it was a ship,--a ship with its keel settled deep in the sand, and held immovable against wind and storm by a rudely built foundation wall of broken rock. the sunlight blinked cheerfully from the dozen portholes; the jutting prow bore the weather-worn figurehead of the "lady jane,"--minus a nose and arm, it is true, but holding her post bravely still. stout canvas, that could be pegged down or lifted into breezy shelter, roofed the deck, from which arose the "lookout," a sort of light tower built around a mast that upheld a big ship lantern; while the stars and stripes floated in glory over all.

for a moment the four young travellers stared breathless at this remarkable edifice, while freddy eagerly explained:

"it's my great-uncle joe's ship that was wrecked here on killykinick. he had sailed in her for years and loved her, and he didn't want to leave her to fall to pieces on the rocks; and so he got a lot of men, with chains and ropes and things, and moved her up here and made her into a house."

and a first-class house the "lady jane" made, as all the boys agreed when they proceeded to investigate great-uncle joe's legacy. true, there was a lack of modern conveniences. the sea lapping the sands to the right was the only bath-room, but what finer one could a boy ask? there was neither dining room nor kitchen; only the "galley," as captain jeb, who came up shortly to do the honors of this establishment, explained to his guests. the "galley" was a queer little narrow place in the stern, lined with pots and pans and dishes scoured to a shine, and presided over by another old man more crooked and leathery-visaged than captain jeb, and who seemed too deep in the concoction of some savory mixture simmering on his charcoal stove to give look or word to the newcomers who crowded around him.

"that is neb," said his brother, in brief introduction. "he don't hev much to say, but you mustn't mind that. it ain't been altogether clear weather in his upper deck since he shipped with a durned pirate of a captain that laid his head open with a marline spike; but for a cook, he can't be beat by any steward afloat or ashore. jest you wait till he doses out that clam-chowder he's making now!"

then there was the long, low cabin that stretched the full length of the "lady jane," and that--with its four cosy bunks made up shipshape, its big table, its swinging lamp, its soft bulging chairs (for great-uncle joe had been a man of solid weight as well as worth)--was just the place for boys to disport themselves in without fear of doing damage. all about were most interesting things for curious young eyes to see and busy fingers to handle: telescope, compass, speaking trumpet, log and lead and line that had done duty in many a distant sea; spears, bows and arrowheads traded for on savage islands; chinese ivories and lacquered boxes from japan. a white bearskin and walrus tusk told of an early venture into the frozen north, when bold men were first drawn to its darkness and mystery; while the buddha from an eastern temple, squatting shut-eyed on a shelf, roused good old brother bart into holy horror.

"i never thought to be under the same roof with a haythen idol. put it away, my man,--put it out of sight while i'm in yer house; for i can't stand the looks of it. i'll be after smashing it into bits if ye lave it under me eyes."

and his indignation was appeased only by the sight of the captain's room, which had been respectfully assigned to the "padre," as captain jeb persisted in calling his older guest.

here great-uncle joe had treasures rare indeed in the good brother's eye: a wonderful crucifix of ivory and ebony; the silver altar lamp of an old spanish monastery; a madonna in dull tints that still bore traces of a master hand; a rosary, whose well-worn beads made brother bart's pious heart warm.

"indeed he was a god-fearing man, i'm sure, this uncle of laddie's."

"he was," agreed captain jeb; "a little rough-talking sometimes, but all sailors are."

"well, it's a rough life," said brother bart, recalling his own late experience. "it's little chance it gives you to think or pray. but the old man ye talk of prayed; i am sure of that. the beads here bear token of it."

"aye," answered captain jeb. "he held to them to the last as tight as if they was an anchor chain,--why i don't know."

"that's yer ignorance, poor man!" said brother bart, compassionately. "ye should pray morning and evening for light, and perhaps ye'll be given the grace to know what the hould of blessed beads is to a dying hand. now, if ye don't mind, i'll rest a bit in this quiet place, and try to say me own prayers that i missed last night; for it was a sore trying time to me, both body and soul. there's no harm can come to the boys, now that they are safe here."

"i wouldn't swear to four younkers like them anywhere," was the grim answer. "but ye can rest easy, padre: i'll keep an eye on them, never fear." and, closing the old captain's door on his anxious guest, captain jeb proceeded to "keep an eye" on the boys who were exploring killykinick in every direction.

as it had little more than half a mile of visible surface, the exploration was naturally limited; but there was a "deal more below," as captain jeb assured them,--reefs and shoals stretching out in every direction, and widening every year with the silt carried down from the shore. there were one or two wide hollows between the rocks, where that same silt, top-dressed with richer earth imported from more favored spots by captain jeb, served as kitchen garden, in which beans, cabbages and potatoes made a promising show. on another sheltered slope, green with coarse grass, brown betty was pasturing peacefully; while in a henhouse beyond there was clucking and cackling, cheerfully suggestive of chickens and eggs.

"we used to hev mostly ship rations," said captain jeb. "but the old man got sort of picky and choosy these last years, and turned agin the hard-tack and old hoss meat that had been good enough for him before. so i got a few boat-loads of good earth and took to growing things. and things do grow here for sure, if you only give them a chance. all they want is root hold; the sun and the air and the soft mists do the rest."

then there was the pump house; for even the toughest of old "salts" must have fresh water. and it had cost many a dollar to strike it in these rocks; but strike it at last the well-borers did, and the pump was roofed and walled in as killykinick's greatest treasure.

"stick round here, younkers, along by the 'lady jane' and the wharf and the garden beds, and down by the 'sary ann' and the boats to the south beach, and you'll be pretty safe. but i'm going to show you a place whar you can't do no monkey shining, for it ain't safe at all."

and as captain jeb spoke he turned to the high wall of rock that had backed and sheltered the "lady jane" for nearly fifty years; and, bending his thin form, he pushed through a low, narrow opening, with, it is needless to say, four wide-eyed boys scrambling breathlessly behind him,--dan, as usual, in the lead, pulling freddy on.

for a moment they stumbled in darkness, through which came a thunderous sound like the swell of some mighty organ under a master hand; and then they were out in light and space again, with the ocean cliff of killykinick arching above and around them in a great cave hollowed by the beating waves out of solid rock. wall and roof were rough and jagged, broken into points and ledges; but the floor was smoothed by the tide into a shining, glittering surface, that widened out to meet the line of breakers thundering white-foamed beyond, their sprays scattering in light showers far and near.

"jing! golly! hooray!" burst from the young explorers; and they would have dashed off into bolder investigation of this new discovery, but captain jeb's sudden trumpet tone withheld them.

"stop,--stop thar, younkers! didn't i tell you this warn't no play-place? how far and how deep these caves stretch only the lord knows; for the sea is knawing them deeper and wider every year. and thar's holes and quicksands that would suck you down quicker than that whale in the good book swallowed jonah. and more than that: in three hours from now these here rocks whar we are standing will be biling with high tide. this ain't no play-place! i'm showing it to you so you'll know; for thar ain't no reefs and shoals to easy things here. it's deep sea soundings that no line can reach, this nor'east shore. them waves hev a clean sweep of three thousand miles before they break here. and thar ain't to be no ducking nor swimming nor monkey shining around here unless me or neb is on watch. neb ain't much good for navigating since he got that hit with the marline spike, but for a watch on ship or shore he is all right. so them 'orders' is all i hev to give: the padre, being a bit nervous, may hev some of his own; but thar ain't nothing to hurt four strapping younkers round killykinick except right here. and now, i reckon, it's about time for dinner. i'm ready for some of neb's clam-chowder, i know; and i guess you are, too."

"jing! but this is a great place of yours, freddy!" said dan, as they turned back to the ship house. "we could not have found a better."

"that's all you know," scoffed the lordly dud. "i mean to keep on the right side of the old duffer," he added sotto voce, "and get over to beach cliff in that tub of his whenever i can. minnie foster asked me to come; they've taken a fine house down on the shore, and have all sorts of fun--dances, picnics, boat races. i'll get sick of things here pretty soon; won't you, jim?"

"i don't know about that," was the lazy answer. "about as good a place to loaf as you'll find."

"loaf?" put in dan. "there isn't going to be any loafing at killykinick for me. i'm for boating and fishing and clamming and digging up those garden beds. i don't know what those others are paying," said dan, who had fallen behind with captain jeb; "but i've got no money, and am ready to earn my board and keep."

"you are?" said the captain, in surprise. "as i took it, the padre bunched you all together for as fair a figure as i could ask."

"not me," replied dan. "these other chaps are plutes, and can pay their own way; so cut me out of your figures and let me work for myself."

"well, that's sort of curious talk for a younker with a high-class schooling," said captain jeb, dubiously. "you mean you want to hire out?"

"yes," said dan, remembering aunt winnie and how doubtful his claim was upon st. andrew's.

"thar will be considerable stirring round, i'll allow," was the reflective answer. "i was thinking of getting billy benson to lend a hand, but if you'd like the job of sort of second mate--"

"i would," said dan. "what is a second mate's work?"

"obeying orders," answered captain jeb, briefly.

"that's dead easy," said dan, with a grin.

"oh, is it?" was the grim rejoinder. "jest you wait, younker, till you've stood on a toppling deck in the teeth of a nor'easter, with some dunderhead of a captain roaring cuss words at you to cut away the mast that you know is all that's keeping you out of davy jones' locker, and then you'll find what obeying orders means. but if you want the job here, it's yours. what will you take?"

"my board and keep," answered dan.

"that ain't no sort of pay," said the other, gruffly.

"wait till you see me eat," laughed dan; "besides, i was never a second mate before. maybe i won't make good at it."

"mebbe you won't," said captain jeb, his mouth stretching into its crooked smile. "you're ruther young for it, i must admit. still, i like your grit and pluck, younker. most chaps like you are ready to suck at anything in reach. what's your name?"

"dan--dan dolan," was the answer.

"good!" said captain jeb. "it's a square, honest name. you're shipped, dan dolan. i guess thar ain't no need for signing papers. this little chap will bear witness. you're shipped as second mate in the 'lady jane' now and here."