CHAPTER XXV.

THE LAST OF THE ISLES OF THE SEA.

“Don’t you believe those youngsters have gone off on a lark, Mr. Lowington?” asked Judge Rodwood, after they had gone on shore at Funchal, on their arrival from Fayal in search of the missing steamer.

“I do not think so now, though such was my fear in the first of it,” replied the principal.

They had been to the banker’s, and ascertained all they could about the Ville d’Angers; and were now on their way to the office of the consul.

“I think it must be a great temptation to such young fellows as this O’Hara and Tom Speers,” added the judge. “You say that the captain of the steamer has the absolute command of her.”

“He has in the absence of any vice-principal; for it does not answer to place a landsman over a sailor at sea,” replied Mr. Lowington. “But for all this, Capt. Fairfield, the instructor on board, would have influence enough to prevent the students from going off on a runaway excursion.”

“Frisbone would prevent it, if the instructor could not; for he is a very decided man, and, if any thing is wrong, he does not mind cutting through any amount of red tape.”

“As a rule, we have a stronger hold on these young men than mere force,” continued Mr. Lowington. “Take your ward, for instance: he is ambitious to obtain promotion; and any thing in the shape of a lark would spoil all his chances. He was so interested in his future prospects in the Tritonia, that he has been running away from the vast fortune in store for him; and certainly he would not peril all his hopes by engaging in a runaway expedition.”

“But he is under the orders of this O’Hara.”

“And O’Hara is controlled by the same motives. My banker has inquired into the condition of the steamer, and ascertained that every thing was regular on board of her. The boat that brought the captain on shore lay at the landing-place two or three hours; and I am told that not a seaman got out of it. That looks like discipline, which would not prevail if the officers and crew were on a lark.”

“No doubt you are correct, Mr. Lowington. But it seems very strange to me, that my ward should prefer the strict discipline of one of your vessels to the freedom which I came out here to give him; and I confess that I consider him ten times the man I supposed him to be when I left New York,” said Judge Rodwood. “As I said before, the Marian belonged to Mr. Speers, senior, and I intended to turn her over to my ward. You see, the young fellow will have an income of over two hundred thousand dollars a year as soon as he is of age; and that will be in the course of six or eight months.”

“Poor fellow!” said Mr. Lowington with a smile.

“As he is fond of the sea, I don’t suppose he can spend his money any better than in running this steam-yacht.”

“He is getting the right sort of experience now to enable him to handle her,” added Mr. Lowington, as they entered a hotel, on their way to the consul’s, to see if there were any familiar faces there.

There was one familiar face there, and it belonged to one David Gregory. He was staying at the hotel with his English friends. All three of them sat at a table in the public room, drinking a bottle of wine together; and the mutineer had already had enough to make him rather noisy. The principal immediately turned about so that the runaway did not see him, and led the way out of the hotel.

“What is the matter?” asked Judge Rodwood, when they were in the street. “You act like a man who sees a hard creditor in the distance.”

“One of the young fellows you saw at the table drinking wine must have escaped from the Ville d’Angers when she was here,” replied Mr. Lowington. “He was the first officer of the steamer, and the one who made the trouble of which we read in the English paper.”

“And what are you going to do about it?” inquired the judge.

“I shall have him locked up on board of the American Prince. I see he has made friends here.”

At the consul’s, the requisite arrangements were made for the arrest of Gregory, and a couple of officers were sent for that purpose. It was necessary for the principal to go with them to identify the fugitive. The party walked into the room where the merry party were still drinking.

“I think I shall be compelled to break up your party, Gregory,” said the principal in his mild way.

The mutineer sprang to his feet as though a cannon had been discharged under his ear. Of course he had not expected the American Prince to return to the island, or even the Ville d’Angers. It was no use to contend against the principal and the policemen, though Sir Philip Grayner was inclined to resist.

“Mr. Lowington, I tried to do my duty on board of the steamer; and when O’Hara attempted to run away with the vessel, and make a voyage to England contrary to his orders, I wanted to bring the steamer back. I failed, and here I am,” pleaded Gregory.

“I do not care to hear any explanation in this place. On board of the ship I will listen to all you have to say,” replied the principal.

The officers sent him on board the Prince, where he was locked up in a suitable apartment under the charge of Peaks, the big boatswain of the vessel. The sprigs doubtless made their tour of the Isles of the Sea and of the United States; but Gregory did not accompany them.

On the day of the arrival of the Prince and the Marian, a clipper schooner came into the port from Teneriffe. She had put into Santa Cruz de Palma; and Mr. Lowington had a long talk with her captain, who reported the Ville d’Angers as having sailed from the latter port on the 3d of the month, for the Cape Verds. The Spanish captain had been on board of the steamer; and he declared that every thing was in perfect order. The students were studying and reciting. Capt. O’Hara was anxious to find the fleet.

“Why did he go to the Cape Verds?” asked the principal.

“Because this fleet was reported as having gone there,” replied the Spanish captain.

If the steamer had gone to the Cape Verds, and every thing was in good order on board of her, it was no use to wait for her; and the American Prince and the Marian sailed as soon as they could get up steam.

On the 13th of the month they reached Fayal again, where the schooners were waiting for them. Gregory was sent on board of the Josephine as soon as the anchor of the Prince touched the rocks at the bottom. Mr. Fluxion received him with a smile, for discipline had been victorious in the end. All hands were called; and the uniform was stripped from the recreant officer. Gregory attempted to excuse himself on the plea that Capt. O’Hara was running away with the steamer.

“All you had to do was to obey orders. But you did not believe that Capt. O’Hara was running away with the vessel: you knew better than this. Your number in the Josephine is 36 from this date,” said Mr. Fluxion sternly. “But I will say to you, and to all, that the next promotions in all the vessels of the fleet will be made by the results of an examination to be held on the 1st of June. Whatever place you win, you shall have at that time, though your demerits for conduct will be considered in making the award.”

The fleet at once departed for the Bermudas. The wind was fair, and the weather generally good, with the exception of a gale, and a two-days’ fog, so that the schooners made the passage in ten days. The fleet kept together all the way, and sighted St. David’s Head at the same time. This is the north-eastern point of the islands, off which the pilots cruise in good weather, and near which are the two eastern passages into the inner waters, enclosed by an almost continuous reef to the northward and westward of the islands. Each vessel took a pilot, and, going through narrow channels between the reefs, came into the harbor of St. George, the most northern town in the islands.

“Hurrah! hurrah! hurrah!” came from a steamer at anchor, as the Prince went across her bow.

“What’s that?” asked the principal.

“It must be the truant steamer,” replied Dr. Winstock.

“Three cheers for the Tritonia!” shouted a voice on board of the steamer, as the vessel indicated came into the harbor.

“The Ville d’Angers has got here before us,” said Mr. Pelham. “She must have passed us in that fog.”

“Three cheers for the Marian!” called Capt. O’Hara, as the beautiful steam-yacht came into view.

They were all given with a will; and there could be no doubt the students on board were glad to see their shipmates after the long separation. In a short time the vessels of the fleet were anchored, and the boats began to drop from the davits into the water.

“Arrah, Tom, my darlint! your guardian has caught you at last!” exclaimed O’Hara, when he saw the barge of the Marian approaching the steamer.

“I shall be as resigned as possible to my fate,” replied Tom.

“To the millions of money, you mane!”

“I shall not quarrel with that.”

“If you fall out with it, remimber your best frind.”

“I shall certainly do that, my dear fellow, whatever happens to me. But I shall not leave the squadron if I can help it.”

“Faix, I hope you won’t while I am in it!” added Capt. O’Hara, grasping the hand of the second officer. “But here comes his honor the judge. Be ready for him, Tom, and trate him loike a gintieman.”

“I shall certainly do that,” replied Tom, as he went to the gangway, where the steps had already been rigged, though the steamer had been in port but a few hours.

“Which is my boy?” demanded the judge, as he came on deck.

“Here he is,” replied O’Hara, pointing out the second officer.

“Tom, my lad, I am delighted to see you, after wandering all over the ocean in search of you!” exclaimed Judge Rodwood, grasping both the hands of his ward, and giving him a very affectionate greeting. “What do you mean by running away from me?”

“I am very glad to see you, sir; though I do not want to be taken out of the squadron,” replied Tom, who found the judge a very different person from what he had anticipated.

He was not a bit like the stern judge he had fancied; and he could not help liking him at first sight.

“You can stay in the squadron till your head is as white as mine, if you like, my lad,” protested the guardian warmly. “The Marian, which is not a very ugly craft, is your property, or will be in a few months; and I didn’t know but you might like to make a cruise in her. Do as you please, however.”

“That alters the case,” replied Tom, laughing, and bestowing an admiring glance upon the beautiful steam-yacht. “But I think I should like to remain a while longer.”

By this time the principal and the two vice-principals were on board. They greeted the captain with great heartiness; and it was clear enough that he was not under the displeasure of the authorities. O’Hara made his report in full on the spot, detailing all the incidents of the cruise. He sent for the log-books kept by all the officers, and submitted them for examination. The captain had the satisfaction of having his management of the steamer approved.

The meeting between Mr. Frisbone and the principal was a very interesting event; and the ship’s company of the Ville d’Angers understood its meaning so well, that they involuntarily gave three cheers as the two gentlemen joined hands on the deck.

“Your boys have been the salvation of myself and those I care a good deal more for than I do for myself, Mr. Lowington!” exclaimed the prince; and the tears gathered in his eyes as he spoke.

“I am glad that they have been of service to you,” replied the principal, as they retired to the cabin to see the ladies.

“That Tom Speers, who is worth three millions of dollars now, would weigh down the whole of the money in gold,” continued the Prince; and he proceeded to tell the story of Tom’s noble conduct in saving the life of Miss Rodwood.

“I hope the money that comes to him will not spoil him. He had been brought up in poverty; and the change may turn his head,” added the principal.

“Not a bit of it!” exclaimed Mr. Frisbone. “Tom’s head is not one of the sort to be turned by money, or any thing else. He will do more good with that fortune than his uncle ever did; and I thank God it has fallen into good hands.”

“Let us hope so.”

“And believe so; for I know the young man through and through.”

“This is a fine steamer you have, Mr. Frisbone,” added the principal, looking about the cabin.

“It is a fine steamer _you_ have, Mr. Lowington,” yelled the Prince, in his loudest tone. “She belongs to you, every timber and bolt in her! she was saved by your boys, or she would have gone to the bottom. More than this, I have a considerable sum of money from the salvage of the Castle William, which I shall pay over to you, deducting the expenses I have incurred in fitting up the ship, coaling and provisioning her.”

The Prince produced his accounts, and insisted upon paying over his balance in sovereigns to the principal; who received it under protest.

“What shall I do with the steamer?” asked Mr. Lowington.

“Use her instead of them two topsail schooners!” screamed the Prince, as he always did when he had a bright idea.

“In due time we will consider that question. Now you are almost back to New York, where you started from; and I understand that you were in quest of health for your wife’s sister.”

“That’s so; but I don’t think any thing particular ails her now. We have given her something to think about all the time; and I guess she is pretty much cured now. I shall spend the winter in that place on the back side of the peak of Teneriffe; and if I get there by the 1st of December, it will be soon enough.”

“Then this steamer must convey you to your destination,” said the principal.

“Well, I sha’n’t mind staying with you all summer, if you don’t object. This sort of life agrees with my wife and her sister, now they have got used to it; and I don’t get seasick myself.”

The rest of the day was spent in exchanging visits between the vessels; and not much study was done. The Prince and his ladies visited the Marian and the American Prince. Tom Speers went with them; for it could not be denied that he was a prime favorite with the ladies, and especially with Miss Louise. Clinch was sent back to the Josephine, and became No. 35.

The next morning, when things had settled down again, the signal for the lecture was displayed on board of the American Prince. The grand saloon of the steamer was crowded on this occasion, for all the passengers, officers, and engineers of the Marian and the Ville d’Angers were present.

“Before the professor begins his lecture, I wish to say that all the offices of the squadron will be given out in accordance with the results of an examination to be conducted at Hamilton, beginning on the 1st of June. It will include all branches of study and seamanship; and the marks for conduct will be added to the result of the examination,” said the principal. “I am sorry I was not able to give this notice to the ship’s company of the Tritonia on the 1st of May, as I did in the other vessels.”

“But we all knew there was to be a new method adopted; and some of us were sure it was to be an examination,” added O’Hara, when he had obtained permission to speak.

“So much the better if you understood the matter. I will add that we have another vessel to officer, and that the examination will be general; that is, the offices will be assigned throughout the squadron, instead of confining the result to a single vessel. The one who stands highest will have his choice of all the places in the squadron; and so on till all the positions are given out. I wish you all to consider the subject during the next week, so that you can choose your places without any delay. I have adopted this method, after consulting the faculty, rather because it affords a little variety than because it is a superior plan to the one we have been using.”

The principal retired, and Professor Mapps took his place before the chart he had made of the Bermudas.

“These islands are different in many respects from any you have yet visited,” the professor began. “They are coralline,--the most northerly of this type in the world. The rock formed is a gray limestone, which is very soft. They are in latitude thirty-two, twenty; and in longitude sixty-four, fifty. The group consists of five principal islands, and about five hundred small ones, varying in size from a few square feet up to a square mile in extent. The largest island is Bermuda, which is fifteen miles long, and occupies the most southern position in the group. On it is Hamilton, the capital. The land on our starboard side, where you see the town, is St. George, three miles and a half in length; on the other side of us is St. David’s, about two and a half miles long. The other two are in the south-west, Somerset and Ireland, each two or three miles in length. None of the islands are more than two miles wide, and in some places you can hardly choose on which side you would fall overboard. The group is twenty miles long; and they contain only twenty-four square miles of land, with a population of about twelve thousand. More than half of the people are negroes.

“There are few wells, or at least few that produce good water. You observe that the houses in the town of St. George are all white or nearly so, including the roofs. They have not been whitewashed, as you may suppose; but they are plastered. This is done to keep them clean; for all the water used is gathered on them, and kept in cisterns or tanks. Where large quantities are required, and the roofs do not afford a sufficient supply, portions of the hillside are plastered in the same manner, and the water that is collected on them is saved. The water from the clouds is the purest that can be had, if it can be kept free from impurities after it falls.

“Agriculture, possibly for the want of labor, is in a very backward state. The negroes are not disposed to work any more than enough to procure the bare necessities of life. You will see little patches of ground spaded up, for they don’t often use the plough, as the irregular surface of the land hardly admits it in many places. But it is remarkably fertile and productive It yields three crops a year of vegetables, which find a ready market in the neighboring ports of the United States, only six to seven hundred miles distant. The exports of the Bermudas amount to about three hundred and fifty thousand dollars a year. There is a regular steamer to and from New York, but the government has to subsidize the company that runs it.

“This is a very important naval and military station of Great Britain, with extensive magazines and store-houses. On the island of Ireland is a dock-yard, provided with a floating dry dock, built of iron in England, and towed out to the islands. As a naval and military station, the islands are said to be second only to Malta. On account of this interest, the governor, whose authority is little less than supreme, is appointed by the crown of England; and the incumbent is invariably a man of great ability. The two branches of the Legislature are the House of Assembly, which is the popular body, elected by the people of the parishes, and the Council, nominated to the crown by the governor. Though white and black are allowed to vote, there are three times as many voters of the former as of the latter. The voter must own real estate to the amount of sixty pounds; and he must have four times this amount before he can be a member of the House of Assembly. No negro has ever been elected to this office.

“The climate may be said to be delightful; and as a rule the islands are very healthy. When the yellow fever and other diseases have prevailed here as epidemics, it has been entirely owing to the lack of proper drainage, and the neglect of other sanitary measures The mercury rarely goes above eighty-five or below forty; and the average is about seventy. It hardly compares with Orotava, and it is too damp for most pulmonary affections.

“I will conclude this brief talk with a word about the history of the islands. They get their name from a Spaniard by the name of Juan Bermudez, who discovered them about four hundred years ago. But it was not settled by the Spaniards. Very likely the roving buccaneers of the Spanish main had temporary homes here; and there are stories of vast wealth hidden by these worthies. When the more modern settlers took possession of it, they found hogs in vast numbers, though the islands were uninhabited; and there were many evidences of the visits of human beings.

“In 1609, not long after the first settlement of Virginia, a vessel called the Sea Adventure was fitted out in England to convey Sir Thomas Gates, just appointed governor of the Virginia Colony, Admiral Sir George Somers, and other officials, to the scene of their future labors. This vessel went with a fleet, loaded with colonists and supplies for the new home in Virginia. In a terrible storm, the Sea Adventure was separated from the rest of the fleet, and was wrecked on the Bermudas. After suffering great hardships, the shipwrecked party reached the shores of these islands without the loss of a single life. The voyagers found plenty of turtle, fish, and fruit in the island, as well as a most delicious climate; and they were so well pleased with the paradise they had found, that they did not attempt to get away for a year. At the end of this time they had built a vessel, in which they embarked for Virginia, and reached their destination in safety. But the colony were in the utmost need of supplies, being almost in a state of starvation. In this emergency Sir George Somers, who is represented as a noble and unselfish man, willing to peril his life for the salvation of others, procuring a party of volunteers to accompany him, sailed for the Bermudas to obtain a supply of provisions from that land, ‘flowing with milk and honey.’ Unhappily he died when his vessel reached the locality where we now are; and after him this island was called St. George, though I cannot say when or how he happened to be canonized. After him also the scene of his death received the name of the ‘Somers Islands,’ as they are often called. The colonists reported so favorably, that settlements were commenced in 1612; and the islands have been under the British Government since that time.”

The professor finished his remarks, and the students hastened on shore for the first time.