The Golden Magnet Part 6

"Yes, my lad," he continued, "a great flat-bodied turtle, that might have been thirty or forty foot long and half as much across, while it had a great neck like a swan."

"But what made you think it was like that?" I asked.

"Because you could see its back out of the water now and then, and it wasn't like a serpent, for it rose over like a turtle's, and sometimes it was higher out of the water sometimes lower; and what I saw as plain as could be was the water rippling up fore and aft, just as if the thing had nippers which it was working to send it along."

"Did your captain see it?" I asked at last.

"No, my lad, for we was too full of wonderment just then to do more than stare at the thing, till all at once it seemed to stretch its neck out straight with quite a dart, as if it had caught something to eat, and then it wasn't there."

"Didn't it come up again?" said Tom.

"No, my lad, we never see it no more."

"How far was it from the sh.o.r.e?" I asked.

"Five or six miles, my lad, more or less," he replied; and just then there was a call for all hands to take in sail, and our yarn-spinner went away.

CHAPTER SIX.

ONWARD.

"That was a rum sort of tale, Mas'r Harry," said Tom as soon as we were alone. "Do you believe him?"

"Yes," I replied, "I believe he is sincere."

"What! and see those great things, Mas'r Harry, out at sea?"

"I believe he saw something," I replied, "but whether it was just as he described is another thing. There's plenty of room, though, in the sea for more than that, and perhaps people will find out some day that we have not seen everything that there is in the world."

"Talk about snakes, though, Mas'r Harry," said Tom suddenly; "where did you say we was going?"

"To Caracas first."

"Ah! Crackers--that's it. Do you think there'll be any snakes there?"

"Not sea-serpents, Tom," I said laughing; "but up the country where we are going there are sure to be plenty of land-serpents."

"Not big ones, though, Mas'r Harry?"

"I should say there will be some very big ones in the swamps by the great rivers."

"Think o' that now!" said Tom. "Big serpents! ugh! I can't abide eels even. I don't know how I should get on with serpents. But I say, Mas'r Harry, it's all nonsense about sea-serpents, ar'n't it?"

"I don't know, Tom," I replied. "Perhaps they never grow to a very large size; but there are thousands of small ones."

"What! sea-serpents, Mas'r Harry?"

"To be sure there are."

"But not in the sea--snakes couldn't swim?"

"Indeed but they can, Tom. Why, I've seen our common English snake go into a stream and swim beautifully with its head reared above the water, and after swimming about for some time, come out."

"Think of that now!" said Tom. "Where's the sea-serpents, then?"

"Oh, all about the Indian and Chinese Seas."

"Big uns?"

"I never heard of their being more than five or six feet long, but some of them are very poisonous. People have died from their bite."

"Have they, though?" said Tom. "And where else are there any, Mas'r Harry?"

"Oh, they swarm in the Caspian Sea. I've heard that they float about in knots of several together on calm, sunny days, and they come ash.o.r.e in the shallow parts."

"Caspian Sea!" said Tom; "where may that be--anywhere near Crackers?"

"No, Tom," I said; "we've left that behind us in the Old World."

"And a good job too," said Tom; "we don't want sea-serpents where we're going. Why, Mas'r Harry, I shall never like to do a bathe again."

Soon after this Tom proposed that we should try sea-fishing, but when we had borrowed lines and begun to make our preparations the weather set in so rough that we never once had a chance. In fact there were many days when we had no opportunity of coming on deck unless we were prepared to be drenched with the spray that deluged the deck as some great wave struck the steamer's bows, and then flew in driving showers from end to end.

There were times when I fancied that the officers looked quite serious, but they said nothing, only were very particular about the hatches being kept closed.

Then came a spell of finer weather, during which we reached Jamaica, and I was thinking of getting a few days ash.o.r.e, so as to see something of this beautiful island; but it was not to be, for we found that we were very late, that the steamer into which we were to shift had been waiting for us three days, and if we did not take pa.s.sage in her we should have to wait a fortnight, perhaps longer, for another.

"And I did so want to see the n.i.g.g.e.rs in the sugar plantations, and taste real Jamaica rum. Say, Mas'r Harry, that stuff people drink in England's all gammon."

"Why so?" I asked.

"Because it's brown and yellow, like wine," he replied. "Real Jamaica rum's quite white."

"Well, Tom," I said, "I don't know that it will make any difference to us; and as to the sugar plantations and the n.i.g.g.e.rs, as you call them, I daresay you will be able to see some at my uncle's place."

"But he don't grow sugar, does he, Mas'r Harry?"

"I don't know about that," I said, "but I think so. I know he grows a great deal of coffee."

"Think of that, now, Mas'r Harry! And tea, too?"

"No, he does not grow tea, Tom."

"Well, I do wonder at that," said Tom, "because you see tea's better than coffee to keep to."

"How about climate, Tom?" I said laughing.