The Argosy — page 160: what you’re looking at

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

352 THE ARGOSY. pitching and dancing on the waves, though she seemed to Andy to be going only at half speed, even with the wind astern of her. She wasa screw vessel, and she rolled a good deal, as well as pitched. Andy shook his handkerchief at her, and at the risk of being heard by the robbers, he shouted for her to take him on board. ‘To his great satisfac- tion she headed towards the cave, and soon stopped her propeller. ‘‘TIs there water enough there ?’’ called the man in the pilot house. ‘Twenty feet and more,’’ replied Andy. | The steamer.came near enough to the rocks to smooth the water between the tender and her hull, and Andy pulled out to her. When he came along- side he untied the bag and passed it to the engineer, who had come to his assistance. ‘Together they hauled the tender on deck. ‘*Do you know Lake Montoban?’’ asked the engineer when they had secured the boat. ‘‘ Every foot of it,’? replied Andy confidently. ‘‘ Captain Boscook wants a pilot, for he don’t know this lake,’’ said the engineer. Andy, with the bag in his hand, went up to see the captain. CHAPTER XX XIIT.—CApPTAIN BoscooK IN A BAD SCRAPE. THE captain of the steamer rang the bell to go ahead as soon as Andy was on deck, as she had begun to drift rather too near the rocks for the repose of his nerves. ‘The water was deep enough for her close to the shore, and she was in no danger. ‘““Who in creation’s name are you?’’ demanded Captain Boscook, as the bearer of the big bag entered the pilot house. ‘“My name is Andy Lamb. I could not get off the island in the little craft I have with me, for it would have been swamped in the first big wave that struck it,’’ replied Andy, as he looked squarely into the face of the com- mander of the Lily, who was also her sole owner. Andy had seen him before in Montoban, though the owner had not applied to him to purchase the steamer. His gaze was not returned, and the captain had hardly looked at him when he came into the pilot house. The passenger saw that he was very nervous and uneasy. The engineer had told Andy that the captain wanted a pilot, and he might have put it in much stronger terms, and said that Captain Boscook was well nigh scared out of his wits by the storm and the unknown perils of the navigation. He looked as though he expected his beautiful steamer would be split in twain the next moment by some hidden rock. He had fixed his gaze upon the white capped waves ahead of him, and he seemed to be afraid to remove it even for an instant. | ‘““Do you know anything about this lake?’’ asked the captain, in very shaky tones. | ‘¢T know all about it,’’ replied Andy. ‘“Do you know where the rocks are?’’ ‘‘Hvery one of them;I have sailed over every foot of water in Lake Eomilchbooksco