But while the members of the Club gave to Walter and Archie all the credit which their adventures and achievements demanded, they were unanimous in according the lion’s share of praise to Frank Nelson, who had brought himself safely out of a predicament, the like of which the boys had never heard of before. It seemed almost impossible that one who had been “shanghaied” and thrust into the forecastle of a whale-ship to do duty as a common sailor, should, in so short a time and by sheer force of character, have worked his way to the quarter-deck, and into a position for which only men of years and experience are thought to be qualified. But they had abundant evidence that such was the fact. There was a witness in the person of the trapper, who was kidnapped at the same time, and who had escaped in a manner so remarkable that even Uncle Dick, who had seen a world of marvellous things, said the same feat could not be performed again under like circumstances. Besides, the boys had seen Frank on the Tycoon’s quarter-deck, had heard him give orders that were promptly obeyed, had messed with him in his cabin, and he had brought them safely into the harbor of Honolulu, beating the swift little Stranger out of sight on the way.
As for Frank himself, he was very well satisfied with what he had done, and often declared that an adventure which, at first, threatened to terminate in something serious, had had a most agreeable ending. His forced sojourn on the Tycoon and all the incidents that had happened during that time—the sight of the first whale he ever struck coming up on a breach close in front of his boat, and looming up in the air like a church steeple; the excessive fatigue that followed the long hours spent in cutting in and trying out; the sleepless nights; the days and weeks of suspense he had endured; the race and the desperate battle under a broiling sun he had had in Mr. Gale’s boat on the day Captain Barclay deserted him; the fight with the natives at the Mangrove Islands, and the rescue of the prisoners—all these things would have seemed like a dream to Frank now, had it not been for the large callous spots on the palms of his hands, which had been brought there by handling heavy oars and by constant pulling at tarred ropes. The sight of these recalled very forcibly to his mind the days and nights of toil which sometimes tested his strength and endurance so severely that he hardly expected to live through them. Nothing could have tempted him to submit to the same trials again, but now that they were all over and he was safe among friends once more, he would not have sold his experience at any price.