“Brisbane left you on that sand-spit!” exclaimed the commander, springing out of his chair. “It was his own fault that his steamer was burned, for he let his crew go to sleep, when he ought to have kept part of them awake.” “I thought of paying him for the loss of the Phantom,” added Louis. “Not a red cent! That man is under obligations to me, and he deserted you on a sand-spit, leaving you hardly food enough to keep you from starving!” “He did not expect that I should have to remain there so long, as I did not myself,” replied Louis. “Didn’t you tell me he said he might have to stay there a week, and that was his reason for abandoning you?” demanded the captain sharply. “He was not entirely consistent.” “I told Brisbane all it was necessary for him to know, and charged him to see that no harm came to you. I will never trust him with a mud-scow again.” Captain Ringgold then explained that he had been obliged to pay the full sum he had named for the steam-yacht, which was many thousand dollars less than she had cost. He had used all the haste he could in getting her ready to sail, but various matters had delayed him. “The Maud has gone to Bermuda beyond a doubt,” he continued, “and your mother is still on board of her. I don’t believe any harm will come to her; but we want her on board of the Guardian-Mother.” “I do, at any rate,” added Louis. “And so do I, my boy; and I think she will be happy on board.” “But I do not quite see how we can reclaim her,” suggested the owner. “We will find a way. I am glad you put a bullet in that beggar who burned the Phantom; and it is a pity you did not put it in another place.” “I am glad the wound was no worse. I knew he was a reckless fellow, and when he pointed his revolver at my head, I fired because I was afraid he would do so,” pleaded Louis. “You did quite right, my boy; if you had not fired when you did, you might not have been here to tell the story,” added Captain Ringgold. “But you have not told me, Louis, how you like the Guardian-Mother.” “How would it be possible not to like her? She is magnificent beyond any conception I had of a steamer. In fact, I am so bewildered that I cannot express myself in regard to her,” replied Louis with enthusiasm. “Taking her cost and the expense of running her into consideration, I cannot help feeling that it is a very extravagant outlay for a boy like me, only sixteen years old.” “But you are abundantly able to own such a vessel, and to pay the expense of keeping her in commission all the year round, Louis,” said the captain very seriously, as he took from his desk a paper on which he had estimated the probable cost of running the vessel. “If she should cost you fifty thousand dollars a year, she will leave you a large margin of your income.”