Marco Pauls Voyages and Travels | Page 4

caught
a shark, and hauled him in on deck by means of a pulley at the end of
the yard-arm;--and how, on the voyage home, the ship was driven
before an awful gale of wind for five days, under bare poles, with
terrific seas roaring after them all the way. These descriptions took a
strong hold of Marco's imagination. His eye brightened up, and he
became restless on his seat, and thought that he would give the world

for a chance to stand up in the bow of a boat, and put a harpoon into the
neck of a whale.
In the mean time, the day wore away, and the road led into a more and
more mountainous country. The hills were longer and steeper, and the
tracts of forest more frequent and solitary. The number of passengers
increased too, until the coach was pretty heavily loaded; and sometimes
all but the female passengers would get out and walk up the hills. On
these occasions Forester and Marco would generally walk together,
talking about the incidents of their journey, or the occupations and
amusements which they expected to engage in when they arrived at
Forester's home. About the middle of the afternoon the coach stopped
at the foot of a long winding ascent, steep and stony, and several of the
passengers got out. Forester, however, remained in, as he was tired of
walking, and so Marco and the sailor walked together. The sailor,
finding how much Marco was interested in his stories, liked his
company, and at length he asked Marco where he was going. Marco
told him.
"Ah, if you were only going on a voyage with me," said the sailor, "that
would make a man of you. I wouldn't go and be shut up with that old
prig, poring over books forever."
Marco was displeased to hear the sailor call his cousin an old prig, and
he felt some compunctions of conscience about forming and continuing
an intimacy with such a person. Still he was so much interested in
hearing him talk, that he continued to walk with him up the hill. Finally,
the sailor fairly proposed to him to run away and go to sea with him.
"O no," said Marco, "I wouldn't do such a thing for the world. Besides,"
said he, "they would be after us, and carry me back."
"No," said the sailor; "we would cut across the country, traveling in the
night and laying to by day, till we got to another stage route, and then
make a straight wake, till we got to New Bedford, and there we could
get a good voyage. Come," said he, "let's go to-night. I'll turn right
about. I don't care a great deal about seeing my mother."

Though Marco was a very bold and adventurous sort of a boy, still he
was not quite prepared for such a proposal as this. In the course of the
conversation the sailor used improper and violent language too, which
Marco did not like to hear; and, in fact, Marco began to be a little afraid
of his new acquaintance. He determined, as soon as he got back to the
coach to keep near Forester all the time, so as not to be left alone again
with the sailor. He tried to hasten on, so as to overtake the coach, but
the sailor told him not to walk so fast; and, being unwilling to offend
him, he was obliged to go slowly, and keep with him; and thus
protracted the conversation.
[Illustration: THE HILL.]
About half-way up the hill there was a small tavern, and the sailor
wanted Marco to go in with him and get a drink. Marco thought that he
meant a drink of water, but it was really a drink of spirits which was
intended. Marco, however, refused to go, saying that he was not thirsty;
and so they went on up the hill. At the top of the hill, the stage-coach
stopped for the pedestrians to come up. There was also another
passenger there to get in,--a woman, who came out from a farm-house
near by. The driver asked the sailor if he was not willing to ride outside,
in order to make room for the new passenger. But he would not. He
was afraid. He said he would not ride five miles outside for a month's
wages. Marco laughed at the sailor's fears, and he immediately asked
Forester to let him ride outside. Forester hesitated, but on looking up,
and seeing that there was a secure seat, with a good place to hold on, he
consented. So Marco clambered up and took his seat with the driver,
while the other passengers re-established themselves in the stage.
Chapter II.
Accidents.

Marco liked his seat upon the outside