changed, and the wind was blowing very strong, while a nasty sea had
got up.

"I shall never forget the state poor Mrs Hudson was in when she could
not discover what had become of her child; while her husband was almost
as bad. At last one of the boys, who had before been afraid to speak,
acknowledged that he saw little Harry in the arms of the third mate just
before the boat shoved off, but that he, being called below at that
moment, could not tell what had become of the child. We at once cut
adrift the fish we had secured, and made sail in the direction the boat
was supposed to have gone, placing lanterns in the rigging and firing
guns to show our whereabouts. The weather, however, had been growing
worse and worse, and with the heavy sea there was running, the boat
herself, we knew, would be in no slight peril.

"All night long we continued cruising over the ground; but not a sign of
the boat could we discover. When morning came, we continued our search,
with the same want of success. Towards noon the weather again
moderated; but though fish were seen spouting, the master would not send
the boats after them; and unwilling as we were to lose them, none of us
had the heart to press him to do so.

"For the best part of a week we stood backwards and forwards in all
directions looking for the boat; till at last the men began to grumble,
and I felt it my duty to urge the master to carry out the object of the
voyage. Almost broken-hearted, he consented to do so. Slowly his poor
wife recovered; and from that day to this they have never found any
trace of their lost child. Probably the third mate had got hold of a
fish; and he having but little experience, his boat must have been
knocked to pieces, or else dragged down by the line becoming foul before
it could be cut."

"A very sad history," I remarked; "and I am not surprised at poor Mrs
Hudson's melancholy. But who is the young lady?" I asked.

"That is more than I can tell you," he answered. "She came on board the
evening before we sailed, but not one of us had ever heard of her till
then, and neither the master nor Mrs Hudson thought fit to enlighten us
on the subject; while she herself, though ready enough to talk to me at
the dinner-table, seldom says anything to any of us on deck."

"How very romantic!" I could not help exclaiming, more interested than
ever in the young lady.

Wishing Captain Hudson good-bye, we shoved off, and as we pulled away we