244 THE BOY CAPTAIN.

we’ve lost four—poor Mr. Rogers, Freeman, an’ the
scoundrelly coolies.”

«T allow it won’t be anything more’n child’s play to get
this ‘ere brig inter port now. Why, us four can do it
easier than a full crew could at the start, an’ she’ll slide
along from this out till one of us has to stand below
pourin’ water on the keel to keep it from bein’ sot on fire
through friction.”

Superstitious as the old sailor was, Ben was yet more
so, for he fancied that hearing this prophecy at the time
when he had just fully decided to take the ship home
short-handed, was an augury of good, and, foolish as it may
sound, it gave him decided relief of mind.

By this time old Eliphalet had so far recovered as to
have cooked dinner, and placed the long-delayed meal
upon the cabin table.

Ben went below in answer to the summons, and he and
Miss Dunham were the only occupants of the saloon, for
the steward had been sent back to the galley in order to
serve food to the men, two of whom were sadly in need
of it, and those were Bob and Sam, who, being shut up in
the saloon, had had nothing to eat since the night previous.

If Miss Dunham felt any forebodings as to the conclu-
sion of the voyage, she did not allow Ben to suspect any-
thing of the kind; but discussed the work which it would
be necessary to perform, the time which must elapse
before they could reach the home port, and the probability
of reasonably good weather during the remainder of the
voyage.