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"Oh, Catherine," sais I, a givin' her a wink, "take care of theeself, or thy Musquodobit farm, with its hundred acres of intervale meadow, and seventy head of horned cattle, is gone." He took a very amatory look at her after that hint. "Verily she would be a duck in Quaco, friend Jehu," said I.
In the first place, up to the moment of landing the boat was perfectly sound, and far from all injury. It had not been hurt during the drift. It had struck at one place, but the long voyage that had followed showed that no damage had resulted. Finally, it had not been harmed by landing on Quaco Ledge. Since that time he had drifted in safety far across the bay, without meeting with any accident.
It had been half tide when he landed, and but a little was uncovered; at full tide he saw that it would all be covered up by the water, sea weed, rocks, and all, and concealed from human eye. In the midst of these painful discoveries there suddenly occurred to him the true name and nature of this place. Quaco Ledge! That was the place which Captain Corbet had described.
Next morning I received a letter from Miguel Diaz Gonzale, the owner of the ship, insisting pitifully on his poverty and distress, having a large family to provide for, and promising to meet me at Hilo or Quaco, to treat for a ransom. We soon after took a small bark of ten tons, laden with guana, or cormorants dung, and having also some dried fish, which lay within a mile of Arica.
We're not more'n a mile above Quaco Harbor, but we can't fetch it with wind an tide agin us; so we've got to put out some distance an anchor. It's my firm belief that we'll be in Quaco by noon. The next fallin tide will carry us thar as slick as a whistle, an then we can pursue our investigations." The schooner now held on her course for about a mile away from the shore, and then came to anchor.
The men would make me the laughing-stock of Quaco. Oh, I can't go on board." "Well," sais I, "go to bed then, and put a poultice on your face, to soften the skin." That warn't necessary at all, but I said it to punish him. "And when I come back, I will give you a wash, that will make your face as white and as smooth as a baby's."
This ground lies about 10 miles SE, from Quaco Head and is out at low tide, the water about the ledges having depths from 14 to 30 fathoms over a bottom of stones and gravel, There is a heavy tide rip over these ledges when covered, These furnish good pollock fishing in the summer months, and cod fishing is carried on here by hand-lining from May to July. Salmon Netting Ground.
"Well, I suppose we'll have to put the time through the best way we can, and try to be patient. Only it seems hard to be delayed so much. First there was the fog, which made our search useless; and now, when there comes a bright day, when we can see where we're going, here we are tied up in Quaco all day and all night."
"We'll get as near it as is safe this night, an p'aps a leetle nearer; but, then, the water's so calm and still, that it won't make any difference in fact, it wouldn't matter a great deal if we came up close to it." "Quaco Ledge?" said Bruce. "I've heard of that." "Heard of it? I should rayther hope you had. Who hasn't?
"Come, Mary," said I, addressin' the other sister, "do thee try thy persuasive powers, but take care of thy grandmother's legacy, the two thousand pounds thee hast in the Pictou Bank. It is easier for that to go to Quaco than the farm." "Oh, never fear," said she. "Providence," he continued, "has been kind to these virgins.
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