dapted
for swift sailing, neither large guns nor small arms of any kind were
visible.

Whatever her nature or her object, she was reduced, at the time we
introduce her to the reader, to a state of inaction by the dead calm
which prevailed. The sea resembled a sheet of clear glass. Not a cloud
broke the softness of the sky, in which the sun glowed hotter and hotter
as it rose towards the zenith. The sails of the schooner hung idly from
the yards; her reflected image was distorted, but scarcely broken, by
the long, gentle swell; her crew, with the exception of the watch, were
asleep either on deck or down below; and so deep was the universal
silence, that, as the vessel rose and fell with a slow, quiet motion,
the pattering of the reef-points on her sails forcibly attracted the
listener's attention, as does the ticking of a clock in the deep silence
of night. A few sea-birds rested on the water, as if in the enjoyment of
the profound peace that reigned around; and far away on the horizon
might be seen the tops of the palm trees that grow on one of those coral
islands which lie scattered in thousands, like beautiful gems, on the
surface of that bright blue sea.

Among the men who lay sleeping in various easy, off-hand attitudes on
the schooner's deck, was one who merits special attention--not only
because of the grotesque appearance of his person, but also because he
is one of the principal actors in our tale.

He was a large, powerful man, of that rugged build and hairy aspect that
might have suggested the idea that he would be difficult to kill. He
was a fair man, with red hair, and a deeply sun-burned face, on which
jovial good humor sat almost perpetually enthroned. At the moment when
we introduce him to the reader, however, that expression happened to be
modified in consequence of his having laid him down to sleep in a
sprawling manner on his back--the place as well as the position being,
apparently, one of studied discomfort. His legs lay over the heel of the
bowsprit, his big body reposed on a confused heap of blocks and cordage,
and his neck rested on the stock of an anchor so that his head hung down
over it, presenting the face to view with the large mouth wide open, in
an upside-down position. The man was evidently on the verge of choking,
but, being a strong man, and a rugged man, and a healthy man, he did not
care. He seemed to prefer choking to the trouble of rousing himself and
improving his position.

H