then everything would be settled.
But I did not want to think of that. I was going to enjoy every moment of this wonderful adventure first.
Shipboard life was absorbing. At mealtimes we sat at a long table, which was jolly. Everyone was friendly towards me because I was the Captain’s protegee, and they told me how lucky I was to have an uncle who took me on his ship for a long sea voyage. Sometimes Uncle Toby joined us. People all wanted to talk to him. They asked questions about the ship and he talked to them in his jolly, jaunty way which they all seemed to like.
At night I would lie in my berth in the cabin just below the bridge and think of Uncle Toby up there, looking at his charts and the stars as he drove the ship along.
I shared a cabin with a girl who was more or less my own age. Gertie Forman was going to Australia with her family father, mother and brother Jimmy to settle there.
There were two berths, one above the other, and I climbed into mine the top one by means of a ladder which could be pulled down when one needed it. It was great fun lying up there, particularly when the ship rocked.
Gertie and I soon became friendly. We explored the ship together. It was her first time on a ship too, so we had a lot in common. We discovered the public rooms and the best places to sit on deck. Not that we did a great deal of sitting; we always seemed to be dashing around. Sometimes we would talk to the sailors dark men, a number of them, who could not speak much English. But some of them were English and they often referred to me as ‘the Captain’s Little “Un’.
It was wonderful to have a companion at such times when I could not be with Uncle Toby, and Gertie and I spent a great deal of time together. Then we would lie in our berths at night and talk to each other.
I learned that the Formans used to live on a farm in Wiltshire. Gertie told me how she and her brother always had daily tasks to perform . like bringing in the cows for milking, collecting eggs from the fowls, making the pigs’ food. There was always something which had to be done on a farm. They were going to buy a property in Australia where land was cheaper than at home.
The family had left because ‘they’ — Gertie was not sure who-were planning to build a road right through the farm, which would have finished it off as a paying proposition. They were anxious about it for a long time and the Formans had hoped it would never come to pass, but, when they had known it was inevitable, they made the decision to buy a property in Australia.
I told her a little about myself, but I was guarded. I did not want her to know that I had been found under the azalea bush. She would certainly have asked how the splendid Captain Sinclair could be uncle to such a waif. I wondered what I should say if her probing became awkward. But Gertie, like most people, I have discovered, was far more interested in her own affairs than those of others, and it was not difficult to steer her away from asking awkward questions.
In spite of all his responsibilities. Uncle Toby often found time to be with me. He would take me up to the bridge and show me the charts and instruments, and then we would sit in his cabin and talk. I enjoyed every moment on board ship, but to be with Uncle Toby was the highlight of the day.
He talked to me as though I were a grown-up one of the most endearing aspects of our relationship-and when 1 considered the insults I had been subjected to from Estella, Henry and Nanny Gilroy, it seemed miraculous that the
mighty Captain could treat me as though I were important and interesting.
He asked me how 1 liked shipboard life and did not wait for me to reply.
“Wonderful, isn’t it?” he said.
“To feel the fresh sea breeze coming to you … the rise and fall of the waves … and the sea . the ever-changing sea that can be so soft and gentle and then suddenly rages. You haven’t seen it in a fury, and I hope you never will.”
He
But I did not want to think of that. I was going to enjoy every moment of this wonderful adventure first.
Shipboard life was absorbing. At mealtimes we sat at a long table, which was jolly. Everyone was friendly towards me because I was the Captain’s protegee, and they told me how lucky I was to have an uncle who took me on his ship for a long sea voyage. Sometimes Uncle Toby joined us. People all wanted to talk to him. They asked questions about the ship and he talked to them in his jolly, jaunty way which they all seemed to like.
At night I would lie in my berth in the cabin just below the bridge and think of Uncle Toby up there, looking at his charts and the stars as he drove the ship along.
I shared a cabin with a girl who was more or less my own age. Gertie Forman was going to Australia with her family father, mother and brother Jimmy to settle there.
There were two berths, one above the other, and I climbed into mine the top one by means of a ladder which could be pulled down when one needed it. It was great fun lying up there, particularly when the ship rocked.
Gertie and I soon became friendly. We explored the ship together. It was her first time on a ship too, so we had a lot in common. We discovered the public rooms and the best places to sit on deck. Not that we did a great deal of sitting; we always seemed to be dashing around. Sometimes we would talk to the sailors dark men, a number of them, who could not speak much English. But some of them were English and they often referred to me as ‘the Captain’s Little “Un’.
It was wonderful to have a companion at such times when I could not be with Uncle Toby, and Gertie and I spent a great deal of time together. Then we would lie in our berths at night and talk to each other.
I learned that the Formans used to live on a farm in Wiltshire. Gertie told me how she and her brother always had daily tasks to perform . like bringing in the cows for milking, collecting eggs from the fowls, making the pigs’ food. There was always something which had to be done on a farm. They were going to buy a property in Australia where land was cheaper than at home.
The family had left because ‘they’ — Gertie was not sure who-were planning to build a road right through the farm, which would have finished it off as a paying proposition. They were anxious about it for a long time and the Formans had hoped it would never come to pass, but, when they had known it was inevitable, they made the decision to buy a property in Australia.
I told her a little about myself, but I was guarded. I did not want her to know that I had been found under the azalea bush. She would certainly have asked how the splendid Captain Sinclair could be uncle to such a waif. I wondered what I should say if her probing became awkward. But Gertie, like most people, I have discovered, was far more interested in her own affairs than those of others, and it was not difficult to steer her away from asking awkward questions.
In spite of all his responsibilities. Uncle Toby often found time to be with me. He would take me up to the bridge and show me the charts and instruments, and then we would sit in his cabin and talk. I enjoyed every moment on board ship, but to be with Uncle Toby was the highlight of the day.
He talked to me as though I were a grown-up one of the most endearing aspects of our relationship-and when 1 considered the insults I had been subjected to from Estella, Henry and Nanny Gilroy, it seemed miraculous that the
mighty Captain could treat me as though I were important and interesting.
He asked me how 1 liked shipboard life and did not wait for me to reply.
“Wonderful, isn’t it?” he said.
“To feel the fresh sea breeze coming to you … the rise and fall of the waves … and the sea . the ever-changing sea that can be so soft and gentle and then suddenly rages. You haven’t seen it in a fury, and I hope you never will.”
He
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