"I am glad to serve you," replied Cantwell, "We are not even yet. I owe my position to you, and I am grateful for your interest."
"Not at all; you may thank De Forrest more than me for your election, for if those fellows in the cabin had not got up a conspiracy against you, we could not have carried you in."
"I am trying hard to make myself worthy of the place; and I want to add, that what you said to me that Sunday did me a great deal of good. I shall try to make my shipmates like me," added the captain, as he went aft.
"He's a good fellow, after all," said Scott to himself.
Certainly he had improved wonderfully since his election, for he was gentlemanly and kind to all, and used no offensive condescension to his inferiors, as all were to him now except the commodore. He had found his weak points with the help of Scott, and was doing his best to correct them.
In half an hour the balloting was commenced, and was conducted in the same manner as that for the officers had been. The two persons to be selected were voted for separately. No one had a majority; and a great many had a single vote, leading to the suspicion that a considerable number had voted for themselves. Among the latter was De Forrest, who had done more electioneering on his own account than any other student in the ship. Lincoln had the largest number, and it lacked only a few votes of the required majority. The balloting was repeated, and this time Lincoln was elected by a very handsome majority. De Forrest had one vote again. The indications of the first two ballotings were a guide for the next one. A little fellow, who had been nicknamed Billy Bobstay, had thirty-one votes, which was next to the commodore's vote. His real name was Bradshaw, and he was an orphan. He had lived in Brockway with his uncle, who did not use him well, and the boy had attempted to run away to sea, but had been returned to his guardian, who was a poor man, and perhaps would have been glad to get rid of him, though he gave him an unmerciful flogging. He compelled the boy to work beyond his strength, thus exciting the sympathy of the neighbors. Mr. Lowington was at home at this time, and heard about the case. He examined the matter himself, and having satisfied himself that the little fellow was abused, he offered to take him on board of the ship, feed, clothe, and educate him. The uncle did not object, since he was thus wholly relieved of the support of the boy, whose labor, hard as it was for the youth, was not worth much to him, and Billy went on board of the Young America, delighted both with the idea of going to sea, and of getting away from his cruel and exacting uncle.
Though Billy had a great deal of spirit and energy, he was very kind and obliging to all his shipmates, and soon became a great favorite among them. As his education had been neglected, he could not compete with his fellow-students yet, though he was making rapid progress in his studies. His story was well known in the ship, and it excited the sympathy of all the good-hearted boys on board, and these included many of the wild and rude ones. If any one wanted to "pick" upon Billy, he had a dozen champions always at hand to take his part. He was very active and daring, and seemed to have been born for a sailor. His station in making and furling sail was on the main royal, for though he was nearly sixteen, he was one of the "lightest weights" on board. Though he never had any money, except the small sums given him by the principal, who was not a strong advocate of pocket-money for boys, he shared the luxuries of the steerage as fairly as though he had purchased his portion. Perhaps it was a freak on the part of a few of the boys to vote for him, which had become contagious. At any rate, on the next ballot, Billy Bobstay had a clean majority of all the votes, and the result was hailed with lusty cheers by the crew.
"I can't go," said Billy, when his shipmates began to congratulate him.
"Why not?" asked one.
"I haven't any money," replied Billy, frankly and innocently. "Besides, I don't want to take this chance when so many of the others wish to go."