The Ocean Waifs: A Story of Adventure on Land and Sea

After a while the crew of the _Catamaran_ watched the manoeuvres of the sword-fish with a degree of interest that almost caused them to forget their own forlorn situation. Littl...

One by one the buttons were drawn forth from the bag,--each man, as he drew his, exhibiting it in his open palm, to satisfy the others as to its colour, and then placing it in a...

This opportune deliverance from the most fearful of deaths had inspired the sailor with a hope that they might still, by some further interference of Providence, escape from the...

"_Allons_!" cried a black-bearded man, in whose emaciated frame it was not easy to recognise the once corpulent bully of the slave-ship,--the Frenchman, Le Gros. "_Allons! messi...

While the strange phenomenon of a blazing fire upon the back of a whale was being exhibited to the eyes of ocean-birds and ocean-fishes,--all doubtless wondering what it meant,-...

The frigate-bird (_Pelicanus aquila_), which had thus become the subject of conversation on board the _Catamaran_, is in many respects very different from other ocean-birds. Alt...

The combatants did not close on the instant. The sharp blades shining in their hands rendered them shy of a too near approach, and for some time they kept apart. They did not, h...

Despondency cannot endure forever. Kind Nature has not ordained that it should be so. It may have its periods, longer or shorter as the case may be; but always to be succeeded b...

Ben Brace actually believed it so. It would have been difficult for anyone to have thought otherwise; but the moral mind of the sailor had of late undergone some very serious tr...

Such was the singular speech that fell from the lips of the sailor, and with an accent that proclaimed it ominous. And why ominous? Why should the presence of that embarkation--...

It was the very unexpectedness of seeing land--combined with the _desirability_ of such a sight--that hindered him from proclaiming it to his companions; and it was some time be...

The conduct of the Coromantee in thus relinquishing the rudder and springing overboard into the sea was inexplicable,--at least, to little William it seemed so for the time. Wha...

While William was gazing upon the strange fish, it was seen all at once to make a rush in the direction of the raft. They could hear a "swishing" sound, as its huge body passed...

After carefully scrutinising the smooth water towards every point of the compass,--but more especially towards the west,--the sailor ceased from his reconnoissance, and turned h...

To all appearance the hour had arrived when they were to look their last on the embarkation that had safely carried them through so many dangers. In a few minutes their sail wou...

The story of the _Pandora_ has been told in all its terrible details. A slave-ship, fitted out in England, and sailing from an English port,-- alas! not the only one by scores,-...

The adventures of Snowball and his _protege_, from the blowing up of the _Pandora_ until six suns had risen and gone down over the ocean, if not so varied as those of Ben Brace...

In the minds of the _Catamaran's_ crew there was no longer any cause for conjecture. The boat-shaped object on the water, and the human form standing up within it, were mysterie...

The two birds which had attracted the attention of the _Catamaran's_ crew were seen suddenly to abandon their fixed poise in the air, and commence wheeling in circles, or rather...

The shark struck upon the snout, though killed by the blow, continued to float near the surface of the water its fins still in motion as if in the act of swimming.

After launching the kit, little William did not think of surrendering himself to inaction. He bethought him that something more should be done,--that some other _waifs_ should b...

The flesh of the shark, and the stock of water so singularly obtained and so deftly stored away, might, if properly kept and carefully used, last them for many days; and to the...

To the two oldest of the _Catamaran's_ crew the curious circumstances of the sword-fish thrusting his rostrum through the raft, and snapping it asunder, needed no explanation. B...

In less than three minutes after coming in contact with the kit, the three castaways formed a group, curious and peculiar. On the right of the chest was the sailor, his body str...

As soon as they were satisfied that the bright spark upon the horizon was a burning light, every individual on the raft became inspired with the same impulse,--to make for the s...

As we have said, little William, standing near the stern of the _Catamaran_, had watched the spectacle with suspended breath. It was only after seeing the zygaena float lifeless...

The flying-fish takes rank as one of the most conspicuous "wonders of the sea," and in a tale essentially devoted to the great deep, it is a subject deserving of more than a pas...

On this curious embarkation, drifting about amid the remains of the wrecked ship, there were only the two human figures,--the negro and the little girl. It is superfluous to say...

They had not made over a dozen strokes of their oars,--which they handled cautiously and in silence, all the while listening intently,-- when their ears were again saluted by so...

What a picture was there,--with no human eye to behold it! Two human forms, a sailor and a sailor-boy, lying side by side upon a raft scarce twice the length of their own bodies...

In a few moments a deep cavity was hewn out around the shank of the harpoon; which was further deepened, until the barbed blade was wellnigh laid bare. Snowball, impatiently sei...

They had not much longer to wait. The storm came striding across the ocean; and, to the intense gratification of both man and boy, the rain was soon falling upon them, as if a w...

Although most of the men had surrendered themselves to such slumber as they might obtain, the silence was neither profound nor continuous. At times no sounds were heard save the...

By reason of the many dread scenes they had already passed through, this feeling was the less intense, and gradually wore away. It was neither the time nor the place for any sho...

It might be supposed that the shark would have rushed instantaneously upon its antagonist, regardless of aught save making a meal of him. But no, the zygaena, notwithstanding it...

The most palatable portions of the sharks' flesh having been stripped from the bones and cut into thin slices, were now to be submitted to a drying, or rather broiling process....

It was accompanied by silence; so profound that, but for the noise made by the waves as they dashed against the hollow hogsheads, a pin might have been heard if dropped upon the...

Nearly two hours had transpired since the starting of the _Catamaran_,-- during which time but little change took place in the relative positions of those on board. Then, howeve...

The night proved pleasanter than the day. The wind was no longer an enemy; and the breeze that succeeded was more advantageous than would have been a dead calm; since it steadie...

The _Catamaran_ herself was not "cut loose" in the nautical sense of the term, and abandoned, but she was cut loose in a literal sense, and in pieces hoisted aboard the ship to...

Though the birds by their flight had dissolved one half of the speculative theory which the crew of the _Catamaran_ had constructed, the other half still held good. The island w...

On once more setting foot on the deck of the _Catamaran_ the strong sailor was so thoroughly exhausted that he was unable to stand erect, and after scrambling aboard, and stagge...

As the sailor gave utterance to these words of fearful import, he started from his recumbent position, and, half-erect upon the raft, remained listening,--at the same time endea...

The sailor was equally suffering from the loss of the former; and both remained for a good many minutes without taking any further steps towards the accomplishment of the design...

The sailor-lad did not remain longer on the top of the mast than just to satisfy himself that what he saw were his companions, still afloat and alive. They were not at such a di...

Had it been daylight, instead of a very dark night, Ben Brace and his youthful comrade would have been less alarmed by the voices that came up the wind. Daylight would have disc...

The red button remained in the bag. It was a singular circumstance that it should be the last; but such strange circumstances will sometimes occur. It belonged to Le Gros. The l...

For six days had Snowball been leading this sort of life, along with the little Lalee,--subsisting partly on the sea-steeped biscuit found in the barrel, and partly upon other p...

Next morning, as soon as there was light enough for them to see what they were about, the work was resumed; and the timbers having been put together in a fashion to satisfy all...

The fish that had thus singularly fallen into their hands was, as Ben had stated, the sucking-fish, _Echeneis remora_,--one of the most curious creatures that inhabit the sea. N...

The hope of replenishing their larder was likely to be realised easily, and ere long. Scarce had their sail caught the breeze, when they perceived alongside the _Catamaran_ a sh...

"What is it, Ben?" asked William, in a voice husky and hoarse, from the parched throat through which it had to pass. "You look pleased like; do you see anything?"

The crews of both rafts were astir by early dawn, the sailor arousing one and all from their slumbers. The rising sun, as it shone over the ocean, fell upon four faces, all wear...

Perhaps we have _drifted_ too far adown the currents of the ocean. From our digression let us return to out special "Waifs." We left them making preparations to roast the shark-...

Back to the boat! In the minds of the _Catamaran's_ crew naturally did this resolve succeed to the spectacle they had just witnessed. There was nothing to stay them on that spot...

The emphatic declaration of the sailor,--that the dark disc before them must be an island, and that the upright forms upon it were those of human beings,--dispelled all doubts u...

Their pursuers were noisy enough. They had kept quiet, so long as there appeared to be any uncertainty about the results of the chase; but as soon as they became assured that th...

It is scarce necessary to say that, during all this time. Little William, on board the _Catamaran_, was half wild with anxious thoughts. He had obeyed the first instructions sho...

The breeze proved only what sailors call a catspaw, rising no higher than just to cause a ripple on the water, and lasting only about an hour. When it was over, the sea again fe...

In making the observations above detailed, the boy-sailor had been occupied scarce ten seconds of time,--only while his eye took in the singular spectacle thus abruptly brought...

How long they lay in this half-unconscious condition, neither took note. It could not have been many minutes, for the mind under such circumstances does not long surrender itsel...

The utterance was merely mechanical; and as it escaped from his lips, the sailor-lad rushed towards the edge of the raft, and placed himself in an attitude to plunge into the wa...

The sea-cook and the sailor were now swimming towards each other. It is true that Ben was not making very rapid way, nor did Snowball return on his course with any great alacrit...

Death in all its dark reality once more stared them in the face. They were entirely without food. Of all their stores, collected and cured with so much care and ingenuity, not a...

Snowball began to snore almost as soon as he had closed his eyelids, and as if the shutting of his eyes had either occasioned or strengthened the current of breath through his n...

As soon as the _Catamaran_ had fairly recovered her equilibrium, Snowball condescended to climb aboard. The ludicrous appearance of the negro, as he stood dripping upon the deck...

As yet they had not restored the mast with its sail; and they had no motive for toiling at the oar. All the little way they might make by rowing was not worth the exertion of ma...

"Stay here!" exclaimed the sailor, who no longer spoke in whispers, since such would no longer avail. "Anything but that. Quick, Snowy,-- quick, Will'm! Back down to the deck o'...

With the _Catamaran_ once more under sail, and going on her due course, her crew might have seemed restored to the situation held by them previous to their encountering the dead...

The particular species of flying-fish that had fallen into the clutches of the two starving castaways upon the raft was the _Exocetus evolans_, or "Spanish flying-fish" of marin...

It is scarce necessary to tell who were the two men who had been thus plotting in whispers. The first speaker was, of course, the Frenchman, Le Gros,--the other being the confed...

There was no mystery about the incident that had occurred. It had scarce created surprise; for the moment that the old whalesman felt the shock, he knew what had caused it, as w...

It wanted but a little while of sunset, when the sailor and his young comrade had finished flensing the shark. The raft now exhibited quite an altered appearance. Between the tw...

Both were doing their very utmost,--the former to make their escape, the latter to prevent it; and very different were the motives by which the two parties were actuated. The oc...

A dozen strokes would have carried him up to the craft; which they could not have hindered him from boarding, except by using some deadly violence. To avoid this, the oars were...

Half pulling, half trusting to the sail, in a few seconds they were alongside the carcass of the _cachalot_. They saw what it was and divined how it came to be there; though sti...

There were several reasons why they did not cast off from the carcass, and continue their westward course: the most important being the hope that the destroyers of the whale mig...

Whether it was the violent gestures that accompanied this ebullition of feeling that caused the water-cask to lurch from under his feet,--or whether it arose from his nervous sy...

As the spermaceti in the pot still continued to blaze up,--the wick not yet having burnt out,--it occurred to Snowball to continue his culinary operations, and broil a sufficien...

The object of their united reconnoissance was the same which, but a few moments before, had occupied the attention of the sailor. They were standing on the dead body of a whale...

They did not have to stay for the scattering of the fog. Long before the sun had lifted that veil from off the face of the sea, the crew of the _Catamaran_ had discovered the ch...

As yet, he had only obtained a slight glimpse of it: for the larboard quarter lay towards the south-west, and the sun, just then sinking down upon the sea, hindered him from hav...

To make sure of a sufficient stock,--enough to last them with light rations for a voyage, if need be, to the other side of the Atlantic,-- they had continued at the work all day...

The man who had so unexpectedly interrupted the deadly duello, while giving utterance to his strange speech, kept one of his arms extended towards the ocean,--as if pointing to...

They had not proceeded very far, when a cry from the girl caused them to suspend their exertions. While the others were occupied in propelling the chest, Lalee, kneeling upon th...

The wind was favourable in more senses than one. Besides blowing in the desired direction, it kept steady and continuous,--never rising above a gentle breeze, nor again returnin...

The man-o'-war's-man kept watch during the long hours of the night. True to his trust, he attended to the steering-oar: and as the breeze continued to blow steadily in the same...

And now all eyes were turned towards the sea-hawk, and became fixed upon him with glances that expressed surprise; for, instead of again soaring upward, and renewing his pursuit...

By this change in the position of the parties, the zygaena had lost its advantage. Instead of having for the object of its attack an exhausted swimmer encumbered with a weight,...

A second appeal to the goddess of Fortune was no longer thought of. The deadly antagonism of the two chief castaways--Le Gros and O'Gorman-- promised a result likely to supply t...

The ex-cook, in the lead of those who ascended to the summit of the carcass, had some difficulty in finding his kitchen; but, after groping some time over the glutinous epidermi...

The night was a dark one; by a Spanish figure of speech, comparable to a "pot of pitch." It was scarce further obscured by a thick fog that shortly after came silently over the...

Two travellers meeting in the midst of a lone wilderness, even though strangers to each other, would not be likely to pass without speaking. If old acquaintances, then would the...

As O'Gorman gave utterance to the last words of his preparatory speech, he fixed his eyes steadfastly upon the Frenchman. His look confirmed every one in the belief that the all...

For several minutes the wretched castaways of the _Catamaran_ remained in their perilous position,--almost motionless in the midst of the deep blue water,--precariously suspende...

The "vulture of the sea," borne upon broad wing, and wandering over the wide Atlantic, suddenly suspends his flight to look down upon an object that has attracted his attention.

A spectacle so unexpected,--but, above all, of such a horrid nature,-- could not fail to produce a powerful impression upon those who were witnesses to it. It even caused a chan...

The reappearance of the sword-fish,--if it was the same that had already paid them a visit,--or more likely the discovery and pursuit of the "school" of flying-fish,--had caused...

Whether it should turn out to be the sea-chest of Ben Brace or no, it appeared to be a chest of some sort; and, being of wood, buoyantly floating on the water, it promised to he...

All conversation had come to an end. Even the few phrases at intervals exchanged between Snowball and the sailor,--the solemn import of which had been zealously kept from the ch...