Then immediately turning to Rollo, he said, "Come, young man!"
So Rollo marched up to the gangway, and was in a moment whirled down into the boat, as the others had been. Immediately afterwards the boat pushed off, and the sailors began to row, leaving Mr. and Mrs. Parkman on board the steamer. How they were to get to the shore Rollo did not know.
Rollo began to look about over the water. It had become almost entirely dark, and though the moon, which was full, had, as it happened, broken out through the clouds a short time before, when they were getting into the boats, she had now become obscured again, and every thing seemed enveloped in deep gloom. Still Rollo could see at a short distance before him the other boats slowly making their way over the wild and stormy water. He could also see the ends of the piers dimly defined in the misty air, and the tall lighthouse beyond, with a bright light burning in the lantern at the top of it.
"We shall only be a few minutes, now," said one of the gentlemen. "It is not far to the piers."
The boat went on, pitching and tossing over the waves, with her head towards the piers. The pilot who steered the boat called out continually to the oarsmen, and the oarsmen shouted back to him; but nobody could understand such sailor language as they used. At length, on looking forward again, Rollo saw that the boats before him, instead of going on in a line towards the land, were slowly scattering in all directions, and that their own boat, instead of heading towards the pier as at first, gradually turned round, and seemed to be going along in a direction parallel to the coast, as the steamer had done.
"What!" exclaimed Mr. Albert, on observing this, "we are not going towards the piers. Where can we be going?"
The other gentleman shook his head, and said he did not know.
The ladies remained quietly in their places. There was evidently nothing for them to do, and so they concluded, very sensibly, to do nothing.
The boat slowly turned her head round, all the time pitching and tossing violently on the billows, until finally she was directed almost towards the steamer again.
"What can be the matter?" asked one of the gentlemen, addressing the other. "We are not heading towards the shore." Then turning towards the pilot, he said to him,—