United States or Denmark ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !


Mohammed! split the air; some cried it out from the Turkish port-holes; others shrieked it forth from the drowning waters, their top-knots floating on their shaven skulls, like black snakes on half-tide rocks. By those top-knots they believed that their Prophet would drag them up to Paradise, but they sank fifty fathoms, my hearties, to the bottom of the bay.

"Now, my hearties, furs off!" cried the energetic little Doctor. He doffed his own suit hurriedly, pulled on a pair of woolen gloves in lieu of the sealskin ones, pulled the steel rod out and laid it aside, grasped an axe and began chopping into the ice with all his might. The ice chips flew about the engine-room in a shower. He was soon obliged to stop for breath.

I hope our different commands will not clash." As the skipper shook hands, he looked Mr Clare all over at a glance, and smiled as if pleased with the inspection. "Come here, boys; if I'm not out in my calculation, these boys will do to sail any craft on land or water! Well, my hearties, we are often to be shipmates, so let's be friends to start with.

"Where away?" cried he, with more than his usual energy. "Right off the starboard beam, sir." "Square the yards! Look alive, my hearties," was the next order; for although the calm sea was like a sheet of glass, a light air, just sufficient to fill our top-gallant sails, enabled us to creep through the water. "Hurrah!" shouted the men as we sprang to obey.

Stripped to the waistbands, we fought like skinned tigers, and bowled down the Turkish frigates like nine-pins. Among their shrouds swarming thick with small-arm men, like flights of pigeons lighted on pine-trees our marines sent their leaden pease and goose-berries, like a shower of hail-stones in Labrador. It was a stormy time, my hearties!

"Double up, Dick!" cried Barney, carrying one sheaf to the next and tying them both together. Dick followed Barney's example, but here his brother's extra strength told in the race. Close after them came the crowd, Alec leading them, watch in hand, all yelling. "Two minutes for that end, boys!" cried Alec, as they reached the corner. "You're goin' to do it, my hearties! You're goin' to do it!"

Hurrah, my hearties! keep up your spirits and hold on to the spar like grim death; we'll weather upon old Davy yet, this bout." It was quite true; the sky was rapidly clearing, and half an hour later it was a brilliant starlight night; the wind, too, was dropping rapidly, and the sea no longer broke so heavily or so incessantly over us as it had done at first.

'I will talk to you presently, my hearties, I said; 'what I have got to do now is to look for a shelter. It was the end of April, and I knew that it would not be long before winter would be upon me, and if I was not out of it by that time I should soon be frozen stiff. I did not go near the seals, for I did not want to frighten them.

The niggers gives a shout as soon as they sees this, and I hauls my wind as though I couldn't go no further to leeward without my mainsail; and, sure enough, the trick answered to perfection, for the whole posse of 'em comes scurryin' down to the beach, launches their canoes, and shoves off, paddling like mad to the south'ard, to cut me off. `All right, my hearties, go it, says I; `but, says I, `you haven't the pleasure of knowin' a sartain Robert Trunnion, says I, `if you supposes as you're going to carcumvent him that a-way. So I lets 'em come well up with me, and the nearer they got, the louder they yells, and the harder they paddles; and you might ha' thought by the row that all hell had broke loose, as perhaps it had, or them devils wouldn't ha' been there.

"Now, lads," said the captain, who steered the boat in which I rowed, "bend your backs, my hearties; that fish right ahead of us is a hundred-barrel whale for certain. Give way, boys; we must have that fish."