Page:Dick Sands the Boy Captain.djvu/34

 30 DICK SANDS, THE BOY CAPTAIN. feit that the expérience he should gain in the southern whale-fisheries could hardly fail to be of service to him in after-life. A first-rate sailor ought to be a first-rate fisher- man too. It was a matter of the greatest pleasure to Dick Sands when he heard to his surprise that Mrs. Weldon was about to.become a passenger on board the "Pilgrim." His dévotion to the family of his bcncfactor was large and genuine. For several ycars Mrs. Weldon had acled towards him little short of amother's part, and for Jack, althoughhe never forgot the différence in their position, he entertained well-nigh a brother's affection. His friends had the satisfac- tion of being assured that they had sown the seeds of kindness on a generoussoil, for there was no room to doubt that the heart of the orphan boy was ovcrflowing with sincère gratitude. Should the occasion arise, ought he not, he asked, to be ready to sacrifice everything in behalf of those to whom he was indebted not only for his start in life, but for the knowledge of ail that was right and holy ? Confiding in the good principles of her protégé, Mrs. Weldon had no hésitation in entnisting her little son to his especia! charge. During the fréquent periods of leisure, when the sea was fair, and the sails required no shifting, the apprentice was never weary of amusing Jack by making him familiar with the practice of a sailor's craft ; he made him scramble up the shrouds, perch upon the yards, and slip down the back-stays ; and the mother had no alarm ; her assurance of Dick Sands' ability and watchfulness to protect her boy was so complète that she could only rejoîce in an occupation for him that seemed more than any- thing to restore the colour he had lost in his récent illness. Time passed on without incident ; and had it not becn for the constant prevalence of an adverse wind, neither pas- sengers nor crew could hâve found the least cause of com- plaint The pertinacîty, however, with which the wind kept to the east could not do otherwise than make Captain Hull somewhat concerned ; it absolutely prevented him from getting his ship into her proper course, and he could not altogether suppress his misgiving that the calms near the