The Argosy, Vol. XXIV, No. 1 — page 126: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

126 . THE MUTINY ON THE FLYING CLOUD. ‘All perfectly well, thank you; and as happy as can reasonably be ex- pected under the circumstances,’’ answered Grant. ‘‘ But where on earth have you come from?’’ he continted; ‘‘and how did you manage to effect your escape from the lying Cloud ?’’ ‘*We have come from a bit of an island away yonder, one hundred mile or so to the eastward of the spot where we now are. And we did not escape - from the /lyzzg Cloud at all, sir—John Blake is not the sort of man to volun- tarily desert his ship as long as she will hang together or float with him—no ; we were simply shoved ashore by those scoundrels of mutineers, and left to shift for ourselves as best we might. And a precious poor shift it would have been, I can tell you, but for Ned, who—fine fellow that he is—managed some- how to serape together for us not only a fair supply of food, but also arms, a few tools, and nails enough to knock that bit of a canoe together. He gave us the exact position of your island, and told us that we might possibly get a sight of the top of yonder mountain on a clear day—which as a matter of fact we did, once or twice—so that I-knew exactly how to steer. And so you are all in good health, eh? Well, I am delighted to hear thate And where are the rest of your party? It will be a pleasant sight for my eyes when they rest upon the ladies and those dear children once more—bless their innocent little hearts !”’ ‘You shall see them in good time—in the course of two or three hours— as soon as we have landed our cargo and can work back to the western end of the island, where-our camp is at present located,’’ answered Grant, with a smile. ‘‘ But tell me,’’ he continued, ‘‘ before our conversation drifts away. from the subject, where and how is Miss Stanley ?"’ ; ‘“She is—or was, when I saw her last—on board the /lying Cloud,’’ answered the skipper. ‘‘ You must understand that I was landed from the ship on the day following that on which they put you ashore here; sol know nothing whatever about what may have happened to her since then. But they let me wish her good by before I was landed, and I had a few minutes’ conversation with her ; and, from what passed then, and ina chat I previously had with Ned, I am in hope that she is as safe as a girl can be in the hands of such aset of rufhaus. But, at best, hersituation is a very terrible one, and I would give my right hand this moment to see her safe once more among us. And now, tell me, what have you been doing all the time, and what is the meaning of this raft and her cargo? ”’ Grant, in reply, gave a pretty fully detailed account of all that they had done, and of their future plans ; winding up by expressing the exceeding: sat- isfaction he felt that the little party would now be benefited by the aid and advice of two such valuable auxiliaries as the skipper and young Manners. Captain Blake listened most attentively to everything the engineer told him—the raft meanwhile being worked to windward toward the harbor’s mouth—and when he had heard everything, he remarked : ‘‘ Well, so far you have done admirably ; I do not believe matters could have been managed better had I been here myself. And as to this raft of yours—if raft you call her—she is simply a wonder ; why, she turns to wind- ward like a racing cutter. I am sure 7 should never have dreamed of (E(@) micbooo