“Yes,” said his father; “I should like to have you a proficient in all manly accomplishments, only don’t be foolhardy and run useless risks.  I want my son to be brave, but not rash; ready to meet danger with coolness and courage when duty calls, and to have the proper training to enable him to do so intelligently, but not to rush recklessly into it to no good end.”

“Yes, papa,” Max answered; “I mean to try to be just such a man as my father is; but do you mean that I may take lessons in managing a boat on the sea, if I can find somebody to teach me?”

“I do; I shall inquire about among the fishermen and see who is capable and willing for the task.  Come, let us go down to the beach; we shall have abundance of time for a stroll before breakfast.”

At that moment Lulu joined them with a gay good-morning to each; she was in a happy mood.  “Oh, what a lovely morning! what a delightful place this is!” she cried.  “Papa, can’t we take a walk?”

“Yes, Max and I were about starting for one, and shall be pleased to have your company.”

“I’d like to go to Tom Never’s Head, papa,” said Max.

“Oh, so should I!” cried Lulu.

“I believe they call the distance from here about two miles,” remarked the captain reflectively; “but such a walk before breakfast in this bracing air I presume will not damage children as strong and healthy as these two of mine,” regarding them with a fond, fatherly smile.  “So come along, we will try it.”

He took Lulu’s hand, and the three wended their way southward along Sunset Heights, greatly enjoying the sight of the ocean, its waves glittering and dancing in the brilliant sunlight, their booming sound as they broke along the beach and the exhilarating breeze blowing fresh and pure from them.

“This is a very dangerous coast,” the captain remarked, “especially in winter, when it is visited by fierce gales; a great many vessels have been wrecked on Nantucket coast.”

“Yes, papa,” said Max; “I heard a story the other day of a ship that was wrecked the night before Christmas, eight or ten years ago, on this shore.  Nobody knew that a ship was near until the next morning, when pieces of wreck, floating barrels, and dead bodies were cast up on the beach.

“They found that one man had got to land alive; they knew it because he was quite a distance from the beach, though entirely dead when they found him.  You see there was just one farmhouse in sight from the scene of the disaster, and they had alight that night because somebody was sick; and they supposed the man saw the light and tried to reach it, but was too much exhausted by fatigue and the dreadful cold, for it seemed his clothes had all been torn off him by the waves; he was stark naked when found, and lying on the ground, which showed that he had struggled hard to get up after falling down upon it.

“I think they said the ship was called the Isaac Newton, was loaded with barrels of coal-oil, and bound for Holland.”