“Hulloo! Hulloo! Ulloo! Loo! Oo!” was heard in another direction.
“Well if this arn’t a most considerable cruel puzzlement, I’ll be transmogrified,” observed Boggle. The men again rested on their oars, some with perplexity, others with superstitious fear.
“There’s the Albatross!” cried they, joyfully, all at once, as a blue flame was seen to rise in the midst of the darkness, and disclose the well-known figure of their beautiful vessel, at rather more than a hundred yards from them.
“Pull away, mates!” shouted Hearty; and the oarsmen, straining every muscle, soon brought their boat alongside the ship.
[CHAP. V.]
PERILS OF EMIGRATION.
“Cheer up, my dolphins!” loudly exclaimed Climberkin to the men rescued from drowning, whom he and his shipmates were endeavouring to make as comfortable as possible after their fashion. “Cheer up, and wet your gills with this—precious sight better stuff nor salt water, of which sort o’ liquidation I’ve a notion you were obligated last night to drink more than was agreeable. Give us your fin, my flying fish!” he continued, as in the most cordial manner he shook the hand of a fine looking young man who sat near him. “A fellow don’t deserve to be called a naval if he ar’nt a got no ’miseration for another fellow in misfortune. So here’s to ’ee—and may you never have such tipple above your gills, and all’ays keep the salt water under your foot.”
“None on us ’a heard the ’ticulars o’ this here deplorable ’flagration,” said Hearty, “and if it arn’t too unpleasant to ’municate, I should like to hear the whole circumbendibus.”