The Sea Fairies | Page 6

mermaids," remarked Cap'n Bill in his most solemn voice.
"It wouldn't do us any good to mix up with 'em, Trot."
"May-re! May-re!" called a voice from the house.
"Yes, Mamma!"
"You an' Cap'n Bill come in to supper."

THE MERMAIDS
CHAPTER 2

The next morning, as soon as Trot had helped wipe the breakfast dishes
and put them away in the cupboard, the little girl and Cap'n Bill started
out toward the bluff. The air was soft and warm and the sun turned the
edges of the waves into sparkling diamonds. Across the bay the last of
the fisherboats was speeding away out to sea, for well the fishermen
knew this was an ideal day to catch rockbass, barracuda and yellowtail.
The old man and the young girl stood on the bluff and watched all this
with interest. Here was their world. "It isn't a bit rough this morning.

Let's have a boat ride, Cap'n Bill," said the child.
"Suits me to a T," declared the sailor. So they found the winding path
that led down the face of the cliff to the narrow beach below and
cautiously began the descent. Trot never minded the steep path or the
loose rocks at all, but Cap'n Bill's wooden leg was not so useful on a
downgrade as on a level, and he had to be careful not to slip and take a
tumble.
But by and by they reached the sands and walked to a spot just beneath
the big acacia tree that grew on the bluff. Halfway to the top of the cliff
hung suspended a little shed-like structure that sheltered Trot's rowboat,
for it was necessary to pull the boat out of reach of the waves which
beat in fury against the rocks at high tide. About as high up as Cap'n
Bill could reach was an iron ring securely fastened to the cliff, and to
this ring was tied a rope. The old sailor unfastened the knot and began
paying out the rope, and the rowboat came out of its shed and glided
slowly downward to the beach. It hung on a pair of davits and was
lowered just as a boat is lowered from a ship's side. When it reached
the sands, the sailor unhooked the ropes and pushed the boat to the
water's edge. It was a pretty little craft, light and strong, and Cap'n Bill
knew how to sail it or row it, as Trot might desire.
Today they decided to row, so the girl climbed into the bow and her
companion stuck his wooden leg into the water's edge "so he wouldn't
get his foot wet" and pushed off the little boat as he climbed aboard.
Then he seized the oars and began gently paddling.
"Whither away, Commodore Trot?" he asked gaily.
"I don't care, Cap'n. It's just fun enough to be on the water," she
answered, trailing one hand overboard. So he rowed around by the
North Promontory, where the great caves were, and much as they were
enjoying the ride, they soon began to feel the heat of the sun.
"That's Dead Man's Cave, 'cause a skellington was found there,"
observed the child as they passed a dark, yawning mouth in the cliff.
"And that's Bumble Cave, 'cause the bumblebees make nests in the top

of it. And here's Smuggler's Cave, 'cause the smugglers used to hide
things in it."
She knew all the caves well, and so did Cap'n Bill. Many of them
opened just at the water's edge, and it was possible to row their boat far
into their dusky depths.
"And here's Echo Cave," she continued, dreamily, as they slowly
moved along the coast, "and Giant's Cave, and--oh, Cap'n Bill! Do you
s'pose there were ever any giants in that cave?"
"'Pears like there must o' been, Trot, or they wouldn't o' named it that
name," he replied, pausing to wipe his bald head with the red
handkerchief while the oars dragged in the water.
"We've never been into that cave, Cap'n," she remarked, looking at the
small hole in the cliff--an archway through which the water flowed.
"Let's go in now."
"What for, Trot?"
"To see if there's a giant there."
"Hm. Aren't you 'fraid?"
"No, are you? I just don't b'lieve it's big enough for a giant to get into."
"Your father was in there once," remarked Cap'n Bill, "an' he says it's
the biggest cave on the coast, but low down. It's full o' water, an' the
water's deep down to the very bottom o' the ocean; but the rock roof's
liable to bump your head at high tide ."
"It's low tide now," returned Trot. "And how could any giant live in
there if the roof is so low down?"
"Why, he couldn't, mate.