"Shove off!" commanded c.o.c.kswain Ham, and with a strong pull and a loud "Yo-ho!" the little boat shot away.
Ham held firmly to the tiller and kept the bow pointed toward the big rollers, while the monkeys handled the oars.
"Pull for the sh.o.r.e, sailor, pull for the sh.o.r.e," sang the Weatherc.o.c.k.
The bears, who had slid down the iceberg close to the water"s edge, stood anxiously waiting.
"Careful, now!" cried Ham. "Pull on your starboard oar!"
The boat grazed the iceberg. "Jump!" shouted Ham. "Quick!"
And then one of the bears gave a spring and landed in the boat. His mate, however, slipped, and a big wave at that moment whirled the boat away from the ice, and with a big splash he landed in the water.
"Throw him a life-preserver!" shouted Capt. Noah.
"Throw him a life line!" yelled Shem.
"Throw him the anchor!" growled j.a.pheth, who never had liked the Polar Bears, I guess.
But c.o.c.kswain Ham was not the least bit rattled. He steered the boat toward the frightened bear and told him to catch hold.
"Now pull for all you"re worth!" shouted Ham to the monkeys, "and we"ll tow Brother Bear."
But, oh, dear me! The great waves kept washing over the little boat, and the two monkeys had a hard time rowing with that great heavy bear dragging on the stern.
"They"ll be swamped!" screamed Mrs. Noah, as a tremendous great wave dashed over the little life-boat.
"Bail, bail, you lubber!" shouted Ham. "We"ll all be in Davy Jones"s locker if you don"t!"
Well, pretty soon they came alongside the Ark, and Capt. Noah let down a rope ladder, up which the two bears managed to scramble after a hard struggle.
And after that c.o.c.kswain Ham and his gallant crew came aboard, and the life-boat was hoisted up on deck.
Motherly Mrs. Noah at once put the two bears to bed after a hot mustard bath and a drink of Jamaica ginger.
"Well, this beats the old days all holler!" exclaimed Capt. Noah. "We never had such accidents on my first voyage. It just rained and rained for forty days and forty nights."
"That"s the truth, my dear," agreed Mrs. Noah. "I remember it very well.
Ham was just a baby, and the other two boys were little fellows. It was hard work finding something new for them to do each day. Rainy days on board ship--well, I never want to go through with it again."
"I should think your boys would think you"re just lovely," said little Marjorie.
"Well, I guess we do," said Ham, kissing his mother. "You know we do, mother dear."
"Of course I do," she replied, giving him a hug.
"Go and kiss your mother," said Capt. Noah to Shem and j.a.pheth, "or she won"t give you any breakfast."
And then they both ran over to her and kissed her, glad of an excuse to show their real feelings.
"Now, come and get something nice and hot for breakfast," said Mrs. Noah, "for if we don"t eat breakfast pretty soon, we"ll have to call it lunch."
And in the next chapter you shall hear of a dreadful collision, but don"t worry, for I shan"t let anything happen to little Marjorie and the kind Noah family.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Captain Noah discovers a leak in the side of the Ark.]
A LEAK
"Look out! Look out! A boat in sight; Turn quickly to the left or right; You"ll have a smash-up, sure as fate-- Alas! my warning came too late!"
sang the Weatherc.o.c.k.
And, oh, dear me! He was right! Crash! Bang! The Noah"s Ark shivered from bow to stern, and all the animals were thrown off their feet.
Little Marjorie awoke with a start. It was just daylight, and far off in the east the rising sun was tinging the sky pink and gold.
She hurriedly put on her clothes and ran out on deck, where she met Capt.
Noah and his sons.
"Whales and porpoises!" exclaimed Capt. Noah. "Mr. Jonah has been asleep at the switch again, I"ll bet!"
And then he ran forward and looked over the bow of the Ark.
Only a few yards off was the charred hull of a vessel, riding low in the water.
Quickly examining his own ship, Capt. Noah discovered a hole on the starboard side.
And then, all of a sudden, the animals came rushing up on deck.
"The Ark is filling with water," cried Mrs. Elephant, "and my slippers are all soaking wet. If I had remained below another minute they would have been ruined!"
She had hardly finished when all the rats and mice scrambled up the companionway.
"A bad sign!" said Capt. Noah. "It shows the Ark is sinking!"
Mrs. Noah gave a scream. She had hastily thrown a kimono over her nightdress at the first warning and had hurried on deck.
"Don"t worry," said little Marjorie bravely. "Capt. Noah will stop the leak."
"I hope so," he said. Then, turning to the pa.s.sengers, he asked: "Who will volunteer to go with me below deck?"
"I will!" shouted Ham.
"And so will I!" said the Elephant.