CHAPTER XXVIII.
"SEA-RUNES GOOD AT NEED."
"Well, boys, I suppose you want to be off early," said the Yarl nextmorning, when he came in for breakfast and found his young guests in aferment of excitement asking each other, "Where did you put theknives?" "Have you remembered matches?" "I vote we take a whole hamwith us." "You've left out the log-book." "For goodness' sake,somebody carry a pencil."
"You look like business, on my word," their host added, smiling; "and Iwish I were a boy too."
"Never mind, sir; come with us all the same," cried Yaspard, but oldHalsen shook his head.
"The glamour of boyhood is wanting. I could not enjoy such a voyage ofadventure and exploring in the right way now. But I shall want to hearall about it; so mind you use Garth's note-book and keep an accuratelog."
"I'll see to that," quoth Harry; and Tom added, "I do the messing, andHarry does the writing."
When all preparations were made, the Yarl insisted that they shouldmarch to the shore in proper style, with Yaspard walking in frontcarrying his new flag, hoisted for the occasion on Mr. Halsen'swalking-stick.
It was a lovely flag indeed. Isobel had been working on it for a longtime, intending it for Fred, but he had asked that it might be given tohis young friend, and she willingly agreed.
The device was not uncommon, but Isobel's artistic fancy had made it aperfect work of art. It was the figure of a youth clad in armourholding high in his right hand a white cross with "Onward" worked ingold letters upon it.
The flag was blue, with a crimson star in the corner; and altogetherany prince might have been proud to start upon a high quest under sucha banner.
The two girls accompanied the procession, we may be sure; and many wereGerta's injunctions to "take care of yourselves, and don't befoolhardy."
Just as the good-byes were being said, Thor called out from his basket,"Uncle, uncle! Bad, bad, bad!"
"Why on earth have you taken that uncanny fowl with you?" Amy Congreveasked.
"You ought to know by this time," said Garth, speaking for ourViking-boy, "that the sea-rovers never went out to maraud or explorewithout the bird of Odin."
"I shouldn't like to have a creature like that calling out 'Bad, bad!'as I started on a voyage of discovery. It is not a good omen," Amyreplied in lower tones, which did not reach the ears of the youngadventurers, for their boat was off, and the Yarl and Garth werecheering the _Osprey_ as it slid away from the land.
"What very odd fancies that boy has!" Mr. Halsen remarked as theyreturned to the house. "Some of his notions are almost childish at thefirst glance one takes--so simple, and full of the exaggerated fancy ofa mere child. But soon one finds the germ of the right kind of stuffin all his fancies; and he carries them out with the shrewd commonsense, the cool determination, energy, and daring of a grown man. Itis a strange mixture."
"It is a mixture that makes a fascinating character, uncle," saidGerta. "I like Yaspard Adiesen very much just because of thatchild-way and man-manner he has. He will do something grand one ofthese days."
Yaspard thought he was doing something grand that very day, you may besure. He was started on an exploring expedition: and when we rememberthat the Shetland group consists of over one hundred islands, large andsmall; that many of these have seldom been visited by any one, somenever trod by human foot, and the greater number uninhabited save bythe wild birds and sea creatures, we will see that our hero's voyagewas not unlikely to be one of discovery and adventure.
Some other time I will give you the _Osprey's_ log, carefully kept byHarry Mitchell, who every evening recorded all the day's doings,however trivial these had been. Many of their adventures were sostartling that he might well have been excused if his attention hadbeen occasionally diverted from this duty; but that diary was a modelof faithful discharging of a promise given to more than one of the dearhome friends, whose thoughts we know were with the Viking-boys. Atpresent I can only tell you a small part of what happened during theweek which the _Osprey_ spent in cruising among the lonely skerries andholmes of Hialtland.
More than once our lads had spoken a haaf-boat, and sent messages toLunda, from whence Fred had taken care to despatch the news, "_Osprey_spoken. All well," to Boden and Burra Isle.
They never landed on any inhabited spot, but preferred to camp for thenight on some lofty rock, whose steep sides they had to scale at therisk of their bones, or on some green holme, where the waves lappedround the place of their rest, tossing spray on them as they slept.
They always kept a watch, knowing from past experience how swiftly thesqualls arise. It would be no joke, they knew, if their boat werecaught by the sea in some geo while they slept on the high rock above;and well they knew that a very little increase of wind would cause thewaves to wash them from the low holmes in a moment. They kept a waryeye on the weather, and always contrived to have a safe port to leewhen atmospheric disturbance threatened.
They gathered a strange, even valuable, collection of curiosities invarious departments of science; nothing escaped Harry in the shape ofplant-life, shells, or geological specimens, and the others followedhis example in other lines. A great many rare and beautifulcuriosities were brought up on the fishing-line. Tom Holtum came togrief more than once climbing after birds' nests, and Bill Mitchell hadto be rescued from drowning again and again in consequence of hisardour in pursuit of wreckage.
There are always mournful trophies of the power of ocean to be foundfloating around those isles, and our young adventurers were frequentlyreminded of this by discovering oars, planks, casks, or other flotsam,which had belonged to some lost ship that had disappeared for ever.
I ought to tell you that Thor was not kept a prisoner in his basket allthis time. Yaspard knew that the bird would remain by him and thewell-known boat when all familiar land-marks were beyond his ken,therefore he was allowed to hop about as he so pleased. Being alwayswell fed and caressed, Thor began to think that a voyage of discoveryhad something to recommend it on the whole, and was in a very amiableframe of mind all the time. Indeed, so much did he show himselfattached to the _Osprey_ and her roving crew, that some of them beganto think he would not be inclined to leave them even when they mightwish him to do so. For be it known that Yaspard meant to send Thorhome before him with a message, and had told Signy to look every dayfor the coming of the raven.
When they had been out a week, and had led a most delightful RobinsonCrusoe life, they found that their provisions were getting near an end;as the Yarl had advised their return about that time, therefore he hadnot supplied them with more than a week's food. The store had beensupplemented by many a fine catch of fish, as well as shell-fish; butthe lads were healthy and hungry, and had not spared the ferdimet.They might have landed near some cottages and renewed their supplies,but such a prosaic and ordinary method was scouted by all. Besides,they had agreed to return as advised about that time; so the homewardvoyage was begun, not without some regret, but with many a resolutionthat this should only be the first of many such expeditions.
They sailed steadily onwards all that day without turning once aside,though many a tempting islet lay by their course. When the eveningdrew near they were well in sight of the Heogue and the hills of Lunda;while, not far away on their lee, rose the cliffs of Burra Isle.
"Suppose we land for the night on Swarta Stack?" said Harry. "It is agood-sized place, and has a first-rate geo where our boat can lie assnug as possible."
"Swarta Stack gets a bad name for mair raisons than ane," Gloy Winwickremarked, as the _Osprey_ made for the island, according to Harry'ssuggestions.
"Is it haunted?" Gibbie asked.
"I dinna ken aboot that," replied his cousin. "The minister tells usit's a' nonsense aboot haunted places and the like; but it's said thatSwarta Stack was an ill place when the folk were no' ower particular o'the way they got pruel[1] frae the sea."
"You mean there were wreckers hereabout?" Yaspard asked, and Gloyanswered, "I've heard sae."
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"I wish I could meet them. I just wish I could catch a wrecker at hisevil work. Wouldn't I pitch into him!" exclaimed the Viking-boy;whereat Harry, laughing, said, "That's all done with now. Wreckerswent after the Vikings, didn't they?"
"With the exception of fule-Tammy," retorted Yaspard.
"And yourself," said Tom.
"Maybe they left as bad behind them," Yaspard said quickly. "Men whocheat in trade, who scamp work, evade taxes, rack-rent the poor, are nobetter than pirates and wreckers."
"Here we are at the Stack," Harry exclaimed. "Look out there with thesail! Captain, mind your helm. There now; you nearly had her aground!I declare we've skimmed over a bau!--we may thank our stars we didn'tcapsize on it--all through your jabber about wreckers who left thisplanet a century ago."
They landed on Swarta Stack, and made themselves comfortable for thenight not far from the geo where the _Osprey_ was moored. It was toolate to explore the Stack that night, so after supper all rolledthemselves up in rugs, as had been their wont for a week, and were soonin the mysterious land of dreamless sleep.
[1] Odds and ends, or plunder.