It was evident to Harry, before he had sailed many days under Captain
Jostler, that he had one of the most tyrannical of masters. He had been
a perfect stranger to him when he shipped for the voyage, being a native
of Canada, and from the frozen condition of his heart no one would have
doubted it; had he been a Nantucket man, master Harry would have found
it more difficult in getting away so privately; as it was, no inquiries
were made of him. How different was Harry's situation from what it would
have been had his father procured for him a berth; as it was, he was
doomed to no common hardships, for the captain, having taken a dislike
to him from the first, seemed to take pleasure in making him as
uncomfortable as possible; and had it not been that he was a favorite
with the crew, he would have suffered many times from exposure. Many a
cold, stormy night had he been ordered to take his turn in the watch,
upon deck, in spite of the petitions of the men to fill his place; and
he would walk the deck for hours, to keep from becoming benumbed with
the cold; but, as his mother had predicted, the hardships and dangers to
which he was exposed did not serve to dampen his spirits, and for that
very reason, did the captain shower upon him many abuses; for in spite
of his cruel treatment toward him, he never had had the pleasure of
seeing him look anything but cheerful. At such times, when the wind was
howling fiercely, and the salt spray came dashing over the deck,
freezing upon the cheek of the youthful mariner, but never penetrating
that heart, which was warmed by the remembrance of other days, the boy
would think of home, of his mother, and as he uttered the name of the
Sea-flower aloud, those deep-toned voices of the sea would appear as if
the wild reëchoings of the tone; and the low moanings of the wind
through the shrouds were of pity for that lone one on the deck of the
"outward bound." Could the boy have had old Nep for a companion in his
midnight watchings, he would have served to while away the time, but