" The crew were awestruck; the captain's statement
gave rise to vivid stories of presentiments; while the
luckless craft scampered back to the port where the
unsuspecting owner dwelt. In due course the vessel arrived
in the roads. A tug came alongside, and the captain was
greeted in the orthodox nautical style. The supernatural
tale was unfolded and the tug proceeded to convey the news
of the arrival of the _T----_. The owner would have fallen
on the neck of his captain had he been near. He wept with
uncontrollable joy. His feelings swept him into ecstasies of
generosity. Gifts of an unusual character for captains to
receive were to be conferred upon him, and the owner longed
for the flow of the tide so that his sentiments towards him
might be conveyed in person. "Ah," said he, "how often have
I said that Captain M---- was the smartest man that ever
sailed from a British port! Just fancy, to make the voyage
out and home in two and a half months! It is phenomenal!"
The master of the tug gaped at this local magnate in wonder,
and thought that sudden lunacy had seized him. He blurted
out, "Surely, Mr.
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