“I have told you how to catch a whale, so that you may understand the story which I am now going to tell you.
“I sailed in the ship Jane, for the South Pacific Ocean, long before any of you were born; and I guess it was before either of your fathers was born. We went round Cape Horn, which is a very stormy place, and came near being cast away in a heavy gale.
“But when we got into the Pacific Ocean we had fine weather, and at last reached the ‘feeding ground.’ Though the whale is a monstrous creature, he feeds upon animals called ‘squid,’ and small fishes. Of course he must live where he can find his food.
“One day I was up on the cross-trees, looking out on the ocean for whales. I had with me a boy of about twelve years of age. He was as pretty a boy as ever I saw. He had fair, brown hair, which curled in beautiful ringlets on his cheeks and neck, just as Miss Flora’s does, only it was not so long.
“We all loved that boy, for he was a brave and noble little fellow. He was gentle and kind to the men, and always obeyed the orders of the officers at once. He was our pet, and we all treated him just like a younger brother.
“He could read well, and wrote a handsome hand, and when he first came on board the ship, I knew he couldn’t be the son of very poor parents, for he did not speak like boys brought up in the street, and his hand was as white and soft as that of a fine lady.
“One day I was up on the cross-trees, and George was with me, as I said before. We were on the lookout for whales, and he was just as anxious to discover one as though he had been the captain of the ship. He had no hat on then, and his pretty brown locks blew out in the wind, just like Miss Flora’s here.
“Says I, ‘George, why did you come to sea?’
“‘Because I wanted to, of course,’ replied he. ‘What makes you ask that question?’
“‘Does your mother know where you are, George?’