{"product_id":"2940013296404","title":"Gascoyne","description":"CHAPTER ONE.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTHE SCHOONER.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Great Pacific is the scene of our story.  On a beautiful morning,\u003cbr\u003emany years ago, a little schooner might have been seen floating, light\u003cbr\u003eand graceful as a sea-mew, on the breast of the slumbering ocean.  She\u003cbr\u003ewas one of those low black-hulled vessels, with raking, taper masts,\u003cbr\u003etrimly cut sails, and elegant form, which we are accustomed to associate\u003cbr\u003ewith the idea of a yacht or a pirate.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShe might have been the former, as far as appearance went, for the sails\u003cbr\u003eand decks were white as snow, and every portion of brass and copper\u003cbr\u003eabove her water-line shone in the hot sun with dazzling brilliancy.  But\u003cbr\u003epleasure-seekers were not wont, in those days, to take such distant\u003cbr\u003eflights, or to venture into such dangerous seas--dangerous alike from\u003cbr\u003ethe savage character of the islanders, and the numerous coral-reefs that\u003cbr\u003elie hidden a few feet below the surface of the waves.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eStill less probable did it seem that the vessel in question could belong\u003cbr\u003eto the lawless class of craft to which we have referred; for, although\u003cbr\u003eshe had what may be styled a wicked aspect, and was evidently adapted\u003cbr\u003efor swift sailing, neither large guns nor small arms of any kind were\u003cbr\u003evisible.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhatever her nature or her object, she was reduced, at the time we\u003cbr\u003eintroduce her to the reader, to a state of inaction by the dead calm\u003cbr\u003ewhich prevailed.  The sea resembled a sheet of clear glass.  Not a cloud\u003cbr\u003ebroke the softness of the sky, in which the sun glowed hotter and hotter\u003cbr\u003eas it rose towards the zenith.  The sails of the schooner hung idly from\u003cbr\u003ethe yards; her reflected image was distorted, but scarcely broken, by\u003cbr\u003ethe long gentle swell; her crew, with the exception of the watch, were\u003cbr\u003easleep either on deck or down below, and so deep was the universal\u003cbr\u003esilence, that, as the vessel rose and fell with a slow, quiet motion,\u003cbr\u003ethe pattering of the reef points on her sails forcibly attracted the\u003cbr\u003elistener's attention, as does the ticking of a clock in the deep silence\u003cbr\u003eof night.  A few sea-birds rested on the water, as if in the enjoyment\u003cbr\u003eof the profound peace that reigned around; and, far away on the horizon\u003cbr\u003emight be seen the tops of the palm-trees that grew on one of those coral\u003cbr\u003eislands which lie scattered in thousands, like beautiful gems, on the\u003cbr\u003esurface of that bright blue sea.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAmong the men who lay sleeping in various easy off-hand attitudes on the\u003cbr\u003eschooner's deck was one who merits special attention--not only because\u003cbr\u003eof the grotesque appearance of his person, but also because he is one of\u003cbr\u003ethe principal actors in our tale.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe was a large powerful man, of that rugged build and hairy aspect that\u003cbr\u003emight have suggested the idea that he would be difficult to kill.  He\u003cbr\u003ewas a fair man, with red hair and a deeply sun-burned face, on which\u003cbr\u003ejovial good-humour sat almost perpetually enthroned.  At the moment when\u003cbr\u003ewe introduce him to the reader, however, that expression happened to be\u003cbr\u003emodified in consequence of his having laid him down to sleep in a\u003cbr\u003esprawling manner on his back--the place as well as the position being,\u003cbr\u003eapparently, one of studied discomfort.  His legs lay over the heel of\u003cbr\u003ethe bowsprit; his big body reposed on a confused heap of blocks and\u003cbr\u003ecordage, and his neck rested on the stock of an anchor, so that his head\u003cbr\u003ehung down over it, presenting the face to view, with the large mouth\u003cbr\u003ewide open, in an upside down position.  The man was evidently on the\u003cbr\u003everge of choking, but, being a strong man, and a rugged man, and a\u003cbr\u003ehealthy man, he did not care.  He seemed to prefer choking to the\u003cbr\u003etrouble of rousing himself and improving his position.","brand":"SAP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47173911249136,"sku":"2940013296404","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940013296404_p0.jpg?v=1763579134","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940013296404","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}