The two girls accompanied the procession, we may be sure; and many were Gerta's injunctions to "take care of yourselves, and don't be foolhardy."
Just as the good-byes were being said, Thor called out from his basket, "Uncle, uncle! Bad, bad, bad!"
"Why on earth have you taken that uncanny fowl with you?" Amy Congreve asked.
"You ought to know by this time," said Garth, speaking for our Viking-boy, "that the sea-rovers never went out to maraud or explore without the bird of Odin."
"I shouldn't like to have a creature like that calling out 'Bad, bad!' as I started on a voyage of discovery. It is not a good omen," Amy replied in lower tones, which did not reach the ears of the young adventurers, for their boat was off, and the Yarl and Garth were cheering the Osprey as it slid away from the land.
"What very odd fancies that boy has!" Mr. Halsen remarked as they returned to the house. "Some of his notions are almost childish at the first glance one takes—so simple, and full of the exaggerated fancy of a mere child. But soon one finds the germ of the right kind of stuff in all his fancies; and he carries them out with the shrewd common sense, the cool determination, energy, and daring of a grown man. It is a strange mixture."
"It is a mixture that makes a fascinating character, uncle," said Gerta. "I like Yaspard Adiesen very much just because of that child-way and man-manner he has. He will do something grand one of these days."
Yaspard thought he was doing something grand that very day, you may be sure. He was started on an exploring expedition: and when we remember that the Shetland group consists of over one hundred islands, large and small; that many of these have seldom been visited by any one, some never trod by human foot, and the greater number uninhabited save by the wild birds and sea creatures, we will see that our hero's voyage was not unlikely to be one of discovery and adventure.
Some other time I will give you the Osprey's log, carefully kept by Harry Mitchell, who every evening recorded all the day's doings, however trivial these had been. Many of their adventures were so startling that he might well have been excused if his attention had been occasionally diverted from this duty; but that diary was a model of faithful discharging of a promise given to more than one of the dear home friends, whose thoughts we know were with the Viking-boys. At present I can only tell you a small part of what happened during the week which the Osprey spent in cruising among the lonely skerries and holmes of Hialtland.
More than once our lads had spoken a haaf-boat, and sent messages to Lunda, from whence Fred had taken care to despatch the news, "Osprey spoken. All well," to Boden and Burra Isle.