[Begun in No. 80 of Harper's Young People, May 10.]

THE CRUISE OF THE "GHOST."

BY W. L. ALDEN,

Author of the "The Moral Pirates," etc.

Chapter II.

The next day Charley had the boat drawn up on the shore, and went to work at her, assisted by the other boys. It took two weeks of constant work to lengthen her, but when she was finished, everybody admitted that she was greatly improved.

The jib halyards and sheets, as well as the throat and peak halyards, were all led aft so that they could be reached by the helmsman without leaving his post. When all the other work was finished, Charley made a gun-carriage for the cannon, and it was lashed to the deck just forward of the mast. Nothing now remained to be done but to name the boat, and this proved to be the most difficult task of all. Each of the boys could think of a dozen names that he did not like, but not one that he really did like. Tom thought that perhaps they could not do better than to call her the America, or the George Washington, but admitted that both of those names were in rather too common use. Harry said that he didn't much like the idea of calling her the Red Revenger, but if they couldn't find any better name they might have to come to it. Charley ridiculed the idea of calling her the Red Revenger, since she was not intended to revenge anything, and instead of being red was as white as a ghost. "Then suppose we call her the Ghost," exclaimed Joe.

The other boys asked if he was in earnest, said that it would never do to call the boat the Ghost, and finally agreed that they rather liked the name than otherwise, on account of its oddity. The end of it was that Joe's suggestion was adopted, and Ghost was painted in large letters on the stern.

Three days before the cruise was to begin Jim Sharpe fell down an open cellarway and broke his leg. The boys at first thought of abandoning their cruise altogether, but Jim wouldn't hear of it. He told them to go, and write him letters every few days, and convinced them that he would really feel hurt if they did not go, so they bade him good-by, and set sail from Harlem the following Monday morning, half in doubt whether they ought to enjoy themselves while poor Jim was lying on a sick-bed, where he was to pass most of his vacation.

The breeze blew gently from the west, and the Ghost, with the tide in her favor, slipped rapidly down the river under full sail. As soon as the yacht was fairly off, Charley, who was at the helm, divided his crew into watches. The starboard watch consisted of the Captain and Joe, and the port watch consisted of Tom and Harry, the former being in command of it as mate. Each watch was to take charge of the boat in turn, and to remain in charge four hours, except when the Ghost might be lying at anchor. The officer in charge of the watch was to steer, while his companion was to be stationed in the forward part of the cockpit, where he could handle the centre-board and attend to the jib sheets. Whenever the officer gave an order, it was to be executed by his companion, and the other boys were to remain quiet unless "all hands" were called. Charley had been in the navy long enough to know that no vessel, however small or however big she may be, can be properly sailed unless every member of the crew knows what his duty is, and how to do it, and refrains from interfering with the duty of other men, unless especially ordered to do so.

The river was crowded with sailing craft and steamboats, and it was no easy matter to steer the Ghost so as to avoid collision. Every little while a ferry-boat or tug would whistle hoarsely, and the boys noticed that very often Charley altered the course he had been steering as soon as he heard the whistle. "Do those whistles mean anything except for us to get out of the way?" asked Harry, presently.

"A long whistle or a lot of little short whistles means 'get out of the road,'" answered Charley; "but when you hear a steamboat give one short whistle, or two short whistles, she is telling you which way she is going to steer. Now there's a tug coming up the river straight at us; you'll hear her whistle in a few minutes, and then I'll know what she's going to do, and which way to steer to keep out of her