Chapter 11 - Page 2

interruption, until it became
water-born, when it shot out from the Reef like a duck. Mark was
delighted with his new vessel, now that it was fairly afloat, and saw
that it sat on an even keel, according to his best hopes. Of course he
had not neglected to secure it with a line, by which he hauled it in
towards the rock, securing it in a natural basin which was just large
enough for such a purpose. So great, indeed, were his apprehensions of
losing his boat, which now seemed so precious to him, that he had worked
some ringbolts out of the ship and let them into the rock, where he had
secured them by means of melted lead, in order to make fast to.

The Bridget was not more than a fourth of the size of the Neshamony,
though rather more than half as long. Nevertheless, she was a good boat;
and Mark, knowing that he must depend on sails principally to move her,
had built a short deck forward to prevent the seas from breaking aboard
her, as well as to give him a place in which he might stow away various
articles, under cover from the rain. Her ballast was breakers, filled
with fresh water, of which there still remained several in the ship. All
these, as well as her masts, sails, oars, &c., were in her when she was
launched; and that important event having taken place early in the
morning, Mark could not restrain his impatience for a cruise, but
determined to go out on the reef at once, further than he had ever yet
ventured in the dingui, in order to explore the seas around him.
Accordingly, he put some food on board, loosened his fasts, and made
sail.

The instant the boat moved ahead, and began to obey her helm, Mark felt
as if he had found a new companion. Hitherto Kitty had, in a measure,
filled this place; but a boat had been the young man's delight on the
Delaware, in his boyhood, and he had not tacked his present craft more
than two or three times, before he caught himself talking to it, and
commending it, as he would a human being. As the wind usually blew in
the same direction, and generally a good stiff breeze, Mark beat up
between the Reef and Guano Island, working round the weather end of the
former, until he came out at the anchorage of the Rancocus. After
beating about in that basin a little while, as if merely to show off the
Bridget to the ship, Mark put the former close by the wind, and stood
off in the channel by which he and Bob had brought the latter into her
present berth.

It was easy enough to avoid all such breakers as would be dangerous to a
boat, by simply keeping out of white water; but the Bridget could pass
over most of the reefs with impunity, on account of the depth of the sea
on them. Mark beat up, on short tacks, therefore, until he found the two
buoys between which he had