g 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 discovery 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 blockhouse 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, longitude, 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 questioning 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 circumstances 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
Fre