“Is the coffee on the stove?”
“Yes, sir, and biling.”
“That’s right,” said the Captain, who continued, turning to Nellie, “Now, missy, you can preside over our breakfast-table if you like. You’ll find all the traps ready in the little cabin for’ard under the half-deck.”
Thereupon, Miss Nellie, with much dignity, busied herself in pouring out the coffee, which had been kept hot all the while on “such a dear little stove,” as she called out to Bob the moment she caught sight of it in the fore-cabin; the pair constituting themselves steward and stewardess instanter, and serving out, with Dick’s help, their rations to the rest of the company.
They were in the midst of breakfast, the trawl having been dragging along the bottom of the sea for not quite an hour, when, all at once, the rope holding it attached to the bowsprit-bitts began to jerk violently.
“Hallo!” cried the Captain, starting up from his seat on one of the bunks in the little cabin, which, even with stooping, he and Mr Strong found it a hard matter to squeeze themselves into. “We’ve caught something big this time!”
“Do you think it’s a whale?” said Nell, jumping up also, abandoning in her hurry her post as mistress of the ceremonies. “It must be awfully big to make that great rope shake so!”
The old sailor chuckled till his sides shook.
“You seem wonderfully fond of whales, missy!” he exclaimed, turning round as soon as he had managed to wriggle himself out of the fo’c’s’le and was able to stand erect again. “Don’t you remember, you mistook those grampuses we came across the other day when going to Seaview for whales?”
“Yes; and I remember, too, Captain, your making fun of me then, the same as now,” replied Nell, smiling as she went on. “I don’t mind it though, for I like being here with you and dad!”