“Thar,” said Bailey, “them’s all I’ve had to eat, every bite, since I landed here. They do to keep body and soul together, but they ain’t much account. I’d give a bushel any day for one good biscuit. What I’ve jest eat seems to have made a man of me.” The boys were silent for some time, and at length Arthur asked,-- “How did you happen to get here?” “Wal, I’ll tell you all about it,” said Bailey. “I’ll begin at the beginnin. Wal, you see, about five weeks ago I shipped aboard the Petrel, at Quebec--” “The what?” cried Arthur and Tom, in the greatest wonder and excitement. “The ship Petrel,” said Bailey. “Why, what of her?” “The Petrel!” cried Arthur. “What, the ship Petrel, of Liverpool-?” “That there’s the identical craft.” “And--and--and,” stammered Tom, in his excitement, “was--was her captain’s name Henry Hall? and--and was she loaded with timber?” “And didn’t she get water-logged?” said Arthur. “Yes, and didn’t the captain and crew all leave her?” Bailey stared at the boys with astonishment fully equal to their own. “You seem to know all about her,” said he, slowly; “and how you larned all that beats me.” “Why, that’s the very ship that we got wrecked on, too,” said Arthur. “Yes,” said Tom; “we were sailing about, and found her adrift, and all as comfortable as possible.” “We tried to be salvors,” said Arthur; “and we were left on board to take care of her while our captain went off in the schooner for help.” “And he anchored her, and the anchor didn’t hold,” said Tom. “And we drifted all about the gulf,” continued Arthur, “and were out in the most horrible gales that ever were, till finally we got ashore here.” The boys poured out this information in the most rapid manner possible upon the astounded Bailey, who now seemed fairly struck dumb. “You--in the Petrel!” he exclaimed, at length, in slow and perplexed tones. “You--you adrift in that water-logged craft! and thrown by that there ship here on Anticosti!” “Yes,” said Arthur, briskly, “that’s just it.” Bailey raised his hand slowly to his head, and scratched it solemnly, raising his eyes at the same time, and fixing them upon empty space. “These here two young coves in the Petrel! and hev ashore on Anticosti!” he murmured. “Yes, yes,” said Arthur; “and now tell us all about how you got here.” Bailey started, and looked at each of them silently and solemnly; then he looked away, as before. “Wal,” said he, at last, “this here--doos--beat--my--grandmother! Wal, I’ll tell my story, an then I’ll listen to yourn, an we’ll compare notes, an in that way we’ll grad’ly get the hang of it; for jest now, as things is, I’m dumfounded. “Wal,” continued Bailey, after a pause, “I’ll start afresh. I shipped then, as I was a sayin, as able seaman, aboard the Petrel. She was loaded down deep with timber, an badly loaded, too, for as she lay in the stream at Quebec, she had a list ever so far over.