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                        THE WRECK OF THE RED BIRD

                      A STORY OF THE CAROLINA COAST

                        BY GEORGE CARY EGGLESTON

    _Author of "The Big Brother," "Captain Sam," "The Signal Boys,"
    etc., etc._


    NEW YORK
    G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
    27 & 29 WEST 23D STREET
    1882

    COPYRIGHT BY
    G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
    1882


    _Press of
    G. P. Putnam's Sons
    New York_




[Illustration: THE "BONES" OF THE RED BIRD]




I intended to dedicate this book to my son, GUILFORD DUDLEY EGGLESTON,
to whom it belonged in a peculiar sense. He was only nine years old, but
he was my tenderly loved companion, and was in no small degree the
creator of this story. He gave it the title it bears; he discussed with
me every incident in it; and every page was written with reference to
his wishes and his pleasure. There is not a paragraph here which does
not hold for me some reminder of the noblest, manliest, most unselfish
boy I have ever known. Ah, woe is me! He who was my companion is my dear
dead boy now, and I am sure that I only act for him as he would wish, in
inscribing the story that was so peculiarly his to the boy whom he loved
best, and who loved him as a brother might have done. It is in memory of
GUILFORD that I dedicate "The Wreck of the Red Bird" to CHARLES PELTON
HUTCHINS.

G. C. E.




CONTENTS.


        CHAPTER I. MAUM SALLY'S MANNERS                         1

       CHAPTER II. ON THE JOGGLING BOARDS                      10

      CHAPTER III. AFLOAT                                      15

       CHAPTER IV. PLANS AND PREPARATIONS                      28

        CHAPTER V. THE SAILING OF THE "RED BIRD"               35

       CHAPTER VI. ODD FISH                                    40

      CHAPTER VII. AN ENEMY IN THE CAMP                        52

     CHAPTER VIII. THE BEGINNING AND END OF A VOYAGE           59

       CHAPTER IX. THE SITUATION                               68

        CHAPTER X. PLANS AND DEVICES                           79

       CHAPTER XI. SOME OF NED'S SCIENCE                       88

      CHAPTER XII. JACK'S DISCOVERY                           101

     CHAPTER XIII. AN ANXIOUS NIGHT                           109

      CHAPTER XIV. IN THE GRAY OF THE MORNING                 120

       CHAPTER XV. CHARLEY BLACK'S ADVENTURES                 125

      CHAPTER XVI. ON GUARD                                   134

     CHAPTER XVII. A NEW DANGER                               147

    CHAPTER XVIII. A CAMP-FACTORY                             155

      CHAPTER XIX. A NIGHT OF ADVENTURE                       166

       CHAPTER XX. A CALCULATION OF PROFIT AND LOSS           177

      CHAPTER XXI. CHARLEY'S SECRET EXPEDITION                184

     CHAPTER XXII. THE LAUNCH OF THE "APHRODITE"              193

    CHAPTER XXIII. THE VOYAGE OF THE "APHRODITE"              201

     CHAPTER XXIV. MAUM SALLY                                 212




LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.


    THE "BONES" OF THE RED BIRD                   _Frontispiece._

    "LOOK OUT! HOLD THAT FELLOW AWAY FROM YOU!"                23

    THE ELOQUENT LANGUAGE OF GESTURE                          128

    "GIVE HIM A VOLLEY AND THEN CHARGE!"                      150

    THE END OF CHARLEY'S ADVENTURE                            190

    "HI! MAUM SALLY"                                          214




The Wreck of the Red Bird




CHAPTER I.

MAUM SALLY'S MANNERS.


"Bress my heart, honey, wha'd you come from?"

It was old "Maum" Sally who uttered this exclamation as she came out of
her kitchen, drying her hands on her apron, and warmly greeting one of
the three boys who stood just outside the door.

"Is you done come to visit de folks? Well, I do declar'!"

"Now, Maum Sally," replied Ned Cooke, "stop 'declaring' and stop asking
me questions till you answer mine. Or, no, you won't do that, so I'll
answer yours first. Where did I come from? Why from Aiken, by way of
Charleston and Hardeeville. Did I come to visit the folks? Well, no, not
exactly that. You see, I didn't set out to come here at all. I have
spent part of the summer up at Aiken with these two school-mates of
mine, and they were to spend the rest of it with me in Savannah. We were
on our way down there when I got a despatch from father, saying that as
yellow fever has broken out there I mustn't come home, but must come
down here to Bluffton and stay with Uncle Edward till frost or school
time. So we got off the train, hired a man with an ox-cart to bring our
trunks down, and walked the eighteen miles. The man with the trunks will
get here sometime, I suppose. There! I've made a long speech at you.
Now, answer my questions, please. Where is Uncle Edward? and where is
Aunt Helen? and why is the house shut up? and when will they be back
again? and can't you give us something to eat, for we're nearly
starved?"

Ned laughed as he delivered this volley of questions, but Maum Sally
remained perfectly solemn, as she always did. When he finished, she
said:

"Yaller fever! Bress my heart! It'll be heah nex' thing we knows. Walked
all de way from Hardeeville! an' dis heah hot day too! e'en a'most
starved! Well, I reckon ye is, an' I'll jes mosey roun' heah an' git you
some supper."

It must be explained that Maum Sally, although she lived on the coast of
South Carolina, and was called "Maum" instead of "Aunt," was born and
"raised," as she would have said, in "Ole Firginny," and her dialect was
therefore somewhat as represented here. The <DW64>s of the coast speak a
peculiar jargon, which would be wholly unintelligible to other than
South Carolinian readers, even if I could render it faithfully by
phonetic spelling.

As Maum Sally ceased speaking, she turned to go into her kitchen, which,
as is usual in the South, was a detached building, standing some
distance from the main house.

"But wait, Maum Sally," cried Ned, seizing her hand; "I'm not going to
let you off that way. You haven't answered my questions yet."

"Now, look heah, young Ned," she said, with great solemnity, "does you
s'pose Ole Sally was bawn and raised in Ole Firginny for nothin'? I aint
forgot my manners nor hospitality, ef I _is_ lived nigh onto twenty-five
years in dis heah heathen coast country whah de niggas talks monkey
language. I'se a gwine to git you'n your fr'en's--ef you'll interduce
'em--some supper, fust an' foremost. Den I'll answer all de questions
you're a mind to ax, ef you don't git to conundrumin'."

Ned acknowledged Maum Sally's rebuke promptly.

"I did forget my manners," he said, "but you see I was badly flustered.
This is my friend Jack Farnsworth, Maum Sally, and this," turning to the
other boy, "is Charley Black. Boys, let me make you acquainted with Maum
Sally, the best cook in South Carolina, or anywhere else, and the best
Maum Sally in the world. She used to give me all sorts of good things to
eat out here when I didn't get up to breakfast, and was expected to get
on till dinner with a cold bite from the store-room. I'll bet she'll
cook us a supper that will make your mouths water, and have it ready by
the time we get the dust out of our eyes."

"Git de dus' out'n de all over you, more like. Heah's de key to de
bath-house. You jes run down an' take a dip in de salt water, an' den
git inter yer clo'es as fas' as you kin, an' when you's done dat, you'll
fin' somethin' to eat awaitin' for you in de piazza. Git, now, quick. Ef
I'se got to plan somethin' for supper, I'se got to hab my wits about me
an' don' want no talkin' boys aroun'."

"It's of no use, boys," said Ned. "I know Maum Sally, and we're not
going to get a word more out of her till supper is ready, so come on,
let