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“‘Am I goin’ crazy, or is that a schooner?’

“I looked out into the moonlight, and there, sure enough, was a schooner, about a mile off the island, and coming dead on. First- off we thought ’twas Lazarus coming back, but pretty soon we see ’twas a considerable smaller boat than his.

“We forgot all about how hot it was and hustled out on the reef right at the mouth of the lagoon. I had a coat on a stick, and I waved it for a signal, and Hammond set to work building a bonfire. He got a noble one blazing and then him and me stood and watched the schooner.

“She was acting dreadful queer. First she’d go ahead on one tack and then give a heave over and come about with a bang, sails flapping and everything of a shake; then she’d give another slat and go off another way; but mainly she kept right on toward the island.

“‘W’at’s the matter aboard there?’ says Hammond. ‘Is hall ‘ands drunk?’

“‘She’s abandoned,’ says I. ‘That’s what’s the matter. There ain’t NOBODY aboard of her.’

“Then we both says, ‘Salvage!’ and shook hands.

“The schooner came nearer and nearer. It begun to look as if she’d smash against the rocks in front of us, but she didn’t. When she got opposite the mouth of the lagoon she heeled over on a new tack and sailed in between the rocks as pretty as anything ever you see. Then she run aground on the beach just about a quarter of a mile from the shanty.

“‘Twas early morning when we climbed aboard of her. I thought Lazarus’ schooner was dirty, but this one was nothing BUT dirt. Dirty sails, all patches, dirty deck, dirty everything.

“‘Won’t get much salvage on this bally tub,’ says Hammond; ‘she’s one of them nigger fish boats, that’s w’at she is.’

“I was kind of skittish about going below, ‘fraid there might be some dead folks, but Hammond went. In a minute or so up he comes, looking scary.

“‘There’s something mighty queer down there,’ says he: ‘kind of w’eezing like a puffing pig.’

“‘Wheezing your grandmother!’ says I, but I went and listened at the hatch. ‘Twas a funny noise I heard, but I knew what it was in a minute; I’d heard too much of it lately to forget it, right away.

“‘It’s snoring,’ says I; ‘somebody snoring.’

“”Eavens!’ says Hammond, ‘you don’t s’pose it’s that ‘ere Coolie come back?’

“‘No, no!’ says I. ‘Where’s your common sense? The cook snored bass; this critter’s snoring suppraner, and mighty poor suppraner at that.’

“‘Well,’ says he, ”ere goes to wake ‘im hup!’ And he commenced to holler, ‘Ahoy!’ and ‘Belay, there!’ down the hatch.

“First thing we heard was a kind of thump like somebody jumping out er bed. Then footsteps, running like; then up the hatchway comes a sight I shan’t forget if I live to be a hundred.

“‘Twas a woman, middling old, with a yeller face all wrinkles, and a chin and nose like Punch. She was dressed in a gaudy old calico gown, and had earrings in her ears. She give one look round at the schooner and the island. Then she see us and let out a whoop like a steam whistle.

“‘Mulligatawny Sacremento merlasess!’ she yells. ‘Course that wa’n’t what she said, but that’s what it sounded like. Then, ‘fore Hammond could stop her, she run for him and give him a rousing big hug. He was the most surprised man ever you see, stood there like a wooden image. I commenced to laff, but the next minute the woman come for me and hugged me, too.

“”Fectionate old gal,’ says Hammond, grinning.

“The critter in the calirco gown was going through the craziest pantomime ever was; p’intin’ off to sea and then down to deck and then up to the sails. I didn’t catch on for a minute, but Hammond did. Says he: