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very well; an' since he's willin' to come with us we'll
have him most gratefully, sir, and with many thanks to you for sparin'
of him to us."
"Very well, then; that is settled," exclaimed the skipper briskly. Then,
turning to me, he said:
"Cut away at once, Troubridge, and get your chest over the side as
quickly as possible. If you are smart you may get aboard your new ship
in time to take an observation at noon and check your own reckoning
by ours." Then, as I rushed off to the after-house, where we apprentices
were berthed, he turned to Polson and proceeded to question him
further relative to the extraordinary series of fatalities that had occurred
on board the Mercury.
CHAPTER TWO.
THE SHADOW OF COMING EVENTS.

It took me less than ten minutes to bundle my traps into the waiting
boat alongside; and then, having already said goodbye to my shipmates
in the apprentices' berth, I stepped up to the skipper and chief mate to
say the same, and to thank the former for giving me this splendid
chance. He was very kind in bidding me farewell; told me I had given
him every satisfaction while I had been with him; gave me a few words
of caution and advice; and wound up by saying:
"The boatswain, here, tells me that the chronometer aboard the Mercury
has unfortunately been allowed to run down; when, therefore, you get
aboard, and have taken your meridian altitude, you had better wind the
chronometer and then set it to Greenwich time, which I will give you;
after which you should experience no difficulty in finding your way to
Sydney, to which port I wish you a prosperous and pleasant voyage. Of
course I quite reckon upon arriving two or three weeks ahead of you;
but unless you have an exceptionally protracted passage you ought to
arrive in good time to return home with us. Unless, therefore, the
Mercury's agent in Sydney wishes you to return to England in the ship,
you had better make your way to Melbourne as soon as you have
settled up, and go back with us."
I thanked him for the kindly send-off that he was giving me, and then,
after a final shake of the hand, followed Polson down the side, seated
myself in the stern-sheets, and--the boatswain pulling stroke while the
other three oarsmen shifted one thwart forward--shoved off, the crew
and passengers of the Salamis giving me a little cheer to speed me on
my way. The cheer was at once vociferously responded to by the
people crowding the Mercury's rail. No doubt they were greatly
relieved at the thought that there was to be no more aimless drifting
about the ocean for them, but that at last they were to find themselves
again heading intelligently toward their port of destination.
By the time that I had arrived alongside the Mercury and mounted to
her deck it was getting so close toward noon, that I had only barely
time enough to get my traps out of the boat before the moment arrived
when I must get to work with my sextant to secure the sun's meridian
altitude, from which to deduce the ship's latitude. Then there was an

even more important job to be done, namely, to start and set the
chronometer; therefore, as soon as I had secured my meridian altitude
and made it noon aboard the Mercury, we wore ship, and coming up
alongside the Salamis--that lay patiently waiting for us with her main
topsail aback--obtained the correct Greenwich time and set our
chronometer to it. This done, Captain Martin swung his mainyard and
made sail, and we followed suit as quickly as we could. Then I worked
out my observations, pricked off the ship's position on the chart, wrote
up the log, and took possession of the late captain's stateroom, by
which time dinner was on the cabin table, and I sat down to my first
meal on board the Mercury. The food, of course, was not quite so
luxurious as that served up on the cuddy tables aboard the Salamis, but
it was a long way better than what I had been accustomed to get in the
apprentices' berth, and I appreciated the change accordingly.
At the conclusion of the meal, at which Polson joined me, uninvited,
while the carpenter stumped the poop as officer of the watch, I went on
deck to have a good look at my first command; and, on the whole, was
very pleased with her. She was a big ship for her tonnage, having
evidently been constructed with an eye to ample cargo stowage rather
than speed; consequently she was inclined to be bluff in the bows and
full in the run; yet when I looked