Still the
distracting sounds were heard, but no order was given concerning the
ship, scarcely a word exchanged between the men. They felt that they
were drifting into some unknown sea, perhaps some place of enchantment,
where death was certain, and from whence nothing more would ever be
heard of them.
Could this be the mermaid's retreat of which the old captain had spoken,
and of which the natives on Queen Charlotte's Island had such a strange
superstition? Tite thought to himself. All the pleasant associations of
home, all that he loved there, and all that he had hoped for, now rose
up in his mind like a sweet and beautiful dream, only to be overshadowed
by the terrible thoughts this strange and gloomy place had impressed
upon him. There was no hope for him now; he felt that he should never
enjoy those scenes again. But what was that to the anguish of his poor
old parents, who would linger on week after week, month after month, and
year after year, wondering and waiting in vain for some news of him, and
dying of hope deferred.
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