by Oliver Optic
CHAPTER II.
OFF THE NAZE OF NORWAY.
Mr. Lowington examined Ole Amundsen very carefully, in order toascertain what disposition should be made of him. He told where he wasborn, how he had learned English, and where he had passed the greaterportion of his life, just as he had related these particulars toCaptain Cumberland.
"But how came you out here in an open boat?" asked the principal.
Ole examined the carpet on the floor of the cabin, and made no reply.
"Won't you answer me?" added Mr. Lowington.
The waif was still silent.
"You have been to sea?"
"Yes, sir; I was six months in a steamer, and over two years insailing vessels," answered Ole, readily.
"What steamer were you in?"
"I was in the Drammen steamer a while; and I have been three tripsdown to Copenhagen and Gottenburg, one to Luebeck, one to Stettin, andone to Stockholm."
"Have you been in a steamer this season?"
"No, sir."
"Then you were in a sailing vessel."
Ole would not say that he had been in any vessel the present season.
"Where is your home now?" asked the principal, breaking the silenceagain.
"Haven't any."
"Have you a father and mother?"
"Both dead, sir."
"Have you any friends?"
"Friends? I don't believe I have."
"Any one that takes care of you?"
"Takes care of me? No, sir; I'm quite certain I haven't any one thattakes care of me. I take care of myself, and it's heavy work I findit, sometimes, I can tell you."
"Do you ever go fishing?"
"Yes, sir, sometimes."
"Have you been lately?"
Ole was silent again.
"I wish to be your friend, Ole."
"Thank you, sir," added Ole, bowing low.
"But in order to know what to do for you, I must know something aboutyour circumstances."
"I haven't any circumstances, sir. I lost 'em all," replied Ole,gravely and sadly, as though he had met with a very serious loss.
Dr. Winstock could not help laughing, but it was impossible to decidewhether the boy was ignorant of the meaning of the word, or was tryingto perpetrate a joke.
"How did you happen to lose your circumstances, Ole?" asked Mr.Lowington.
"When my mother died, Captain Olaf took 'em."
"Indeed; and who is Captain Olaf?"
Ole looked at the principal, and then returned his gaze to the cabinfloor, evidently not deeming it prudent to answer the question.
"Is he your brother?"
"No, sir."
"Your uncle?"
"No, sir."
Ole could not be induced to say anything more about Captain Olaf,and doubtless regretted that he had even mentioned his name. The waifplainly confounded "circumstances" and property. Mr. Lowington severaltimes returned to the main inquiry, but the young man would not evenhint at the explanation of the manner in which he had come to be awaif on the North Sea, in an open boat, half full of water. He hadtold the captain that he was not wrecked, and had not been blown offfrom the coast. He would make no answer of any kind to any directquestion relating to the subject.
"Well, Ole, as you will not tell me how you came in the situation inwhich we found you, I do not see that I can do anything for you,"continued Mr. Lowington. "The ship is bound to Christiansand, and whenwe arrive we must leave you there."
"Don't leave me in Christiansand, sir. I don't want to be left there."
"Why not?"
Ole was silent again. Both the principal and the surgeon pitied him,for he appeared to be a friendless orphan; certainly he had no friendsto whom he wished to go, and was only anxious to remain in the ship,and go to America in her.
"You may go into the steerage now, Ole," said the principal,despairing of any further solution of the mystery.
"Thank you, sir," replied Ole, bowing low, and backing out of thecabin as a courtier retires from the presence of a sovereign.
"What do you make of him, doctor?" added Mr. Lowington, as the doorclosed upon the waif.
"I don't make anything of him," replied Dr. Winstock. "The youngrascal evidently don't intend that we should make anything of him.He's a young Norwegian, about fifteen years old, with neither fathernor mother; for I think we may believe what he has said. If he had noregard to the truth, it was just as easy for him to lie as it was tokeep silent, and it would have been more plausible."
"I am inclined to believe that he is a runaway, either from the shoreor from some vessel," said the principal. "He certainly cannot havebeen well treated, for his filthy rags scarcely cover his body; and hesays that the supper he had to-night was the best he ever ate in hislife. It was only coffee, cold ham, and bread and butter; so he cannothave been a high liver. He seems to be honest, and I pity him."
"But he is too filthy to remain on board a single hour. I will attendto his sanitary condition at once," laughed the doctor. "He will breeda leprosy among the boys, if he is not taken care of."
"Let the purser give you a suit of clothes for him, for we can't doless than this for him."
The doctor left the cabin, and Ole was taken to the bath-room by oneof the stewards, and compelled to scrub himself with a brush and soap,till he was made into a new creature. He was inclined to rebel atfirst, for he had his national and inborn prejudice against soapand water in combination; but the sight of the suit of new clothesovercame his constitutional scruples. The steward was faithful to hismission, and Ole left dirt enough in the bath-tub to plant half adozen hills of potatoes. He looked like a new being, even before hehad donned the new clothes. His light hair, cut square across hisforehead, was three shades lighter when it had been scrubbed, anddeprived of the black earth, grease, and tar, with which it had beenmatted.
The steward was interested in his work, for it is a pleasure to anydecent person to transform such a leper of filth into a clean andwholesome individual. Ole put on the heavy flannel shirt and the bluefrock which were handed to him, and smiled with pleasure as heobserved the effect. He was fitted to a pair of seaman's bluetrousers, and provided with socks and shoes. Then he actually dancedwith delight, and evidently regarded himself as a finished dandy; fornever before had he been clothed in a suit half so good. It was theregular uniform of the crew of the ship.
"Hold on a moment, my lad," said Muggs, the steward, as he produced apair of barber's shears. "Your barber did not do justice to yourfigure-head, the last time he cut your hair."
"I cut it myself," replied Ole.
"I should think you did, and with a bush scythe."
"I only hacked off a little, to keep it out of my eyes. Captain Olafalways used to cut it."
"Who's Captain Olaf?" asked Muggs.
Ole was silent, but permitted the steward to remove at will the long,snarly white locks, which covered his head. The operator had been abarber once, and received extra pay for his services on board the shipin this capacity. He did his work in an artistic manner, partingand combing the waif's hair as though he were dressing him for afashionable party. He put a sailor's knot in the black handkerchiefunder the boy's collar, and then placed the blue cap on his head, alittle on one side, so that he looked as jaunty as a dandyman-of-war's-man.
"Now put on this jacket, my lad, and you will be all right," continuedthe steward, as he gazed with pride and pleasure upon the work of hishands.
"More clothes!" exclaimed Ole. "I shall be baked. I sweat now withwhat I have on."
"It's hot in here; you will be cool enough when you go on deck. Here'sa pea-jacket for you, besides the other."
"But that's for winter. I never had so much clothes on before in mylife."
"You needn't put the pea-jacket on, if you don't want it. Now you looklike a decent man, and you can go on deck and show yourself."
"Thank you, sir."
"But you must wash yourself clean every morning."
"Do it every day!" exclai
med Ole, opening his eyes with astonishment.
"Why, yes, you heathen," laughed Muggs. "A man isn't fit to live whodon't keep himself clean. Why, you could have planted potatoesanywhere on your hide, before you went into that tub."
"I haven't been washed before since last summer," added Ole.
"You ought to be hung for it."
"You spend half your time washing yourselves--don't you?"
"We spend time enough at it to keep clean. No wonder you Norwegianshave the leprosy, and the flesh rots off the bones!"
"But I always go into the water every summer," pleaded Ole.
"And don't wash yourself at any other time?"
"I always wash myself once a year, and sometimes more, when I get agood chance."
"Don't you wash your face and hands every morning."
"Every morning? No! I haven't done such a thing since last summer."
"Then you are not fit to live. If you stay in this ship, you must washevery day, and more than that when you do dirty work."
"Can I stay in the ship if I do that?" asked Ole, earnestly.
"I don't know anything about it."
"I will wash all the time if they will only let me stay in the ship,"pleaded the waif.
"You must talk with the principal on that subject. I have nothing todo with it. Now, go on deck. Hold up your head, and walk like a man."
Ole left the bath-room, and made his way up the forward ladder. Thesecond part of the starboard watch were on duty, but nearly everyperson belonging to the ship was on deck, watching the distant light,which assured them they were on the coast of Norway. The waif steppedupon deck as lightly as a mountain sylph. The influence of his newclothes pervaded his mind, and he was inclined to be a little"swellish" in his manner.
"How are you, Norway!" shouted Sanford, one of the crew.
"How are you, America," replied Ole, imitating the slang of thespeaker.
"What have you done with your dirt?" added Rodman.
"Here is some of it," answered Muggs, the steward, as he came up theladder, with Ole's rags on a dust-pan, and threw them overboard.
"If you throw all his dirt overboard here, we shall get aground,sure," added Stockwell, as Ole danced up to the group of students.
"No wonder you feel light after getting rid of such a load of dirt,"said Sanford.
"O, I'm all right," laughed Ole, good-naturedly; for he did not seemto think that dirt was any disgrace or dishonor to him.
"How came you in that leaky boat, Norway?" demanded Rodman; and theentire party gathered around the waif, anxious to hear the story ofhis adventure.
"I went into it."
"Is that so?" added Wilde.
"Yes, sir."
"I say, Norway, you are smart," replied Rodman.
"Smart? Where?"
"All over."
"I don't feel it."
"But, Norway, how came you in that old tub, out of sight of land?"persisted Rodman, returning to the charge again.
"I went into it just the same as one of you Americans would have gotinto it," laughed Ole, who did not think it necessary to resort to thetactics he had used with the principal and the captain. "You couldhave done it if you had tried as hard as I did."
"After you got in, then, how came the boat out here, so far fromland?"
"The wind, the tide, and the broken oar brought it out here."
"Indeed! But won't you tell us your story, Ole?"
"A story? O, yes. Once there was a king of Norway whose name was Olaf,and half the men of his country were named after him, because--"
"Never mind that story, Ole. We want to hear the story aboutyourself."
"About myself? Well, last year things didn't go very well with me; thecrop of potatoes was rather short on my farm, and my vessels caughtbut few fish; so I decided to make a voyage up the Mediterranean, tospend the winter."
"What did you go in, Norway?" asked Wilde.
"In my boat. We don't make voyages on foot here in Norway."
"What boat?"
"You won't let me tell my story; so I had better finish it at once. Igot back as far as the North Sea, and almost into the Sleeve, when agale came down upon me, and strained my boat so that she leaked badly.I was worn out with fatigue, and dropped asleep one afternoon. I wasdreaming that the King of Sweden and Norway came off in a bigman-of-war, to welcome me home again. He hailed me himself, with,"Boat, ahoy!" which waked me; and then I saw this ship. You know allthe rest of it."
"Do you mean to say you went up the Mediterranean in that old craft?"
"I've told my story, and if you don't believe it, you can look in thealmanac, and see whether it is true or not," laughed Ole. "But I mustgo and show myself to the captain and the big gentleman."
"He's smart--isn't he?" said Sanford, as the young Norwegian went aftto exhibit himself to the officers on the quarter deck.
"Yes; but what's the reason he won't tell how he happened out here inthat leaky tub?" added Rodman.
"I don't know; he wouldn't tell the captain, nor the principal."
"I don't understand it."
"No one understands it. Perhaps he has done something wrong, and isafraid of being found out."
"Very likely."
"He's just the fellow for us," said Stockwell, in a low tone, after hehad glanced around him, to see that no listeners were near. "He speaksthe lingo of this country. We must buy him up."
"Good!" exclaimed Boyden. "We ought not to have let him go till we hadfixed his flint."
"I didn't think of it before; but there is time enough. If we can gethold of his story we can manage him without any trouble."
"But he won't tell his story. He wouldn't even let on to theprincipal."
"No matter; we must have him, somehow or other. Sanford can handlehim."
"I don't exactly believe in the scrape," said Burchmore, shaking hishead dubiously. "We've heard all about the fellows that used to try torun away from the ship and from the Josephine. They always got caught,and always had the worst of it."
"We are not going to run away, and we are not going to make ourselvesliable to any punishment," interposed Sanford, rather petulantly. "Wecan have a good time on shore without running away, or anything ofthat sort."
"What's the use?" replied Burchmore.
"The principal isn't going to let us see anything at all of Norway. Weare going to put in at Christiansand, and then go to Christiania. Wewant to see the interior of Norway, for there's glorious fishing inthe lakes and rivers--salmon as big as whales."
"I like fishing as well as any fellow, but I don't want to get into ascrape, and have to stay on board when the whole crowd go ashoreafterwards. It won't pay."
"But I tell you again, we are not going to run away."
"I don't see how you can manage it without running away. You are goinginto the interior of Norway on your own hook, without the consent orknowledge of the principal. If you don't call this running away, Idon't know what you can call it."
"No matter what we call it, so long as the principal don't call itrunning away," argued Sanford.
"How can you manage it?" inquired Burchmore.
"I don't know yet; and if I did, I wouldn't tell a fellow who has somany doubts."
"I shall not go into anything till I understand it."
"We don't ask you to do so. As soon as we come to anchor, and see thelay of the land, we can tell exactly what and how to do it. We haveplenty of money, and we can have a first-rate time if you only thinkso. Leave it all to me, and I will bring it out right," continued theconfident Sanford, who appeared to be the leader of the little squad.
The traditions of the various runaways who had, at one time andanother, attempted to escape from the wholesome discipline andrestraint of the Academy, were current on board all the vessels of thesquadron. The capture of the Josephine, and her cruise in the EnglishChannel, had been repeated to every new student who joined the fleet,till the story was as familiar to the present students as to those offive years before. Ther
e were just as many wild and reckless boys onboard now as in the earlier days of the institution, and they were assorely chafed by the necessary restraints of good order as theirpredecessors had been. Perhaps it was natural that, visiting a foreigncountry, they should desire to see all they could of its wonders, andeven to look upon some things which it was the policy of the principalto prevent them from seeing.
Whenever any of the various stories of the runaways were related,Sanford, Rodman, Stockwell, and others of similar tendencies, werealways ready to point out the defects in the plan of the operators.They could tell precisely where Wilton, Pelham, and Little had beenweak, as they termed it, and precisely what they should have done torender the enterprise a success. Still, running away, in the abstract,was not a popular idea in the squadron at the present time; butSanford believed that he and his companions could enjoy all thebenefits of an independent excursion without incurring any of itsperils and penalties. Let him demonstrate his own proposition.
Ole Amundsen walked aft, and was kindly greeted by the officers onthe quarter-deck, who commented freely upon his improved personalappearance, though they did it in more refined terms than theirshipmates on the forecastle had done. Some of them tried to draw fromhim the explanation of his situation in the leaky boat, but withoutany better success than had attended the efforts of others. He yieldedan extravagant deference to the gold lace on the uniforms of theofficers, treating them with the utmost respect.
"Well, Ole, you look better than when I saw you last," said Mr.Lowington.
"Yes, sir; and I feel better," replied Ole, bowing low to the "biggentleman."
"And you speak English very well, indeed."
"Thank you, sir."
"Can you speak Norwegian as well?"
"Yes, sir; better, I hope."
"Monsieur Badois, will you ask him a question or two in Norwegian,"added the principal, turning to the professor of modern languages, whoprided himself on being able to speak fourteen different tongues; "Ibegin to doubt whether he is a Norwegian."
"I will, sir," replied monsieur, who was always glad of an opportunityto exhibit his linguistic powers. "_Hvor staae det til?_" (How do youdo?)
"_Jeg takker, meget vel._" (Very well, I thank you), replied Ole.
"_Forstaaer De mig?_" (Do you understand me?)
"_Ja, jeg forstaaer Dem meget vel._" (Yes, I understand you verywell.)
"That will do," interposed Mr. Lowington.
"He speaks Norsk very well," added the professor.
"So do you, sir," said Ole, with a low bow to Monsieur Badois.
"_Meget vel_," laughed the professor.
"I am satisfied, Ole. Now, have you concluded to tell me how youhappened to be in that boat, so far from the land."
The waif counted the seams in the quarter-deck, but nothing couldinduce him to answer the question.
"I have given you a suit of clothes, and I desire to be of service toyou."
"I thank you, sir; and a good supper, the best I ever had, though Ihave often fished with English gentlemen, even with lords and sirs."
"If you will tell me who your friends are--"
"I have no friends, sir."
"You lived on shore, or sailed on the sea, with somebody, I suppose."
Ole looked down, and did not deny the proposition.
"Now, if you will tell me whom you lived with, I may be able to dosomething for you."
Still the waif was silent.
"Berth No. 72 in the steerage is vacant, and I will give it to you, ifI can be sure it is right for me to do so."
But Ole could not, or would not, give any information on this point,though he was earnest in his desire to remain in the ship.
"Very well, Ole; as you will not tell me your story, I shall beobliged to leave you on shore at Christiansand," said the principal,as he walked away.
Dr. Winstock also tried to induce the youth to reveal what he plainlyregarded as a secret, but with no different result. Ole passed fromthe officers to the crew again, and with the latter his answers werelike those given to Sanford and his companions. He invented strangeexplanations, and told wild stories, but not a soul on board was thewiser for anything he said. The waif was permitted to occupy berth No.72, but was distinctly assured that he must leave the ship when shearrived at Christiansand.
The wind continued light during the night, but at four o'clock in themorning the squadron was off Gunnarshoug Point, and not more than fourmiles from the land. The shore was fringed with innumerable islands,which made the coast very picturesque, though it was exceedinglybarren and desolate. Most of the islands were only bare rocks, thelong swells rolling completely over some of the smaller ones. Thestudents on deck watched the early sunrise, and studied the contourof the coast with deep interest, till it became an old story, and thenwhistled for a breeze to take them along more rapidly towards theirport of destination. The fleet was now fully in the Skager Rack, orSleeve, as it is also called on the British nautical charts.
At eight bells, when, with the forenoon watch, commenced the regularroutine of study in the steerage, all the students had seen the Naze,or Lindersnaes, as the Norwegians call it--the southern cape ofNorway. It is a reddish headland, beyond which were some hills coveredwith snow in the spring time. Ole Amundsen remained on deck all day,and had a name for every island and cliff on the coast. He declaredthat he was competent to pilot the ship into the harbor, for he hadoften been there. But when the fleet was off Ox-Oe, at the entranceto the port, a regular pilot was taken, at three o'clock in theafternoon. The Josephine and the Tritonia also obtained pilots soonafter. The recitations were suspended in order to enable the studentsto see the harbor.
Ole was wanted to explain the various objects which were presented tothe view of the young mariners, but no one had seen him since thepilot came on board. All the habitable parts of the vessel weresearched, and the stewards even examined the hold; but he could not befound. Mr. Lowington was anxious to see him, to ascertain whether hehad changed his mind in regard to his secret; but Ole had disappearedas strangely as he had come on board of the ship.