CHAPTER XXX.
The Wreck of the OspreyY.
Thad, it was agreed, should remain a month longer with his Uncle Walter
at Cedar Keys before joining his parents, sister and cousin at Oakdale.
Mrs. Leigh's parting words to her brother was a tearful request that he
would take good care of her only son, and send him safely home to them
by the latter part of June, or the first of July, at the latest--a
request, of course, which Mr. Herdic solemnly promised to bear in mind;
for, however unfortunate he had been in his guardianship of girls, he
felt quite sure he could manage boys to his own satisfaction and that of
their mothers, and not only keep them out of mischief and danger, but
teach them at the same time something useful and proper for them to
know.
So, one fine morning, two days after bidding his sister and her family
good-by, Uncle Walter, with his handsome nephew, Thaddeus, and sturdy
little Phil, set sail for Key West and the sponging-grounds, it being
their purpose to take passage to the latter place on some one of the
numerous fishing-crafts that were constantly passing to and fro between
Key West and the scene of the hardy sponge-gatherers' daily toil.
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