“Here, and mighty glad to see you, sir!” cried the lad, jumping up from the table to greet the new-comer.
“Bless my soul!” exclaimed the astonished skipper, shaking Breeze heartily by the hand, and gazing at him incredulously, “you have both out-footed and out-pointed me this time. I didn’t suppose the Albatross was tied up yet, and thought I had at least half an hour’s start of you.”
The captain sat down to breakfast with them, and between mouthfuls Breeze tried to give them an outline of his recent adventures. They were all so excited, and Mrs. McCloud had to jump up from the table so often to replenish the plates, that she only received a confused impression that her boy had saved somebody’s life and caught the biggest fish that ever was seen. This, however, satisfied her for the present; the details she could learn afterwards.
As soon as breakfast was over, Breeze started back for the schooner, and Captain Coffin went with him. While they were rowing across the harbor the latter said,
“I’ve got a new schooner, Breeze, and a finer craft was never built in Essex. Her name is the Fish-hawk, and she is fitting out for a salt trip to Grand Bank. Don’t you want to ship on her? I can offer you a full share now.”
“I don’t know, sir. It seems as though I ought to stay with mother a few days at any rate.”
“So you can; we sha’n’t get off for a week yet, but I thought I would speak about it now, so that if you decided to go I could hold the place for you. Besides, you could put your dunnage right aboard, which would save you the trouble of carrying it home when the Albatross hauls out for repairs.”
“All right, sir,” said Breeze; “I should like to go with you better than with anybody else, and I guess, inside of a week, I can persuade mother to let me start off again. If you’ve got room for another, I’d like to speak for a berth for a friend of mine too.”
“Do you mean the one you went dorymate with on George’s the other day?” asked the captain, laughing.
“Yes, sir. His name is Wolfe Brady, and he has been on one trawling trip to the Banks already, besides two to George’s.”