ooked at the end. And the bird just sailed along and
waved a little, up and down, but it didn't move its wings, so far as the
boys could see, and they watched it for a long time.

[Illustration]

Its wings were enormous. Little Sol thought they were almost as long as
the main-top-gallant yard if you could measure them spread out, as the
bird was sailing. And little Jacob looked very wise and he said that he
didn't know how long the main-top-gallant yard was, but he should think
they might measure two fathom and a half from tip to tip. And little
Jacob felt rather proud when he had said that, because he had guessed in
fathoms.

Little Sol looked rather scornful and said "Huh!" And then little Jacob
asked him what kind of a bird it was, and little Sol didn't know. Then
little Jacob said "Huh!" So they went to ask Mr. Steele or Captain
Solomon. Captain Solomon was standing right behind them, and he was
smiling because he had heard what the boys said. And he said that the
bird was an albatross, and that little Jacob was pretty nearly right
about the length of its wings. Little Sol was taken down a peg and
didn't say anything.

Then Captain Solomon went on to say that albatrosses often followed
ships for days together, and the sailors never could see that they had
to move their wings, but they sailed along just as fast as the ship
sailed. He had seen lots of them in his time, but he had never seen them
do anything else but sail, just as that one was doing then. And how they
managed it, he didn't know, and nobody else knew, so far as he had ever
heard.

Then little Sol asked what the bird was following the ship for. And
Captain Solomon said that he supposed that the albatross was following
the ship to get the scraps that the cook threw overboard. At least, he
didn't know any other reason, and the albatross took the scraps,
anyway. They were like sharks in that way.

Then little Sol asked him if they couldn't catch the albatross with a
hook and a piece of pork, as they had caught the shark. And Captain
Solomon said that they could, but that Sol had better not try it, if he
knew what was good for him; for the sailors thought that it always
brought the worst kind of luck to a ship to kill an albatross, and he
didn't know but they were right. And little Jacob was glad Captain
Solomon said that, for he didn't want the albatross killed, but he would
rather watch it sailing along with the ship.

[Illustration]

So nobody