der, and the men went
to work with a cheerful willingness. None seemed more anxious to lend a
ready hand than Manuel, for in addition to is duties as steward, he had
worked at sail-making, and both worked at and directed the repairing of
the sails. Those acquainted with maritime affairs can readily appreciate
the amount of labor necessary to provide a mess with the means at hand
that we have before described. And yet he did it to the satisfaction of
all, and manifested a restless anxiety lest he should not make everybody
comfortable, and particularly his little pet boy, Tommy.

"We'll get a good observation at meridian, and then we shall shape our
course for Charleston, South Carolina. We'll be more likely to reach
it than any other southern port," said the captain to his mate. "That
steward, Manuel, is worth his weight in gold. If we have to abandon the
old craft, I'll take him home; the owners respect him just as much as
a white man; his politeness and affability could not but command such
esteem, with a man that a'n't a fool. I never believed in making equals
of negroes, but if Manuel was to be classed with niggers for all the
nigger blood that's in him, seven-tenths of the inhabitants of the earth
would go with him. I never saw such an attachment between brothers, as
exists between him and Tommy. I verily believe that one couldn't go to
sleep without the other. I should think they were brothers, if the
lad wasn't English, and Manuel a Portuguese. But Manuel is as much an
Englishman at heart as the lad, and has sailed so long under the flag
that he seems to have a reverence for the old jack when he sees the
bunting go up. He likes to tell that story about the Patagonians chasing
him. I have overheard him several times, as much amused in his own
recital as if he was listening to the quaint jokes of an old tar. But he
swears the Patagonians will never catch him on their shores again, for
he says he doesn't believe in making 'drum-head of man-skin,'" said the
Captain, evidently with the intention of affecting the mate's feelings,
and drawing his mind from its dark forebodings.

"Well, Skipper, I pray for a happy deliverance," said the mate, "but if
we make Charleston with her, it'll be a luck that man nor mermaid ever
thought of. I hearn a good deal o' tell about Charleston, and the Keys.
That isn't one of the places our stewards are so 'fraid of, and where
owners don't like to send their ships when they can find freigh