United States or Ethiopia ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
Needham's interpretation the Chief stood by him, his usually impassive face quite lit up with animated interest. After a while he played to us on his cornet, his favourite tune being 'God save the Queen. Mr. Needham told us a few deeply interesting details of his work among the Indians, and how the Lord is giving His blessing in conversions, and also in the temperance work just begun among them.
Adair, however, got a severe lick on the shoulder, which would have sent him back into the boat had not one of his men given him a shove up; while Jack got an ugly gash on his arm from a cutlass, and would have had his head laid bare, had not Dick Needham's trusty weapon interposed to save him. All this time the slaver's crew were firing away down into the boats.
He is older and more abrupt than ever. He told me he was going to meet you at Mrs. Needham's, and said hers was the only house in London worth going to. I suspect there is great fortune in store for you, Katie, and no friend will rejoice at it more warmly than I shall. Do write and tell me all about everything; it is frightfully dull down here. "Your ever attached sister, "ADA."
"So would I, sir," answered Needham; "may be, though, we shall find it cooler on deck, where there is a breath of air." Fortunately Jack took Needham's hint. On looking towards the land the whole beach was covered with men carrying among them six or eight large canoes, while the little Don appeared as before on horseback, directing their movements.
"Run her out, boys!" cried Bert. "It's the box at Needham's factory. If the factory gets going it'll be the worst fire we ever had in this town!" Needham's factory was one where boxes for various purposes were made, and it was filled with inflammable material. The young firemen needed no urging. They sprang to their places.
Jack naturally felt very much grieved at the loss of the midshipmen and gunner, although they were not likely to be otherwise than kindly treated; still the war might last for some time, and they would lose the advantage of the experience they were gaining while he could ill afford to dispense with Needham's services, or lose Tim Nolan, a good seaman on whom he could always depend.
Shrieks and cries arose from the unhappy negroes confined below. Jack and Needham's first impulse was to knock off the hatches, and a few blacks sprang on deck before the sea closed over their heads. "The ship is sinking, the ship is sinking," was the cry fore and aft. "Then a raft must be formed, my lads," sang out Lieutenant Hemming. "Never say die, while life remains."
Moreover, she was distressed by the consciousness that the small reserve fund which she had with difficulty preserved, could barely meet unexpected demands such as removing the boys from school, if necessary, an attack of illness, a dozen contingencies, any or all of which were possible, if not imminent. Such a mood made her feel peculiarly unfit to shine at Mrs. Needham's reception.
Needham's book contains many splendid observations, including an accurate description of the placenta and its vessels, the relationship of the various fetal membranes to the embryonic fluids, and rather complete directions for dissection of various mammals.
He no longer has the rapid flowing river, enlivened by the passage of steamboats and other craft; but before him is a sombre bayou, or crescent-shaped lake, whose muddy waters are almost motionless. He was the proprietor of Needham's Point, he is now the owner of Needham's Island, and lives in the quiet atmosphere of the backwoods of Tennessee.
Word Of The Day