The pleasant rays of the semi-tropical sun so warmed and subsequently melted the varied dispositions of the company on board the Summer Shelter that in spite of their very different natures they became fused, as it were, into a happy party of friends.

Willy Croup actually felt as if she were a young woman in a large party of gentlemen with no rivals. She was not young, but many of her youthful qualities still remained with her, and under the influence of her surroundings they all budded out and blossomed bravely. At the end of a day of fine weather there was not a clergyman on board who did not wish that Miss Croup belonged to his congregation.

As for the members of the Synod, there could be no doubt that they were thoroughly enjoying themselves. Tired with the long winter\'s work, and rejoiced, almost amazed, to be so suddenly freed from the cold wintry weather of their homes, all of their spirits rose and most of their hearts were merry.

There were but few gray heads among these clergymen, and the majority of them were under middle age. Some of them had been almost strangers to each other when they came on board, but now there were no strangers on the Summer Shelter. Some of them had crossed the Atlantic, but not one had ever taken a coastwise voyage on a comparatively small vessel, and although the con[Pg 193]sequence of this new experience, their involuntary seclusion of the first days of the trip, and their consequent unconventional and irregular acceptance of Mrs. Cliff\'s hospitality, had caused a little stiffness in their demeanor at first, this speedily disappeared, hand in hand with the recollection of that most easily forgotten of human ills which had so rudely interfered with their good manners.

As far as the resources of their portmanteaus would allow, these reverend clergymen dressed themselves simply and in semi-nautical costumes. Some played quoits upon the upper deck, in which sport Willy joined. Others climbed up the shrouds, preferably on the inside,—this method of exercise, although very difficult, being considered safer in case of a sudden lurch of the vessel. And the many other sportive things they did, and the many pleasant anecdotes they told, nearly all relating to the discomfiture of clergymen under various embarrassing circumstances, caused Captain Burke to say to Mrs. Cliff that he had never imagined that parsons were such jolly fellows, and so far as he was concerned, he would be glad to take out another party of them.

"But if we do," he said, "I think we\'d better ship them on a tug and let them cruise around the Lightship for two or three days. Then when they hoisted a signal that they were all well on board, we could go out and take them off. In that way, you see, they\'d really enjoy a cruise on the Summer Shelter."

As the sun went down behind the distant coast of Florida they were boarded by a negro pilot, and in the morning they awoke to find themselves fast to a[Pg 194] pier of the city of Nassau, lying white in the early daylight.
THERE, FASTENED AGAINST THE FOREMAST, WAS A LARGE PIECE OF PAPER THERE, FASTENED AGAINST THE FOREMAST, WAS A LARGE PIECE OF PAPER

The members of the Synod had readily agreed to Mrs. Cliff\'s plan to leave them at Nassau and let them return by a regular passenger steamer, and they all preferred to go by sea to Savannah and then to their homes by rail. With expenses paid, none but the most unreasonable of men could have objected to such a plan.

As Captain Burke announced that he would stop at Nassau for a day to take in some fresh stores, especially of fruit and vegetables, and to give Mrs. Cliff and Willy Croup an opportunity to see the place, the Summer Shelter was soon deserted. But in the evening, everybody returned on board, as the company wished to keep together as long as possible, and there would be plenty of time in the morning for the members of the Synod to disembark and go to the hotel.

Very early in the morning Captain Burke was aroused by the entrance of the sailing-master, Mr. Portman, into his state-room. "\'Morning, sir," said Mr. Portman. "I want you to come out here and look at something!"

Perceiving by the manner and tones of the other that there was something important to be looked at, Captain Burke jumped up, quickly dressed himself, and went out on deck. There, fastened against the fore-mast, was a large piece of paper on which were written these words:—

    "We don\'t intend to sail on a filibustering cruise. We know what it means when you take on arms in New York, and discharge your respectable passengers in[Pg 195] Nassau. We don\'t want nothing to do with your next lot of passengers, and don\'t intend to get into no scrapes. So good-bye!

    (Signed) The Crew."

"You don\'t mean to say," cried Burke, "that the crew has deserted the vessel?"

"That\'s what it is, sir," said Mr. Burdette, the first mate, who had just joined them. "The crew has cleared out to a man! Mr. Portman and I are left, the engineer\'s left and his assistant,—they belonged to the yacht and don\'t have much to do with the crew,—but the rest\'s all gone! Deckhands, stewards, and even the cook. The stewardess must have gone too, for I haven\'t seen her."

"What\'s the meaning of all this," shouted Burke, his face getting very red. "When did they go, and why did they go?"

"It\'s the second mate\'s watch, and he is off with them," said Mr. Burdette. "I expect he\'s at the bottom of it. He\'s a mighty wary fellow. Just as like as not he spread the report that we were going on a filibustering expedition to Cuba, and the ground for it, in my opinion, is those cases of arms you opened the other day!"

"I think that is it, sir," said Mr. Portman. "You know there\'s a rising in Cuba, and there was lots of talk about filibustering before we left. I expect the people thought that the ladies were going on shore the same as the parsons."

Burke was confounded. He knew not what to say or what to think, but seeing Mrs. Cliff appearing at the head of the companion-way, he thought it his first duty to go and report the state of affairs to her, which[Pg 196] he did. That lady\'s astonishment and dismay were very great.

"What are we going to do?" she asked. "And what do you mean by the cases of arms?"

"I\'m afraid that was a piece of folly on my part," said Burke.

"I didn\'t know we had arms on board!"

"Well, what we have don\'t amount to much," said Burke. "But this was the way of it. After I heard the message from Captain Horn about the pirates, and everything, and as I didn\'t know exactly what sort of craft we would meet round about Jamaica, I thought we would feel a good deal safer, especially on account of you and Miss Croup, if we had some firearms aboard. So I put in some repeating rifles and ammunition, and I paid for them out of my own pocket! Such things always come in useful, and while I was commanding the vessel on which you were sailing, Mrs. Cliff, I didn\'t want to feel that I\'d left anything undone which ought to be done. Of course, there was no reason to suppose that we would ever have to use them, but I knew I would feel better if I had them. But there was one thing I needn\'t have done, and that was,—I needn\'t have opened them, which I did the other day in company with Mr. Burdette, because I hadn\'t had time before to examine them, and I wanted to see what they were. Some of the crew must have noticed the guns, and as they couldn\'t think why we wanted them, unless we were going on a filibustering expedition, they got that notion into their heads and so cut the ship. It was easy[Pg 197] enough to do it, for we were moored to a pier, and the second mate, whose watch they went away in, was most likely at the head of the whole business!"

"But what are we going to do?" asked Mrs. Cliff.

"I must get another crew just as soon as I can," said he, "and there isn\'t a minute to be lost! I was stretching a point when I agreed to stop over a day, but I thought we could afford that and reach Kingston as soon as Shirley does, but when he gets there with his message to the Captain of the Dunkery Beacon, I want to be on hand. There\'s no knowing what will have to be done, or what will have to be said. I don\'t want Shirley to think that he\'s got nobody to stand by him!"

"Indeed," said Mrs. Cliff, "we ought to lose no time, for Captain Horn may be there. It is a most dreadful misfortune to lose the crew this way! Can\'t you find them again? Can\'t you make them come back?"

"If they don\'t want to be found," said Burke, "it will take a good while to find them. But I\'m going on shore this minute, and I wish you would be good enough to tell Miss Croup and the ministers how matters stand!"

The news of the desertion of the crew when told by Mrs. Cliff to those of the passengers who h............