The Missing Ship | Page 8

disappointed;
when the morning broke, the ship was running on before a fair and
moderate breeze. The rest of the usual canvas was set, and under all sail
the Ouzel Galley made good way towards her destination. With a
thankful heart, soon after breakfast, Norah accompanied her father on
deck. The other sick men were able to crawl up and enjoy the fresh air,
their pallid faces showing, however, how near death's door they had
been. It was evident that some time must elapse before they would be
fit for duty. The stranger had not yet made his appearance; but Dan,
who had dried his clothes, had taken them into the cabin, and reported
that he was at length awake and expressed his intention of getting up.
Norah was seated with her father under an awning stretched over the
poop-deck, where both shade and air could be enjoyed. When the
stranger came up the companion-hatch, the first person he saw was
Owen. He put out his hand.
"Though I got but a glimpse of you last night, you are, I am sure, the
man who hauled me off the raft, and I will again thank you heartily for
saving my life," he said, in a frank tone. "I find that I have deprived

you of your cabin; you must stow me elsewhere for the rest of the
voyage, for I must not continue to incommode you."
"There is another berth I can take, so don't talk about that," answered
Owen.
"As you wish," said the stranger, who having, to his own satisfaction it
may be, expressed his thanks, took a seaman-like glance round the ship.
As he did so, his eye fell on Norah and the captain. An expression of
surprise crossed his countenance, succeeded by a look of admiration, as
he beheld Norah, who appeared even more beautiful and attractive than
usual, her colour heightened by the fresh breeze and her heart joyous
with the thoughts of her father's recovery. She withdrew her gaze,
which had naturally been turned towards the stranger who had thus
unexpectedly appeared. He at once, guessing who the captain and his
daughter were, stepped on to the poop and advanced towards them.
Doffing his sea-cap with the manners of a man accustomed to the world,
he bowed to the young lady, and then addressed the captain. "I have
come without any formal invitation on board your ship, sir, but faith, I
hadn't my choice--your mate hauled me on board without asking
whether I wished it or no; and, to confess the truth, I am very much
obliged to him, for had he stopped to inquire I should not have had the
opportunity of answering, as in another moment I should have been
carried to lie where many a brave fellow sleeps, at the bottom of the sea.
I am therefore indebted to him for saving my life--what he did, he did
well and gallantly, at no slight risk of losing his own."
"I am thankful that he succeeded," answered Captain Tracy; "and, for
my part, all I can say is that you are very welcome on board--and glad I
am to see you so much recovered this morning."
"A night's rest has worked wonders--yesterday evening I felt very much
unlike myself, but I am now strong and well as usual." The stranger
took two or three turns on deck to verify his assertion; again stopping,
in an off-hand style he inquired how long the ship had been out, what
weather had been met with, and where she was bound for--though,
curiously enough, he did not offer to give any account of himself,
apparently intending to let the captain put any questions to him on the

subject he might think fit. Norah, not being destitute of the curiosity
natural to her sex, was longing to learn who the stranger was--yet she
did not like to ask him herself. She waited, hoping that her father would
do so. She could at length restrain herself no longer.
"Had you been long in the water, sir?" she inquired.
"Five or six hours, I believe, more or less," he answered, smiling.
"By-the-by, I must apologise for not having before given an account of
myself. To the best of my belief, I am the only survivor of the gallant
fellows who manned the Dragon privateer, of which I had the honour
to be first officer. She carried sixteen guns and a crew of 110 hands, all
told."
"A privateer!" exclaimed Captain Tracy. "What flag did you sail under?
Has England again gone to war? We had heard nothing of it before we
left Port Royal."
"Oh, that is not surprising--it is scarcely six weeks since England
declared war against France," replied the stranger. "We knew what was
in the wind, and sailed