“I’ll relieve you from all anxiety on that point, captain. I’ve taken a fancy to the boy. You may charge me the amount of his passage-money, and I’ll take care of him when we get to Melbourne.”
“Thank you, Mr. Lindsay; but if you’ll do the last, I’ll give him a free passage. I like the youngster myself, and am willing to do that much for him.”
“Then suppose we call him and let him know what we propose to do? No doubt he is feeling somewhat anxious about his future.”
Harry, being summoned, presented himself. He had meanwhile learned the destination of the Rubicon, and had hardly made up his mind how to feel about it. With a boy’s love of adventure and strange lands, he was fascinated by the thought of seeing Australia, of which he had heard so much. Still he could not help reflecting that he would land penniless, separated by half the earth’s circumference from his home and mother and sister that he loved. Could he make a living in this strange land, of which he knew nothing, and could he ever earn money enough in addition to pay for his homeward passage? These were questions which it was very easy to ask, but not quite so easy to answer. Still, in spite of his doubts on this point, his situation was so much better than it had been, and he was so thankful for his deliverance from a terrible death, that he was disposed to regard the future hopefully.
“Well, youngster,” said the captain, as our hero made his appearance, “I suppose you are ready to settle for your passage.”
Harry smiled.
“I should like to,” he said, “but I haven’t got a cent.”
“Then I don’t see but I shall have to throw you overboard again, eh, Mr. Lindsay?”
“Can’t I work my passage?” suggested our hero.