Then the captain called them reformed pirates, and imitation lieutenants, and would doubtless have invented many other equally absurd names had not Miss May clapped her hands over his mouth, and declared she would not allow any further abuse of her prisoners.
It is doubtful if ever a merrier party sat down to a breakfast in all Alaska, and certainly no meal was ever more thoroughly appreciated than was that one by Phil and Serge. The former pretended to have forgotten the use of forks and spoons, while the captain ordered the table-boy to serve the sharks’ fins and whalebone as quickly as possible. Phil told how Serge tried to drive away a bear that was breaking into his halibut larder, and Serge in turn told how the master of the Seamew had taught Phil to appreciate Ebenezer’s cooking.
This mention of the Seamew led the lads to inquire for further particulars concerning that vessel, and regarding affairs in Sitka. Therefore Captain Matthews said that, having learned from one of the schooner’s crew of the cache of seal-skins on Oonimak Island, he had only remained in Sitka long enough to turn his prize over to the authorities, and had then hastened back to make a further capture of her hidden cargo.
“I wondered—” murmured Serge.
“Now,” continued the captain, “I propose taking it, and you, too, and Mr. Ipecac Coombs, if I can find him, to Sitka for trial, though I must first run up to the Pribyloff Islands, and then stop in at Oonalaska on my way back.”
“That will be fine!” exclaimed Phil. “Having got so near the seal islands, I hated the thought of leaving Bering Sea without seeing them, for it seems to me that those millions of seals must be one of the sights of the world.”
“So it is, my boy,” responded Captain Matthews, “and I am glad you are to have the opportunity of witnessing it. If it were on anything but an island, though, from which it would be impossible for you to escape, I don’t think I should allow you on shore, except under guard, for I am bound you shall fetch Sitka this time, if it can be managed.”
“I hope you will succeed, sir,” laughed Phil, “though I don’t know exactly what I shall do when I get there, so long as my father has left.”
“I fancy he will be back again by that time. He is certain to find out in Victoria where you have gone, and will probably return to Sitka to await your arrival.”