Chapter 31

Rovings Alow And Aloft

Every one knows what a fascination there is in wandering up and down
in a deserted old tenement in some warm, dreamy country; where the
vacant halls seem echoing of silence, and the doors creak open like
the footsteps of strangers; and into every window the old garden
trees thrust their dark boughs, like the arms of night-burglars; and
ever and anon the nails start from the wainscot; while behind it the
mice rattle like dice. Up and down in such old specter houses one
loves to wander; and so much the more, if the place be haunted by
some marvelous story.

And during the drowsy stillness of the tropical sea-day, very much
such a fancy had I, for prying about our little brigantine, whose
tragic hull was haunted by the memory of the massacre, of which it
still bore innumerable traces.

And so far as the indulgence of quiet strolling and reverie was
concerned, it was well nigh the same as if I were all by myself. For
Samoa, for a time, was rather reserved, being occupied with thoughts
of his own. And Annatoo seldom troubled me with her presence. She was
taken up with her calicoes and jewelry; which I had permitted her to
retain, to keep her in good humor if possible. And as for My royal
old Viking, he was one of those individuals who seldom speak, unless
personally addressed.

Besides, all that by day was necessary to navigating the Parki was,
that--somebody should stand at the helm; the craft being so small,
and the grating, whereon the steersman stood, so elevated,
that he commanded a view far beyond the bowsprit; thus keeping Argus
eyes on the sea, as he steered us along. In all other respects we
left the brigantine to the guardianship of the gentle winds.

My own turn at the helm--for though commander, I felt constrained to
do duty with the rest--came but once in the twenty-four hours. And
not only did Jarl and Samoa, officiate as helmsmen, but also Dame
Annatoo, who had become quite expert at the business. Though Jarl
always maintained that there was a slight drawback upon her
usefulness in this vocation. Too much taken up by her lovely image
partially reflected in the glass of the binnacle before her, Annatoo
now and then neglected her duty, and led us some devious dances. Nor
was she, I ween, the first woman that ever led men into zigzags.

For the reasons above stated, I had many spare hours to myself At
times, I mounted aloft, and lounging in the slings of the topsail
yard--one of the many snug nooks in a ship's rigging--I gazed broad
off upon the blue boundless sea, and wondered what they were doing in
that unknown land, toward which we were fated to be borne. Or feeling
less meditative, I roved about hither and thither; slipping over, by