Rapture of the Deep: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of Jacky Faber, Soldier, Sailor, Mermaid, Spy by L. A. Meyer Page A
Authors: L. A. Meyer
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purchased the very finest paper and colors, and it was a pleasure to work with them and with him.
Daniel and Joannie are quite tight now, he even allowing that she is all right ... for a girl; and she admits in return that he doesn't stink too bad ... for a boy. At first, of course, they were standoffish with each other, but they soon got together, and now I see their legs hanging side by side off the edge of the crow's-nest, which on the
Nancy B.
passes for a foretop. They are about the same size and the same age, so they have each other for companionship, and that is a good thing.
Sailors have a lot of time to think when they are off on the bounding main, and this particular sailor did some of her own, and what I was thinking about was what we lacked. During that summer cruising the Caribbean on my
Emerald,
and looking for any profitable mischief I might get in to, I noticed that the sponge divers in the area, if they were diving off a large boat, would have a small raft tied alongside for ease of getting in and out of the water, and I resolved to have one of my own. Climbing a loose and twisty rope ladder up and down the side of a ship ain't all that much fun after you've done it seven or eight times of a morning.
Hmmm.
Yes, and some good, thick, supple leather for the making of the eye goggles I'd seen other divers wearing, like those boys that time off the coast of Sardinia. Considering the speed with which they retrieved the pennies thrown into the water by my crew, the goggles must have been quite useful to them. And I suspect that they will be very useful to me, as well. And I'll need glass and cutters and a trident would be handy, too, and...
That settles it. I need to get into a ship's chandlery. We must be supplied.
I go into my cabin to check the chart, then meet with Dr. Sebastian and tell him of my intentions, and he agrees with my plans. Then I go out on the quarterdeck and say to the helmsman loud enough for all on deck to hear, "Put your rudder right, Jim. Steer 270 degrees."
He does it and, without being told, Davy, Tink, John Thomas, and Finn McGee leap up to trim the sails consistent with the new heading.
Good boys. That's the way I like it.
"Make ready, lads," I sing out. "We're goin' into Charleston, in the State of South Car-o-li-na. We need to take on some supplies." I pause for theatrical effect, and then I say, "There will be short-time shore leave for all."
At
that
there is a cheer.
Jack-the-Sailor loves the sea,
But he also loves his lib-er-ty.
Chapter 15
We slip into Charleston Harbor on the morning tide, with a following wind, and find a cozy berth. There are many other ships in the harbor, mostly American, but some Spanish and Dutch, and others flying flags I don't recognize. There are American sailors all over the place, and that's fineâhey, the
Nancy B.
is American, too, even if I ain't.
Pay is issued to everybody, and I get ship's money from Higgins and stuff it into my purse. Davy and Tink join me, and Daniel and Joannie tag along, too, in a high state of excitement.
Business first: Higgins takes John Thomas, Finn McGee, and Jim Tanner to see about the logs and planks for the raft and we hie off to a ship's chandlery to purchase the stuff I needâthe leather, the glass, the tridentâand have it all sent back to the ship, and then we head off into the town.
Daniel and Joannie skip alongside, soaking in the sights of the new cityâwell, new to them, anyway, but then, everything's new to them. We round a corner and come on to a big open square, and the two take off.
Hmmmm.
"You two be back to the ship at four o'clock, or we'll warm up your britches for you!" I shout after them. "I mean it, too!"
There are not many people in this square, but there is a stage in the center of it and I think,
Ah, maybe there'll be a show later on ... music and such...
Watching the younger ones go, I take Tink's arm and say, "Ah, lads, ain't this just like the old days? Like in
Daniel and Joannie are quite tight now, he even allowing that she is all right ... for a girl; and she admits in return that he doesn't stink too bad ... for a boy. At first, of course, they were standoffish with each other, but they soon got together, and now I see their legs hanging side by side off the edge of the crow's-nest, which on the
Nancy B.
passes for a foretop. They are about the same size and the same age, so they have each other for companionship, and that is a good thing.
Sailors have a lot of time to think when they are off on the bounding main, and this particular sailor did some of her own, and what I was thinking about was what we lacked. During that summer cruising the Caribbean on my
Emerald,
and looking for any profitable mischief I might get in to, I noticed that the sponge divers in the area, if they were diving off a large boat, would have a small raft tied alongside for ease of getting in and out of the water, and I resolved to have one of my own. Climbing a loose and twisty rope ladder up and down the side of a ship ain't all that much fun after you've done it seven or eight times of a morning.
Hmmm.
Yes, and some good, thick, supple leather for the making of the eye goggles I'd seen other divers wearing, like those boys that time off the coast of Sardinia. Considering the speed with which they retrieved the pennies thrown into the water by my crew, the goggles must have been quite useful to them. And I suspect that they will be very useful to me, as well. And I'll need glass and cutters and a trident would be handy, too, and...
That settles it. I need to get into a ship's chandlery. We must be supplied.
I go into my cabin to check the chart, then meet with Dr. Sebastian and tell him of my intentions, and he agrees with my plans. Then I go out on the quarterdeck and say to the helmsman loud enough for all on deck to hear, "Put your rudder right, Jim. Steer 270 degrees."
He does it and, without being told, Davy, Tink, John Thomas, and Finn McGee leap up to trim the sails consistent with the new heading.
Good boys. That's the way I like it.
"Make ready, lads," I sing out. "We're goin' into Charleston, in the State of South Car-o-li-na. We need to take on some supplies." I pause for theatrical effect, and then I say, "There will be short-time shore leave for all."
At
that
there is a cheer.
Jack-the-Sailor loves the sea,
But he also loves his lib-er-ty.
Chapter 15
We slip into Charleston Harbor on the morning tide, with a following wind, and find a cozy berth. There are many other ships in the harbor, mostly American, but some Spanish and Dutch, and others flying flags I don't recognize. There are American sailors all over the place, and that's fineâhey, the
Nancy B.
is American, too, even if I ain't.
Pay is issued to everybody, and I get ship's money from Higgins and stuff it into my purse. Davy and Tink join me, and Daniel and Joannie tag along, too, in a high state of excitement.
Business first: Higgins takes John Thomas, Finn McGee, and Jim Tanner to see about the logs and planks for the raft and we hie off to a ship's chandlery to purchase the stuff I needâthe leather, the glass, the tridentâand have it all sent back to the ship, and then we head off into the town.
Daniel and Joannie skip alongside, soaking in the sights of the new cityâwell, new to them, anyway, but then, everything's new to them. We round a corner and come on to a big open square, and the two take off.
Hmmmm.
"You two be back to the ship at four o'clock, or we'll warm up your britches for you!" I shout after them. "I mean it, too!"
There are not many people in this square, but there is a stage in the center of it and I think,
Ah, maybe there'll be a show later on ... music and such...
Watching the younger ones go, I take Tink's arm and say, "Ah, lads, ain't this just like the old days? Like in
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