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THE LAST OF THE HUGGERMUGGERS,

A GIANT STORY.

BY

CHRISTOPHER PEARSE CRANCH



CONTENTS.


CHAP. I.--How Little Jacket would go to Sea.

CHAP. II.--His Good and his Bad Luck at Sea.

CHAP. III.--How he fared on Shore.

CHAP. IV.--How Huggermugger came along.

CHAP. V.--What happened to Little Jacket in the Giant's Boot.

CHAP. VI.--How Little Jacket escaped from Kobboltozo's Shop.

CHAP. VII.--How he made use of Huggermugger in Travelling.

CHAP. VIII.--How Little Jacket and his Friends left the Giant's Island.

CHAP. IX.--Mr. Nabbum.

CHAP. X.--Zebedee and Jacky put their heads together.

CHAP. XI.--They sail for Huggermugger's Island.

CHAP. XII.--The Huggermuggers in a new Light.

CHAP. XIII.--Huggermugger Hall.

CHAP. XIV.--Kobbletozo astonishes Mr. Scrawler.

CHAP. XV.--Mrs. Huggermugger grows thin and fades away.

CHAP. XVI.--The Sorrows of Huggermugger.

CHAP. XVII.--Huggermugger leaves his Island.

CHAP. XVIII.--The Last of the Huggermuggers.




THE LAST OF THE HUGGERMUGGERS.




CHAPTER ONE.

HOW LITTLE JACKET WOULD GO TO SEA.


I dare say there are not many of my young readers who have heard about
Jacky Cable, the sailor-boy, and of his wonderful adventures on
Huggermugger's Island. Jacky was a smart Yankee lad, and was always
remarkable for his dislike of staying at home, and a love of lounging
upon the wharves, where the sailors used to tell him stories about
sea-life. Jacky was always a little fellow. The country people, who
did not much like the sea, or encourage Jacky's fondness for it, used
to say, that he took so much salt air and tar smoke into his lungs
that it stopped his growth. The boys used to call him Little Jacket.
Jacky, however, though small in size, was big in wit, being an
uncommonly smart lad, though he did play truant sometimes, and seldom
knew well his school-lessons. But some boys learn faster out of school
than in school, and this was the case with Little Jacket. Before he
was ten years old, he knew every rope in a ship, and could manage a
sail-boat or a row-boat with equal ease. In fine, salt water seemed to
be his element; and he was never so happy or so wide awake as when he
was lounging with the sailors in the docks. The neighbors thought he
was a sort of good-for-nothing, idle boy, and his parents often
grieved that he was not fonder of home and of school. But Little
Jacket was not a bad boy, and was really learning a good deal in his
way, though he did not learn it all out of books.

Well, it went on so, and Little Jacket grew fonder and fonder of the
sea, and pined more and more to enlist as a sailor, and go off to the
strange countries in one of the splendid big ships. He did not say
much about it to his parents, but they saw what his longing was, and
after thinking and talking the matter over together, they concluded
that it was about as well to let the boy have his way.

So when Little Jacket was about fifteen years old, one bright summer's
day, he kissed his father and mother, and brothers and sisters, and
went off as a sailor in a ship bound to the East Indies.




CHAPTER TWO.

HIS GOOD AND HIS BAD LUCK AT SEA.


It was a long voyage, and there was plenty of hard work for Little
Jacket, but he found several good fellows among the sailors, and was
so quick, so bright, so ready to turn his hand to every thing, and
withal of so kind and social a disposition, that he soon became a
favorite with the Captain and mates, as with all the sailors. They had
fine weather, only too fine, the Captain said, for it was summer time,
and the sea was often as smooth as glass. There were lazy times then
for the sailors, when there was little work to do, and many a story
was told among them as they lay in the warm moonlight nights on the
forecastle. But now and then there came a blow of wind, and all hands
had to be stirring--running up the shrouds, taking in sails, pulling
at ropes, plying the pump; and there was many a hearty laugh among
them at the ducking some poor fellow would get, as now and then a wave
broke over the deck.

Things went on, however, pretty smoothly with Little Jacket, on the
whole, for some time. They doubled the Cape of Good Hope, and were
making their way as fast as they could to the coast of Java, when the
sky suddenly darkened, and there came on a terrible storm. They took
in all the sails they could, after having several carried away by the
wind. The vessel scudded, at last, almost under bare poles. The storm
was so violent as to render her almost unmanageable, and they were
carried a long way out of their course. Everybody had tremendous work
to perform, and Little Jacket began to wish he were safe on dry land
again. Day after day the poor vessel drifted and rolled. The sky was
so dark, that the Captain could not take an observation to tell in
what part of the ocean they were. At last, they saw that they were
driving towards some enormous cliffs that loomed up in the darkness.
Every one lost hope of the ship being saved. Still they neared the
cliffs, and now they saw the white breakers ahead, close under them.
The Captain got the boats out, to be in readiness for the worst. But
the sea was too rough to use them. At last, with a mighty crash, the
great ship struck upon the black rocks. All was confusion and wild
rushing of the salt waves over them, and poor Jacky found himself in
the foaming surge. Struggling to reach the shore, a great wave did
what he could not have done himself. He was thrown dripping wet, and
bruised, upon the rocks. When he came to himself, he discovered that
several of his companions had also reached the shore, but nothing more
was seen of the ship. She had gone down in the fearful tempest, and
carried I know not how many poor fellows down with her.




CHAPTER THREE.

HOW HE FARED ON SHORE.


