Jumping out, he was about to give her a shove out into the stream, when he reflected that the tide was still flood and an empty boat would be sure to be seen and secured and his sudden appearance connected with her in some way; so he hauled her under a clump of bushes, made her well fast and walked up a marshy cattle-path toward the town.
In about twenty minutes he came out close to a wharf, where the work of the day was in full blast. A large schooner lay there, with "Traveler, of Boston," on her broad stern. She was taking, as a deck-load, some large, squared timbers, and just then had a big one hung by chains from a patent crane, which stood upon the dock.
A number of negroes were at work lowering it down, when suddenly something cracked and the most of them let go the winch.
The great timber must have come down on the deck with damaging effect if Lee, who had often seen such cranes used before, had not jumped to the safety-break, at the risk of being killed by the whirling winch-handles, and brought the beam to a stand before it could do any damage.
"Well done, my lad!" shouted a stout, bronzed man, from the vessel. "You just stay there and work those other three timbers down on deck, and I'll pay you for it. I'm short handed. But, stop; maybe you belong to some of these other vessels? No? Well, I'll be as good as my word. My mate's sick with this confounded North Carolina fever, and the second-mate's got some kind of 'fantods,' too, and is laid up, and I want to get away to-day."
"Send me out a drink of water and a piece of hard tack, sir, and I'll stop here till the timbers are on board."
"Steward," called the captain, "there's a boy out there on the dock; I want you to take him something to eat and drink. He's the one at the break. Now, bear a hand and sling another one."
While they were slinging it Lee managed to eat something, and in an hour the whole were safely on deck and securely chocked. Then the captain saw Lee still on the dock and beckoned him on board.
"Now, here's a half-dollar for you, my lad. Do you belong about these parts? Don't look as if you did. But, no matter; I s'pose you've run away from some vessel. Now, I'm bound to Havana with this load of lumber, and I'll ship you, if you like."
"I would rather ship in some vessel going north, sir."