Us and the Bottle Man

hinnish one, addressed in ve

id; "otherwise they wouldn't have thou

t-knife before we could get at the letter. There were sheets of thin paper all covered with writing, and when Jerry and Greg saw that, they both fell upon it so that none of us could read it at all. I persuaded them

rers and Marin

d of Wecanicut,-for I know well what meager fare are eiligugs' eggs and barnacles. However, I take th

om a vessel which almost immediately departed whence it had come, into the darkness. My captors left me to go with the vessel, the chief of them threatening to return every week to torment me

s, ease each other's monotonous maroonity. Scholars, too, I perceive you to be,-witness the Latin following your signatures. Ah well, Grata superveniet quae non sperabitur hora, as the poet so truly says, and I cannot express to you how eager, how happy I am, in the thought of commun

past. In the rude language of the place she tells me that there is

ully,

WAY C

t the abbreviation is sufficient. Blue Harbor is my own literal translation of the native Bluar Boor. Box 14 refers to the native sys

d!" Greg said, when I had finished, and

said at last

aid; "suppose a fisherman had

art," said Jerry,

to know w

Jerry said. "Besides, he has a stately, professorish sort of

nough. Think of being alone out there with savages, and

ere's more in this than meets the eye, Chris. I didn't

dn't got on to it until Jerr

ear," I said. "Why do you sup

wn free will, right

idn't t

ansplant some columbine that had wandered into the lawn. We did a quick secret consultation and then decided to let her in on t

write to the Castaway, because we didn't quite want to without letting her know about it. She l

ight have known it, for they always are empty when you need them most. Jerry, like a goose, filled it over the clean paper we were going to use for the letter, and it slobbered blue ink all over the top sheet. But the under one wasn't hurt, and we thou

egan to ooze from being too full, and none

id, "it'll be stupid. And I don't feel maroonish here on the porch. We

and we supposed he'd gone to feed a tame toad he had that year, or something. The toad lived under the syringa bush beside the gate, and Greg insi

re in a dark, golden sort of tent, crackley and sweet-smelling. You can slither pine-needles through your fingers as you discuss, too, and it helps you

ind it?" Jerry asked suddenly, an

ne such a jolly old soul. Why, he'

y he has to sta

rhaps he's a prisoner and the bearded person comes out with Spa

o'd done a horrible crime,

an innocent old man whose wicked nephews want to frighten him into changing his will, le

hink he's awfully happy somehow, and it's

own free will, or in bondage, in any case it must be frightfully d

under with pine-needles in his hair. He sat back on his heels

to write to the Bottle M

never!" J

e of paper from inside his

t," he said, "

!" Jerry said; but

ver knew. He's always doing things lik

plain with his finger. What with his dreadfully bad writing and the sunlight moving off the paper

Bottl

n the big map and it is an aufuly far way for the bottle to go. Only I thought it would. I am sorry you are so imprisined on the iland and please dont let the cheif with the beard poisen you because we would like to hear from you agan. If there is tresure on that iland I

pecfull

RY HO

of us are

es grow very dark when he's anxious, and they were perfectly in

I did think the Castaway man woul

said Jerry, rolling over among

scurried off with it. I pitched Jerry back on to the pine-nee

's perfectly all right, and it wil

tly scrawls" and wasn't pleas

ow his real one. We read the letter from him after supper to Aunt Ailsa, and she laughed and liked it, and so did Father. We also asked Father what t

all the more appreciated bec

r old Bottle Man consoling himself out t