ng round
under her counter in a semicircle. Then it was that I understood why
her counter was so abnormally long; it was not merely a fancy on the
part of her designer, intended to give her a smart, rakish appearance,
it was for the purpose of giving her, despite the fulness of her run, a
clean, easy delivery. Yes, as I looked at her critically, studying her
lines from every possible point of view, I could believe that she would
prove a quite extraordinary sailer; for there was nothing in that long,
keen bow for the water to grip, the knifelike stem would sheer into it,
and the gently expanding sides would shoulder it aside with scarcely any
resistance, leaving it to close in again aft about her stern-post with a
nip that would add to her speed, just as one may make a nut spring from
one's fingers by merely pressing upon it. And she would be a good
sea-boat, too, for the bow flared out over the water in such a fashion
as to lift her over any sea, however steep. Yes, I liked the outside
look of her amazingly, and no longer thought the idea of going to sea in
such a craft mere folly; on the contrary, I longed for the moment when I
should have the opportunity to test her capabilities.

Having scrutinised the exterior of my new command to my heart's content,
we went alongside and boarded her. Her gangway was open; and so little
freeboard did she show at this point--Carline measured it and found it
to be exactly four-feet--that we were able to spring from the boat's
gunwale to the schooner's deck without difficulty, and without the need
for a side-ladder. I had by this time quite forgotten my first
impression of diminutiveness in connection with the craft, and the
moment that I passed through the gangway and stood upon her deck I
gained a new impression, namely that of spaciousness. For she was
extraordinarily beamy; her hatchways were small, and there was nothing
in the way of fittings of any kind to cumber up her decks; indeed, so
far as actual room to move about upon was concerned, her quarter-deck
seemed to be quite as spacious as that of the _Europa_. She was
flush-decked fore and aft, and abaft the immensely lofty mainmast there
was nothing but the companion, with a seat and lockers on either side of
it, a fine big skylight, a very handsome brass binnacle, and the wheel.
Her bulwarks were only three feet high, with a fine, solid teak rail;
and she was built of hard wood--oak and elm--throughout, and copper
fast