[Illustration: LETTING THE OLD CAT DIE.--DRAWN BY JESSIE MCDERMOTT.]
[Begun in No. 80 of HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE, May 10.]
When the boys awoke, soon after dawn, a thick fog hid everything except the oyster sloop from their view. The crew of the latter were already on deck, and as soon as the Captain saw that the boys were putting away their blankets, and getting out their breakfast dishes, he invited them to come to breakfast. There is nothing more cheerless than cooking your own breakfast in a cold wet fog, and the young yachtsmen, who were feeling rather tired in consequence of loss of sleep and the excitement of the previous night, were glad to accept the Captain's invitation. Harry, foreseeing that the oystermen's coffee would not be quite suited to his fastidious taste, and also desiring to make some return for the Captain's kindness, asked to be allowed to furnish the breakfast table with coffee made by himself. The oystermen were pleased with the proposal, and Harry, taking the _Ghost_'s coffee-pot to the galley, made what the Captain declared was the "bulliest" coffee he had ever drank.
They sat down to breakfast in the cozy little cabin of the sloop, and the Captain told them all about the oyster fishery. He was on his way to Amityville, where he lived, with a cargo of clams; for during the summer months, when there was no demand for oysters, he loaded his vessel with clams and scallops, which are in season all the year round. He prophesied that the fog would last all day, but assured the boys that by steering due northeast by compass, they would reach the northern shore of the bay, and could then safely pursue their voyage by keeping close to the land, where the deepest water in the Great South Bay is usually found. During the night the tide had ebbed, leaving the sloop aground in the mud, and it would be several hours before she would be afloat again. The boys would have preferred to let the sloop lead the way, and to follow her through the fog, but they did not care to wait until she would be afloat. So bidding their new friends good-by, they hoisted their sails, and with a fair breeze, just strong enough to give their boat steerage-way, they started to cross the bay.