United States or Brazil ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
The result was more than satisfactory it was a delightful surprise; for not only in her sea-going powers but also in the qualities of speed and weatherliness did the Petrel far exceed the most sanguine anticipations of everybody, including her designer.
"Keep your temper, Fritz; I am about to propose a serious question myself. How is it that the petrel you are aiming at does not come and perch itself quietly on the barrel of your rifle?" "Jack, Jack, you are incorrigible." "Did you ever see a hare or a pheasant come and stare you in the face when you were going to shoot it?"
The professor, however, was quite unruffled, and went about for some hours lamenting the loss of the huge antarctic bird. He consoled himself later, however, by shooting a beautiful little snow petrel, which he stuffed and mounted and presented to Ben Stubbs, who was quite mollified by the kind-hearted, if erratic, professor's gift.
"I begin to think," said Steinmetz, coming to the point in his bluff way, "that you are a sort of beautiful Jonah, a graceful stormy petrel, a fair Wandering Jewess. There is always trouble where you go." She glanced at his broad face, and read nothing there. "Go on," she said. "What have I been doing now? How you do hate me, Herr Steinmetz!"
At midnight to-morrow we must be on board the Petrel, and at the most quiet moment slip her cable and drop quietly down the coast with the night breeze, and if every thing is propitious, we can get well away in the Black Sea before anything will be suspected of us, and pursuit instituted." "I shall feel the utmost anxiety until you are fairly away," said the Armenian.
No doubt we have here the French 'petrel, or little Peter, and the bird has in its name an allusion to the Apostle Peter, who at his Master's bidding walked for a while on the unquiet surface of an agitated sea.
Another sea-bird, very different in appearance, is the little stormy petrel. Very small and graceful; he is a thin little bird, with a dark-brown coat, but at heart as wild as the proud gulls. He is never happy except when dancing over the cold grey waves and feeling the dash of the spray. The petrel is at sea all day, and scorns the quiet land and delights of home.
One has to be a gull or an albatross to stand that sort of weather. I had been watching for the Doctor for three weeks, from a cliff-top; but last night I had to take refuge in a cave to keep my tail-feathers from blowing out. As soon as I found the Doctor, he sent me off with some porpoises to look for you. A Stormy Petrel volunteered to help us in our search.
I have just been over to look at the Petrel, and everything is ready. De Vaux has only been waiting for me the rest of the party has been collected for some days. I found Smith the conchologist, and Stryker, at Broadlawn." "Has your course been finally settled?" asked Ellsworth. "Yes; we are to circumnavigate Long-Island."
"There was a trouble last year in the Ishigaki Jima Islands where a poacher beat off the Oyama. It was a desperate fight." Captain Selover's eye lit up. "I've commanded a black brigantine, name of The Petrel," he admitted simply. "She was a brigantine aloft, but alow she had much the same lines as the Laughing Lass." He whirled on his heel to roll to one of the covered yacht's cannon.
Word Of The Day