asleep in the other berth ; of course it was 
 all right, or he would not be there. 
 
 " But where are we ? " thought John. " That's 
 the next question. The last thing I remember was, 
 that we were driving like mad over the rough sea. 
 Then Paul told me to turn in ; and I did, but I 
 could hardly keep in my berth, the boat rolled and 
 pitched so. Of course Paul couldn't get up while 
 the wind blew so, and he must have anchored 
 under some island. I wonder where we are." 
 
 At last John came to the conclusion that he
 
 THE CRUISE OF XHE FLYAWAY. 183 
 
 could find out by simply walking out of the cuddy 
 into the standing room. Acting upon this brilliant 
 idea, he soon ascertained that the Fawn was at 
 anchor near the beach of Bayville. He was some- 
 what astonished at the fact, and then paid a very 
 high, though inaudible, compliment to the sleep- 
 ing accommodations of the Fawn, whereof he was 
 first mate. 
 
 He then returned to the cuddy, he and Paul 
 invariably dignified the little place as the cabin, 
 and found that Paul still slumbered. He was 
 considerate enough not to wake him, for he knew 
 that he had had a hard time of it ; but it oc- 
 curred to him that their mother might be desirous 
 of knowing whether they were still in the land 
 of the living or not, and he decided to go up to 
 the house and reveal that important fact. It was 
 very affectionate of him to think of his mother, 
 after he had been snoring like a trooper all night ; 
 but John, in spite of his waywardness, was a kind- 
 hearted boy, and he came to the unanimous con- 
 clusion he and John that it was not right to
 
 184 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 let his mother worry any longer about them. 
 She would be astonished to see him alone, and 
 would immediately make up her mind that Paul 
 was drowned ; and he should have the pleasure 
 of informing her that his brother still lived, and 
 was fast asleep in the cabin of the Fawn, whereof 
 he was captain, and he, the speaker, was first mate. 
 
 John, on his arrival at the house, walked into 
 the kitchen where Mrs. Duncan was getting break- 
 fast ; walked in as he who does the ghost in 
 Hamlet walks in with the confident assurance 
 that he is about to create a sensation. 
 
 " Well, John, you have got back. Did you 
 sleep well, my son ? " 
 
 " First rate," growled John. " Why the deuce 
 isn't she astonished ? " thought he. " She ought 
 to be astonished to see me come home after being 
 on the briny deep all night." 
 
 " You had a hard time of it didn't you John ? " 
 
 " Well, rather hard ; I slept like a log all night 
 except about half an hour. You didn't expect 
 to see us back did you ? "
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 185 
 
 " I was a good deal worried till Paul came up 
 and told me you were safe, and that you were asleep 
 in the cabin." 
 
 " O, ho ! so Paul has been home has he ? That 
 accounts for it. Paul is asleep in the cabin now." 
 
 "Let him sleep he needs rest," replied Mrs. 
 Duncan; and it was after nine o'clock when the 
 family breakfasted that morning. 
 16*
 
 186 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OK 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 PAUL SCOLDS THE FIRST OFFICES OF THE FAWN. 
 
 AFTER breakfast the young fishermen cleaned 
 their perch and cod, and before dinner had dis- 
 posed of the lot. From the proceeds of the sale, 
 Paul purchased a small lantern, which was sus- 
 pended in the cabin of the Fawn, for the darkness 
 of that gloomy night was not soon to be forgotten. 
 
 The next day was clear and pleasant, and the 
 boat went down as usual, and for more than a fort- 
 night, no event worthy of a place in the history 
 of Paul's fortunes occurred. The new boat worked 
 admirably in every respect, and the boys were as 
 proud of her as England has ever been of the Great 
 Eastern. During these two weeks Paul had taken 
 down three fishing parties, and had given them so 
 good satisfaction, that his services in this line 
 promised to be in demand. As he received four
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 187 
 
 dollars a day for her, including the wages of himself 
 and the first officer, he always welcomed such jobs, 
 and John liked the fun of it even better than fishing, 
 especially when there were any ladies in the party, 
 for it was very amusing to him to see them in the 
 agonies of sea sickness. He took a malicious de- 
 light in stowing them away in the berths in the 
 cabin ; yet in spite of the fun he made of them, 
 John would do all he could to assist them. 
 
 Just before the arrival of the Fawn in the waters 
 of Bayville harbor, Paul had been unanimously 
 elected a member of the Tenean Boat Club. He 
 was very grateful for the honor conferred upon him, 
 but his business was such that he could not often 
 pull an oar in the boat. The members of the 
 club all treated him with a great deal of consider- 
 ation, though they were all the sons of rich men; 
 and Paul felt that, if he was not their equal in 
 worldly possessions, he could hold his head up 
 with the best of them in the management of a 
 boat. 
 
 One day, when the young fisherman called at
 
 188 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 the house of Major Nettle to sell fish, he met 
 Thomas in the garden, who unfolded to him a 
 magnificent project in which the Teneans as the 
 members of the Boat Club were generally called 
 were about to engage. 
 
 "We think of going on a cruise in the Flya- 
 way," said Thomas. 
 
 " Where ? " 
 
 " I don't know where yet ; but we mean to be 
 gone a week or ten days." 
 
 " Who is going with you ? " 
 
 " Captain Littleton, I suppose, though I had 
 just as lief he would stay at home." 
 
 " Of course he wouldn't let a lot of boys go off 
 for a week in the yacht, without some one to take 
 care of them," said Paul, with a smile. 
 
 " We can take care of ourselves ; we don't want 
 any one to take care of us." 
 
 " How many of you are going ? " 
 
 " Ten or twelve ; we want you with us." 
 
 " But I can't go." 
 
 " Yes you can ; why not ? "
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 189 
 
 " I have to attend to my business." 
 
 " You can afford to take a vacation of a week 
 or two, I should think." 
 
 Paul shook his head. He was delighted with 
 the idea, and would have been very glad to go, 
 but he could not think of neglecting his business 
 to go away upon a pleasure excursion. 
 
 " You must go, Paul ; the fellows all want you 
 to go, and we shall have a first-rate time." 
 
 " I have no doubt you will ; and I should be 
 very glad to go with you if I could ; but it is of 
 no use for me to think of such a thing." 
 
 "It is not fully decided that we are to go yet ; 
 but Captain Littleton and my father have con- 
 sented to let us have the Flyaway. We shall 
 know all about it next week." 
 
 Paul continued his walk, but the project of the 
 excursion in the Flyaway haunted his imagination, 
 and it required a great deal of self-denial for him 
 to forego the anticipated pleasure. He felt that 
 the summer season was the harvest time of his 
 business, and he could not afford to waste a week
 
 190 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 or two in idle play. " Little by Little," was his 
 motto, and he was not willing that any of those 
 " littles " should slip through his fingers. 
 
 When they went down in the Fawn the next 
 day, he told John about the excursion, and that 
 he had been invited to form one of the party. 
 
 " But I can't afford to go," he added. 
 
 " Why not ? It won't cost you any thing." 
 
 " I shall lose my time, for the Fawn will lie 
 idle at her moorings while I am gone." 
 
 " No, she won't. I will go a fishing in her every 
 day." 
 
 "I think not, John." 
 
 " Do you think I can't manage her ? " demanded 
 the first officer, indignant that such an aspersion 
 should be cast upon his nautical skill. 
 
 " She's too heavy a boat for you to manage 
 alone." 
 
 " I will get a couple of fellows to help me ; 
 they will be glad enough of the chance." 
 
 " I dare say they will ; but you are not quite 
 old enough yet to run the boat yourself."
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 191 
 
 " What odds does it make how old I am, if I 
 only know how to handle her ? Could you work 
 her any better if you were a hundred years old ? " 
 
 " But you are reckless, careless, John; you 
 know you are." 
 
 " I don't think I am ; but I will promise to be 
 very careful. You may take the foresail off, if 
 you please, before you go ; then you will be sure 
 I shall not carry too much sail." 
 
 " I don't intend to go ; so it is of no use to 
 talk about it." 
 
 " You are a fool if you don't ; that's all I have 
 to say." 
 
 " You have a right to your own opinion, John." 
 
 " I wish I had a chance to go. I would give all 
 my old shoes, if I could only be one of the party. 
 What a glorious time they will have ! " 
 
 Paul was of precisely the same opinion, but the 
 idea of letting John run the Fawn during his ab- 
 sence was not for a moment to be tolerated. He 
 would certainly run her on the rocks, or carry sail 
 till the wind took the masts out of her.
 
 192 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 As it was a very pleasant day, Paul decided to 
 run down below, and try his luck among the cod 
 and haddock ; and they went farther out than they 
 had ever been before. A fine lot of fish, including 
 a mammoth cod, that had required the strength of 
 both of them to pull out of the water, rewarded 
 their enterprise. 
 
 The wind was very light, and instead of getting 
 home before the tide turned, as Paul had calcu- 
 lated, they were two miles below Rock Island, when 
 the ebb tide set in against them. To add to this 
 misfortune, the wind entirely died out, and they 
 were forced to come to anchor, to prevent drifting 
 down with the tide. With a good wind they 
 were only two hours' sail from home ; but, as it 
 was, there was a prospect of spending another 
 night in the cabin of the Fawn not a very un- 
 pleasant alternative, John thought, especially as 
 they had a lantern, and plenty of provisions on 
 board. 
 
 The cod and haddock had all been dressed, and 
 there was nothing for the boys to do ; so Paul
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 193 
 
 went into the cabin and stretched himself on his 
 berth. He had placed two or three books on 
 board for such an emergency as the present, and 
 he was soon absorbed in the contents of one of 
 them. He did not read long, for a hard day's 
 work is not a good preparation for literary labors. 
 The book fell from his hand, and to the music of 
 the flapping sails he dropped asleep. 
 
 It is a noticeable fact that fishermen can sleep 
 twenty-four hours en a stretch. Many years ago, 
 we went down a-fishing in one of the pinkey-stern 
 schooners, which were much more common then 
 in the waters of Massachusetts Bay than at the 
 present time. The crew consisted of the skipper 
 and three men, the former of whom was an old, 
 weather-beaten fisherman, who had roughed it on 
 the coast from his boyhood. We went down one 
 night, intending to fish the next day, and return 
 by sunset ; but unfortunately a heavy rain kept us 
 at our anchorage off Spectacle Island for twenty-four 
 hours. The old skipper got out of his berth and 
 ate his breakfast about ten, and after going half way 
 IT
 
 194 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 up the companion ladder, to smell the weather, 
 turned in again, and slept till four, when he was 
 called to partake of a greasy chowder. As soon 
 as he had disposed of a reasonable allowance for 
 four hearty men, he tumbled into his berth once 
 more, and was not visible again till the next morn- 
 ing. The rest of the crew slept about two thirds 
 of the time. They were the sleepiest men we ever 
 encountered during their leisure; but even the old 
 skipper suddenly joined the " wide-awakes " when 
 we reached the fishing grounds. 
 
 Paul had already contracted this fisherman's 
 habit, and while the Fawn lay at anchor, he slept 
 like a rock. After amusing himself for an hour 
 on deck, John went below to take an observation, 
 and to announce the prospect of " a breeze from 
 the southward," for he had discovered a gentle 
 ripple on the water at a distance. But when he 
 
 m 
 
 saw tnat Paul was " having his watch below," he 
 quickly returned to the standing room, closing the 
 cabin doors behind him. 
 
 "There is a capfull of wind," said he to him-
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 195 
 
 self, " and I will just show the skipper of the Fawn 
 that I can handle her as well as he can." 
 
 He waited till the breeze reached her, and then, 
 with as little noise as possible, he weighed the 
 anchor, and took his place at the helm. 
 
 " All right, Captain Duncan ; you can finish 
 your snooze at your leisure," muttered he, con- 
 gratulating himself upon the fact that he had got 
 off without waking Paul. 
 
 The wind freshened into a nice little breeze, 
 and the Fawn, close-hauled, rippled merrily through 
 the water. Still Paul slept on, unconscious of the 
 progress she was making, Avhile John was jubilant 
 over the success of his trick. He was obliged to 
 tack so as to go to the windward of Rock Island, 
 but he twice accomplished this mano2uvre without 
 disturbing the sleeper. 
 
 The boat was now up with Rock Island, and 
 John, who could never see why Paul always 
 wanted to keep half a mile away from this dan- 
 gerous reef, laid her course very near the rocks. 
 
 " All right, my boy," said John, who had a
 
 . 
 
 196 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OB 
 
 bad habit of talking to himself when there was no 
 one present to whom he could address his re- 
 marks; "won't Captain Duncan be astonished 
 when he comes out of the cabin ! " 
 
 And Captain Duncan was astonished when he 
 came out, for just as the rash first officer arrived 
 to the conclusion that the boat had run clear of ail 
 the dangers of the navigation in that quarter, 
 
 Bump ! went the Fawn on a hidden ledge. 
 
 " What are you about ? " cried Paul, angrily, as 
 he rushed out of the cabin. 
 
 "About got aground, I should say," replied 
 John, a good deal more astonished than he had 
 calculated Paul would be. 
 
 " Let go your sheets ! Take the boat-hook, and 
 let us push her off, if we can," cried Paul. 
 
 Both the boys went to work, and after a few 
 moments of hard labor, succeeded in pushing the 
 Fawn off the ledge upon which she had struck. 
 
 " I suppose this is a specimen of your manage- 
 ment," said Paul, as he hauled the sheets home, 
 and seated himself at the helm.
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 197 
 
 " Rather bad management, I am willing to own," 
 replied John, who felt that his reputation as a 
 skilful navigator had departed in the twinkling 
 of an eye. 
 
 "Next time, when you undertake to sail the 
 Fawn without me, don't you do it. You would 
 be a pretty fellow to run the boat if I were away 
 a week ; there wouldn't be a board left on her 
 ribs in three days." 
 
 " It hasn't hurt her any, Paul." 
 
 " I suppose it hasn't ; but it would have been 
 just the same if it had been blowing a ten-knot 
 breeze." 
 
 ,Rut John felt that, if it hadn't hurt the Fawn 
 any, it had hurt himself a great deal ; and he made 
 a tremendous great resolution to be more careful 
 in future. The boat reached her mooring in good 
 season, notwithstanding the detention. 
 17*
 
 J98 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OK 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 PATTL GOES ON A CRUISE IK THE FLYAWAY. 
 
 " THERE has been a gentleman here to see 
 you," said Mrs. Duncan, when Paul went to the 
 house. 
 
 "Who was he?" 
 
 "He left his name and residence on a piece of 
 paper, and wants you to call and see him this 
 evening," replied Mrs. Duncan, handing him the 
 address of the gentleman. 
 
 " Charles Morrison, Chestnut Street, third house 
 from the depot," said Paul, reading the paper. 
 "What does he want?" 
 
 " He said something about hiring your boat 
 next week." 
 
 "What, the Fawn?" 
 
 " I suppose so ; but he wants to see you, at 
 any rate."
 
 THE CRUISE OF HE FLYAWAY. 199 
 
 "Does he want me to go with her?" 
 
 " I'm sure I don't know." 
 
 After supper Paul went to see Mr. Morrison, and 
 found that he wanted the Fawn for the whole of 
 the following week, and that he did not want a 
 skipper. He was going down to Bleakport to 
 spend a week, and he wanted a good boat, which 
 he could not procure at the place. He offered to 
 pay fifteen dollars for the use of her, and to re- 
 store her in as good condition as when he took 
 her. 
 
 This was certainly a good offer, and Paul con- 
 cluded that he could not do better ; but he was not 
 prepared to give a decided answer, and promised 
 to see the gentleman again the next evening. 
 
 On his return home he found Henry Littleton 
 and Thomas Nettle waiting for him. The arrange- 
 ments in regard to the excursion in the Flyaway 
 had been completed, and the two boys had come 
 to urge Paul to join them. 
 
 " When do you sail ? " asked Paul. 
 
 "Next Friday."
 
 200 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OB 
 
 " And how long shall you be gone ? " 
 
 " About eight or ten days," replied Henry Lit- 
 tleton. " My father is going with us." 
 
 *' I have got a good offer for the use of my 
 boat next week," answered Paul, musing, " and 
 I don't know but I will go." 
 
 " That's right, Paul ; we must have you with 
 us, at all events." 
 
 " Father says we ought to have you with us," 
 said Henry. 
 
 " I will talk with my mother about it, and if 
 she is willing, I think I will go." 
 
 " We have talked with your mother already, and 
 she is perfectly willing you should go." , 
 
 " I will let you know to-morrow." 
 
 The boys left him, saying he must certainly go 
 with them, and Paul went into the house to talk 
 over the matter with his mother. 
 
 " Do you think I can go, mother ? " 
 
 " To be sure you can go," interposed John. 
 " What is the use of talking about it ? " 
 
 " I did'nt ask you, John," said Paul, with a smile.
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 201 
 
 "I don't see why you can't go," replied Mrs. 
 Duncan. " I suppose there is no more danger of 
 your getting drowned than there would be if you 
 staid at home." 
 
 " He will certainly be drowned, mother," added 
 John. 
 
 "We shall be safe enough." 
 
 " Then you had better go." 
 
 " I have got a chance to let the Fawn for 
 fifteen dollars ; and that would be about as much 
 as I should make if I staid." 
 
 " And if you let her, I shall go skipper. Shan't 
 I ? " demanded John. 
 
 " I think not ; Mr. Morrison will be his own 
 skipper." 
 
 " Then I won't agree to it. I am part owner 
 of the Fawn," said the first mate, pouting like a 
 school girl. 
 
 " You agreed to let me manage the Fawn at 
 the beginning," added Paul. " You can't do any 
 thing with her alone, except run her on the rocks." 
 
 " I don't want you to manage me out of her in
 
 202 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OK 
 
 that manner," growled John. " I have as good a 
 right in her as you have, and I don't mean to 
 stay on shore here a whole week, sucking my 
 fingers, when there is fun to be had." 
 
 While they were discussing this important ques- 
 tion, which even threatened a rupture in the 
 partnership between the young fishermen, Captain 
 Littleton was admitted by Mrs. Duncan. 
 
 " What's the matter, boys ? You are not quar- 
 relling, I hope," said Captain Littleton, as he 
 entered the room, for he had heard a portion of 
 one of John's excited speeches while at the door. 
 
 " O, no, sir," replied Paul. " I have got a 
 chance to let the Fawn for a week, and John is 
 opposed to my doing so." 
 
 " Is he ? I am sorry for that. Mr. Morrison 
 spoke to me about a boat for the week, and I 
 recommended him to you. I had a motive for 
 doing so, for I want you to join the excursion in 
 the Flyaway. I thought you would like to go, if 
 you could do so without any loss." 
 
 "Thank you, sir. I should like to go very
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 203 
 
 much ; and when I got this chance to let the 
 Fawn, I about made up my mind to go." 
 
 " Then it is all right; but I am sorry John will 
 not consent to the arrangement." 
 
 " I don't want to stay on shore a whole week," 
 pouted the first mate of the Fawn. " If they 
 would only take me as skipper, I should like it 
 first rate. What shall I do with myself for a 
 whole week on shore ? " 
 
 " I don't see as I can go, then," added Paul. 
 
 " Well, I don't want to keep you from going, 
 Paul ; " and a better feeling seemed to be roused 
 in John's bosom. 
 
 " I can't afford to let the Fawn lie idle for a 
 week, in the busy season," continued Paul. 
 
 " Can't I go a-fishing in her while you are 
 gone ? " 
 
 " Certainly not ; you can't have my share to 
 smash up on the rocks," said Paul, a little tartly. 
 " You know you ran the boat on the rocks this 
 very afternoon." 
 
 John felt a little lame here, and he did not
 
 204 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 venture a reply. He had sacrificed his reputation 
 as a navigator by carelessly attempting to run too 
 near the reef, and he felt that his brother's con- 
 clusions were correct. 
 
 "Well, at any rate, I won't keep you from 
 going in the Flyaway, whatever I do. I will 
 agree to let her to Mr. Morrison." 
 
 " That's generous, John. You have got the 
 right kind of a heart beneath your jacket, though 
 you have an odd way of showing it sometimes," 
 said Captain Littleton. 
 
 " John means right, sir," added Paul. 
 
 " I like to have a little fun myself, as well as 
 the rest of the fellows," continued John, " but I 
 am willing to stay at home for Paul's sake." 
 
 " That's the right feeling, my boy," replied 
 Captain Littleton ; * and if your mother is willing, 
 you may go in the Flyaway." 
 
 "Hoo-ray!" shouted John, jumping out of his 
 chair, and performing some gymnastic feats, that 
 astonished the visitor and the family. " I may 
 go mayn't I, mother?"
 
 THE CKUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 205 
 
 " I have no objection, if Captain Littleton thinks 
 it is safe." 
 
 " He will be as safe as my own son, Mrs. 
 Duncan," added the captain. < 
 
 " Hoo-ray ! " shouted John again. 
 
 " Come, my son, behave yourself, or they won't 
 want such an unmannerly fellow in the company." 
 
 " I will be as polite as a French dancing master." 
 
 John was in luck again, and for the following 
 three days he talked of nothing but the cruise of 
 the Flyaway. Even sailing in the Fawn seemed 
 tame to the idea of going off one or two hundred 
 miles, and visiting towns and cities he had never 
 seen, and had never before expected to see. He 
 could hardly sleep nights, and when he did sleep, 
 it was only to dream of being out of sight of land, 
 or of occupying a berth in the cabin of the yacht. 
 
 Paul concluded his bargain with Mr. Morrison, 
 and made all his preparations for an absence of a 
 week or ten days a longer time than he had 
 
 ever been away from home before. He cleaned 
 
 
 
 up the Fawn for Mr. Morrison, and split wood 
 18
 
 206 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 enough to last his mother a fortnight. It had 
 already been decided that the yacht should go to 
 the eastward, and visit Gloucester, the Isles of 
 Shoals, Portsmouth, and Portland ; and to be pre- 
 pared for the excursion, he carefully studied all 
 the maps and books he could procure, which gave 
 any information in regard to these places. 
 
 The Flyaway was to sail on Friday at high 
 water. For more than a fortnight, Captain Gor- 
 don had been training the boys of the Tenean 
 Club to serve as " able seamen " on board the 
 yacht. There were twelve of them, including 
 Paul, who were to join the party. More than 
 half of them were sixteen or seventeen years old ; 
 so that they were strong enough to do all the 
 work required in the management of the vessel. 
 They were all well trained, and every one of 
 them knew his duty on board. 
 
 Besides Captain Gordon, who was to command 
 the yacht, there was Captain Briskett, who had 
 for many years been the master of a coasting 
 vessel, and knew every rock and shoal between
 
 THE CKUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 207 
 
 Boston and Eastport. Dick, the colored steward, 
 was to retain his place during the cruise. Captain 
 Littleton was to go as a passenger. John Dun- 
 can was nominally appointed cabin boy. 
 
 Friday came, and the officers and crew of the 
 Flyaway were all on board. The anchor had been 
 hove short, and the mainsail hoisted ; the hour 
 for sailing had arrived, and she only waited the 
 coming of Captain Littleton. He had gone to 
 Boston that morning, and his return was mo- 
 mentarily expected. 
 
 When the amateur crew had grown very impa- 
 tient at his non-arrival, he appeared ; but only to 
 inform them that he had just received a tele- 
 graphic despatch from New York, which would 
 compel him to start for that city in the afternoon. 
 
 " Now, boys, what is to be done ? " asked he. 
 " Will you postpone the trip for a week ? " 
 
 " I suppose we must," replied Henry ; but the 
 faces of the whole crew were wofully elongated. 
 
 " I must give it up altogether, then," added 
 Paul, bitterly disappointed ; and John was ready 
 to howl at the idea of not going.
 
 208 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 " I will see what can be done," continued Cap- 
 tain Littleton, as he called Captain Gordon aside. 
 
 For a few moments they were engaged in ear- 
 nest conversation together, and the boys waited 
 with anxious interest for the result of the con- 
 ference. 
 
 " Captain Gordon thinks he can take care of 
 you, and I have concluded to let you go with- 
 out me." 
 
 " Hurrah ! " shouted several of the boys. 
 
 " But, boys, I must put you on honor to be- 
 have well during the cruise. Will you do it?" 
 
 " We will." 
 
 " And obey the orders of Captain Gordon in 
 all things, whether you are on board or on shore ? " 
 
 " We will," replied all the boys at once. 
 
 " Very well ; I shall trust you. If I return 
 soon enough to join you at Portsmouth, I shall 
 do so. Good by, now, and a pleasant cruise to 
 you ; " and Captain Littleton went over the side. 
 
 '* Good by, sir," replied the crew. 
 
 "That's first rate isn't it?" whispered Tom
 
 THE CEUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 209 
 
 Nettle, as the captain departed. "I am glad he 
 isn't going." 
 
 " So am I," replied Frank Thompson. 
 
 " We shall not have him watching us all the 
 time. Let me tell you, there is fun ahead now," 
 added Thomas. 
 
 Captain Briskett, who was to be first officer of 
 the Flyawa^, as well as pilot, summoned them to 
 the windlass to heave up the anchor ; and in a 
 few minutes the yacht was standing down the 
 harbor under all sail. The Teneans gave three 
 rousing cheers, and then distributed themselves in 
 various parts of the deck to enjoy the exciting 
 scene. , 
 
 " All hands aft," said Captain Gordon, when 
 the yacht had reached the open bay. 
 
 " Ay, ay, sir," replied several, as the crew took 
 their places in the standing room. 
 
 " Now, boys, we must make our arrangements. 
 
 When a ship goes to sea, it is customary to 
 
 divide the crew into two watches. I shall take 
 
 the starboard wattch, and Captain Briskett the lar- 
 
 18*
 
 210 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 board. Each of us will choose a man in his turn 
 till all are taken." 
 
 "Go on," said Captain Briskett. 
 
 " Henry Littleton," replied the skipper. 
 
 " Paul Duncan," added the pilot. 
 
 And so they proceeded till all the boys were 
 chosen, except John, who resented the slight thus 
 put upon him. To satisfy him, therefore, he was 
 taken into the captain's watch. 
 
 " There are only eight berths in the cabin, 
 boys, and you must draw lots for them," contin- 
 ued the master; "but they are all wide enough 
 to hold two each. Now, if you want to pair off, 
 you can do so." 
 
 Lots were drawn, and Paul and Henry were to 
 occupy the same berth. Again John found him- 
 self thrown out of the calculation ; but the captain 
 said he would make a bed for him on a locker, 
 and he was satisfied. The boys then went below 
 to see their berths, which had all been numbered 
 for the occasion.
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 211 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 PAUL WITNESSES A MUTINY. 
 
 WHEN the Flyaway had passed Farm Island, 
 and reached the fishing ground, she lay to, for 
 the purpose of enabling the crew to catch a few 
 cod and haddock, for the chowder and fry. But 
 cod and haddock are singularly obstinate at times, 
 and persistently refuse to appreciate the angler's 
 endeavors in their behalf. They were so on the 
 present occasion, and it was two hours before the 
 chief of the culinary department could say there 
 were enough to satisfy the ravenous appetites of 
 the sixteen persons on board. Some of the boys 
 had actually decided that fishing was a nuisance, 
 but they were just as fond of chowder as those 
 who enjoyed the fun even of catching only one 
 fish per hour. 
 
 As fast as they were caught, Dick aressed them
 
 212 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OK 
 
 and prepared them for the chowder pot or the 
 frying pan. There were some queer fish caught, 
 including quite a number of sculpins, " a wolfer 
 eel," so Captain Briskett called him, and a 
 large catfish. The latter was an ugly monster, 
 having dangerous-looking teeth, with which he 
 laid hold of every thing that came in his way. 
 There was also in the collection a large scate, or 
 ray, which called forth some rather large fish 
 stories from the two experienced skippers on 
 board. 
 
 As the culinary department was now supplied, 
 the yacht stood away for Gloucester, which was 
 to be her first port. They had a fine wind, and 
 before the chowder was ready, the Flyaway was 
 in sight of the Reef of Norman's Woe. 
 
 "Dinner is ready," said Dick, at last, for the 
 stomachs of the boys had been in a state of re- 
 bellion for two hours. 
 
 There was a grand rush for the cabin ; but, to 
 the astonishment of the hungry crew, Captain 
 Gordon placed himself at the companion way, and
 
 IHE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 213 
 
 would not permit a single one of them to gto 
 below. 
 
 " That's not the way to do on board ship," 
 said he. " Are you all going below at once ? " 
 
 "Why not?" asked Tom Nettle. 
 
 " Suppose we should have occasion to tack, or 
 to take in sail in a hurry ? Have we got to wait 
 for you to finish your plate of chowder ? " 
 
 "We are all as hungry as bears, Captain Gor- 
 don," added Frank Thompson. " We can't stand 
 it any longer." 
 
 " Part of you must stand it half an hour 
 longer. Captain Briskett has the helm, and the 
 larboard watch will remain on deck, the starboard 
 watch go below." 
 
 The captain's watch tumbled down the com- 
 panion way, ranged themselves round the table, 
 and went to work as though they had not eaten 
 any thing for a month. As they are doing very 
 well, we will return to the deck, and listen a 
 few moments to the. remarks of the mate's watch. 
 
 Paul had seated himself by the side of the
 
 214 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 helmsman, and was asking questions in regard to 
 the reef, the depth of water in the harbor, and 
 other questions of interest only to nautical per- 
 sons. The rest of the watch had gathered in a 
 group on the forecastle. It was unfortunate that 
 so many of the refractory spirits had been chosen 
 into the same watch ; but there were Tom Nettle, 
 Frank Thompson, and Samuel Nason, all three of 
 whom had once been expelled from the club for 
 misconduct, and only been readmitted on their 
 solemn promise to mend their manners, and be- 
 have like gentlemen in future. 
 
 " I don't like it," said Tom ; " and if the rest of 
 the fellows will back me up, I will go below and 
 have dinner with the crowd." 
 
 "I will back you up, for one," said Frank. 
 
 " And I, for another," added Samuel. 
 
 " But Captain Gordon gave a good reason why 
 some of us should remain on deck," suggested 
 one of the boys. 
 
 "No, he didn't. What is there to do? We 
 shan't have to touch a sail this hour see if we 
 do," retorted Tom.
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 215 
 
 " But .we might have occasion to do so, and 
 for one, I am willing to observe the discipline of 
 the vessel," said Charles Lawrence. 
 
 " I don't like the idea of having old Gordon 
 domineering over us for a week," added Frank. 
 " I don't care so much about th dinner as I do 
 the spirit the old fellow exhibited. He placed 
 himself before the companion way, just as though 
 he had been the captain of a ship, and we were 
 all common sailors." 
 
 " We will cure him of that before we have 
 been with him many days," added Tom. 
 
 " I'll bet we will," answered Frank ; " and I 
 think the present is the best time to begin. How 
 many of you will make a grand rush into the 
 cabin ? " 
 
 There were only four of them who were willing 
 to take this rash step. 
 
 " Come on, then," said Tom, " I will go if 
 there is only one fellow to back me up." 
 
 "We will follow you," added Frank. "Go 
 ahead, Tom!"
 
 216 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 "You had better count the cost before you 
 go any farther," interposed Charles Lawrence. 
 *' You know we all promised to obey Captain 
 Gordon in every thing he directed, whether on 
 shore or on board." 
 
 " We didn't expect he was going to treat us 
 like servants like dogs." 
 
 " Captain Littleton wouldn't let him domineer 
 over us in that style if he were here. Come on, 
 boys," said Tom, as he led the way aft. 
 
 " Where are you going, boys ? " demanded Cap- 
 tain Briskett, as the rebellious watch appeared in 
 the standing room. 
 
 " Going below to get our dinner." 
 
 " Not yet ; you must wait till the watch is 
 relieved. You heard the captain's orders." 
 
 "We don't care for the captain's orders. We 
 are not going to be treated like dogs." 
 
 " But it is necessary that one watch should be 
 on deck all the time." 
 
 " Can you tell me why it was necessary to have 
 the starboard watch go to dinner first ? "
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 217 
 
 " I cannot ; it is the captain's business to or- 
 der, and mine to obey," replied the mate. 
 
 " It isn't our business to obey any such orders 
 as that," said Tom. " Come, Paul, let us all go 
 below, and have our dinner." 
 
 " I shall obey orders," replied Paul, decidedly. 
 
 "On deck, there! What's the matter?" called 
 Captain Gordon, from the cabin. 
 
 " There is a mutiny in the larboard watch," re- 
 plied the mate, with a smile. 
 
 Tom and Frank did not wait for any more 
 explanations, and began to descend the ladder 
 into the cabin. 
 
 "Stop, boys! what does this mean?" demanded 
 Captain Gordon, rising from the table. 
 
 " It means that we are going to have our din- 
 ners ; that is all," replied Tom, who had by this 
 time reached the cabin floor. 
 
 " But my orders were, that the larboard watch 
 should remain on deck." 
 
 " We don't care for that." 
 
 " You don't, eh ? " And Captain Gordon was 
 19
 
 218 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OB 
 
 evidently very much surprised, for whatever he 
 had expected, he certainly had not anticipated a 
 mutiny the first day out. 
 
 " Wasn't my order a reasonable one ? " he con- 
 tinued. 
 
 " No, sir ! It was not." 
 
 " It is necessary that one watch should be on 
 deck while the vessel is under sail." 
 
 " That may be ; but it wasn't necessary that 
 your watch should go to dinner first," replied 
 Tom. 
 
 " Will you return to your duty, or not ? " 
 
 "No, sir!" 
 
 " You had better consider well what you are 
 doing, Tom, before you go any farther. Captain 
 Littleton placed me in command of the yacht, and 
 expressly directed me to do every thing I have 
 done, so far ; and especially to keep one watch 
 on deck all the time, while we are under sail. 
 Now, those of you who are willing to return to 
 your duty and obey orders, as you promised Cap- 
 tain Littleton, go on deck again."
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 219 
 
 Not one of the four boys accepted this polite 
 invitation. 
 
 " Then I am to settle this question with these 
 four," added the captain. 
 
 " There's no settling about it ; we are going to 
 have our dinner ; that's all," said Tom, pushing 
 forward towards the table ; but Captain Gordon 
 placed himself before him, and prevented his far- 
 ther progress. 
 
 " I have asked you to return to your duty ; 
 now I order you to do so ; and I am going to be 
 obeyed, even if there are some broken heads to 
 bind up afterwards," replied the captain. " Bris- 
 kett, let Paul take the helm and come below." 
 
 " Stand back, and let me pass," cried Tom, his 
 face flushed with anger. 
 
 But instead of standing back, Captain Gordon 
 seized him by the collar and threw him down. 
 This was the signal for Frank to step in, and do 
 battle for his friend. He was a stout fellow, and 
 there was, for a moment, a prospect of a smart 
 little battle ; but the brawny pilot suddenly de-
 
 220 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OB 
 
 stroyed this prospect by laying both hands on the 
 second mutineer, and dragging him on deck. Cap- 
 tain, Gordon followed him with Tom, the two 
 other refractory spirits not deeming it prudent to 
 keep the promises they had made on deck only a 
 few moments before. 
 
 Captain Gordon tied Tom's hands behind him, 
 and Frank was presently reduced to the same igno- 
 minious condition. The other two were ordered 
 to take their places by the side of the prisoners, 
 and they deemed it prudent to obey. 
 
 " All hands on deck ! " shouted the captain, 
 as he took the helm from Paul. " Ready to go 
 about ! " 
 
 All the boys wondered what was to be done 
 next ; but the orders were promptly obeyed, and 
 they took their stations as they had been instructed 
 to do when the yacht was to go about. In a few 
 moments the Flyaway, which had by this time 
 passed the reef, and was standing up the harbor, 
 was put about, and headed towards the open sea. 
 No one ventured to ask any questions ; but as soon
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 221 
 
 as the mate had been restored to the helm, he fas- 
 tened the prisoners to the rail, and gave the star- 
 board watch orders to finish their dinners, and 
 led the way to the cabin. 
 
 " He will have to pay dearly for this," growled 
 Tom, when the captain had gone below. " My 
 father is half owner of the Flyaway, and if he 
 doesn't get turned off, it won't be his fanlt." 
 
 But Frank did not make any reply. His father 
 did not own half the yacht, and he began to think 
 he had " barked up the wrong tree," as he after- 
 wards expressed it. He did not exactly know what 
 to make of things, and couldn't understand why 
 the yacht had been put about, and headed towards 
 home. It was rather ominous, and he wished him- 
 self out of the scrape, or rather that he had not 
 embarked in such a stupid enterprise. 
 
 Captain Gordon finished his dinner in silence, 
 and as his brow looked as stormy as a thunder- 
 cloud, not one of the boys in his watch cared to 
 question him in regard to his future course. / 
 
 When the starboard watch had finished their 
 
 i 
 
 19*
 
 222 LIT1LE BY KITTLE, OK 
 
 dinner, they went on deck ; and the captain ordered 
 Dick to carry some of the chowder up for the re- 
 bellious portion of the other watch, while the 
 mate, and those of his party who " stuck hy the 
 ship," went below. 
 
 When dinner was over, and all hands had re- 
 turned to the deck, Captain Gordon announced his 
 intention to return to Bayville at once. 
 
 " We haven't been gone a week yet," said Henry 
 Littleton. 
 
 " Your father told me, if any serious difficulty 
 occurred on board, to return home without delay. 
 These fellows have chosen to disobey orders the 
 first day out ; and I think that is a serious matter." 
 
 " Do you hear that, Tom ? " said Frank, in a 
 whisper, to his fellow-prisoner. 
 
 " I don't care ; the sooner he goes home the 
 sooner will he be discharged." 
 
 " But we shall lose all our fun, any way." 
 
 " Can't help it ; I won't be treated like a ser- 
 vant by my father's servant," replied Tom, loud 
 enough to be heard by the captain. 
 
 ** Your father can do what he thinks best when
 
 THE CKUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 223 
 
 I get home, but while I command a vessel all 
 hands 'obey orders." 
 
 " Come, Tom, don't let us spoil all the fun. We 
 will pay him off at another time. Don't let us 
 break up the cruise," whispered Frank. " He's 
 got us where the hair is short, and we can't help 
 ourselves." 
 
 Tom at first refused to "back down," as he and 
 his party elegantly expressed it ; but Frank's sug- 
 gestion to pay him off at another time at last pre- 
 vailed with him, and he consented to join with 
 his companions in trouble in an apology to Captain 
 Gordon, and a promise to obey orders without 
 grumbling in future. Frank therefore made over- 
 tures for a capitulation ; but the captain at first 
 declined to listen to them, and it was only upon 
 the urgent request of the rest of the party that 
 he finally consented to pardon the offenders and 
 continue the cruise. It was only because he did 
 not like to punish the innocent with the guilty, 
 he declared, that he reversed his former decision; 
 but if any further difficulty occurred, they would 
 know what to expect.
 
 224 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OB 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 PAUL DISCOVERS THA.T MISCHIEF IS BKEWING. 
 
 IT was with, more than the usual alacrity that 
 the crew flew to their stations when the order was 
 given to come about, and the Flyaway was soon 
 retracing her course towards Gloucester. It was 
 about sunset when this step was taken, and the 
 yacht was some ten or twelve miles from Norman's 
 Reef. She would have made a quick run of this 
 distance, but the wind had all died out, and there 
 was a perfect calm upon the sea. There was but 
 little prospect of their getting to Gloucester that 
 night, and they were too far out to anchor. 
 
 Before dark the captain had some misgivings 
 as to the propriety of his course in continuing the 
 cruise, for Tom and his companions seemed fo be 
 sulky, and he had several times observed them in 
 close communication on the forecastle. But he 
 16*
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 225 
 
 felt perfectly competent to manage them, however 
 refractory they might prove to be; yet he feared 
 their misconduct would destroy all the pleasure of 
 the trip. He resolved to treat them as well as 
 though nothing had happened, but at the same 
 time to keep a sharp lookout upon them. 
 
 " All hands aft," called Captain Gordon ; and 
 the. crew, including the mutineers, promptly obeyed 
 the summons. " Boys," he continued, when they 
 had all assembled in the standing room, " I pro- 
 pose, during this trip, at the suggestion of Captain 
 Littleton, who would have carried out the plan 
 if he had come with us, I propose to instruct 
 you a little in the practical duties of seamanship ; 
 to give you something to think about, while we 
 are idling around the decks. You see that bell, 
 over the windlass ? " 
 
 "Ay, ay, sir." 
 
 " That's a very important thing on board a 
 ship, for by it is regulated every thing that takes 
 place, especially the watches. As we are likely 
 to be out to-night, or at least a part of the night,
 
 226 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OB 
 
 I intend to keep a regular watch on board, just as 
 they do in any well-regulated vessel. Indeed, it 
 is absolutely necessary to do so. We can't all 
 turn in and sleep while the vessel is on her course ; 
 some of us must be on deck all the time. There- 
 fore we had better have things done up in ship- 
 shape order." 
 
 "That is just what we want," said Henry a 
 sentiment which was responded to by a majority 
 of the crew. 
 
 " Very welj," continued the captain, consulting 
 his watch ; ** it wants a few minutes of eight 
 o'clock, at which time we will strike eight bells, 
 and set the watch." 
 
 " Which watch, captain ? " asked Tom Nettle, 
 in rather surly tones. 
 
 " There is a rule about this matter, my lad, as 
 there is about every thing abtfard ship. I shall 
 follow this rule," replied Captain Gordon, without 
 even looking at the speaker. 
 
 " What is the rule ? " asked Henry, rather be- 
 cause he wished to turn the captain's attention
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 227 
 
 away from Tom, than because he was impatient 
 to know the rule. 
 
 " The captain's watch, which is the second mate's 
 in ships, takes the first, and the first officer's the 
 second, on the outward voyage ; on the homeward 
 voyage the order is reversed. The starboard watch 
 is the captain's ; therefore it is my first watch to- 
 night. It will be from eight to twelve ; when the 
 larboard watch will come on deck, and remain till 
 four; then the starboard again till eight." 
 
 " That isn't fair," said Edward Freeman. 
 
 "Why not, my boy?" asked the captain, with 
 a smile; for he readily perceived the objection the 
 speaker was about to urge. 
 
 " The starboard watch will be on deck eight 
 hours of the night, while the other watch will be 
 up only four hours." 
 
 " Just so, my lad ; but to-morrow night the 
 order of the watches will be reversed. Give me 
 your attention for a moment, and I will explain 
 the matter. Continuing from the point where I 
 left off, the starboard watch will be on duty from
 
 228 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OB 
 
 eight to twelve ; the larboard, from twelve to four ; 
 when the starboard will come on deck; but " 
 
 "That will bring things just as they were the 
 preceding night, and the starboard watch will be 
 on duty eight hours, as before," interrupted Ed- 
 ward, thinking he had caught the captain this 
 time. 
 
 " To avoid this difficulty, the watch from four to 
 eight in the afternoon is divided into two, called 
 the dog-watches" 
 
 "That makes it all right." 
 
 At this moment, Captain Briskett, who had 
 gone forward for the purpose, struck the bell eight 
 times. 
 
 "Eight bells! All the starboard watch, ahoy!" 
 shouted Captain Gordon. " All the rest of you 
 had better go below and turn in ; while you sleep, 
 pay attention to it, for when we call you, we 
 shall want you." 
 
 The mate and his watch all went below ; but, 
 though they took to their berths, the excitement 
 of the occasion was too great to permit them to
 
 THE CKTJISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 229 
 
 sleep. There was a great deal of " skylarking " 
 done in the cabin, as well as on deck, during the 
 next hour, but one by one the boys below dropped 
 asleep, and those on deck were soon tired of play, 
 and called upon Captain Gordon to " spin a 
 yarn." He was good-natured enough to comply 
 with their request. 
 
 The watch on deck soon came to the conclu- 
 sion that "sailoring" was not particularly funny at 
 night, for there was a good deal of gaping, and 
 not a little impatience for the eight bells that 
 would relieve them for a while. At six bells there 
 was a prospect of a little wind, and the yacht be- 
 gan to ripple through the water. The wind in- 
 creased steadily till they had quite a lively breeze. 
 
 " All the larboard watch, ahoy ! " shouted the 
 captain down the companion-way, at eight bells. 
 
 " Ay, ay," replied Briskett. 
 
 But it was no easy task to rouse the sleepers, 
 
 and even when they were awoke, some of them 
 
 declared they were not going on deck again that 
 
 night. They concluded, however, after the ex- 
 
 20
 
 230 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 perience of the first day, that it would be better 
 to fall in with the discipline of the vessel. They 
 found the Flyaway making good progress through 
 the water, which in some measure waked them up, 
 and reconciled them to their situation. In two 
 hours more, she came to anchor in Gloucester 
 harbor, and the watch were permitted to go below. 
 A lantern was hoisted on the forestay, and all 
 hands were soon asleep. 
 
 Our limited space does not permit us to trans- 
 fer the log of the Flyaway to our pages, and we 
 must hasten on to more exciting events than the 
 ordinary working of the vessel. The party spent 
 the forenoon at Gloucester, and after dinner made 
 sail for Portsmouth, arriving there at about nine 
 o'clock in the evening ; or rather at the mouth of 
 the river, for they anchored off Kittery Point. On 
 Monday morning, the Tenean, which lay upon 
 deck, was put into the water, and the club pulled 
 up to the city. 
 
 While they were absent, the wind veered round 
 to the north-east, and there were some signs of a
 
 THE CKXJISE OP TUB FLYAAVAY. 231 
 
 storm. It had been the intention of Captain Gor- 
 don to run over to the Isles of Shoals in the 
 afternoon, but the weather was so inauspicious that 
 he declined to carry out his purpose. The club 
 spent the afternoon, therefore, rowing about the 
 bay, in fishing, and in visiting the objects of in- 
 terest on shore, including, of course, the Pepperell 
 monument. 
 
 Unfortunately, Tuesday proved to be no better 
 day than Monday ; and in addition to the prospect 
 of a storm, there was a dense fog outside the 
 harbor. As Captain Gordon had been particularly 
 cautioned to in,cur no needless risks, he positively 
 refused to leave the harbor, though the boys had 
 teased him from sunrise to do so. Even Henry 
 and Paul were vexed at the delay. They had 
 thoroughly exhausted Portsmouth, Kittery Point, 
 and the Navy Yard ; had visited Fort Constitution, 
 Fort McClary, and the Lighthouse; in fact, there 
 was not a single point of interest left to be visited. 
 
 All the forenoon the boys did not intermit their 
 persuasions to induce the captain to proceed on
 
 232 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 the cruise; but he was as firm as a rock, and de- 
 clared that, if they all went down on their knees 
 before him, he would not " budge an inch." 
 
 After dinner, Captain Gordon, probably to es- 
 cape the importunities of his crew, announced his 
 intention to walk up to Portsmouth, and called for 
 volunteers to accompany him. Captain Briskett, 
 Henry, and Edward were all that were disposed to 
 go with him, and he departed, leaving the rest of 
 the crew to amuse themselves in the best way 
 they could. 
 
 Hardly had they disappeared behind the hill on 
 shore, before Paul noticed that Tgm Nettle and 
 the other mutineers on the first day out were 
 gathered in a group around the heel of the bow- 
 sprit. They were engaged in earnest conversation, 
 but in tones so low that he could not understand 
 them. Presently Tom called one of the boys who 
 were fishing over the port rail, and then another, 
 and another, till all on board but himself had been 
 admitted to the conference. Even John Duncan 
 was permitted to share the confidence of the party.
 
 THE CBUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 233 
 
 Paul at once came to the conclusion that they 
 were plotting mischief; but he could form no idea 
 of the nature of the plot whether it was to rob a 
 hen-roost on shore, or capture the wooden fort 
 that frowned upon them from the heights above. 
 He was sorry to see John permitted to enter this 
 conclave of mischief; but because his brother ap- 
 parently acquiesced in the plan, he hoped that no 
 serious roguery was intended. 
 
 The details of the mysterious scheme seemed to 
 have been all arranged, for presently the boys 
 separated into groups; but Paul heard Tom say 
 the tide would begin to run out in half an hour. 
 What this meant he could not possibly imagine, 
 unless the boys intended to run away in the Te- 
 nean, and wanted the ebb tide to help them out 
 of the river. 
 
 "John," said Paul, when the conspirators sepa- 
 rated. 
 
 ** Well, what do you want, Paul ? " demanded 
 John, in rather surly tones, as he joined his 
 brother. 
 
 20*
 
 234 I.IXILE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 " There is mischief brewing there, and I warn 
 you not to engage in it." 
 
 " Mischief ? " queried John. " What do you 
 mean by mischief?" 
 
 " Don't you know what mischief means ? " 
 
 "Rather think I do." 
 
 " These boys are getting up some trick ; don't 
 you have any thing to do with it." 
 
 John made no reply. 
 
 " What is the game ? " asked Paul. 
 
 " Can't tell." 
 
 " Can't you, indeed ? " 
 
 "No, I can't." 
 
 " You know we all promised to obey Captain 
 Gordon." 
 
 " I am not going to disobey him." 
 
 " If there is any thing wrong going on, it is 
 your duty to tell of it." 
 
 " O, you can't pump me ; so it's no use to try," 
 replied John, walking away, and joining the prin- 
 cipal conspirators in the forecastle. 
 
 "But what are you going to do with Paul?"
 
 IHE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 235 
 
 were the first words that saluted his ears, as John 
 joined them. 
 
 " I don't know. What can we do with him ? " 
 said Tom, to whom the question of the previous 
 speaker had been addressed. 
 
 " Of course Paul won't join us," added Frank. 
 
 " No ; you might as well attempt to capture 
 Fort Constitution as to make him join us." 
 
 " Are you sure we can't bring him over ? " 
 
 "Don't say a word to him about it, or he will 
 prevent us from going." 
 
 "He can't do that." 
 
 " He would find a way ; he might jump over- 
 board, and swim to one of these vessels and get 
 assistance." 
 
 " But we want Paul ; and if we keep him on 
 board, he will join us after a few hours." 
 
 "You mustn't hurt him any way," interposed 
 John; "if you are going to do any thing of that 
 sort, I shall let the cat out of the bag." 
 
 " We won't hurt him," replied Tom. 
 
 " I'll tell you what we will do. We will get
 
 236 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 him to go down into the cabin under some pre- 
 tence, and then fasten him down," said Frank. 
 
 "That will do first rate." 
 
 " But Dick is on board too ; what shall we do 
 with him?" 
 
 " Fasten them both down below." 
 
 Paul, from the frequent glances bestowed upon 
 him by the plotters, was satisfied that he was the 
 subject of their remarks ; but this did not disturb 
 him, for, firm in his purpose to do right, whatever 
 might happen to him in consequence, he was pre- 
 pared for any event which the conspirators might 
 bring to pass. He was sorry to find that mis- 
 chief was brewing at all, and pained to see his 
 brother a consenting party to it.
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 237 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 PAUL IS MADE A PRISONER. 
 
 BEFORE the half hour which the conspirators 
 had indicated as the favorable time for carrying 
 out their mysterious project had elapsed, Tom 
 Nettle and Frank Thompson went below to pre- 
 pare the way for the execution of their scheme. 
 In the cook room, which occupied the fore part of 
 the hold of the yacht, Dick was busily engaged 
 in scraping potatoes. This seemed to be the fa- 
 vorite occupation of the steward, for he spent a 
 large share of his time between meals in this em- 
 ployment ; and fried potatoes was the standard 
 dish for breakfast, dinner, and supper. 
 
 "I'm glad you come down, Tom; I want to 
 use you a few moments," said Dick, as the two 
 boys entered the cook room. 
 
 "Well, what do you want, Dick?"
 
 238 LITTLE BY LITTtE, OR 
 
 ** I want you to help me move the stove ; the 
 pipe is loose ; and if you will just hold it while 
 I slide the stove back two or three inches, it will 
 make it all right. Just hold the pipe up while I 
 push the stove back." 
 
 *' I have just cleaned up, Dick," replied Tom, 
 who never hesitated at a white lie, and not often 
 at a black one. "Paul is on deck, and in just 
 the trim to do a job of that kind." 
 
 " No matter, then ; I will call him,' replied Dick ; 
 and the two boys presently returned to the deck. 
 
 " Just what we wanted," said Frank. 
 
 " Don't say a word, and Dick will call him 
 down in a minute." 
 
 But the steward seemed to forget that he in- 
 tended to make a change in the position of the 
 stove, for he did not call Paul, as the conspira- 
 tors were anxiously waiting for him to do. The 
 tide had turned, and there was no obstacle in 
 their way except the presence on deck of him to 
 whom they had not dared to breathe a word of 
 moral treason.
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 239 
 
 " Paul," said Tom, at last, when his patience 
 was completely exhausted, " Dick wants to see 
 you down below." 
 
 In order to make the request seem like one 
 just made, he had lain down upon the fore hatch, 
 which opened into the apartment where the stew- 
 ard was at work, thus seeming to be in com- 
 munication with him. 
 
 "What does he want?" asked Paul, uncon- 
 scious of the trick which was about to be played 
 off upon him, and rather pleased than otherwise 
 at the prospect of some employment to relieve the 
 monotony of his situation. 
 
 "He wants you to help him move the stove." 
 
 "Never mind it now, Paul," interposed the 
 steward from below ; " any time before I make the 
 fire to get supper will do." 
 
 " I will go now ; I have nothing else to do," 
 replied Paul, as he descended the companion 
 ladder. 
 
 " Now is our time ! " exclaimed Tom. " You 
 look out for the fore hatch, and I will take care 
 of the companion way."
 
 240 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OB. 
 
 " Ay, ay, Tom, and be quick about it." 
 
 At a signal from the chief conspirator, the slide 
 was drawn and the fore hatchway covered up, 
 thus making Paul and the steward prisoners below. 
 
 " What does that mean ? " said Paul. 
 
 " I don't know ; some mischief, I suppose," re- 
 plied Dick. " They are playing off a trick upon 
 us." 
 
 " We are prisoners, any how," continued Paul, 
 glancing at the closed hatchway. 
 
 " All the same to me ; don't mind them at all, 
 and they will soon get sigk of the fun." 
 
 " But what are they about ? " added Paul, as 
 lie heard the creak of the windlass on deck. " I'm 
 afraid they are up to some serious mischief." 
 
 " Can't help it ; 'taint my fault, and I never 
 meddle with what don't concern me. All I got to 
 do is to cook the victuals, and take care of the 
 cabin." 
 
 Dick was utterly indifferent in regard to the 
 conspirators, and went on scraping his potatoes, 
 as though nothing unusual was in progress. As
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 241 
 
 long as they had not carried off his cooking stove, 
 or separated him from the ice chest, he was per- 
 fectly contented, and undoubtedly would call all 
 hands to supper at the proper time, precisely as 
 though every thing was proceeding in a proper 
 and regular manner on board the Flyaway. Dick 
 prided himself upon minding his own business ; 
 and if the yacht had been seized by a gang of 
 West India buccaneers, his culinary operations 
 would have proceeded with their accustomed order 
 and promptness. 
 
 It was not so with Paul ; for the creaking of 
 the windlass, and the activity that seemed to be 
 manifested on deck, had already suggested to him 
 a suspicion in regard to the purpose of the crew. 
 He was not long left in doubt, for the sounds 
 from above soon indicated that a portion of the 
 conspirators were hoisting the mainsail. But he 
 found it very difficult to accept the conclusion 
 that these indications forced upon him. The boys 
 on deck were certainly getting the yacht in read- 
 iness to sail ; yet it seemed scarcely credible to 
 21
 
 242 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 him that they intended to run away with her. 
 A scheme so bold and wicked passed his compre- 
 hension, and he was not prepared to believe that 
 even Tom and Frank had the hardihood to carry 
 it out. But the evidences were fast increasing ; 
 he heard the voice of Tom Nettle, ^as he stood at 
 the helm, issuing his orders with as much assurance 
 as though he had been regularly placed in au- 
 thority. 
 
 ' Presently he heard the anchor strike against 
 the hawse-hole, and the jib rattling up the stay. 
 He could no longer cherish a hope that their pur- 
 pose was less criminal than he had feared. He 
 almost cried with sorrow and vexation when he 
 considered that his brother John was one of the 
 mutineers. 
 
 "They are running away with the yacht," said 
 he to his fellow-prisoner. 
 
 " That's none of my business," replied Dick, 
 with his accustomed stoicism. "All I got to say 
 is, that supper will be ready at six o'clock ; be- 
 cause why that's the time Captain Gordon told 
 me to have supper."
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 243 
 
 " But do you mean to let them run away with 
 the yacht?" 
 
 "Don't see that I can help myself;" and the 
 steward suspended his labors for a moment, glan- 
 cing at Paul as though he had a vague suspicion 
 that he might he in some degree responsible for 
 his inactivity. 
 
 " I think we have a duty to perform," con- 
 tinued Paul. 
 
 " What can we do ? " 
 
 " We must get the vessel away from them, and 
 take her back to her anchorage." 
 
 " But we can't do that. We are prisoners here; 
 can you break through that hatchway ? " 
 
 " Then you are willing to do something ? " 
 
 " Certainly I am," replied Dick. " If you can 
 tell me what to do, I will do it." 
 
 Paul seated himself by the side of the steward, 
 and proposed to him that, at a suitable time, they 
 should make an effort to recover the yacht, and 
 return her to her lawful commander. Dick con- 
 sented, but he was afraid they would have no
 
 244 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 opportunity to put the plan in execution, for they 
 could hardly overcome the eleven mutineers. Yet 
 each pledged himself to the other to do whatever 
 could be done ; but it was agreed that they should 
 not attempt any thing without a reasonable pros- 
 pect of success. 
 
 There was a stiff breeze from the north-east, 
 and the prisoners saw the yacht lying over upon 
 her side, which gave some indication of the rate 
 at which she was passing through the water. 
 They knew how dense was the fog outside, and 
 they had some fears that her reckless managers 
 would run her upon the rocks, which was not a 
 pleasant prospect to them, confined as they were 
 in the cabin. 
 
 An hour by the clock had elapsed since the 
 yacht got under way, and it was evident from her 
 motion that she was laboring through a heavy 
 sea. Paul had begun to be uneasy, for he had 
 very little confidence in the seamanship of Tom 
 Nettle, who, he judged, was the new master of 
 the Flyaway, and he was in momentary expecta-
 
 THE CKUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 245 
 
 tion that she would strike upon a rock, and the 
 cabin be filled with water. 
 
 When the yacht first got under way there had 
 been a great deal of confusion on deck. Frank 
 had rebelled at the authority of Tom, and claimed 
 the right to command ; but this dispute had been 
 settled, and new causes of difficulty had appeared 
 every moment. But now the conspirators were 
 very quiet, and Paul perceived that they had 
 come to realize the full peril of their position. 
 He could hear their low and earnest tones, as 
 they consulted together in the standing room. 
 More than once he had heard his own name men- 
 tioned, but he could not hear enough of the con- 
 versation to determine what they intended to do 
 with him. We will leave Paul and his fellow- 
 prisoner below for a time, and notice the condition 
 of things on deck. 
 
 The weather was decidedly threatening. The 
 
 wind was increasing in violence, and there was a 
 
 heavy sea. In short there was every indication 
 
 of a regular north-easter. Tom Nettle had the 
 
 21*
 
 246 LITTLE BY LITTLE, Olt 
 
 helm, but his face no longer wore the confident 
 assurance which had given him the victory over 
 his rival in the contest for the command, and 
 which had strengthened the doubting hearts of 
 his more timid followers. His eye was restless, 
 and his movements uneasy. He was not a stupid 
 boy only a reckless one ; and he could not help 
 seeing that he was leading those who had trusted 
 in him into hardship and perils which neither 
 party had foreseen. 
 
 The Flyaway Avas lying close to the wind, un- 
 der jib and mainsail, and was completely enveloped 
 in the dense fog that covered the ocean. Her 
 bowsprit was slapping the waves, and the spray 
 sweeping the entire length of the deck. Frank 
 Thompson was lying out upon the bowsprit, wet 
 to the skin, peering through the fog to give 
 timely notice of breakers, or of any vessel which 
 might lie in the path of the yacht. The rest of 
 the crew were seated in the standing room, most 
 of them engaged in watching the anxious face of 
 Tom Nettle, whose boasted seamanship was now 
 put to the severest test.
 
 THK CJ1UISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 217 
 
 The Flyaway dashed on, and the faces of the 
 rebel crew became more and more anxious every 
 moment. Another hour elapsed, and the wind 
 continued to freshen, and the sea to rise. Dense 
 volumes of fog rolled by the vessel, and the mu- 
 tineers were all wet to the skin. John Duncan 
 was th only one who seemed to enjoy the scene, 
 and it was evident at times that even he had 
 some painful misgivings in regard to the future. 
 
 " Hard a-lee ! hard a-lee ! " shouted Frank, sud- 
 denly jumping down from the bowsprit, and mak- 
 ing the most violent gestures. 
 
 Tom, startled and confused by the frantic move- 
 ments of Frank, unfortunately put the helm the 
 wrong way ; and the yacht, getting the wind more 
 a-beam, plunged deeper than ever into the huge 
 waves. 
 
 " The other way, you confounded fool ! " roared 
 Frank, as he let go of the jib sheet. 
 
 The bewildered helmsman obeyed this order; 
 but the movement had been so long delayed that 
 the whole crew could hear the roar of the breakers
 
 248 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OB 
 
 ahead of the yacht. With the assistance of his 
 companions Tom put the helm hard-a-lee, and the 
 Flyaway came up into the wind. 
 
 But Frank had made a greater blunder, if pos- 
 sible, than the confused skipper ; for when he had 
 cast off the jib sheet, long before he should have 
 done so, the sail had blown out as far as it could, 
 carrying the end of the sheet with it. 
 
 My young and non-nautical readers must not 
 suppose that a sheet is a sail ; it is a rope. The 
 jib- sheet is the rope attached to the lower part 
 of the sail, by which it is hauled in or let out, as 
 occasion may require. On -the Flyaway this rope 
 ran through a double block, or tackle. The sail 
 was now slapping and banging in the fresh wind, 
 so that Frank could not get hold of it ; for the 
 heavy block threatened to knock his brains out, 
 as it threshed in every direction. 
 
 In consequence of this blunder, when the yacht 
 came up into the wind, and there was no jib to 
 help her round, she fell off, lost her headway, and 
 drifted helplessly towards the rocks. Tom was
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 219 
 
 appalled at the danger that menaced them, and 
 gave all sorts of orders ; but none of them were 
 heeded by the panic-stricken crew. 
 
 " Draw the slide, and call up Paul," gasped 
 the disheartened skipper ; and this order was un- 
 derstood and instantly obeyed.
 
 250 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OB 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 PAUL TAKES COMMAND OF THE FLYAWAY. 
 
 " HELP us, Paul, if you can," cried Tom, as 
 the prisoners rushed up the ladder. " You take 
 the helm, Dick." 
 
 "Me!" exclaimed the steward. " I don't know 
 no more about handling a vessel than I do about 
 making a watch. Paul must help you." 
 
 " Forgive me, Paul, for shutting you up down 
 there, and get us out of this scrape if you can." 
 
 At this moment the keel of the Flyaway grazed 
 upon a rock, and then bumped heavily as she 
 sank down with the sea. 
 
 "We are lost! We shall all be drowned!" 
 exclaimed Frank Thompson. 
 
 Paul's quick eye instantly measured the peril 
 that menaced the Flyaway, and though she con- 
 tinued to thump and grind on the rocks at the
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 251 
 
 bottom, he did not lose all hope of saving her. 
 The first thing was to secure the jib sheet. Seiz- 
 ing the guy rope which was used to haul out the 
 main boom, he ordered all hands forward. At the 
 end of the line there was a large iron hook, which, 
 with a dexterous throw, he succeeded in fastening 
 to the block. The sail was then hauled down, 
 and the truant sheet effectually secured. 
 
 The coast line, upon which they were in dan- 
 ger of being dashed to pieces, extended north- 
 east and south-west, and the yacht was still some 
 twenty rods distant from the breakers. Paul 
 ordered the jib to be hauled hard up on the 
 weather side, which caused the vessel's head to 
 swing round with the wind ; then, as the sheet 
 was eased off, she slid over the rock, and for a 
 moment ran down parallel with the coast, and 
 before the wind. 
 
 When this manoeuvre had been successfully ac- 
 complished, Paul ran to the helm, and giving the 
 necessary orders, the Flyaway was soon braced 
 sharp up, and standing away from the breakers.
 
 252 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OK 
 
 " Three cheers for Paul Duncan ! " shouted Tom 
 Nettle, when he realized that they had escaped the 
 terrible fate which a moment before had hung 
 over them. " One ! " 
 
 " Hold your tongue, Tom ! " replied Paul, 
 sharply. " Try the pump, and see whether she 
 leaks any." 
 
 The cheers were not given in the face of this 
 sharp rebuke, and Tom hastened to obey the order 
 which Paul had just issued. The examination 
 revealed the gratifying fact that the Flyaway was 
 still sound, and made no water. She had only 
 bumped a few times in deep water, with the 
 action of the waves. 
 
 " You can take the helm again, Tom," said 
 Paul, when the survey was completed. " If you 
 wish to make me a prisoner again, I will go 
 below." 
 
 " I do not," replied Tom. 
 
 " I am not one of your number, but I should 
 like to ask what you intend to do ? " 
 
 " We calculated to go to Portland," replied the 
 chief of the conspiracy.
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 253 
 
 "To Portland?" 
 
 " That is what we intended." 
 
 " That is not what you. told us," said one of 
 the boys. " You said you would only run out a 
 little way, and return before Captain Gordon got 
 back." 
 
 " That was only to get your consent to the 
 plan, you spoonies," said Frank. 
 
 " You are smart sailors, I must confess," replied 
 Paul, with a sneer. " It was easy enough to get 
 out of the harbor, but not so easy to get back 
 again." 
 
 "We depended upon you," said Tom. 
 
 " Did you, indeed ? Do you expect me to join 
 in such a miserable scrape as this ? " 
 
 " We will do just what you say now." 
 
 " Will you ? You are very kind. After you 
 have got into a difficulty you can't get out of, you 
 want me to join the company. You expect me to 
 pilot you down to Portland don't you?" 
 
 " We will obey your orders, Paul ; go any 
 where you please," said Frank. 
 22
 
 254 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 " That is a great deal easier said than done. 
 What can I do, what can any body do, in this 
 fog ? You thought you knew every thing, Tom, 
 better than Captain Gordon. I hope you have 
 got enough of it." 
 
 " Captain Gordon was right," replied Tom ; and 
 this sentiment was responded to by all the muti- 
 neers. 
 
 " I'm glad you have come to your senses, even 
 at the eleventh hour," continued Paul ; who, find- 
 ing the conspirators were all upon the stool of 
 repentance, was disposed to treat them a great 
 deal better than they deserved. 
 
 " I shall not go to Portland, or attempt to go 
 there, for I do not consider myself competent to 
 pilot a vessel in these waters," said he. " I shall 
 take the Flyaway back to Portsmouth harbor as 
 soon as I can get there." 
 
 "Wherever you say, Paul, we will go," an- 
 swered Tom. 
 
 It was no easy matter to run back to the har- 
 bor they had left in the dense fog that then pre-
 
 THE CKUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 255 
 
 vailed, and Paul was sorely tried to determine 
 what course he should take, From his study of 
 the chart and the information derived from Cap- 
 tain Briskett, he had obtained a tolerable idea of 
 the coast and of the dangerous ledges and islands 
 in the vicinity. This knowledge, however, was of 
 little use to him while the fog lasted. He had no 
 doubt that the island upon which the mutineers 
 had so nearly wrecked the Flyaway was Boon 
 Island, or one of the Isles of Shoals. The yacht 
 was now headed east by north, by the compass, 
 and a few hours upon this course would bring 
 them to the coast of Maine. 
 
 " Two of you go forward, and keep a sharp 
 lookout ahead," said Paul. " Tom, you will take 
 the helm, while I go below and look on the chart." 
 
 " Ay, ay," replied Tom, reassured by the cool- 
 ness and self-possession of the newly-appointed 
 skipper. 
 
 " I would give a good deal to be out of this 
 scrape," continued Paul. 
 
 " So would I," frankly added Tom. " I was a
 
 256 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 fool to think I knew more about navigation than 
 Captain Gordon. What do you suppose will be- 
 come of us ?" 
 
 " I can't form any idea," answered Paul, as he 
 descended the ladder. 
 
 He found that the closet which contained the 
 chart was locked ; but he felt that the circum- 
 stances in which he was placed fully justified him 
 in forcing open the door, and he lost no time in 
 doing so. With the chart in his hand he returned 
 to the deck. 
 
 After questioning Tom in regard to the course 
 he had sailed since leaving Kittery Point, he came 
 to the conclusion that the land astern of them was 
 one of the Isles of Shoals, for they never could 
 have made Boon Island without tacking. But he 
 could not see how, with the wind north-east, and 
 the yacht close-hauled, she had brought up on the 
 Isles of Shoals. Tom helped him solve this diffi- 
 culty by declaring that he had not been very par- 
 ticular in keeping her close up to the wind. 
 
 Having satisfied himself on this point, the youth-
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 257 
 
 ful skipper proceeded to decide upon his future 
 course. If he continued to sail towards the north, 
 he was in danger of running upon Boon Island. 
 The night was coming on, and it promised to be 
 a night of peril. 
 
 There were only two methods open to the young 
 navigator. He must either attempt to make Ports- 
 mouth harbor again, or stand out to sea. In the 
 dense fog, it would be extremely perilous for him 
 to try to find the port from which they had sailed ; 
 and on the other hand, it seemed scarcely less 
 perilous to go to sea with the prospect of a gale 
 before him. It was an anxious moment for poor 
 Paul, for he felt that the safety of the yacht and 
 of his misguided companions were in his keeping, 
 and before God he felt responsible for them. He 
 tried to hold a consultation with Tom and some 
 of the larger boys, but they were utterly incapable 
 of giving him any advice. They were completely 
 bewildered, and looked up to Paul as children to 
 a father, in the midst of the dangers into which 
 they had so recklessly and criminally plunged. 
 22*
 
 258 LITTLE BY LITTLE, Oil 
 
 The heart of the young captain was full, as he 
 thought of his mother and his friends at home. 
 He felt his own weakness, his own ignorance, and 
 stealing away from his companions, he went below, 
 and, on his bended knee, looked to Heaven for that 
 strength and that knowledge which Heaven alone 
 can give in the hour of peril. He prayed for him- 
 self, for his brother, and for all his companions; 
 but especially did he ask God to give him wisdom 
 to guide the frail bark through the perils that 
 environed her. 
 
 The prayer gave him resolution, and, as though 
 his earnest supplication had been heard, he felt 
 competent to decide between the two courses which 
 alone were left open to him. The shore was stud- 
 ded with dangers; and the broad ocean, though 
 lashed into fury by the increasing tempest, was 
 preferable to a lee shore. The Flyaway was a 
 stiff sea-boat, and if well-managed, would ride out 
 any gale that would be likely to come upon them 
 at this season of the year. 
 
 On his return to the deck, therefore, he ordered
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 259 
 
 all hands to stand by the jib sheet while he took 
 the helm himself. His directions were so skil- 
 fully given, and so well obeyed, that the Flyaway 
 came about as handsomely as though Captain Gor- 
 don himself had controlled the manoeuvre. Her 
 course was laid exactly east, and the compass was 
 placed in a convenient position for use. 
 
 Dick now summoned the crew to supper. Sev- 
 eral of them looked at Paul, but no one ventured 
 to leave the post of duty till explicit orders had 
 been given to that effect. Half the boys were 
 permitted to " pipe to supper," while the other 
 half were to remain on duty. 
 
 After the meal was disposed of, Paul gave the 
 helm to Tom, and went forward to make his ar- 
 rangement for the night. The foresail was reefed 
 in readiness for use in case it should blow too 
 hard for the vessel to carry the jib and mainsail ; 
 the fore hatch was carefully secured to guard 
 against the peril of "shipping a sea;" and such 
 other preparations were made as the occasion 
 required.
 
 260 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OK 
 
 On his return to the standing room, Paul found 
 that Tom could not steer by compass, and he was 
 obliged to take the helm himself. Among the 
 appointments of the Fawn, there was a compass ; 
 and Paul, more for the purpose of familiarizing 
 himself with its use than from any necessity, had 
 often steered by it. The knowledge which the 
 youthful mariner had thus gained was now in- 
 valuable to him > and he was "thankful that he had 
 obtained it. 
 
 A long and tedious night was before him, even 
 though the perils of a galer should not be added 
 to his present trials. The steward, at his request, 
 brought him up an oil-cloth coat belonging to 
 Captain Gordon, and thus protected from the pen- 
 etrating mist, he gave himself up to the long and 
 anxious watch before him. 
 
 Darkness came down upon them, and the Fly- 
 away still rolled and pitched in the heavy head- 
 sea. The wind did not sensibly increase, and Paul 
 dared to hope that the gale would not break upon 
 them. At nine o'clock he bade half the boys go
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 261 
 
 below and turn in, assuring them they would be 
 called at one o'clock. The order was obeyed, but 
 not one of the boys could sleep until nearly half 
 of their -watch below had expired. 
 
 Hour after hour Paul kept his position at the 
 helm, till the clock in the cabin indicated mid- 
 night. The watch on deck had taken turns at 
 the lookout on the bowsprit. No event had 
 occurred to disturb the monotony of "the scene, 
 except that they narrowly escaped being run down 
 by a large schooner. The fog had begun to dis- 
 sipate, and by one o'clock they had passed entirely 
 out of it ; but the wind had increased in violence, 
 and at this time it blew a fresh gale. 
 
 All hands were called up, and after an hour of 
 hard labor, the jib and mainsail were taken in, 
 and the reefed foresail set. Now, though the wind 
 blew a gale, the Flyaway behaved so well that 
 Paul ventured to send the watch which had served 
 from nine o'clock below. At four o'clock, the 
 yacht having run ten hours to the eastward, the 
 clouds began to disperse, the wind suddenly
 
 262 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 abated, till it became almost a calm, and there 
 was every appearance of fair weather. At this 
 time Paul put the Flyaway about, and laid her 
 course due west.
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 263 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 PAUL EXERCISES A STRONG MORAL INFLUENCE. 
 
 AT sunrise the sky was clear, and there was 
 not a particle of fog to be seen in any direction ; 
 but the wind had all died out, and there was a 
 perfect calm upon the ocean. The yacht was out 
 of sight of land, and Paul judged that she was 
 from eighty to a hundred miles to the eastward 
 of the Isles of Shoals. There was not a sail to 
 be seen, and the crew were awed by the feeling 
 that they were alone upon the ocean. Perhaps 
 not one of them had ever been out of sight of 
 land before, and many of them had serious 
 doubts whether they should ever see the shore 
 again. 
 
 After the Flyaway had rolled and pitched for 
 an hour in the heavy sea that still prevailed, a 
 breeze sprang up from the south-west. The bon-
 
 264 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 net was rove on the jib, and the yacht began to 
 dash merrily over the waves. Paul ate his break- 
 fast, and remained on deck till nine o'clock, though 
 he was almost exhausted by the fatigue and inces- 
 sant watching of the previous night ; but he had 
 trained Tom and Frank so that they could steer 
 by compass, and at the suggestion of the former, 
 he went below to obtain the sleep he so much 
 needed. 
 
 As the wind continued to blow steadily from 
 the south-west, the yacht held her course, and 
 the young commander was permitted to sleep till 
 two o'clock in the afternoon, when, much re- 
 freshed, he again appeared on deck. Land was in 
 sight over the weather bow, and the boys were in 
 excellent spirits or rather would have been, if 
 the record of their misconduct could have been 
 obliterated. Frank and Tom had recovered their 
 wonted cheerfulness, and when they sighted the 
 land, had begun to think of the probable conse- 
 quences of the mutiny in which they had been 
 the ringleaders. It was clear enough that Cap-
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 265 
 
 tain Gordon would immediately return home, when 
 he recovered possession of the yacht. The cruise 
 was, therefore, about up, if they returned to the 
 port from which they had sailed ; and strange as 
 it may seem, Frank was actually trying to per- 
 suade his companions to run for Portland. 
 
 They had all enjoyed their sail during the day, 
 and been pleased with the novelty of their situa- 
 tion. It was not pleasant for them to think of 
 the frowns of Captain Gordon, and of being com- 
 pelled to sail at once for home. A majority of them 
 would have been in favor of continuing the cruise, 
 if that oppressive sense of having done wrong had 
 not operated against the scheme. But the most 
 the adventurous leader brave and skilful now 
 that it was fine weather and plain sailing could 
 accomplish, was to induce the others to consent 
 if Paul would agree to the plan. 
 
 " Of course he won't agree," replied Frank, pet- 
 tishly. " There are enough of us to have our 
 own way about it." 
 
 " You had your own way yesterday, and we 
 23
 
 266 LITTLE BY LI1TLB, OR 
 
 came within one of being wrecked," said one of 
 them. 
 
 " That wasn't my fault," growled Frank. 
 
 " Whose fault was it, then ? " demanded Tom. 
 
 " Yours, of course ; didn't you put the helm 
 the wrong way when I told you to put it hard- 
 a-lee ? " 
 
 " And you let go the jib sheet long before you 
 ought to have done so. That's what made all the 
 trouble. If it hadn't been for Paul, some of us 
 would not have been here to talk about it now." 
 
 " You are a spunky fellow, Tom," sneered Frank. 
 
 " So are you, when there is no danger near." 
 
 " How many fellows will go to Portland ? " 
 asked Frank, desperately. 
 
 There was no response, and the conversation 
 was here interrupted by the appearance of Paul. 
 There were enough of them who would gladly 
 have seen the bow of the Flyaway pointed to the 
 north, instead of the west, but the influence of 
 Paul was so powerful that no one but Frank 
 would consent to take the command from him.
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 267 
 
 "What land is that?" asked Tom, as the 
 skipper joined the group in the standing room. 
 
 " The Isles of Shoals. Keep her away a couple 
 of points, Frank," replied Paul. 
 
 " I shall keep her as I think best," answered 
 Frank, gruffly ; for he was smarting under the dis- 
 appointment he had just experienced. 
 
 " Are you going to run her on the island ? " 
 said Paul, astonished at the rude answer he had 
 received. 
 
 " I don't know as it is any more your business 
 than mine where 1 run her." 
 
 " What is the matter, Frank ? What ails you ? 
 What makes you so ill-natured ? I hope I haven't 
 done any thing to give you reason for any ill 
 feeling." 
 
 " He wants us to go to Portland," said one of 
 the crew. 
 
 " I thought you had got enough of cruising on 
 your own hook," added Paul, with a smile. 
 
 " I'm not going back to be snubbed by old 
 Gordon; and the rest of the fellows wouldn't, if
 
 268 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OK 
 
 they had any spunk at all. Come, Tom, let's 
 keep her away for Portland." 
 
 " I will not," replied Tom, decidedly ; " at least, 
 I will not unless Paul thinks we had better go 
 there." 
 
 " I do not think so," interposed Paul. " You 
 have done wrong, and all of you had better get 
 in the right path as soon as possible." 
 
 " I am willing," said Tom. 
 
 " So am I," replied half a dozen others. 
 
 "The fact is, fellows," continued Tom, very 
 earnestly, " I have had a lesson which will last 
 me as long as I live. This is the meanest scrape 
 I was ever concerned in, and when I get out of 
 it I will try to do better. You needn't grin, 
 Frank Thompson; I am ashamed of what I have 
 done, and I confess that I am heartily sorry for 
 it. I did more thinking last night than I ever 
 did in seven years before." 
 
 "Humph!" sneered Frank. 
 
 " I don't care what you say, Frank ; if it is in 
 my power to reform my life, I mean to do it."
 
 -THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 269 
 
 Tom continued his remarks in quite an elo- 
 quent strain, declaring that, in the perils of the 
 stormy night through which they had passed, he 
 had thought of all the wrong he had ever done, and 
 resolved to be a better boy. Above all things, he 
 said he had learned the necessity of obedience ; 
 and that because he had refused to obey Captain 
 Gordon, he had been glad to obey the orders of 
 Paul Duncan, a boy like himself. 
 
 " That schooner is bearing down upon us," said 
 Samuel Nason, pointing to a vessel over the 
 weather quarter. 
 
 The stranger was evidently . a fisherman, and 
 had now approached within hail of the Flyaway, 
 In a few moments more she had come near 
 enough to enable the boys to distinguish the per- 
 sons of those on board of her. 
 
 " Captain Littleton ! " exclaimed Tom, who was 
 the first to recognize him. 
 
 "Ease off the jib sheet!" shouted Frank, as 
 he cast off the main sheet himself, and put the helm 
 up, so as to carry the yacht away from the schooner. 
 24*
 
 270 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 " What are you doing ? " demanded Paul. 
 
 " Do you think I am going to throw myself 
 into the hands of Captain Littleton and old Gor- 
 don ? I'll bet I ain't," replied Frank. 
 
 " What are you going to dp ? " asked Tom. 
 
 " Get out of his way, of course ; the Flyaway 
 can outsail that craft, and we may as well have 
 our cruise out as be snubbed by any of 'em. 
 Ease off that jib sheet, I say. Come, Tom, show 
 your spunk." 
 
 " I will, but in a little different way from what 
 you want," said Tom, seizing the helm, and at- 
 tempting to restore the yacht to her former course. 
 
 "No you don't," growled Frank, dealing him a 
 heavy blow, which Tom promptly returned ; and 
 then commenced a struggle between them for the 
 possession of the tiller. 
 
 Frank was the largest and strongest boy on 
 board, and for a moment the victory leaned to his 
 side. Paul, who had seconded Tom's movement 
 by hauling in the main sheet, now rushed to the 
 conflict, assisted by several of the larger boys. After
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE VLYAAVAY. 271 
 
 a severe engagement, Frank was knocked down, 
 and held till his hands and feet were tied. 
 
 This turbulent spirit thus secured, Paul took 
 the helm, and the yacht was brought to her 
 course again. By this time the schooner had 
 lowered her boat from the stern davits, and Cap- 
 tain Littleton and his companions were pulling 
 towards the Flyaway. 
 
 " What does this mean ? " demanded the cap- 
 tain, sternly, as he leaped over the rail. " Paul," 
 he continued, as he discovered his young friend at 
 the helm, " I am astonished to see you here." 
 
 The boys hung their heads with shame, and 
 Paul preferred to let some other person vindicate 
 him from the implied charge. 
 
 " Will you explain this, Paul ? " said Captain 
 Littleton. " If it had been my own son, I could 
 not have been more surprised." 
 
 "Paul is innocent, sir," interposed Tom, step- 
 ping forward. Frank Thompson and myself are 
 the guilty ones. He and I got up the scrape ; 
 we fastened Paul and Dick in the cabin, and
 
 272 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 deceived the rest of the fellows. We kept Paul 
 a prisoner till we had nearly wrecked the Flya- 
 way, and then we called him up, and he saved 
 the yacht and all our lives." 
 
 " That sounds like a true story, Tom, and I 
 am glad to find you have the manliness to ac- 
 knowledge your guilt. Paul, your hand ; I have 
 heen grieving over you all day, and now I am 
 rejoiced to find you are still true to yourself and 
 the good character you have hitherto home." 
 
 Paul gave the captain his hand, and thanked 
 him for the kind words he had spoken. 
 
 "What was the quarrel I witnessed just before 
 I came on hoard ? " asked Captain Littleton. 
 
 *' Frank Thompson wanted to run away from 
 you, and have the cruise out," replied Paul. 
 " Tom and all the rest of the party opposed him, 
 and finally took the helm away from him by 
 force." 
 
 Paul proceeded to give a more detailed account 
 of the events which had transpired on board of 
 the Flyaway since her departure from Portsmouth
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 273 
 
 harbor. Tom and the other mutineers expressed 
 their sorrow for what they had done, and were 
 ready to submit to such punishment as the cap- 
 tain thought it necessary to inflict upon them. 
 But Paul told him how penitent they had been, 
 that Tom had promised to reform his life, and he 
 thought they had already been severely punished 
 for their misconduct by the terrors of the long 
 and anxious night they had passed through. This 
 he proved by showing that all of them had re- 
 fused to follow Frank's plan of continuing the 
 cruise. 
 
 " But they punished you more than they pun- 
 ished themselves, by keeping you on deck all 
 night," said Captain Littleton. 
 
 " It was not punishment to me, for I was inno- 
 cent, and they were guilty," replied Paul. 
 
 " You are right, my boy ; it is guilt that makes 
 us cowards in the midst of peril. You plead so 
 strongly for them, Paul, that I shall forgive all 
 except Frank. He must be a passenger in that 
 fishing schooner, which is bound for Boston. When
 
 274 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 I arrived at Portsmouth this morning, I learned 
 from Captain Gordon that the boys had run away 
 with the yacht. I supposed, of course, you had 
 wrecked her in the gale and the fog, and I chartered 
 that vessel, which was on the point of sailing for 
 Boston, to go in search of you. I thank God 
 you are all safe." 
 
 Frank Thompson, in spite of his earnest protest, 
 was put on board the schooner, and the Flyaway's 
 head was turned to the north. Captains Gordon 
 and Briskett resumed their places, and Henry Lit- 
 tleton spent the whole afternoon in listening to 
 Paul's animated narrative of the cruise of the 
 yacht to seaward. 
 
 In the course of the night the Flyaway reached 
 Portland. But we have not space to detail the ad- 
 ventures of the Teneans in the harbor, or to give, 
 the particulars of the race between them and the 
 North Star Boat Club. On the following Satur- 
 day night the Flyaway arrived at Bayville, and 
 Mrs. Duncan once more pressed to her heart her 
 darling boys.
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 275 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 PAUL ADVANCES LITTLE BY LITTLE, AND THE 
 STOKY ENDS. 
 
 FOE several years Paul pursued his calling as a 
 fisherman; and as he grew older the business be- 
 came more profitable. Before he was twenty-one, 
 the mortgage on the house was paid off ; and when 
 he was free he had saved up quite a handsome sum 
 of money, with which he purposed to extend his 
 operations. But when he was on the point of 
 
 s 
 
 purchasing a schooner of sixty tons, a situation as 
 second mate of an ocean steamer was offered to him, 
 with the promise of certain advancement as he 
 became qualified to fill more important positions. 
 He concluded, after mature deliberation, to accept 
 the offer, and the fishing business was entirely given 
 up to John, who continued it for several years, with 
 good success.
 
 276 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OK 
 
 If my young reader's imagination is vivid enough 
 to accomplish the feat, let us step forward nine 
 years, which will very nearly bring our story up to 
 the present time. It is easy to jump over a long 
 period of years in this manner on paper, but not so 
 easy for the mind to realize the number and the im- 
 portance of the events which may transpire in this 
 time. Though we step forward over long years of 
 toil and care, of joy and sorrow, of severe trial and 
 patient waiting, and behold the Paul Duncan of 
 to-day, it will be hard to believe he is not still a 
 boy, and the skipper of the Fawn, as we have seen 
 him in the pages of our story. 
 
 He is no longer a boy, and we can scarcely be- 
 lieve that he with the bushy whiskers, and the 
 strong, well-knit frame, is the young navigator of 
 our tale. Yet it is he ; and in order that our young 
 friends may be properly introduced to him, we will 
 step back a day. 
 
 Ah, you don't recognize Bayville ; you don't feel 
 at home there ; for every thing is changed since 
 the young fisherman sold his wares in its streets. 
 
 Where is the cottage of Mrs. Duncan, do you
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 277 
 
 ask ? Well, about two years ago, it was pulled 
 down to give place to the more elegant structure 
 that occupies its site. It is a very beautiful resi- 
 dence ; not very elaborate or very costly, it is true, 
 but a beautiful residence for all that. 
 
 Who lives there now? Mrs. Duncan, of course; 
 and she is still an active woman, and as affection- 
 ate a mother as can be found in the whole coun- 
 try. You recognize in the elderly gentleman who 
 has just rung the front door bell our old friend 
 Captain Littleton. He is still hale and hearty, 
 and makes a regular call every day at the home 
 of Mrs. Duncan. He is in a hurry to-day, and 
 has a newspaper in his hand. 
 
 " The Marmora has arrived," he exclaims, as 
 he enters the room where the old lady is seated. 
 
 " You don't say so ! " 
 
 " Arrived this morning, and is at the wharf in 
 New York by this time." 
 
 " I'm so glad ! " replied Mrs. Duncan, pulling 
 off her spectacles, and wiping away the moisture 
 in her eyes. " When will they be home ? " 
 24
 
 278 LITTLE BY LITTLE, OR 
 
 " To-morrow morning." 
 
 And on the following morning, Captain Little- 
 ton and Mrs. Duncan were at the railroad station, 
 waiting the arrival of the train which was to bring 
 the absent ones. They were not very patient, but 
 at last the cars appeared, and stopped at the 
 station. 
 
 " There they are ! " cried Mrs. Duncan, as she 
 stepped forward and grasped the hand of the gen- 
 tleman with the strong, well-knit frame and bushy 
 whiskers. A beautiful lady is leaning upon his 
 arm, and when she sees Captain Littleton, she 
 throws herself into his arms, just as the young 
 ladies in the romances do. 
 
 But you wish to know about this lady, and we 
 hasten to inform you that it is Mrs. Paul Dun- 
 can, late Miss Carrie Littleton. No doubt you ex- 
 pected all this when the young fisherman jumped 
 overboard and rescued her from a watery grave ; 
 and it would be a great pity to disappoint you, 
 especially when a few dashes of the pen will 
 make all right with them and with the sympa- 
 thizing reader.
 
 THE CUUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. 279 
 
 Captain Duncan and lady were escorted to the 
 residence of Mrs. Duncan by their happy parents, 
 and attended by sundry brothers and sisters, all 
 intensely delighted with this pleasant reunion. I 
 will not tell you how happy every body is at the 
 house on the Point; but if the reader wishes to 
 hear about the last trip of the Marmora, he must 
 "call at the captain's office," and obtain the par- 
 ticulars from him. It was the quickest passage 
 which had yet been made, and Captain Duncan 
 was almost as proud of his ship as he was of 
 his wife. 
 
 Little by little, Paul Duncan had worked his 
 way up from the position in which we left him 
 ten years before, to the command of one of the 
 finest ocean steamers that sailed out of New York. 
 He was exceedingly popular with the public, and 
 was often quoted as the noblest specimen of a 
 gallant captain, and, at the same time, a true 
 Christian gentleman. He is not rich, as wealth is 
 measured in our day, though he has some prop- 
 erty, and receives a liberal salary from the Steam-
 
 280 LITTLE BY LITTLE. 
 
 ship Company ; but in the higher and truer sense, 
 he is rich rich in the possession of a noble and 
 lofty character, and a faith which reaches beyond 
 the treasures of this world. 
 
 John Duncan still continues to follow the fishing 
 business, and owns a fine schooner, which is en- 
 gaged in mackerel catching most of the time. He 
 is the same bold, daring fellow that we knew on 
 board the Fawn, which, by the way, is the name 
 of his schooner, and is noted for carrying sail 
 longer than any other skipper in the fleet, thus 
 putting the nerves of his crew to the severest 
 trials. 
 
 Now, reader, if you like the character of Paul 
 Duncan, build up one like it. Be true to your- 
 self, to your parents, and to your God; be patient 
 and persevering, and you will obtain your full 
 measure of success, though like him you are 
 obliged to win it LITTLE BY LITTLE.
 
 ! REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
 A 000 825 005 2 
 
 V