The first edition of this book is dated 1840. The edition used is dated 1903. The publisher was Blackie and Son Limited. The number of pages is 220.

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General information

Captain Frederick Marryat was born July 10 1792, and died August 8 1848. He retired from the British navy in 1828 in order to devote himself to writing. In the following 20 years he wrote 26 books, many of which are among the very best of English literature, and some of which are still in print.

Marryat had an extraordinary gift for the invention of episodes in his stories. He says somewhere that when he sat down for the day’s work, he never knew what he was going to write. He certainly was a literary genius.

“Masterman Ready” was published in 1841, the nineteenth book to flow from Marryat’s pen. It is simpler to read than most of Marryat’s books, since it was intended for children.

This e-text was transcribed in 1998 by Nick Hodson, and was re- formatted in 2003, and again in 2005.

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Contents

Chapter I.
It was in the month of October, 18—, that the Pacific, a large ship, was running before a heavy gale of wind in the middle of the vast Atlantic Ocean.

Chapter II.
Master William, whom we have introduced to the reader, was the eldest boy of a family who were passengers on board, consisting of the father, mother, and four children: his father was a Mr. Seagrave, a very well-informed, clever man, who having for many years held an office under government at Sydney, the capital of New South Wales, was now returning from a leave of absence of three years.

Chapter III.
The next morning the Pacific arrived at the Cape and anchored in Table Bay.

Chapter IV.
The following morning the fresh water and provisions were received on board, and once more the Pacific stretched her broad canvas to the winds, and there was every prospect of a rapid voyage, as for many days she continued her passage with a fair wind and flowing sheet.

Chapter V.
Sailors are never discouraged by danger as long as they have any chance of relieving themselves by their own exertions.

Chapter VI.
Mr. Seagrave and William went down below into the cabin, where they found that there was plenty of employment; the steward had brought a basin of very hot pea-soup for the children.

Chapter VII.
For some time after the boat had shoved off from the ship, old Ready remained with his arms folded, watching it in silence.

Chapter VIII.
“All’s well so far, sir,” said Ready to Mr. Seagrave; “and now let us return thanks to Heaven.

Chapter IX.
As soon as Ready had executed his intentions, and had fed the animals, he went to the cabin and called Mr. Seagrave and William.

Chapter X.
When Ready returned on board, he first went down into the cabin to acquaint Mrs. Seagrave and William with what they had done.

Chapter XI.
Mr. Seagrave was the first who awoke and rose from his bed on the ensuing morning.

Chapter XII.
Juno had taken the children down to the cove, and, walking out into the water up to her knees, had dipped them in all over, as the shortest way of washing them, and had then dressed them and left them with their mother, while she assisted William to get the cups and saucers and plates for breakfast.

Chapter XIII.
When breakfast was over the next morning, Ready observed, “Now, Mr. Seagrave, we must hold a council of war, and decide upon an exploring party for to-morrow; and, when we have settled that, we will find some useful way of employing ourselves for the rest of the day.

Chapter XIV.
Ready was up before the sun had appeared, and he awakened William.

Chapter XV.
“Oh! how beautiful!” exclaimed William, at last; “I’m sure mamma would like to live here.

Chapter XVI.
William slept as sound as if he had been on shore in England upon a soft bed in a warm room—so did old Ready; and when they awoke the next morning it was broad daylight.

Chapter XVII.
Guided by the marks made on the trees, William and Ready made rapid progress in their return, and in less than two hours found themselves almost clear of the wood which had taken them nearly eight hours to force their way through the day before.

Chapter XVIII.
The storm now raged furiously, the lightning was accompanied by loud peals of thunder, and the children awoke and cried with fright, till they were hushed to sleep again.

Chapter XIX.
They went down to the beach. Ready first procured from the stores a good stout rope; and as the waves threw up casks and timbers of the vessel, they stopped them from being washed back again, and either rolled or hauled them up with the rope until they were safely landed.

Chapter XX.
Everything was now preparing for their removal to the leeward side of the island.

Chapter XXI.
Old Ready had his boat loaded and had made sail for the other side of the island long before the family were up; indeed, before they were dressed he had landed his whole cargo on the beach, and was sitting down quietly taking his breakfast.

Chapter XXII.
Ready arrived at the cove, and proceeded to the tents, where he found the whole party listening to William, who was detailing what had been done.

Chapter XXIII.
Mr. Seagrave was the first up on the ensuing morning; and when Ready came out of the tent, he said to him, “Do you know, Ready, I feel much happier and my mind much more at ease since I find myself here.

Chapter XXIV.
The next morning, as soon as breakfast was over, Mr. Seagrave observed: “Now that we have so many things to do, I think, Ready, we ought to lay down a plan of operations; method is everything when work is to be done: now tell me what you propose shall be our several occupations for the next week, for to-morrow is Sunday; and although we have not yet been able to honour the day as we should, I think that now we must and ought to keep it holy.

Chapter XXV.
Mr. Seagrave and Ready then continued their way along the beach, until they arrived at the point which the latter had considered as a convenient place to make the garden.

Chapter XXVI.
The next day, when Mr. Seagrave, William, Juno, and Ready were all at work at their allotted tasks, Mrs. Seagrave was sitting down at the front of the tent, the little baby, Albert, crawling close to her, Caroline trying to work with her needle, and Tommy was making holes in the ground, and putting a small stone into each hole.

Chapter XXVII.
“Now, William,” said Ready, “if you are not very sleepy, perhaps you would like to come with me to-night, and see if we cannot turn some of the turtle, for the season is going away fast, and they will leave the island very soon.

Chapter XXVIII.
That night Ready sat up for two or three hours working by candle-light (William keeping him company), very busily engaged fitting up the fishing-lines with leads and hooks.

Chapter XXIX.
Ready had cut out and prepared the door-posts and window-frames from timber which he had towed round from the cove.

Chapter XXX.
When they all rose up the next morning, the clouds had cleared off, and the sun was shining bright.

Chapter XXXI.
As so many cocoa-nut trees had been cut down to build the house, there were plenty of boughs lying in every direction, and William and Mr. Seagrave had soon procured sufficient.

Chapter XXXII.
The bleating of the kids woke them the next morning earlier than usual.

Chapter XXXIII.
The next morning was fine, and as soon as breakfast was over, they took the wheels down to the turtle-pond, and Ready having speared one of the largest by means of a pike with a barb to it, which he had made on purpose, they hauled it on shore, slung it under the wheels, and took it up to the house.

Chapter XXXIV.
A heavy storm came on soon after they had retired to rest; the lightning was so vivid that its flashes penetrated through the chinks of the door and windows, and the thunder burst upon them with a noise which prevented them obtaining any sleep.

Chapter XXXV.
As Ready had predicted, the weather set in fine after the violent storm of which we have made mention.

Chapter XXXVI.
“Well, Ready,” said Mr. Seagrave, after breakfast, “which is to be our next job?“

Chapter XXXVII.
The fishpond was commenced the next morning. Ready, Mr. Seagrave, and William went down together to the beach, and, after much examination, chose a spot about one hundred yards from the turtle-pond as most eligible for the purpose; the water being shallow, so that at the part farthest from the shore there would not be more than three feet.

Chapter XXXVIII.
The construction of the fish-pond proceeded rapidly, and on the third day it was nearly complete.

Chapter XXXIX.
The next morning, as there was no particular work on hand, Ready and Mr. Seagrave took the lines to add to the stock of the fish-pond.

Chapter XL.
A few mornings afterwards, Juno came in before breakfast with six eggs in her apron, which she had found in the hen-house.

Chapter XLI.
For several days after, they were employed in clearing away the stumps of the cocoa-nut trees in the winding path to the storehouse; and as soon as that work was finished, Ready put up a lightning-conductor at the side of the storehouse, like the one which he had put up near to the cottage.

Chapter XLII.
They were all up early the next morning, and breakfasted at an early hour.

Chapter XLIII.
As usual, Ready was the first up on the following morning, and having greeted Juno, who followed him out of the house, he set off on his accustomed rounds, to examine into the stock and their other possessions.

Chapter XLIV.
When Ready arrived, he found them all plunged in such deep distress, that he did not consider it advisable to say anything.

Chapter XLV.
But although they resolved as stated in the last chapter, nothing was done.

Chapter XLVI.
The subject was introduced to Mrs. Seagrave, while they were at breakfast, and as she perceived how much more secure they would be, she cheerfully consented.

Chapter XLVII.
As soon as the meal was over, Mr. Seagrave and Juno assisted them in carrying down the canvas and poles for the tent, with shovels to clear away, and the pegs to fix the tents up properly.

Chapter XLVIII.
The boat was well loaded that afternoon, and they had a heavy pull round, and hard work afterwards to carry all the articles up.

Chapter XLIX.
The next morning they went with their shovels to the yam plantation, and commenced their work.

Chapter L.
After dinner they resumed their labour. “I wonder what’s in this case?” said Mr. Seagrave, pointing to the first at hand.

Chapter LI.
Mr. Seagrave and Ready then set to work, and made a rough sort of bed of cocoa-nut branches; and, after eating their supper, committed themselves to the divine protection, and went to sleep.

Chapter LII.
The next morning Tommy’s face presented a very woeful appearance.

Chapter LIII.
As soon as they had carried up the whole of the cargo, they secured the boat, and went up to the house to sleep.

Chapter LIV.
The following day, being Sunday, was devoted to the usual religious exercises.

Chapter LV.
On the Monday morning, William and Ready went away in the boat, as before, to bring round the various articles from the cove.

Chapter LVI.
The next day being Sunday was a day of repose, and as they had all worked so hard, they felt the luxury of a day of rest.

Chapter LVII.
The next morning was one of bustle; there was packing up and every preparation for departure.

Chapter LVIII.
For nearly a fortnight, the work upon the stockade continued without any intermission, when a circumstance occurred which created the greatest alarm and excitement.

Chapter LIX.
When Tommy was questioned on the following morning as to his inducement to get into the boat, to their great surprise he replied, that he wanted to go round to the tents again, to see if the bananas were ripe; that he intended to eat some of them and be back before dinner-time, that he might not be found out.

Chapter LX.
Another week passed away, during which Ready repaired the boat, and William and Mr. Seagrave were employed in digging up the garden.

Chapter LXI.
As they could have a very good view of the canoes from where the old house stood, Ready examined them with his glass every time that he returned from rolling up a cask to the stockade.

Chapter LXII.
The loud yells of the savages struck terror into the heart of Mrs. Seagrave; it was well that she had not seen their painted bodies and fierce appearance, or she would have been much more alarmed.

Chapter LXIII.
But the moaning of the children was very soon after dusk drowned by the yells of the savages, who, as Ready had prognosticated, now advanced to the night attack.

Chapter LXIV.
The second day was passed in keeping a look-out upon the savages, and awaiting a fresh attack.

Chapter LXV.
After returning twice for water, to satisfy those in the house, Mr. Seagrave came to the assistance of William, who had been removing Ready’s clothes to ascertain the nature of the wound he had received.

Chapter LXVI.
Before we wind up this history, it will be as well to state to my young readers how it was that Captain Osborn made his appearance at so fortunate a moment.

Chapter LXVII.
The hurry and bustle of preparing for their departure from the island, and the rapid succession of events which had been crowded together within so very few days, had not allowed time for much thought or reflection to Mr. and Mrs. Seagrave and William; at length, however, every preparation had been made, and they were no longer urged by the commander of the schooner to hasten their packing up and arrangements; for everything had been sent on board during the afternoon, and it was proposed that they should sail on the following day.

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