"Come in here, Ralph," said he, as Emmons took the horse. "I want to
have a talk with you."
He led the way into the office, closed the door, and fixed his eyes
intently on Ralph, who followed. Then he frowned, appeared to ponder
for a moment, and finally cleared his brow as he looked up again.
"How would you like to follow the sea for a living?" he at length
demanded.
"Follow the sea?" repeated Ralph as if he hardly comprehended. "Do you
mean how would I like to be a sailor?"
"Something of the kind. You would begin as cabin boy, probably. If
you are smart and willing you would soon climb up higher. By the time
you are eighteen, you should be an A 1 seaman, earning at least twenty
dollars a month and your keep."
Among the few books the boy had somehow got hold of in the mountains,
one of the most treasured was a copy of Marryat's "Midshipman Easy."
He felt a thrill now, as he pictured himself in a position to emulate,
in a measure, some of the adventures therein so graphically depicted.
The distant ocean held up to his anticipation the stirring pleasures of
a life on the wave, while veiling from his boyish ignorance its
overmastering hardships.
The captain saw his face light up, and proceeded to explain further.
"I have a cousin who runs a schooner in the West Indies trade. He is
now at the Marshall House, Savannah. His vessel is somewhere near
there. Now I can get you a good berth with him, I know. I have done
him a few favors, and he is not ungrateful.
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