While this person excited such emotions in the breast of Phil, his own emotions at the sight of Phil were no less strong. There he was, in the schooner’s boat, with no visible means by which his appearance there could be explained. The person in the schooner, therefore, stared at Phil, and then removing his hat with one hand, with the other hand he thoughtfully scratched his venerable head, and then slowly ejaculated,-- “Go-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-d thunder!” “Captain Corbet!” exclaimed Phil, in indescribable amazement. And then they both stared at each other in silence. But the silence was soon broken. Footsteps were heard, and soon one after another heads appeared, and then bodies, and then the new comers stood by the side of Captain Corbet, staring over the stern at Phil in mute astonishment. And Phil stared back at them all in astonishment fully equal to their own. It was Bruce Bawdon! And Arthur! And Tom! As for Phil, he could not utter a word. Nor could the others on board the schooner. But Pat, the excited watcher on the shore--Pat had seen it all, and he was anything but mute. Mute? He howled. He yelled. He vociferated unintelligible volleys of frantic exclamations, addressed to each by turns. Then words failed, and he began to dance. At length Phil pulled the boat up, and scrambled on board the schooner, and was seized by all the boys in turn, and overwhelmed with questions; while he, on his part, overwhelmed them with questions quite as eager and quite as numerous. Their story was soon told. They had left at the time mentioned by Bruce in his letter to Bart, and had been cruising along the coast of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. They had arrived here the day before, and as they were in no hurry, they had anchored for the night, with the intention of doing a little fishing. Their place of rendezvous was Shippegan, which was not far away, and they had a week to spare as yet. They had no idea that Bart would leave so much before the time, and could not understand how Phil had found them. Phil’s story was soon told; for, as he was a modest boy, he did not dwell upon his own adventures to anything like the extent which I have done; and so they learned that their meeting was purely accidental, and that Phil had been lost, and had found Pat, who had been lost also, and that these two lost ones had stumbled upon them here, in Tracadie lagoon. All of which elicited wonder, and laughter, and shouts, and no end of eager questions, and excited exclamations. In the midst of this Tom rushed off, and by way of giving proper expression to the feelings which agitated them all, he brought forth the flag of the B. O. W. C. from the cabin of the Antelope, where, strangely enough, it had been left since their last voyage; and in a few minutes he had hoisted it aloft, where it fluttered, and floated, and waved triumphantly in the fresh morning breeze.