Hoo--oo--rah; and up she rises!
Hoo--oo--rah! and up she rises!
Early in the morning.
What shall we do with a saucy sailor?
Put him in the long boat and make him bail 'erv
Early in the morn--ing!
--Old "Stamp-and-go."
Mayo saw the sail first. It was coming in from the sea, and was very far
and minute. He pointed it out with an exclamation.
"What do you make it, sir?" asked Captain Candage. "Your eyes are
younger 'n mine are."
"I reckon it's a fisherman bound in from Cashes Banks. He seems to be
lying well over, and that shows there's a good breeze outside. He ought
to reach near enough to see us, judging from the way he's heading."
That little sail, nicked against the sky, was something else to watch
and speculate on and wait for, and they forgot, almost, that they were
hungry and thirsty and sun-parched.
However, Captain Mayo kept his own gaze most steadfastly on the landward
horizon. He did not reveal any of his thoughts, for he did not want
to raise false hopes. Nevertheless, it was firmly in his mind that no
matter what might be the sentiments of Julius Marston in regard to his
recent skipper, the mate and engineer on board the Olenia were loyal
friends who would use all their influence with the owner to urge him to
come seeking the man who had been lost.
The fact that a motor-boat had come popping out of Saturday Cove in
pursuit of the schooner suggested that Mate McGaw had suspected what had
happened, and was not dragging the cove-bottom for a drowned man.
Mayo had plenty of time for pondering on the matter, and he allowed hope
to spice his guesses. He knew Mate McGaw's characteristics and decided
that the yacht would get under way early, would nose into a few near-by
harbors where a gale-ridden schooner might have dodged for safety, and
then would chase down the sea, following the probable course of a craft
which had been caught in that nor'easter. Mate McGaw was a sailorly man
and understood how to fit one fact with another. He had a due portion of
mariner's imagination, and was not the sort to desert a chum, even if
he were obliged to use stiff speech to convert an owner. Therefore, Mayo
peered toward the blue shore-line, coddling hope. He wondered whether
Mate McGaw would have courage to slip a word of encouragement to Alma
Marston if she asked questions.
Mayo was elated rather than astonished when he spied a smear of drab
smoke and was able to determine that the craft which was puffing that
smoke was heading out to sea, not crawling alongshore.