And Ephraim and the stowaway both turned pale and looked as if they were going to be seasick, but they weren't. And after everybody had stood there without speaking for a good while, Captain Solomon spoke to the whole crew, who had all come near, and told them that he didn't want any such actions on his ship again; and if they ever heard of any such case, he wanted them to come right to him, and he would inquire into it. For he didn't want them to think that he would ever refuse a passage home to a good sailor. And he told Ephraim and the stowaway that he would think about putting them on bread and water, but he wouldn't do it yet. And if the stowaway did his duty well and proved himself an able seaman he would try to get pay for him when he got back to Boston and saw his owners. But if the man wasn't what he said he was, or didn't attend to his duty, he would be put on bread and water, as sure as his own name was Solomon, and so would Ephraim.
Then the sailors all went about their business, and Captain Solomon blew up the mate for letting a man stow away on the Industry. And when Captain Solomon had blown everybody up that he could, he felt very pleasant indeed, and he played with little Sol and little Jacob.
THE ALBATROSS STORY
nce upon a time there was a wide river that ran into the ocean, and beside it was a little city. And in that city was a wharf where great ships came from far countries. And a narrow road led down a very steep hill to that wharf, and anybody that wanted to go to the wharf had to go down the steep hill on the narrow road, for there wasn't any other way. And because ships had come there for a great many years, and all the sailors and all the captains and all the men who had business with the ships had to go on that narrow road, the flagstones that made the sidewalk were much worn. That was a great many years ago.
The wharf was Captain Jonathan's and Captain Jacob's and they owned the ships that sailed from it; and, after their ships had been sailing from that wharf in the little city for a good many years, they changed their office to Boston. After that their ships sailed from a wharf in Boston.
Once, in the long ago, little Jacob and little Sol had gone in the brig Industry on a voyage to far countries; and they had been to the countries and had sailed again for home, but they had not got out of the warm oceans. And one morning little Jacob and little Sol came on deck together. They didn't race through their breakfast as they had been used to doing, because Captain Solomon had put a stop to that. And, as soon as they got on deck, they looked all around to see what was up that morning. Far away they saw the upper sails of a ship that was going the same way they were, but they didn't see anything else except the blue water, although they looked very carefully out ahead and on both sides. But, right astern of the ship, and pretty near, was a great, enormous bird.
The bird was so near that the little boys could see it very well, and they could see what color it was, and the shape of its bill, but they couldn't see its back nor the top of its head, because the bird was above them. If they had climbed up on the mast they could have seen its back, but they didn't think of that then. The bird was all white, so far as they could see, and it had a bill that was rather long and straight, and was hooked at the end. And the bird just sailed along and waved a little, up and down, but it didn't move its wings, so far as the boys could see, and they watched it for a long time.