Part 10 (2/2)
”Toravely
”I'll find it by and by, papa”
”That's not an answer Did you take the thimble?”
”I'll find it by and by, papa,” said Toive rave
”Well, then, he shall have no dinner till the thirave
Master Toence Juno appeared with the turtle-soup; and Torace and cory, and William sent his plate for another portion, which he had not coer in his
”Why, mother, here's the thimble in my soup,” cried William
”No wonder he said he would find it by and by,” said Ready, s; ”he meant to have fished it up, I suppose, frorave, I don't h be would not tell where the thimble was, he has not told a falsehood about it”
”No, he has not,” replied Willias pardon, papa will forgive hirave ”Tell me why you put that thimble into the soup?”
”I wanted to taste the soup I wanted to fill the thiers, and I let the thimble drop in”
”Well, a thimbleful wasn't much, at all events,” observed Ready ”And why didn't you tell your mamma where the thimble was?”
”I was afraid et none for dinner”
”Oh! that was it, was it? Well, sir, I said you should have no dinner till the thimble was found, so, as it is found, you may have your dinner; but if you ever refuse to answer a question again, I shall punish you lad the lecture was over, and et his turtle-soup; he finished one plate, and, as he asked for another, he said, ”Toain; put tin pot in next tiain, and did not co fast, sir,” observed Ready; ”we shall have rain to-night”
”I fear we shall; but we must expect it now, Ready”
”Yes, sir; and by and by we shall have it for days together”
”Ready,” said Mrs Seagrave, ”if you are not too tired, perhaps you will go on with your history”
”Certainly, ma'am, if you wish it,” replied Ready ”When I left off, I was on board of the collier, bound to London We had a very fair wind, and a quick passage I was very sick until we arrived in the Nore, and then I recovered, and, as you may suppose, was astonished at the busy scene, and the quantity of vessels which were going up and down the river But I did not like my captain; he was very severe and brutal to the men; and the apprentice as on board told et into another vessel, and not to bind myself apprentice to this captain, or I should be beat all day long, and be treated as bad as he was I knew this was the case, as the captain kicked and cuffed him twenty times a day The men said that he did not do so to me, for fear I should refuse to be his apprentice; but that, as soon as ned, he would treat me in the same way
”Well, I made up my mind that I would not reone on shore, I had plenty of tie shi+p, which was ready to sail, lying in the stream; I spoke to two boys ere at the stairs in her boat, and they told me that they were very comfortable on board, and that the captain wanted two or three apprentices I went on board with thereat many questions, and I told him the truth, and why I did not like to rereed to take ned my indentures, and received from him a sufficient supply of clothes; and, two days afterwards, we sailed for Bombay and China”
”But you wrote to your mother, Ready, did you not?” said William
”Yes, I did; for the captain desired me to do so, and he put a few lines at the bottom to comfort her; but, unfortunately, the letter, which was sent on shore by the cook, never arrived Whether he dropped it, or forgot it till after the shi+p sailed, and then tore it up, I do not know; but, as I found out afterwards, it never did get to her hands”
”It was not your fault that the letter did not arrive safe,” said Mrs Seagrave
”No, madam, that was not my fault; the fault had been committed before”
”Don't dwell any more upon that portion of your history, Ready; but tell us what took place after you sailed for the East Indies”
”Be it so, if you please I certainly was very sreat favourite on board, especially with the lady passengers, because I was such a little fellow We arrived safely at Boers went on shore, and in three weeks afterwards we sailed down the straits for China It ar time, and ere very often chased by French privateers; but as we had a good crew and plenty of guns, none of theot safe to Macao, where we unloaded our cargo and took in teas We had to wait soland When ere off the Isle of France, the convoy was dispersed in a gale; and three days afterwards, a French frigate bore down upon us, and after exchanging a few broadsides, ere compelled to haul down our colours A lieutenant was sent on board with forty e of us, for ere a very rich prize to them The captain and ate, but ten Lascars and the boys were left in the India her into the Isle of France, which was at that tiht it hard that I was to go to prison at twelve years old; but I did not care ay and merry as ever We hadup to the port, when a vessel was seen to ard, and although I could not understand what the Frenchreat fluster and very busy with their spy-glasses, and Jack Romer, one of my brother 'prentices who had been three years at sea, said to o to prison after all, Ready, for that vessel is an English man-of-war, if I'm not mistaken' At last she calish colours and fired a gun The Frenchmen put the shi+p before the wind, but it was of no use; the man-of-war caan to pack up their clothes, together with all the other things which they had collected out of the property of our captain and crew; a shot was fired which went clean over our heads, and then they left the helm, and Jack Romer went to it, and, with my help, hove the shi+p up in the wind; a boat came on board and took possession, and so there was one escape, at all events
”They sent a midshi+pman as prize-master on board of the vessel, and left all us, who had been taken prisoners by the French, in the vessel, to help to work her into port, as the captain did not wish to part with any more land, quite delighted at having escaped a French prison, but, after all, we only exchanged it for a Dutch one”
”How do you mean?”
”Ithe Cape, another French vessel bore down upon us, and captured us This time we did not find any friend in need, and were taken into Table Bay; for at that time the Cape of Good Hope was in the possession of the Dutch, who, as well as the French, were at ith England”
”How very unfortunate you were, Ready!” said Mrs Seagrave
”Yes, madam, ere, and I can't sayat that tiht heart”
Chapter xxxIV
A heavy stor was so vivid that its flashes penetrated through the chinks of the door and s, and the thunder burst upon the any sleep The children cried and trerave and Juno, ere almost as much alarrave to Ready, for they had both risen from their beds
”It is indeed, sir; I never knew a more terrible storrave