Страница 330 из 416

Investigation at the admiralty office proved to Nat that the real

Albatross had reported from St. John's, Newfoundland, on the very

day he supposed he had met her. As the waters near St. Andrew's

and St. John's are several hundreds of miles apart, Nat was not

long in forming the opinion that he had been duped.

Fuming with rage, he began to investigate. Gradually he learned

the story (from sailors in wine-shops and general hearsay) of the

mysterious schooner that had twice saved Code Schofield from

actual capture, and had aided him on one or two other occasions.

One man said he had heard of a retired naval officer named

Foraker, who was supposed to be in command. As a matter of fact,

there was a Captain Foraker aboard the schooner who navigated her

and instilled the "run and jump" discipline that had so excited

Code's admiration. Outside of this vague fact, Nat's knowledge

was scant.