第90章

"Never, sir.Master Eau-douce always makes fast to the shore.""But in running in for the town, you kept the lead going, out of question, and must have tallowed as usual.""Tallow! -- and town, too! Bless your heart, Master Cap! there is no more town than there is on your chin, and not half as much tallow!"The Sergeant smiled grimly, but his brother-in-law did not detect this proof of humor.

"No church tower, nor light, nor fort, ha? There is a garrison, as you call it hereaway, at least?""Ask Sergeant Dunham, sir, if you wish to know that.

All the garrison is on board the _Scud_.""But in running in, Bob, which of the channels do you think the best? the one you went last, or -- or -- or -- ay, or the other?""I can't say, sir; I know nothing of either.""You didn't go to sleep, fellow, at the wheel, did you?""Not at the wheel, sir, but down in the fore-peak in my berth.Eau-douce sent us below, soldiers and all, with the exception of the pilot, and we know no more of the road than if we had never been over it.This he has always done in going in and coming out; and, for the life of me, I could tell you nothing of the channel, or the course, after we are once fairly up with the islands.No one knows anything of either but Jasper and the pilot.""Here is a circumstance for you, Sergeant," said Cap, leading his brother-in-law a little aside; "there is no one on board to pump, for they all suck from ignorance at the first stroke of the brake.How the devil am I to find the way to this station for which we are bound?""Sure enough, brother Cap, your question is more easily put than answered.Is there no such thing as figuring it out by navigation? I thought you salt-water mariners were able to do as small a thing as that.I have often read of their discovering islands, surely.""That you have, brother, that you have; and this dis-covery would be the greatest of them all; for it would not only be discovering one island, but one island out of a thousand.""Still, the sailors of the lake have a method of finding the places they wish to go to.""If I have understood you, Sergeant, this station or block-house is particularly private.""It is, indeed, the utmost care having been taken to prevent a knowledge of its position from reaching the enemy.""And you expect me, a stranger on your lake, to find this place without chart, course, distance, latitude, longi-tude, or soundings, -- ay, d--- me, or tallow! Allow me to ask if you think a mariner runs by his nose, like one of Pathfinder's hounds?""Well, brother, you may yet learn something by ques-tioning the young man at the helm; I can hardly think that he is as ignorant as he pretends to be.""Hum! -- this looks like another circumstance.For that matter, the case is getting to be so full of circum-stances that one hardly knows how to foot up the evidence.

But we will soon see how much the lad knows."Cap and the Sergeant now returned to their station near the helm, and the former renewed his inquiries.

"Do you happen to know what may be the latitude and longitude of this said island, my lad?" he asked.

"The what, sir?"

"Why, the latitude or longitude -- one or both; I'm not particular which, as I merely inquire in order to see how they bring up young men on this bit of fresh water.""I'm not particular about either myself, sir, and so I do not happen to know what you mean.""Not what I mean! You know what latitude is?""Not I, sir!" returned the man, hesitating."Though I believe it is French for the upper lakes.""Whe-e-e-w-!" whistled Cap, drawing out his breath like the broken stop of an organ; "latitude, French for upper lakes! Hark'e, young man, do you know what longitude means?""I believe I do, sir; that is, five feet six, the regulation height for soldiers in the king's service.""There's the longitude found out for you, Sergeant, in the rattling of a brace-block! You have some notion about a degree, and minutes and seconds, I hope?""Yes, sir; degree means my betters; and minutes and seconds are for the short or long log-lines.We all know these things as well as the salt-water people.""D--- me, brother Dunham, if I think even Faith can get along on this lake, much as they say it can do with mountains.Well, my lad, you understand the azimuth, and measuring distances, and how to box the compass.""As for the first, sir, I can't say I do.The distances we all know, as we measure them from point to point; and as for boxing the compass, I will turn my back to no ad-miral in his Majesty's fleet.Nothe, nothe and by east, nothe, nothe-east, nothe-east and by nothe, nothe-east, nothe-east and by east, east-nothe-east, east and by nothe-east -- "