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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Rival Crusoes, by W.H.G. Kingston
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Rival Crusoes
+
+Author: W.H.G. Kingston
+
+Release Date: October 17, 2007 [EBook #23071]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE RIVAL CRUSOES ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England
+
+
+
+
+The Rival Crusoes, by W.H.G. Kingston
+________________________________________________________________________
+Our hero is the sixteen-year-old Dick Hargrave, son of a farmer near
+Keyhaven on the Hampshire coast. A good deal of smuggling went on in
+that area, but the Hargraves, although turning a blind eye if their
+barns were used by the smugglers for temporary storage, were not
+involved. The local landlord had been a politician who had been
+ennobled and who was now a marquis. One of his sons, Lord Reginald (for
+Lord is the courtesy-title of younger sons of a marquis) was in the
+Navy. Dick is press-ganged into the navy, and finds himself in the same
+ship as Lord Reginald, who does all he can to make Dick's life a
+misery. On one occasion Dick jumps ship and goes back home to visit his
+family, but is recognised by Lord Reginald.
+
+Before he can be punished there is an engagement with the French in
+which Dick distinguishes himself, and the Captain agrees to dispense
+with the flogging he should have received.
+
+The ship is posted to the Far East station but is shipwrecked. Both
+Dick and Lord Reginald survive the wreck and become "Crusoes", still
+with a deadly rivalry. But Lord Reginald is an incompetent, and would
+not have survived, had not Dick rescued him, and brought him back to
+health. Lord Reginald apologises for his past behaviour. Eventually
+they get back to England, and the story ends there.
+
+In a preface Kingston explains that he has taken a much earlier novel
+written by a young lady, and has rewritten it with as much improvement
+as he can make.
+
+________________________________________________________________________
+THE RIVAL CRUSOES, BY W.H.G. KINGSTON.
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+The title of the following tale was given to a short story written by
+the well-known authoress, Agnes Strickland, more than half a century
+ago, when she was about eighteen years old.  I well remember the intense
+delight with which I read it in my boyhood, and was lately surprised to
+find that it had been so long out of print.  The publishers, however,
+consider that the work, esteemed as it was in former years, is, from the
+style and the very natural mistakes of a young lady discernible with
+regard to matters nautical, scarcely suited to the taste of the present
+day.  They therefore requested me to re-write it, believing that the
+subject might be worked into a deeply interesting story of much larger
+proportions than the original.  This I have endeavoured to accomplish,
+and I trust that the new version of "The Rival Crusoes" may become as
+popular among the present generation as its predecessor was with the
+last.
+
+W.H.G.  Kingston.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER ONE.
+
+AT KEYHAVEN--IN DANGEROUS COMPANY--THE OLD SMUGGLER--A FRIGATE AFTER
+BATTLE--DISLIKE OF BEN FOR THE ROYAL NAVY--AN UNEXPECTED LANDING--
+OVERBEARING CONDUCT OF THE MIDSHIPMEN--ANGRY WORDS--LORD REGINALD
+OSWALD--TOADY VOULES--AT THE VILLAGE INN--OLD MESSMATES--TEMPTATION--
+SUSAN RUDALL'S ANXIOUS LIFE--AN ADVENTURE ON THE WAY TO ELVERSTON--HOME
+AT LAST--RECEPTION AT THE HALL.
+
+"I tell you what, Dick, if I was Farmer Hargrave I would not turn out to
+please Lord Elverston or any other lord in the land," exclaimed Ben
+Rudall, as he stood hammering away at the side of his boat, which lay
+drawn up on the inner end of Hurst beach, near the little harbour of
+Keyhaven, on the Hampshire coast, at the western entrance of the Solent,
+opposite the Isle of Wight.  His dress and weather-beaten countenance,
+as well as the work he was engaged on, showed that he was a seafaring
+man.
+
+"But Mr Gooch the bailiff says there is a flaw, as he calls it, in the
+lease; but what that means I don't know, except that it's not all right,
+and that father must turn out, whether he likes it or not," answered
+Dick Hargrave, who was standing near, and occasionally giving Ben a
+helping hand.  He was a lad about sixteen years of age, strongly built,
+with a good-looking face, exhibiting a firm and determined expression.
+His dress was more that of a landsman than of a sailor, though it
+partook of both.
+
+"Flaw or no flaw, I say again, I would hold on fast to the farm, unless
+I was turned out by force.  Your father, Dick, is worth ten of such
+lords, or a hundred, for that matter.  He has held that farm since his
+father's time.  His father and grandfather and great-grandfather, and I
+don't know how many before them, have held it.  And right honest people
+they were.  They never thought of interfering with us seafaring men, and
+would as soon turn spies to the French as give notice to the revenue
+when a cargo was to be run.  If they guessed that any kegs of spirits,
+or packages of silks or ribbons, were stowed away in one of their barns,
+they took good care not to be prying about too closely until they knew
+that the goods had been started off for London."
+
+"My father always wished to live at peace with his neighbours, and would
+not injure a smuggler more than any other man who did not interfere with
+him, though I believe he has never received a keg of brandy or a piece
+of silk for any service he may have done the smugglers," said Dick.
+
+"You're right there, my lad," said Ben.  "I mind once offering your good
+mother a few yards of stuff to make her a Sunday gown, and, would you
+believe it? she would not take them.  When I just hinted that I should
+leave them behind me, she was quite offended, and declared that if I did
+she would speak to your father and have the outhouses kept closed, and
+that it would be our own fault if some day all our goods were seized.
+She shut me up, I can tell you.  Yes, she is a good woman, and as kind
+and charitable to the poor as any lady in the land.  To my fancy she is
+a lady just as much as Lord Elverston's wife.  I mind when he was only
+Squire Oswald.  Because he kept hounds and was in Parliament, and came
+into a heap of money, he got made a lord, and then a marquis, and now he
+is setting his face against all us seafaring men hereabouts, and vows
+that he must uphold the revenue laws, and put a stop to smuggling."
+
+"I have no cause to care for the Marquis of Elverston or his sons
+either, for often when I have passed them and touched my hat, as in
+decent manners I was bound to do, they have looked at me as if I was a
+beggar-boy asking for a ha'penny.  The young one especially--Lord
+Reginald--I had words with him one day, when he swore at me for not
+picking up his whip which he had let drop out riding; and at another
+time, when I was fishing in the lake at Elverston, he ordered me to be
+off, because I was catching more than he was--though father has always
+had the right of fishing there.  He came up, with his fists doubled; but
+I threatened to knock him into the water if he laid hands on me, and he
+thought better of it.  I was right glad when he went off to sea, where I
+hope he will have learned better manners."
+
+"He will have learned to become a greater bully than ever," growled Ben.
+"I have heard enough about king's ships, and catch me setting foot on
+board one.  I'd sooner be sent to Botany Bay, or spend a year in prison,
+which I did once, when I was taken running a cargo down Portland way
+with a dozen other fine fellows.  Many of them accepted the offer to go
+on board a man-of-war; and where are they now?  Three or four shot or
+drowned; the rest have never come back, though whether dead or alive I
+cannot tell.  No, no, Dick; don't you ever go on board a man-of-war of
+your own free will, or you'll repent it; and, I say, keep clear of
+pressgangs when you get a little older, or you may be having to go,
+whether you like it or no."
+
+"I'll take your advice," answered the young farmer, for such Dick might
+properly have been called, though he had besides, being an ingenious
+fellow, picked up a good knowledge of carpentering and boat-building;
+"but what I was going to say just now was that, although the marquis and
+his sons may not be liked, no one can utter a word against my lady and
+her daughters.  They always smile and nod kindly like when one passes.
+When my sister Janet was ill last year, they came to the farm, and asked
+after her just as if she had been one of themselves, talking so sweet
+and gentle.  If it wasn't for them, I don't think father would dream of
+giving in, as he does now."
+
+"Give in?  He mustn't do that!" exclaimed Ben.  "Their talking and
+smiling may be all very fine, but I know what that's worth."
+
+"You are wrong there, Ben; I couldn't speak a word against them.  But, I
+say, do you think we can finish the boat in time to get off and catch
+some fish this evening?  I want to take home a couple of bass or whiting
+pout for Janet.  She likes them better than anything else.  Poor girl!
+it's only fish and such light things she can eat.  She's very ill, I
+fear, though she talks as if she was going to be about soon; but the
+doctor tells mother he has no hope of her ever being well again."
+
+"That will be a sore pity, for, blind though she is, there's not a
+prettier maiden to be found throughout the forest," answered Ben.  "I'll
+do my best to serve you, Dick; but there's two hours' more work to be
+done before we can get the craft afloat."  Ben surveyed the boat from
+stem to stern as he spoke, and then continued boring holes and driving
+nails as diligently as before.
+
+While he was thus employed, Dick, who was looking towards the Isle of
+Wight, exclaimed, "See, Ben, see, what a fine ship yonder is, just come
+in at the Needles!"
+
+The fisherman, clenching the nail he had just driven in, turned his eyes
+in the direction to which Dick pointed.  "She's only a frigate, though a
+good big one," he remarked.  "She's not long since been in action, too,
+with the enemy.  Look at her topsails and top-gallant sails; they are
+pretty well riddled.  I can count wellnigh a score of shot-holes in
+them; and her side, too, shows the hard knocks she has been getting.
+Just run to the top of the beach, and see if any other ships are
+following.  Maybe the fleet has had a brush with the enemy, and yonder
+frigate has been sent on ahead with news of the action."
+
+Dick, doing as he was bid, soon reached a point of the shingly bank
+whence he could obtain a view of the sea to the westward.  "Hurrah!" he
+shouted; "here comes another ship under a fore-jurymast and her bowsprit
+gone.  She seems to me to have not a few shot-holes in her canvas,
+though it's hard to make out at the distance she is off."
+
+Ben, in his eagerness, forgetting his work, ran up to where Dick was
+standing.  "Yes, there's no doubt about it, yonder craft is a prize to
+the first.  When she gets nearer we shall see that her sails are well
+riddled and her hull battered, too.  Those Frenchmen don't give in till
+they've been thoroughly drubbed; but I doubt whether we shall know more
+about the matter to-night than we do now, for the wind is falling, and
+the tide making out strong against her.  See, the frigate can only just
+stem it, and unless the breeze freshens, she must bring up or drift out
+through the Needles again."
+
+Such, indeed, was likely to be the case, for though still going ahead,
+her progress was very slow.  She had already got some little distance to
+the eastward of Hurst Point, when, the wind freshening again, her sails
+blew out, and, gliding majestically on, she edged over to the Isle of
+Wight shore.
+
+"She'll not get to Spithead to-night, notwithstanding," remarked Ben,
+"for there's not a breath of air away to the eastward; see, the sails of
+that brig out there are hanging flat against the masts."
+
+Ben was right.  The wind again dropping, presently the hands were seen
+flying aloft, the studding-sails were quickly taken in, the courses
+brailed up; the topsail yards being rapidly lowered, the ready crew
+sprang on to them, and in another minute the frigate dropped her anchor
+in Yarmouth Roads.
+
+"All very fine!" growled Ben, as he saw Dick's look of admiration at the
+smartness with which the manoeuvre had been effected; "but if you'd been
+on board you would have seen how it was all done.  There's the first
+lieutenant, with his black list in his hand, and the other lieutenants
+with their reports, ready to note down anything they may think amiss;
+then there are the midshipmen, the boatswain and his mates, cursing and
+swearing, with their switches and rope's ends in their hands, and the
+cat-o'-nine-tails hung up ready for any who don't move fast enough.
+Again, I say, don't you ever enter on board a man-of-war if you wish to
+keep a whole skin in your body."
+
+The old smuggler's picture, though exaggerated, approached too nearly
+the truth as to the way in which discipline was enforced on board many
+men-of-war in those days.  Happily, some were as free from the reproach
+as are those of the present time, when the seamen of the navy have good
+reason to be contented with their lot, as everything is done which can
+conduce to their comfort and improvement.
+
+Ben's remarks did not fail to have their effect on Dick's mind.
+
+"Don't think I'm a fool!" he answered.  "I'll keep out of their
+clutches, depend upon that, for, as I am not a seaman, a pressgang can't
+catch hold of me."
+
+"Well, do you be wise, my boy, and don't forget what I say," remarked
+Ben.  "But if we stand talking here we shan't get the boat finished, so
+come along, and don't let us trouble ourselves about the frigate.  We
+shall hear by-and-by what she has been doing, and how the captain and
+officers are praised for the victory the seamen have won for them."
+
+Saying this, Ben led the way back to his boat, and went on with his
+work, though Dick Hargrave could not help every now and then casting a
+look at the beautiful ship as she lay at anchor a little distance off.
+Ben was labouring away as assiduously as before, when Dick exclaimed--
+
+"Here comes a boat from the frigate.  I thought I saw one lowered; she
+is steering for this point, and it will not be long before she is here."
+
+"Then they intend to put some one on shore at Keyhaven," observed Ben;
+"but as the boat can't get up the creek with this low tide, whoever he
+may be he'll have to trudge along the beach."
+
+"There seem to be several officers in her," remarked Dick, who stood
+watching the boat as she came rapidly on the blades of the oars, as with
+measured strokes they were dipped in the water, flashing in the
+sunlight.  "They fancy that they can get up to Keyhaven, but they'll not
+do that until the tide rises," observed Ben, looking up from his work
+with a frown on his brow.  "Let them try it, and they'll stick fast."
+
+The boat passed the spot where Ben and his companion were at work, and
+very soon what he had predicted happened.  Two of the officers, whom
+Dick recognised by their uniforms to be midshipmen, were heard abusing
+the men and ordering them to urge the boat on.  But all the efforts of
+the crew to get her afloat were vain.
+
+They then endeavoured to back her off, and at length four of them,
+tucking up their trowsers, leaped overboard.  The boat thus lightened,
+the men, by shoving her astern, soon got her again into deep water.
+When, however, they sprang on board their blackened legs showed the
+nature of the mud into which they had stepped, and produced a malicious
+chuckle from Ben, who watched them with half-averted head.  By moving
+their legs about in the water they soon got rid of the black stains,
+when, having resumed their places, they pulled the boat in close to
+where Ben and Dick were standing.  As she reached the beach the two
+midshipmen leaped on shore.
+
+"I say, you fellows," shouted one of them, "come along here and carry
+our portmanteaus to the inn, if there is one in that village there, and
+tell us if we can find a post-chaise or conveyance of some sort to take
+us to Elverston Hall."
+
+"Don't you answer," said Ben to Dick, hammering on and pretending not to
+notice what was said.
+
+"Ahoy, there! don't you hear us?  Knock off that work!" cried the
+younger of the two midshipmen, and he repeated what he had just said.
+
+"Yes, we hear," growled Ben looking up; "but we are not slaves to come
+and go at your beck, youngster."
+
+"We don't want you to carry our traps for nothing, my man," said the
+elder midshipman.  "We'll give a shilling to each of you for the job,
+and that's handsome pay."
+
+"To those who want it, it may be," said Ben; "but that youngster there
+must learn to keep a civil tongue in his head if he expects any one to
+help him.  Hurst beach ain't the deck of a man-of-war, and one chap here
+is as good as another, so you may just let your own people carry up your
+traps."
+
+The crew of the boat sat grinning as they heard the smuggler bandying
+words with their officers, siding probably with the former.
+
+"Do you know to whom you are speaking, my man?" exclaimed the elder
+midshipman.  "This is Lord Reginald Oswald, and his father is the
+Marquis of Elverston.  His lordship will be exceedingly angry when he
+hears the way you have treated his son."
+
+Ben, turning away his head, muttered loud enough for his companion to
+hear him, "He might be the marquis himself for what I care; but I'm not
+his lordship's slave to come and go at his beck any more than I am
+yours."
+
+Dick looked hard at the young lord, and the recollection of their former
+intercourse would have made him unwilling to do as he was asked, even
+had the request been couched in less dictatorial language.
+
+"Come, come, we will pay you a couple of shillings each, if you are
+extortionate enough to refuse our first offer; but carry up our traps
+you must, for the boat has to return immediately to the frigate, and we
+cannot delay her."
+
+"Extortionate or not extortionate, we are not slaves, as some poor
+fellows are," said Ben, glancing at the boat's crew; "if we don't do
+what you want for love, we are not going to do it for money, so you may
+just carry your portmanteaus yourselves."
+
+"Impertinent scoundrels!" exclaimed Lord Reginald to his companion.
+"Just see, Voules, if that young fellow is more amenable to reason than
+that sulky old boatman."
+
+"I'll try him," answered Voules.  "Come here, you young chap.  If you
+will carry Lord Reginald's portmanteau I will shoulder mine; we must not
+delay the boat any longer."
+
+"Don't seem as if you heard him," said Ben to Dick in a low voice, then
+looking round he shouted, "Maybe the `young chap' is deaf, and if he
+wasn't, he's not a mule or donkey to carry a load on his back.  Let Lord
+Reginald carry his own portmanteau, and just do you understand that I'm
+not the man to stand any nonsense from him or from any other lord in the
+land."
+
+"There is no use in bandying words with these scoundrels!" exclaimed
+Voules.  "I'll carry your portmanteau, Oswald, and let my own take its
+chance.  I don't suppose these fellows will dare to steal it, until we
+can send somebody to bring it on."
+
+"No, no," answered Lord Reginald; "we must get Jennings to allow two of
+the men to come with us, and he can explain to the captain the cause of
+the delay."
+
+Jennings, the master's assistant in charge of the boat, naturally
+indignant at the way his messmates were treated, consented to this,
+although he was infringing orders by so doing.  He accordingly directed
+two of the crew to take up the portmanteaus and accompany the
+midshipmen, who set off at once along the shingly beach.  As they moved
+on, a peal of laughter, in which Ben indulged himself, saluted their
+ears, which contributed not a little to increase Lord Reginald's anger
+and indignation.
+
+"I have a notion that I remember the countenance of the youngest of
+those two rascals!" he exclaimed.  "He is the son of one of our tenants,
+and used often, when a mere boy, to be impudent to me.  I felt inclined
+more than once to thrash him, but he happened to be the stronger of the
+two, so I didn't try, but I'll pay him off one of these days.  I'll tell
+my father how we were treated, and he'll show him that I am not to be
+insulted with impunity."
+
+"Certainly not, Oswald.  I'll bear witness to the impertinent way in
+which he behaved.  I only wish that a pressgang may be sent on shore
+here some night; I'll take good care that they do not overlook either
+the young fellow or that surly old one.  They are not very particular in
+the service just now as to age, and both may be taken."
+
+"Pray don't let me hear anything more about the matter, or when I reach
+home I shall not be in a condition to receive the congratulations of my
+family," said Lord Reginald.  "I wish that the tide had been in and we
+had been able to get up to the village instead of having to trudge over
+these abominable shingles."
+
+"Certainly," said Voules; "but the fellows are beneath your notice,
+though the incident was sufficient to put one out of temper.  If I had
+thought Jennings would have consented, I would have proposed landing the
+boat's crew and ducking the fellows; it would have brought them to
+reason pretty quickly."
+
+"You don't know the character of the men hereabout, or you would not say
+so," observed Lord Reginald.  "That fellow Hargrave is a desperate young
+villain, and they are all smugglers and poachers, who would not scruple
+to burn down the hall if they had an opportunity.  My father is
+determined to put a stop to their poaching and smuggling, but he has not
+as yet had much success, I believe.  The smugglers, somehow or other,
+manage to land their cargoes when the revenue officers are out of the
+way, and the poachers dodge our gamekeepers, who vow that although they
+hear their shots, they can never catch them."
+
+"It will be good fun some night to try what we can do," observed Voules.
+"We should soon get hold of them, and if they are sent to prison or
+shipped off to Botany Bay, it will keep the others in awe."
+
+The two seamen who carried the portmanteaus were listening to the
+remarks of the young officers spoken in loud tones.  Every now and then
+they turned to each other, exchanging winks, and smiling contemptuously,
+though they looked as grave as judges when Voules happened to turn round
+for a moment to ascertain how far they had got from the boat.  On and on
+they trudged, until at last harder ground was gained, and they soon
+reached the village inn, or rather beer-shop, for it aspired to no
+higher dignity.  Great was their disgust to find that no conveyance of
+any sort was to be obtained nearer than Lymington, some three or four
+miles off, and it was doubtful whether the single post-chaise or yellow
+fly, which belonged to the place, would be disengaged.
+
+"But Lord Reginald Oswald cannot walk all the way to Elverston Hall, and
+we must have a carriage of some sort or other, my good woman," exclaimed
+Voules to the landlady.
+
+"Then I must send out and find my man, who has been carting coals for
+old Captain Knockills on the top of the hill there.  Our cart ain't
+exactly fit for young gentlemen like you, but it's better than nothing,
+as it will carry your `portmantles,' and you can get in and ride when
+you are tired; so, if you will walk in and sit down in the bar, I'll
+send the boy off at once.  It won't be long before my man is here, as he
+must have finished his work by this time."
+
+"Impossible!" exclaimed Voules.  "Lord Reginald Oswald to be driven home
+in a coal-cart!"
+
+The idea, however, seemed to tickle the fancy of the young lord, for he
+burst into a fit of laughter.  "It will be better to reach the hall even
+in that way, than to wait in this wretched hole until we can obtain a
+carriage.  Only, I say Voules, get them to put some clean hay or straw
+into the cart, or we and our portmanteaus will be covered with
+coal-dust."
+
+In the mean time the two seamen looked with wistful eyes at the cask of
+beer in the corner of the tap-room, but Voules, without offering them
+any, ordered them to hasten back to the boat.  They grumbled as they
+went, looking back to ascertain if the midshipmen had left the inn,
+resolving to return, should they have the chance, to drink as many
+glasses of ale as they had money in their pockets to pay for.
+
+Voules, however, must have suspected their intentions, for he kept an
+eye on them as long as they were in sight.  Just before reaching the
+frigate's boat, they met Ben and Dick, who had been on the watch for
+their return.  Ben put out his hand and shook that of one of them.
+
+"Well, Bill Webster, I knew you as soon as you stepped on shore.  Glad
+to see you with a whole skin on your back," he exclaimed.  "How do you
+like serving his Majesty afloat?  A pleasant sort of a life, isn't it?"
+
+Bill shrugged his shoulders as he answered, "Well, it's better than
+rotting in prison, though I'd rather be at the old work again."
+
+"Then why not give them leg-bail at once; you've a chance you'll not
+find again in a hurry, and we can stow you safe away, where they'll have
+a hard job to find you."
+
+"No, no, mate," said Bill's companion, Jack Coyne.  "I know what running
+away means.  It's being caught, with a sharp taste of the cat on one's
+back at the end of it."
+
+"Then, mates, you'd rather be slaves than free men?" said the old
+smuggler.
+
+Jack Coyne, however, was firm; and notwithstanding the arguments Ben
+used, he finally persuaded his shipmate to return to the boat which,
+immediately they stepped into her, shoved off and pulled for the
+frigate.
+
+"Each man to his taste, and some day they'll be sorry they didn't take
+my advice," muttered Ben.  "Now, Dick, let's you and I get the boat into
+the water, and try to catch some fish for your sister Janet."
+
+As the boat was placed on a steep beach, she was easily launched, and
+Ben and Dick, each taking an oar, pulled away some distance from the
+shore, when they let down a big stone which served as an anchor.  They
+had not to wait long before Ben hauled up a fish, and Dick soon
+afterwards got a bite.  In a short time they had caught several bass, a
+whiting pout, and two grey mullet, with which, well satisfied, as the
+shades of evening were already creeping over the water, they pulled for
+the shore.  As the tide had now turned, they were able to get up the
+creek to the spot where Ben generally left his boat moored.
+
+"I'm well pleased that I am to send these to your young sister," said
+Ben, handing over the mullet and two of the other fish to Dick.  "Your
+mother won't mind receiving them, though they haven't paid duty, seeing
+as how they are not taxed, though when they will be is more than I can
+say.  Always glad to see you down here, my lad; some day you'll take a
+trip across the water, aboard the _Nancy_.  You'll like the life, I
+know, especially if we are chased by one of those revenue craft.  It is
+a pleasure, I can tell you, to give them the go-by, though, to be sure,
+we do sometimes have to heave our kegs and bales overboard, but we
+generally keep too bright a look-out to have to do that."
+
+"I should like it well enough, Ben; but there are others at home who
+would object to my going away on board the lugger.  However, I won't say
+no, so good night, Ben, and thank you for the fish;" and Dick Hargrave
+set off at a brisk pace towards his home, while his evil adviser--for
+such Ben Rudall undoubtedly was--entered his cottage, where his wife was
+busy preparing supper for him and their children.
+
+An anxious woman was Susan Rudall.  Sometimes there was an
+over-abundance on the board, and she had more money than she well knew
+how to spend.  At others it was a hard matter to find a few shillings to
+pay the week's bills for bread and other necessaries, though, to be
+sure, she could generally obtain credit, as it was hoped that, on the
+return of the _Nancy_, Ben would again be flush of money.  Sometimes,
+however, she, as well as the tradespeople, were disappointed.  Then
+often and often, while south-westerly gales were blowing, she had the
+anxious thought that the _Nancy_ was at sea and might perchance founder,
+as other similar craft had done, or be cast on the rocky coast, or be
+taken by a revenue vessel, when Ben and his companions, if caught with a
+cargo on board, would be thrown into prison, or sent to serve his
+Majesty on board a man-of-war for three or four years or more.
+
+Poor Susan's lot was that of many other smugglers' wives, who,
+notwithstanding the silks and laces with which they could bedeck
+themselves, and the abundance of spirits and tobacco in which their
+husbands might indulge, had often a troubled time of it.  Not that she,
+or any other of the wives and daughters of those engaged in the lawless
+trade, thought that there was any harm in it.  Probably their fathers
+and grandfathers before them, and most of their male relatives, except
+those sent off to sea, followed the same calling, and when any were
+caught or killed, they looked on their fate as a misfortune which had to
+be borne, without considering that it was justly brought upon
+themselves.
+
+Meantime, the two midshipmen, after waiting till their patience was
+almost exhausted, having seen their portmanteaus put into Silas Fryer's
+cart, set off on foot for Elverston Hall.
+
+"I really regret, my dear Oswald, that you should be exposed to this
+inconvenience.  For myself, I confess I do not care; the pleasure of
+accompanying you and the honour of being received by your family, will
+make ample amends to me for a far greater annoyance.  As a miserable
+younger son, with little more than my pay to depend upon, I have often
+had to tramp it.  But you, I fear, will be greatly fatigued."
+
+"Not a bit of it," answered Reginald.  "I can walk as well as any man,
+and could get over the distance if it were twice as great.  I was only
+vexed at the impertinence of those fellows."
+
+"Of course, of course," said Voules, soothingly; "but leave them to me,
+and if I have an opportunity while remaining here, I'll endeavour to pay
+them off."
+
+Mr Alfred Voules, though an especial friend of Lord Reginald Oswald,
+was not a favourite on board his ship, where he was known by the name of
+"Toady Voules," an appellation he richly merited by the mode in which he
+paid court to any shipmates possessed of titles or amply stored purses.
+He had lately won his way into the good graces of Lord Reginald, who had
+obtained leave to take him on a visit to Elverston Hall, while the
+frigate was refitting at Portsmouth.  When she brought up in Yarmouth
+Roads, Lord Reginald explained that his home was a short distance off on
+the opposite coast, and that it would save him and his friend a long
+journey if they were to land at Keyhaven, as they could easily reach it
+from thence.  Much to their satisfaction, their captain allowed them--
+certainly an unusual favour--to be put on shore as they desired.  Voules
+himself stood well in the opinion of the captain and lieutenants, as,
+although he might not have exhibited any especial gallantry, he always
+appeared attentive to his duty.
+
+As the two midshipmen stepped out briskly, they soon distanced the cart,
+though darkness overtook them when they were still three or four miles
+from the hall.  Lord Reginald, however, knew the road, and there was
+light enough from the stars to enable them to see it without difficulty.
+Elverston was situated some distance from the coast, within the borders
+of the New Forest.  They were laughing and talking merrily together as
+they made their way along an uncultivated tract, covered with heather
+and occasional clumps of trees, here and there paths crossing the main
+road, when Voules exclaimed--
+
+"What are those objects moving beyond the trees there?  They seem to me
+to be like men on horseback; and, surely, that is the sound of cart
+wheels."
+
+As they stopped talking, a low murmur, as of human voices in subdued
+tones, reached their ears, and continuing on, they made out distinctly a
+train of carts, accompanied by horsemen riding in front and rear.
+
+"What they are is pretty clear," said Lord Reginald.  "Those are
+smugglers.  I have heard they muster at times in great force to convey
+their contraband goods up to London."
+
+"I wish that we had some of the frigate's crew with us," said Voules;
+"we'd soon put a stop to their journey."
+
+"Will you, young masters?" said a voice.  "You'll just come along with
+us, and spend the night in different company to what you expect!"
+
+Before the midshipmen could turn round, they found their arms seized by
+half a dozen stout fellows, who had apparently been detached from the
+main body, and had come up thus suddenly upon them.
+
+"Unhand us!" exclaimed Lord Reginald, indignantly.  "What right have you
+to stop us in this way?"
+
+"The right of might, young master," answered the man who had before
+spoken.  "Tell us what brings you here at this time of night!"
+
+Voules, seeing that it would be to their advantage to speak the truth,
+answered, "My good friends, we have only just landed from our ship, and
+being unable to obtain a carriage, are walking on to Elverston Hall.  We
+have not the slightest wish to interfere with you or any one else we may
+meet on the road; and it would be a serious inconvenience to us to be
+detained."
+
+"You speak fairly, my young master," said the man; "and if you and this
+youngster here will give us your word of honour that you will not
+mention having met us, we will let you go on in a few minutes; but do
+not interfere in a matter which does not concern you."
+
+"Oh! certainly, my friend, certainly," answered Voules.  "We will hold
+our tongues, depend upon that, and we shall be much obliged to you if
+you will let us go at once, for we are desperately hungry, and want our
+suppers."
+
+"That may be," said the smuggler, laughing; "but you have not given us
+your word yet that you will hold your tongue, and we want to know what
+this other lad has to say for himself."
+
+"Oh, I'll give you my word to say nothing about you, if on that
+condition you will let us proceed on our way," said Lord Reginald;
+"although I cannot make out what reason you have for asking us."
+
+"Our reasons do not concern you, so give us your answer without further
+delay."
+
+"I promise, then, on the word of an officer and a gentleman, not to
+mention having met you," said Voules.
+
+Lord Reginald repeated the same words.
+
+"Well, then, you may go about your business," said the smuggler; "only
+don't in future talk of putting a stop to smuggling; it's what neither
+you nor your elders can do.  Now, good night, lads.  Remember, if you
+break your words it will be the worse for you."
+
+Saying this, the smuggler and his men rejoined their companions, who had
+already crossed the road, and the two midshipmen, glad to escape so
+easily, proceeded on their way.
+
+"I thought we were in for it!" observed Voules; "it would have been very
+unpleasant if they had carried us off, or knocked us on the head!"
+
+"Yes, indeed," answered Lord Reginald; "they are bold fellows to travel
+through the country so openly, even at night; but, as my father says,
+`Bold as they may be, they must be put down.'"
+
+"Well, we must try to forget the circumstance at present, or we shall be
+letting something slip out," remarked Voules.  "Are we approaching the
+hall yet?"
+
+"We cannot be far off, though I should be better able to answer the
+question in daylight.  I am only certain that we are on the right road,
+and have not reached the lodge gates; we shall see a light shining in
+the window when we get near."
+
+Nearly another half-hour passed before the light Lord Reginald spoke of
+appeared.  The park-keeper and his wife, who had their minds filled with
+the dread of an invasion from the French, or an attack from the
+smugglers, were at first very unwilling to open the gates.  Not until
+Lord Reginald had explained who he was, and had mentioned several
+circumstances to prove that he spoke the truth, would they admit him and
+his companion.
+
+"Beg pardon, my lord; but we hope you won't take it amiss," exclaimed
+the gate-keeper.
+
+"We meant no offence, that we didn't, my lord," chimed in his wife.
+"But you see, your lordship, that there are all sorts of bad characters
+about--smugglers and highwaymen and gipsies, and we couldn't tell if it
+was some of them come to murder us and burn the hall down, as they swear
+they will; or if it was the French, for it's said that they will land
+one of these nights, and turn out the king and Parliament."
+
+"Hold your tongue, wife, and don't be keeping Lord Reginald and the
+other gentleman waiting," exclaimed the husband.  "You see, my lord, how
+my good woman is afeered, and so I hope your lordship will pardon me, as
+I mustn't leave her alone, if I don't go up with you to the hall, for if
+any strangers were to come there would be no one to open the gate."
+
+"Stop and look after your wife; I can dispense with your attendance, for
+I know my way perfectly," answered Lord Reginald, laughing.  "Come
+along, Voules, I shall be glad to be at home at last."
+
+The authoritative pull which the young nobleman gave to the hall bell
+soon brought the domestics to the door.  The marquis and Lady Elverston,
+with their two fair daughters, and Lord John their eldest son, hurried
+out to meet Lord Reginald.  His mother and sisters embraced him
+affectionately, gazing into his well-bronzed countenance, while his
+father and brother warmly wrung his hand, as they expressed their joy at
+his safe return.  He then introduced his messmate Mr Voules, who
+received a polite welcome to Elverston Hall.
+
+"And now, pray tell us, Reginald, to what circumstances we are indebted
+for seeing you so unexpectedly," said the marquis.
+
+"The kindness of Captain Moubray; who, hearing, when our frigate came to
+an anchor in Yarmouth Roads, that we were within a short distance of
+this, allowed me and my messmate Voules, at my request, to come on shore
+and pay you a visit, while the _Wolf_ is refitting at Portsmouth."
+
+"What brings her back?" asked his father.  "I understood that she was
+not expected home for some time."
+
+"We have had a glorious fight with a French frigate, which we compelled
+to strike, and have brought home as our prize; though, as we did not get
+off scot-free, it will take the _Wolf_ some time to repair damages."
+
+"Did you lose many men?" asked the marquis.
+
+"Twenty or more killed or wounded," answered Lord Reginald, in a
+careless tone.
+
+"My dear boy, how thankful I am that you escaped!" exclaimed the
+marchioness, gazing at him with a mother's love in her eyes.
+
+"Oh, do tell us all about it," cried Lady Lucy, his eldest sister.
+
+"All in good time," answered Reginald; "but to say the truth, we are
+very sharp set after our long walk, and should prefer refreshing the
+inner man before we exhaust our energies by talking, and I will refer
+you on the subject to Voules, whose descriptive powers are far superior
+to mine.  All that I can tell is that we saw a ship, which we soon
+discovered to be French, and, coming up with her, fired away until, in
+the course of a couple of hours, having had enough of it, she hauled
+down her colours, and that when we were sent on board to take
+possession, we found that we had knocked over some forty or fifty stout
+fellows."
+
+The marquis rang the bell, while the midshipmen retired to their rooms
+to prepare for supper.
+
+Voules gazed round the handsome chamber in which he found himself, with
+a well-satisfied look.  "I have fallen on my feet for once in my life,
+at all events," he said to himself.  "If I play my cards well, who knows
+what may happen?  It is evident that his family think a good deal of
+this young lordling, and I must take care to keep in his good graces.
+He is fond of flattery, though it doesn't do to lay it on too thick, but
+his sisters and mother will be well pleased to hear his praises sung,
+and as I have a fair groundwork to go upon, I may praise him to the
+skies behind his back; he is sure to hear what I say of him, and will be
+more pleased than if I flattered him to his face.  I shall thus get into
+the good graces of the ladies, who may induce the marquis to use his
+influence at the Admiralty to obtain my promotion."
+
+His meditations were interrupted by the entrance of a valet, who came to
+offer his services.  Voules, supposing from his appearance that he was
+one of the other guests who had mistaken his room, made him a polite
+bow, and said something to that effect.  The valet, uncertain whether
+the young gentleman was a lord or a commoner, thought it wise to be on
+the safe side, and addressing him as "My lord," said that he had been
+sent by Lord John to brush his clothes and shoes, and as the
+portmanteaus had not arrived, to put any of his lordship's wardrobe at
+his disposal.
+
+"Oh, ah! my good fellow," said the midshipman, discovering his error;
+"much obliged to Lord John; but as there is not time to shift my
+rigging, I'll just trouble you to give me a brush down and to bring me a
+pair of slippers, and I shall be all to rights."
+
+The valet quickly performed the duties required of him, and Voules,
+perfectly satisfied with himself, followed him downstairs to the
+drawing-room.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWO.
+
+VOULES MAKES HIMSELF AT HOME--EAGER LISTENERS--FIGHT BETWEEN THE WOLF
+AND A FRENCH FRIGATE--LORD REGINALD'S ACCOUNT--MERIT AND MODESTY--A
+BUMPER ROUND--VOULES MAKES HEADWAY--DICK HARGRAVE--AN ENCOUNTER IN THE
+FOREST--SMUGGLERS--GOOD FAITHFUL--THE FARMER'S HOME--DICK'S MOTHER--
+SOUND ADVICE--CONTENDING INFLUENCES--BITTER FEELINGS--A PRUDENT
+RESOLUTION.
+
+Several guests were staying in the house, and a large party were soon
+assembled round the supper-table.  The two midshipmen were objects of
+general interest, and they had more questions asked than they could well
+answer.  Voules had the honour of sitting near Lady Elverston.  Lord
+Reginald was at the other end of the table, where his father had placed
+him, anxious to hear from his own lips an account of what had occurred.
+Just then, however, being very hungry, the young lord was more
+interested in discussing the viands placed before him than in narrating
+the particulars of the engagement.  Voules had therefore the field to
+himself, and although quite as hungry as his brother midshipman, he
+restrained his appetite, for the sake of giving full play to his tongue.
+
+"I can assure your ladyship that we have had as fine an action as any
+which has been fought during the war, and though his modesty might
+induce him to disclaim any peculiar merit, Lord Reginald played no
+unimportant part in it," began Toady Voules, bowing to the marchioness,
+and then giving a quick glance towards the other end of the table to
+ascertain whether his messmate was listening.  Finding that he was fully
+engaged with the viands before him, he went on.  "We were about thirty
+leagues from the coast of Spain, in the latitude of Cadiz, when early
+one morning, we discovered a sail to the south-west, we having the wind
+at the time from the north-east.  As you may suppose, we immediately
+bore up in chase, for we had every hope that the stranger would prove an
+enemy.  It was some time, however, before we could settle the point, as
+the wind was light and we made but little way.  At length, to our great
+joy, we were almost sure that she was a French frigate by the cut of her
+canvas and the appearance of her hull; at last, when she hoisted her
+colours and fired a gun to windward, we had no doubt about the matter.
+She was hove to, with her mizzen-topsail aback and the main-topsail
+shivering, waiting for us.  This showed that her captain was a brave
+fellow, and would give us some trouble before we were likely to make him
+strike.
+
+"We were all in high spirits, and I never saw Lord Reginald look cooler
+or more at his ease than he then did.  Our captain, to prevent the
+French frigate from escaping, made up his mind to engage her to leeward.
+Our men were at their quarters, with matches in their hands, ready to
+fire.  The word, however, was passed along the decks that not a gun
+should be discharged until the captain should give the signal, though
+the enemy had begun to blaze away, and his shot was passing through our
+sails and cutting up our rigging.  The enemy, seeing our intention, wore
+and foiled the manoeuvre.  As she sailed much better than the _Wolf_,
+our captain at length saw that he must adopt a different plan to that
+which he had at first intended.  The Frenchman several times filled and
+wore so as on each occasion to bring a fresh broadside to bear on the
+_Wolf_, which annoyed us greatly.  It was trying work to have her shot
+crashing on board without being able to return the compliment.
+Fortunately, the Frenchman firing high, few of our men were hurt.  We
+now steered directly down upon the enemy, and having got within
+pistol-shot of her, the satisfactory words reached us, `Give it her, my
+lads, and enough of it.'  We did give it her, the men tossing their guns
+about like playthings, running them in, loading and firing two shots to
+the Frenchman's one.  We were now what we wanted to be, engaging the
+enemy broadside to broadside, within pistol-shot distance, pouring into
+each other a fire of round, grape, and musketry.  I am afraid you would
+not understand the various manoeuvres we performed.  As we carried a
+press of sail, we shot past the enemy, who, bearing up, managed to cross
+our stern and pour in a raking fire.  As our captain saw what she was
+about to do, he ordered all hands to fall flat on the deck, and many who
+might have had their heads knocked off thus escaped.  As the shot flew
+over us like a shower of hail, the only person I saw on his feet besides
+the captain and first lieutenant was Lord Reginald.  He told me
+afterwards that he could not bring himself to bend before a Frenchman.
+`Better, my dear Oswald, to do that than to be knocked down by a
+Frenchman's shot,' I observed.  `No, no!' he answered.  `I should have
+died an honourable death.'  I beg to observe that I did not agree with
+my noble messmate; but I mention the circumstance only to show what
+stuff he is made of.
+
+"We were quickly on our feet again, and engaged in firing every gun we
+could bring to bear.  After some time, having crossed each other's
+courses, we being ahead of the French ship, she stood right at us,
+bringing her larboard bow against our starboard quarter, over which her
+bowsprit ran, pressing against the mizzen rigging.  The captain
+immediately ordered it to be lashed there, to prevent her escaping.
+Lord Reginald was, I can assure you, among the first to obey the
+captain's order.  Several men were shot in the attempt, but at last it
+was successful.  Scarcely, however, was it done, and we had the
+Frenchman fast, than we saw the greater portion of her crew rushing
+forward, ready to spring down on our decks.  It was as much as we could
+do, I can tell you, to keep them at bay.  Our marines, stationed on the
+quarter-deck, fired away at them as fast as they could load and
+discharge their muskets, but not until our captain himself, at the head
+of our own boarders, armed with cutlasses, pikes, and pistols, rushed to
+our quarter, over which the enemy had begun to pour, was their progress
+stopped.  It was desperate work; those who had gained our deck were cut
+down, others were hove into the sea, while the remainder beat a rapid
+retreat.  Their foremost guns then began to thunder away at us, and we
+could not bring one to bear in return, until a couple of pieces were
+dragged aft on the main-deck and run through the cabin windows, which
+had been cut down to serve as ports.  We had now an advantage of which
+we made good use.  Every shot we fired told with tremendous effect, but
+the enemy was still unconquered.  The lashings which held the bowsprit
+of the French ship to the mizzen rigging giving way, she began to forge
+ahead.  As she did so, a fortunate shot cut away the gammoning of her
+bowsprit.  We were now exchanging broadsides yardarm to yardarm, but the
+drubbing they had already received seemed to dishearten the Frenchmen.
+Still they held out, showing a wonderful amount of pluck.  They had sent
+men into the tops, armed with muskets, who were firing down on our deck,
+and had already wounded several of our officers.  I was standing a short
+distance from our captain, when I saw Lord Reginald seize the musket of
+a marine who had just been killed, and at the same time shove the
+captain aside and fire at the maintop, when down came a man on deck.
+The captain was saved.  The fellow had been taking aim at him, and there
+is no doubt that he owes his life to the coolness and resolution of Lord
+Reginald, although he looked rather astonished at being treated in so
+unceremonious a manner by a midshipman--"
+
+"Why, you make Lord Reginald a perfect hero," observed a dowager duchess
+sitting opposite to Voules, who might possibly have suspected that the
+young gentleman was drawing on his imagination as to the details of the
+action.
+
+"Pray go on, Mr Voules," said Lady Julia.  "I could not listen to you
+without trembling; and, did I not see my brother sitting safe there,
+should be thinking all sorts of dreadful things.  I wonder any one
+remained alive on the decks of the ships engaged in so fearful a
+battle."
+
+"A good many did lose the number of their mess, but fewer were killed
+than might have been supposed, for round shot and bullets fortunately
+have a happy knack of making their way between the heads of people
+without hitting them.
+
+"By this time our gallant frigate, which had lately been under a cloud
+of canvas, swelling proudly to the breeze, made a deplorable appearance
+with rope's ends and torn sails hanging down from every mast and yard.
+The French ship, however, was in a still worse condition.  The sails,
+however, were of sufficient service to force the two ships through the
+water, and the Frenchman took advantage of this, and hauled up, in a
+short time getting out of gun-shot, we being unable, in consequence of
+the loss of our gaff and topsails, to follow.  Our captain, however, had
+no intention, as you may suppose, of letting her escape.  All hands set
+to work to knot and splice our rigging, to refit braces and repair other
+damages.  While thus employed, we saw the Frenchman's foremast fall over
+the side.  Our crew, as you may suppose, raised a loud cheer at the
+sight, and redoubled their efforts to be ready, should a breeze spring
+up, for again getting within range of our opponent.  Scarcely had the
+hands reached the deck, when we saw a ripple playing over the ocean; the
+sails were trimmed, and once more, with eager hearts, we steered towards
+the French ship.  We did not suppose that she would hold out long, but
+after the pluck her captain had exhibited, we fully expected to be at it
+again.  In a few minutes the crew were at their quarters, ready to fire
+a broadside, when down came the Frenchman's colours.
+
+"`She has struck! she has struck!' resounded through the ship.  We at
+once hove to.  The first lieutenant was sent on board to take
+possession; I had the honour to accompany him.  The sight I had
+witnessed on board our own ship was bad enough, for we had upwards of
+twenty men killed and wounded, the former still lying in their blood
+where they fell; but on stepping on the Frenchman's deck, it seemed
+literally covered with dead men, for the rest of the crew had been too
+busy to throw any of them overboard, while the cockpit below was filled
+with wounded, many of whom were too much hurt to recover.
+
+"The French captain, who came to the gangway to present his sword to the
+first lieutenant, informed us that the ship was the _Reynard_, when we
+found that she was not only of larger size and carried four more guns
+than we had, but had commenced the action with upwards of two hundred
+men more than we mustered.  The French captain, Monsieur Brunet, who had
+really fought his ship very gallantly, shrugged his shoulders,
+exclaiming, `It is the fortune of war!' as he delivered up his sword,
+and was requested, having packed up his personal effects, to go on board
+the _Wolf_, in a boat sent for the purpose.  The boats of the French
+frigate were too much knocked about to float, and it took us some time
+to remove the prisoners and send a prize crew on board.  It was night,
+therefore, before we were ready to make sail, when we steered a course
+for the north-west, to avoid the French fleet, which was supposed to be
+off the coast of Spain or Portugal.
+
+"The scene on board the prize made me very glad to get back to my own
+ship.  Though we had gained the battle, we were not allowed to sleep on
+beds of roses.  Our prisoners considerably outnumbered our own crew, and
+our boatswain, who spoke French, having been taken during the earlier
+part of the war, overheard some of them discussing a plan for
+overpowering us and regaining the prize.  As we could not put them all
+in irons, we had to keep a strict watch over their movements.
+
+"The weather remained fine, but there was a thick mist which prevented
+us from seeing far ahead.  It had just gone two bells in the morning
+watch, when, as I was forward, I heard a tinkling sound.  I listened
+attentively.  Again the sound distinctly struck my ear.  It came borne
+along the surface of the water from some distance.  I reported the
+circumstance to the officer of the watch, and he immediately sent to
+inform the captain.  He soon reached the deck, and after listening for a
+while, announced it to be his belief that the sounds proceeded from the
+French fleet.  He immediately ordered the ship's course to be changed to
+the westward.  In another hour we again hauled up to the northward.
+When morning broke, the look-out from the mast announced a fleet in
+sight to the south-east.  All the sail we and our prize could make was
+set.  We soon discovered, however, that several large ships were in
+chase of us, but our captain was not the man to give in while a stick
+remained standing.  We continued our course, hoping that a change of
+wind or some other chance might enable us to escape our pursuers.  It
+would have been tantalising to have lost our prize and have been taken
+prisoners ourselves, and some of the least hopeful declared that such
+would be our fate.  `Well,' exclaimed Lord Reginald, `we must submit,
+but nothing can take away the honour we have gained by capturing a
+French frigate of superior force.'  Your ladyship will perceive the
+courage and spirit of your gallant son; indeed, he has exhibited them on
+many occasions, and I hope that some day we may see him leading
+England's fleets to victory."
+
+"What's that you are saying about me?" exclaimed Lord Reginald, from the
+other end of the table, for during the sudden silence of those around
+him he had caught the last words uttered by his messmate.
+
+"Mr Voules is only speaking of you as you deserve, my dear Reginald,"
+said the marchioness.  "He has been giving us an account of the battle
+and the gallant way in which you behaved."
+
+"We all behaved gallantly, or we should not have thrashed the enemy,"
+said Reginald, laughing.
+
+"I hope Mr Voules has given you a clearer account than Reginald has
+himself, for, except that the two ships spent the morning in pounding
+away at each other, and that at length the Frenchman, being tired of the
+amusement, and having lost his foremast, hauled down his colours, I have
+heard no details of the action," said the marquis.
+
+"Then his modesty prevented him relating how he lashed the bowsprit to
+the rigging and saved the captain's life," observed the marchioness.
+
+"I lash the bowsprit to the rigging?  Why, the men did that, and very
+imperfectly they performed the work, or our antagonist would not have
+got clear again; and as to saving the captain's life, I know only that I
+took up a musket and brought down a Frenchman, or he would have knocked
+over the captain or me, or somebody else."
+
+"Whose account is to be relied on?" asked the marquis, looking somewhat
+puzzled.
+
+"I do not wish to gainsay my noble messmate, but your lordship must make
+allowance for his modesty, and give me credit for stating facts as they
+occurred," answered Voules.
+
+"I see how it is," observed the marquis, glancing approvingly at his
+son.
+
+"Merit is always modest, which may account, Mr Voules, for your not
+having described your own gallant deeds," said the marchioness, looking
+hard at him.  Being a clear-sighted woman, she may have suspected why
+the smooth-tongued young gentleman had praised his noble messmate.
+
+"But how did the _Wolf_ and her prize manage to escape from the enemy?"
+asked Lady Julia.  "Pray go on and tell us, Mr Voules."
+
+"For some time I must own that we fully expected to be captured, for
+wounded as our masts and spars were, we could not venture to make more
+sail; indeed, it is a wonder those of the prize which remained standing
+did not fall over the side.  Fortunately, we had a good start, and the
+wind being light, the French ships did not gain on us as fast as they
+would otherwise have done.  To our infinite satisfaction, just about
+noon, we saw them haul their wind, having been probably recalled by
+their admiral, who thought it possible that they might run into the jaws
+of an English squadron, which he must have known was cruising in the
+neighbourhood.  We had still no small anxiety about our prisoners, and,
+I believe, it was not a little owing to the vigilance of Lord Reginald
+that they were prevented from rising.  His perfect knowledge of French,
+for which he tells me he is indebted to his sisters, enabled him to
+speak to the men, warning them of the danger they would run should they
+make the attempt, and in a short time he brought them into good humour,
+notwithstanding which, as before, a strict watch was kept on their
+movements.  Having stood well to the westward, we got a fair breeze,
+which carried us up Channel and safe inside the Isle of Wight, where I
+hope the prize is by this time, for she was close in with the Needles,
+and was only prevented following us for want of wind and the ebb still
+making out against her.  It would be a serious matter if she were to run
+on shore during the night, or be retaken by a French cruiser."
+
+"No chance of that," observed Reginald.  "No French cruiser would ever
+venture so close in with our shore, and within two or three hours at
+most the prize would be able to follow the frigate."
+
+"I must get you, Mr Voules, to repeat the account you have given of the
+action for my benefit, as Reginald is wonderfully reticent on the
+subject," said the marquis.
+
+"I shall have great pleasure, my lord," answered Voules, bowing.
+
+"In the mean time, do me the honour of taking wine, and we will
+afterwards drink a bumper round to the future success of the _Wolf_,"
+said the marquis.
+
+"The very toast I was going to propose," said an old general, who had
+long since been placed on the shelf.  "Though my fighting days are over,
+an account such as we have just heard warms up my stagnant blood, and I
+beg to second your lordship's proposal."
+
+"Charge your glasses, gentlemen, and I hope, ladies, that on this
+occasion you will join us," exclaimed the master of the house.
+
+No one declining, the fair sex put out their more moderately sized
+glasses to be filled as the bottle went round.  The toast was drunk, the
+whole party standing, with the exception of the two midshipmen, who,
+with assumed modest looks, retained their places.
+
+"And now we will give three cheers for our naval heroes," cried the old
+general, making an effort to stand up on his chair, but giving it up, as
+he reflected on the danger he might run of toppling over among the
+dishes which still covered the board.
+
+"Hip, hip, hip, hurrah!" and the supper-room rang with the sounds, which
+were taken up by the servants outside and repeated in the hall below,
+where the domestics not in waiting were making merry.
+
+When all the guests sat down they looked at the two midshipmen, while
+Reginald made signs to Voules to speak.
+
+"You are the eldest, old fellow, and having been longest in the service,
+it is your business to reply."
+
+Voules, nothing loth, rose to his feet.  His only difficulty in
+commencing being the doubt whether he should address his friends as "My
+lords and ladies."  His tact, however, prevented him doing so, and he
+contented himself by neatly expressing his thanks for the honour done to
+the glorious service of which he was so humble a representative.  "Had
+Lord Reginald been induced to speak," he added, "he would have said more
+to the purpose.  My belief is, that should the war continue a few years
+longer, my noble friend will be found in command of as fine a frigate as
+the _Wolf_, and will outshine the deeds of his predecessors.  Should I
+be so fortunate as to have reached the rank of lieutenant by that time,
+I hope that it will be my privilege to serve under him."
+
+Voules's modest remark in reference to himself drew forth, as he
+intended it should, a reply from his host, who assured him that any
+interest he possessed should be exerted to obtain for him the promotion
+he deserved, and that he hoped to see him a post-captain as soon as his
+son had obtained that rank.
+
+"Thank you, my lord, thank you!" exclaimed Voules, highly delighted.
+"Your lordship will allow me to remind you of your promise, whenever
+Lord Reginald obtains a step in rank.  I do not aspire to be promoted
+before him, and shall be glad to serve in any ship to which he is
+appointed, until we are both eligible for independent commands."
+
+The ladies now withdrew, and when the gentlemen left the supper-table it
+was found that they had retired to their rooms.  Voules was too prudent
+a man generally to take more wine than his head could stand.  So
+delighted, however, did he feel with his bright prospects, that he found
+considerable difficulty in restraining his tongue, and excusing himself
+on the plea of fatigue, was glad to make his way to his room, where he
+was followed by Lord John.
+
+"I came to thank you, Mr Voules, for the very handsome way in which you
+spoke of my brother," said the latter.  "He is a very fine fellow,
+somewhat thoughtless and impetuous, and requires guiding, and I rejoice
+to think that he has found so steady a friend as you are to guide and
+restrain him."
+
+Voules put on as sedate an air as possible, although just then he did
+not feel very capable of guiding himself, for he had had considerable
+difficulty in steering a straight course along the passage which led to
+his room.  "You may depend upon me, my dear Lord John, that I will do my
+best to keep your lordship's brother out of mischief.  I do not profess
+to be his monitor, but I may exert an unperceived influence over him to
+his advantage."
+
+"And did he really perform all the gallant acts you describe?" asked
+Lord John.
+
+"Every one of them, and others besides," answered the midshipman.
+"There's not a more gallant young officer in the service, and he'll make
+the world know it some day, if no harm befall him."
+
+In spite of all the efforts he made, Voules could not help yawning, and
+Lord John, perceiving this, allowed him to go to bed in quiet, while he
+went to have a further talk with his brother, who, however, by that
+time, had turned in and had already fast closed his eyes.
+
+In the mean time Dick Hargrave hurried towards his home with the fish he
+and Ben had caught, anxious to present them to his young sister, whom he
+dearly loved.  He stopped at the village inn, the Admiral Benbow, and
+found that the two midshipmen had only just left it for Elverston Hall.
+"I have no fancy to meet the young lord and his friend," observed Dick,
+"or we may chance to fall out, so I'll take the other road, and shall
+soon get ahead of them."
+
+Following this wise resolution, he set off at a pace which soon brought
+him to the borders of the forest.  He knew the road too well to be
+impeded by the darkness.  He was running on, his own footsteps not
+allowing him to hear other sounds, when on passing beneath some
+overhanging trees, the shadow of which prevented him from seeing objects
+ahead, he suddenly found himself close upon a body of men, some on
+horseback and others on foot, escorting a line of carts.  Dick at once
+knew what they were about, and not wishing to be stopped, he sprang on,
+hoping to remain concealed behind the trunk of a tree until they had
+passed by; but he had been observed, and two of the men came up to him.
+
+"What business have you here, youngster?" asked one of them, seizing his
+arm and dragging him forward.
+
+"I am Farmer Hargrave's son, and am on my way home with some fish Ben
+Rudall and I have been catching for my sister Janet," he answered.
+
+"All right, Master Dick," said the man; "we know you well enough; but
+don't say that you have seen us, and if Ben has taken care to show
+himself, the revenue people won't suspect what's in the wind, as they
+will think that he would be sure to be along with us.  Have you any
+news?"
+
+"Nothing that much concerns you, Master Fryer," answered Dick, who
+recognised the speaker.  "A frigate anchored in Yarmouth Roads this
+evening, and two of the officers, one of them Lord Elverston's son, have
+landed and gone on to the hall."
+
+"I should like to pay them off for the trouble the marquis gives us,"
+said Fryer; "though we have put him on a wrong scent, and he is not
+likely to find out this time what we are about, until the goods are safe
+in the hands of the London merchants."
+
+"It would not do us much good to interfere with the youngsters,"
+observed the other man.  "If the marquis would but let us alone we
+should have no ill will towards him.  All we want is free trade and fair
+play."
+
+"You are right there, mate," observed Fryer; "and now, Master Dick, you
+may go your way, and remember to keep a quiet tongue in your head."
+
+Dick, escorted by his captors, who explained who he was, passed
+unquestioned through the main body of the smugglers, who had halted for
+some reason for a few minutes, just as he got up to them.  Dick again
+hurried on, while the smugglers proceeded along by-paths across the
+country, shortly after to fall in, as has been seen, with the
+midshipmen.  Dick was met by his faithful dog, who was always on the
+watch for him when he was away from home, and having an especial duty to
+perform, seldom accompanied him.  That duty, which he performed with
+exemplary patience, was to lead about blind Janet, who, under his
+guidance, when she was well, would venture in all directions without the
+slightest fear of a mishap.  Every one in the neighbourhood knew her and
+her dog, and even the roughest characters treated her with courtesy.  Of
+late her walks had been greatly curtailed, for the last few days
+Faithful's office had become a sinecure, though he still remained at his
+post, ready to perform his duty if required.  He was a handsome spaniel,
+and had been brought up from a puppy by Dick, who had thoroughly broken
+him in.  Though fond of scampering across the fields and poking his nose
+into every hole he could find in the hedges and ditches, he became as
+sedate as a judge the moment Janet called him and fastened the ribbon by
+which she was led to his collar.  Dick was naturally very fond of his
+dog, but had become still more so since the animal had shown how useful
+it could make itself to poor Janet.
+
+Faithful, who had long been on the watch, when he heard his master's
+footsteps, with a bark of welcome leaped over the palings, and came
+frolicking and leaping round him, licking his hands to show his joy, and
+together they entered the house.
+
+Mrs Hargrave, a comely, pleasant-looking dame, was seated busily
+stitching by the side of the table.  "What has kept you so late, Dick?"
+she asked in an anxious tone.  "Your father has gone to bed, as he must
+be up betimes.  We thought that you had got into some mischief; but I am
+thankful to see you back, my son."
+
+Dick explained what he had been about, and exhibited the fish he had
+brought.  "And how is Janet this evening?" he asked.  "I thought that I
+should have been back in time for her to have one for supper, but
+they'll do for her breakfast or her dinner to-morrow."
+
+"She's asleep, sweet dear! though I'm afraid she's no better.  The
+Lord's will be done, if He thinks fit to take her; and then, Dick, I
+want you to remember that you will be your father's chief hope and stay
+in his trouble.  Whether or not we shall have to turn out of our home,
+and seek for another farm, is more than I can say.  Your father doesn't
+wish to displease the marquis, but he thinks that it is his right to
+remain where he is, and that he would not be acting like an Englishman
+to give up that right."
+
+"Of course he would not," exclaimed Dick.  "Ben Rudall says he would not
+knock under to the marquis or any other lord, and he would hold on fast
+with tooth and nail."
+
+"I don't want to say anything against Ben Rudall, my son; but I wish
+that you were not such friends with him.  He is a smuggler, and may draw
+you into mischief, though maybe you'll think it ungrateful in me to say
+so, when he has helped you to catch those fish.  Remember that you
+cannot associate with bad characters without getting some harm and being
+looked upon as one of them."
+
+"Ben is a right honest fellow, and true as steel," answered Dick.  "I
+don't like to hear anything said against him, mother; if he were ever so
+bad, he would not lead me astray."
+
+"He is a smuggler, Dick, and though he may be true to his companions, he
+is false to his country, or he would not be trying to cheat the revenue,
+as the smugglers do."
+
+"I had not thought of that; but don't you trouble yourself about Ben,"
+answered Dick.  "Now, mother, I am pretty hungry, and should like some
+bread and cheese;" and Dick turned round to go to the larder.
+
+"Sit down, my son, and I'll get them for you," said Mrs Hargrave,
+taking the fish at the same time.  "While you are eating, I'll clean
+these, and they'll be ready in the morning if Janet has a fancy for one
+of them."
+
+She soon returned, not only with some bread and cheese but some cold
+meat, and a mug of home-brewed beer, showing that the good housewife did
+not stint her family.
+
+Dick described the arrival of the young lord and his shipmate.  "I'd as
+leave he had stopped at sea, for, somehow or other, he and I are always
+getting foul of each other.  But there will be rare doings up at the
+hall to welcome him home, especially if there's been a battle, as Ben
+thinks, and his ship gained the day."
+
+"Then, Dick, do you keep out of his way, and no harm can come of it,"
+said Mrs Hargrave.  "I am glad, however, for her ladyship's sake, and
+the young ladies, for they will be main pleased to see him.  Only this
+morning they came here to visit Janet, and when I told my lady what Mr
+Gooch says, she promised to speak to the marquis, and that makes me hope
+that the matter will be settled better than your father expects."
+
+"Not if that young lord finds out about it.  He'll try and set his
+father against us.  You should have heard him and his shipmate this
+afternoon blackguarding Ben and me, because we wouldn't carry their
+portmanteaus."
+
+"There would have been no disgrace in so doing.  It shows that they
+thought you stronger men than themselves," observed Mrs Hargrave.
+
+"I should not have minded doing it, if it hadn't been for Ben; but the
+way they spoke put his back up, and he gave them a piece of his mind."
+
+"Just now, Dick, you said that you would not be influenced by Ben; but
+surely you were on that occasion," remarked Mrs Hargrave.  "However,
+Dick, I do not want to blame you, but just try to keep clear of those
+men, and show what a help you can be to your father on the farm.  Now,
+as you have had your supper, you had better go to bed, and I'll close
+the door.  I want to sit by Janet's side, in case she should awake
+before I lie down.  Do not forget to say your prayers, my son, and sing
+one of the hymns I taught you, though you look so sleepy that I am
+afraid you will not think much about what you are saying."
+
+Dick had in truth given way to several wide yawns, while his eyelids had
+begun to droop.  He followed his mother's advice, as far as he was able,
+and especially in the last particular; but he was fast asleep as soon
+almost as his head touched the pillow.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THREE.
+
+GOOD INTENTIONS--BLIND JANET--POOR FAITHFUL SHOT--A TRYING MOMENT--
+DICK'S ANGER--DESIRE OF REVENGE--A DANGEROUS SPEECH--THREATENING TO
+SHOOT--THE CONSEQUENCES--TEMPTED--INDIGNATION OF THE FARMER'S SON--A
+SORROWFUL DUTY--GRIEF OF THE BLIND GIRL--A SCHEME OF MR GOOCH--DICK'S
+FEARS OF ARREST--RUNNING AWAY FROM HOME--AT THE SMUGGLER'S COTTAGE--ON
+BOARD THE NANCY--SAFE FOR THE PRESENT.
+
+Dick Hargrave kept to his resolution of trying to avoid meeting with
+Lord Reginald.  Should he do so it would not be his fault, and should he
+fall in with him, he would endeavour to retain his temper, should his
+lordship speak to him in his former style.  He likewise refrained from
+going to Keyhaven, or any other place where he was likely to meet any of
+his associates engaged in smuggling, although it was difficult to say
+who was not, more or less, implicated in the lawless proceedings so
+general at that time along the south coast.  He assisted his father on
+the farm, and occasionally took Janet out for a short walk, as,
+notwithstanding the doctor's expectations, she was able to get up again
+the very day after she had appeared to be so ill.
+
+She declared that it was owing to the nice fish Dick had brought her.
+Again, however, she was confined to her room.  As she could not take out
+Faithful, she begged that Dick would give him a run.  "The poor dog sits
+so quietly at my feet all day, and if he sees me moving, I hear his tail
+thumping on the floor, and he begins to scamper about, fancying I am
+going to take him out.  It is very dull for him, poor dog, and he
+deserves some amusement," she said.
+
+Dick promised to follow her wishes, and the next morning, saying that he
+would try to shoot a rabbit, and summoning Faithful, who bounded after
+him, he set off with his gun in his hand.  With the assistance of the
+dog, he soon shot a couple of rabbits, with which he was about to return
+home.  Faithful, however, highly delighted at finding himself abroad,
+went ranging wildly over the fields.  Dick called to him, but the dog
+was too eager in the chase or too far off to hear his voice, and did
+not, as usual, return.  Some minutes passed, when Dick heard a shot
+coming from the direction in which Faithful had disappeared.  He hurried
+on, fearing that one of the keepers had caught sight of him; but then
+they all knew Janet's dog, and the most surly would not have had the
+heart to fire at the honest brute, even though he might have been
+infringing the game laws by scampering for amusement after a hare or
+rabbit.  Dick looked out anxiously, hoping to see the dog return; but
+though he shouted, "Faithful!  Faithful!" and whistled shrilly, the
+animal did not make its appearance.  Wondering what could have become of
+it, he went on calling its name.  At last he saw it crawling towards
+him, dragging its limbs along in evident pain.  At length the poor dog,
+unable to get further, sank to the ground.  Dick, darting forward to
+where it lay, stooped down to ascertain how it was hurt.  Its lacerated
+side, which bled profusely, showed that it had been shot.
+
+"What villain has dared to hurt you, my poor Faithful?" exclaimed Dick.
+
+The dog's only reply, true to its name, was to lick his hand and
+endeavour to rise, but again it fell back, and after a few convulsive
+struggles, expired.
+
+"Poor, poor Faithful!  Janet will miss you, that she will!  She will
+never find so trusty an animal to lead her about; but I'll be revenged
+on the fellow, whoever he is.  He ought to have known that you never
+poached, though you did love to run after a hare, for the fun of the
+thing.  If I can meet the savage brute I'll shoot him, as sure as my
+name is Richard Hargrave."
+
+"What's that you say, you young ruffian?" exclaimed a voice near him.
+
+Dick had not observed three persons who had approached.  Looking up, he
+saw Lord Reginald and his brother midshipman, attended by a keeper.
+
+"I do say that the heartless fellow who shot this dog deserves to be
+shot himself," exclaimed Dick, looking boldly up.
+
+"I shot the dog; it deserved to be killed for chasing hares on my
+father's property," answered the young lord.  "You yourself must have
+set him on to drive the hares towards you.  You are a poacher; we must
+have you up before the magistrates and punish you accordingly."
+
+"I did not set him on," answered Dick, rising to his feet, "and I had no
+intention of killing any hares on the Elverston property.  These rabbits
+I shot on my father's farm, and I had a perfect right to kill them.  The
+dog belongs to my blind sister.  As she is ill, I took the poor brute
+out for a run."
+
+"A very likely story!" exclaimed Lord Reginald.  "You have a gun in your
+hand and rabbits over your shoulder, and you had sent your dog
+scampering over the fields in search of more.  I know your name, and
+shall report you to my father, so you may expect to take up your
+quarters in prison before many days are over."
+
+"The lad speaks the truth, my lord, about the dog," observed the keeper,
+who had stepped forward and examined poor Faithful.  "I have seen it
+many a time leading Farmer Hargrave's blind daughter about, though
+whether he shot the rabbits on his father's farm or not is another
+matter.  We have never found him poaching before, so that part of the
+story may be true also."
+
+"I am sorry to have shot the dog, if it was useful to his blind sister,"
+said Lord Reginald; "and, I say, Jackson, I wish you'd look out for
+another to give the poor girl, instead of this one; she'll not find out
+the difference."
+
+"I wouldn't let her receive it if you should give her one!" exclaimed
+Dick, his anger in no way pacified by the young lord's expressions of
+regret.  "No dog could be found to equal Faithful; but I myself will
+look after a dog to take its place."
+
+"Really, my dear Oswald, I cannot stand by to see you thus insulted by
+this ungrateful young ruffian," said Voules.  "He has threatened to
+shoot you, and he looks like a fellow capable of doing what he says.
+The sooner he is taken up and sent to prison the better."
+
+"I have not been poaching!  If you lay hands on me it will be the worse
+for you," said Dick, grasping his gun.
+
+"Come, come, Master Dick, do you go to your home, and do not be so
+foolish as to threaten mischief.  It is dangerous to use such words, and
+you'll be sorry for them by-and-by," said the keeper, wisely interposing
+between the exasperated young men.  "I know where to find you if you are
+wanted; but I don't suppose the marquis will be hard upon you, when he
+hears how it was your sister's dog was shot.  If, my lord, you'll please
+to let the lad go, I'll undertake that he shall not come into the park
+again.  His father is not the man to allow him to do anything against
+the law."
+
+Lord Reginald, who really much regretted having shot the dog, willingly
+listened to the keeper's advice, and Voules, who had no object to gain
+in irritating him further against Dick Hargrave, said no more on the
+subject.
+
+"Well, Hargrave, I will try to forget your threats, and I again assure
+you that had I known the dog was your sister's, I would not have shot
+it," said Lord Reginald, turning aside; and without waiting for an
+answer he led the way, followed by Voules and the keeper, in the
+direction of the hall, leaving Dick still standing by the side of his
+dog.
+
+"I do not trust his fair words," said Dick, looking after the party;
+"but I am obliged to Jackson for speaking a word in my favour, for if it
+had not been for him, matters would have become worse.  Poor Faithful!
+I don't know how I shall ever have the heart to tell Janet what has
+happened," and stooping down he again examined the dog, to assure
+himself that it was really dead.  Of this he was soon convinced.  "I'll
+not let you lie here, my poor dog!" he exclaimed, and taking it up in
+his arms, he walked away with it towards his home.  He was crossing the
+road from Keyhaven, when a voice hailed him, and looking round he saw
+Ben Rudall approaching.
+
+"What hast thou got there, Dick?" asked Ben.  "Your sister's dog--and
+killed, too!  How did that happen?"
+
+Dick told him, describing what had occurred.
+
+"And thee wouldst trust the chaps, would thee?" said Ben, speaking in
+the Hampshire dialect.  "No, no; don't be doin' that.  Measter Jackson
+may have spoken fair enough, but he knows that he's got his thumb on
+thee, an' can come down on thee when he loiks.  Now, just listen to what
+I have got to say.  I was going to look for thee.  The _Nancy_ is
+expected in before many days are over, an' she'll be sailing again the
+next morning.  If thee'll come down to Keyhaven, there'll be a good
+chance of taking a trip, an' 'twill be safer for thee to be out of the
+way in case the young lord should change his mind an' have thee up for
+poachin'.  When the marquis hears of it, it's my belief that he won't
+let thee off, for he's wonderfully strict about the matter, and if he
+had his will he'd be sending half the people hereabouts to prison."
+
+Dick had not forgotten his mother's advice to keep clear of Ben Rudall,
+and he knew well enough that even though he should only go as a
+passenger, he would be committed to whatever was done by her crew.
+
+"You mean kindly, Ben, I know," he said; "but I cannot leave Janet,
+she's so ill; and if she gets better, there'll be no one except mother
+and me to walk out with her, now poor Faithful's gone; but if I hear
+there's a chance of my being had up for poaching, maybe it's the best
+thing I can do."
+
+Ben laughed scornfully.  "They'll not let thee know what they intend to
+do; but thee would find thyself carried off to Winchester jail some fine
+morning, so just don't be a fool, Dick, an' come along with me."
+
+Dick, however, was firm in his resolution not to go off without seeing
+his mother and sister, and Ben was obliged to be content with his
+promise that he would come down to Keyhaven to talk the matter over.  He
+would have been wiser had he not given that promise.
+
+Ben returned the way he had come, and Dick, carrying the body of his
+dog, continued on towards his home.
+
+On reaching the cottage, he carried the dog to a corner of the garden,
+while he went in for a spade to dig its grave.  While he was searching
+for one in the outhouse, his mother saw him.
+
+"What has happened, Dick?" she exclaimed, observing the blood on his
+clothes.
+
+He at once narrated what had occurred, for although he had many faults,
+he was truthful to her.
+
+"I am very sorry for what has happened.  Poor dear Janet will almost
+break her heart.  She said that she should like to take a stroll
+to-morrow with Faithful, if you were not able to accompany her.
+However, we must bear with it.  From what you say, the young lord would
+not have shot the dog if he had known whose it was, and if he gives
+Janet another, she may become as fond of it as she was of Faithful."
+
+"I should not like her to become fond of Lord Reginald's dog," answered
+Dick.  "If he sends one, I shall have a mind to shoot it, or send it
+back to him with a kettle tied to its tail."
+
+"That would not be a right thing to do," observed Mrs Hargrave.  "We
+should not harbour ill feelings towards others, though they have done us
+wrong.  Come in now, and let me wash the blood off your coat.  It looks
+bad, and if your father were to return, it would frighten him, as it did
+me.  We'll just break the news gently to Janet, and don't say you won't
+receive another dog if the young lord sends one.  Remember how kind his
+mother and sisters are, and I dare say he is not so bad at heart, though
+he has more than once fallen out with you."
+
+"He has an abusive tongue in his head, and that shows what sort of heart
+he has got," answered Dick, not inclined to agree with his mother about
+Lord Reginald.  "You tell me the ladies speak so sweetly, but, as Ben
+Rudall says, that's all outside show, and I would not trust them."
+
+"That's because you have never been at home when they have called, or
+you would have agreed with me, if you had," observed Mrs Hargrave.
+"Stay here while I get a sponge and some hot water; I can't let you go
+about as you are; I cannot tell what people would say.  If you were
+seen, there would be all sorts of tales about you."
+
+"I don't care what is said, and I should just like them to know that
+Lord Reginald is a brute.  That's what I call him."
+
+"Hush! hush, Dick!" said his mother.  "Sit you down here, until I have
+taken off those blood stains, for although poor Janet cannot see them,
+some one else may come in, and ask what has happened."
+
+Dick seated himself on a bench to which his mother pointed, and she
+quickly returned with soap and water.  It was no easy operation,
+however, to get rid of the stains, and Dick declared that before he came
+in he must bury the dog.  To this Mrs Hargrave consented, as she
+thought it would be a good opportunity to tell Janet of the loss of her
+favourite.
+
+Dick, taking up the spade, and having selected a spot for Faithful's
+grave, began digging away.  More than once he stopped and gazed at the
+animal, feeling unwilling to put it so soon out of sight; then he went
+on more energetically than before.  Having just completed his task, he
+leaned on his spade, while the tears rolled down his cheeks, as he
+thought he should never see his dog again.  The wind had begun to blow
+strong, and dark clouds were gathering in the sky.  The gloomy aspect of
+Nature suited his feelings.  On looking up, he saw his mother and Janet
+approaching.
+
+"Mother has told me, Dick, what has happened," said his sister, as she
+came up.  "I want to stroke Faithful's head once more before you put him
+into his grave."  She stooped down by the side of the dog.  "Oh!  He
+doesn't feel my hand now," she said.  "I am very sorry; but, Dick, I
+want you to promise me not to nourish anger against the young lord.  He
+would not have fired had he known the dog was so useful to me.  He told
+you as much.  If I forgive him, you must."
+
+"I may forgive, but I do not forget," said Dick.  "If he keeps to his
+word, I'll believe that he did not intend to do the cruel act.  However,
+we must put poor Faithful in his grave, and if I do not make a vow to be
+revenged on Lord Reginald, it is because you are here to prevent me,
+Janet."
+
+"I would that you had a higher motive than that," said Mrs Hargrave.
+"Now, Janet, you must return to the house; I promised you'd stop but one
+minute; Dick will soon have finished his task, and then he'll come in to
+supper.  Father will soon be home, Dick, so don't delay."
+
+Dick, having at length brought himself to place the dog in its grave,
+hastily shovelled in the earth, muttering as he did so, "He'd better not
+cross me again; if he does he'll have to repent it.  Lie there, poor
+dog!" he added, as he finished the work.  "I've a mind to put up a
+tombstone, and write on it, `Wantonly killed by Lord Reginald Oswald.'"
+
+On entering the cottage, he found that his father, having come in, had
+heard what had happened.  He was thankful at all events that he had not
+had to break the news to Janet.  Farmer Hargrave said what he thought
+would pacify his son, and declared his belief that the young lord had
+not killed the dog with any malicious intent.
+
+Dick pressed his lips together and made no reply.  He could not trust
+himself.  They were just finishing supper when a knock was heard at the
+door, and Dick, opening it, Mr Gooch the bailiff entered.
+
+"Good evening, farmer; good evening, dame; somewhat stormy weather," he
+said, throwing back his wet coat, and placing his dripping hat on the
+floor, as he took the seat offered him.  "I didn't think it was coming
+on to be so bad, until just before sunset.  It blows hard enough now,
+and the rain is coming down in torrents, but I wanted to talk over that
+affair between us, so I came out in spite of the weather."
+
+"What have you got to say, Mr Gooch?" asked the farmer.  "You know as
+well as I do that I have no wish to leave this farm.  It will be a heavy
+loss to me to give it up, and I am determined to abide by my rights."
+
+"Very good, Mr Hargrave, very good," said the bailiff, in a bland tone.
+"His lordship doesn't want to be hard upon you, and if you have the
+right to remain, he would be the last man to ask you to turn out, but as
+I before told you, you have not the right, and if you go to law you'll
+be worsted.  Now, a little piece of information has come to my knowledge
+which may make you see that it would not be wise to go to law, even
+supposing there was a chance of your winning.  I have not communicated
+with my lord on the subject, so I act on my own responsibility.  This
+lad here, your son, has put himself in an awkward position.  He has been
+poaching--not for the first time, either.  I have just heard all about
+it from Jackson, the keeper, and from a young gentleman who is staying
+at the hall.  They can give evidence, not only that he was poaching, but
+that he threatened the life of Lord Reginald Oswald--a very serious
+business, let me tell you.  Had he fired, as he threatened to do, he
+would have been hung to a certainty, and as it is, I see every
+probability that he will be sentenced to seven years' penal servitude.
+Now, of course, his lordship has it in his power to overlook the
+offence, and if I can tell him that you will yield to his wishes and
+consent to give up the farm, I am pretty sure that you will hear no more
+about the matter, only you must restrain your son from poaching in
+future, or from associating with smugglers, as I have evidence that he
+is in the habit of doing."
+
+The farmer listened to all the bailiff said, while Dick sat clenching
+his hands, with his eyes to the ground, every now and then giving a look
+at his mother.
+
+Ben was right, then, in warning him.  Had he accompanied the old
+smuggler at once, and got out of the way, Mr Gooch would not have been
+able to obtain the upper hand of his father.
+
+When the bailiff had finished, Mr Hargrave replied, "I have before
+given you my answer.  I believe the marquis to be a just man.  If he
+finds I have the right to continue in the farm, he would not wish to
+dispossess me.  In regard to Dick, the provocation he received by having
+his dog killed would excuse any thoughtless words he might have uttered.
+So I cannot offer to give up my rights for fear of the consequences,
+and I will never believe that Lord Elverston would act as you suggest."
+
+"Then you dare to say that you doubt my word, Farmer Hargrave?"
+exclaimed the bailiff, in a tone of indignation, rising from his seat.
+"I'll give you until to-morrow to think over the matter; but you'll take
+the consequences if you have the same answer ready for me.  And dame, I
+would advise you to persuade your husband to act as I recommend, or,
+whether you go out of the farm or not, that lad of yours, before many
+days are over, will be lodged in Winchester jail, and be sent to Botany
+Bay, if he doesn't get the chance of entering on board a king's ship.
+Perhaps they won't give him his choice, for threatening to shoot a lord
+is a serious matter."
+
+"Oh, Mr Gooch, you would not be so cruel as to wish to send our Dick to
+prison!" exclaimed Janet, who had been listening to what was said.
+
+"All your father has to do is to agree to what I propose, and he is safe
+enough," answered the bailiff.  "I can stay no longer.  I called in to
+give some friendly advice.  If not taken, it is not my fault; so good
+night to all.  I hope that you'll settle the matter between you!"
+
+Mr Gooch got up to go.  Dick opened the door, having no wish to detain
+him.  Looking out, he saw that the account given of the weather was not
+exaggerated.
+
+"Is is plaguey dark, Mr Gooch!" he observed.  "You'd better take a
+lantern, sir."
+
+"No, no; I know my way as well in the dark as in the daylight," was the
+reply, and Mr Gooch stepping out, was soon lost to sight.
+
+No sooner was the door closed than Dick exclaimed, "Don't give in,
+father.  I'd sooner go to prison, or Botany Bay, or be sent to sea, or
+be hung, for that matter, rather than that you should yield up your
+rights and be turned out of this farm."
+
+"I will not give up the farm if I have a right to keep it, but if the
+law is against me, go I must; still, I would not have you suffer, Dick,
+unless you deserve it, and if it is proved that you were poaching, and
+that you threatened to shoot the young lord, you must, as the bailiff
+says, take the consequences, though it would well-nigh break my heart to
+see you punished.  But I have not much fear on the score either way.  It
+is my belief that the marquis does not know much about the matter of the
+farm, and from beginning to end it is all the doing of Mr Gooch.  What
+he cares for is to please his master, and as he knows that his lordship
+has a fancy for extending the park, he wants to get me to turn out, and
+now that he thinks he has got hold of you, he fancies that he can
+frighten me to do so.  In regard to your affair, Dick, when the marquis
+hears of the provocation you received, I don't think he will be hard
+upon you."
+
+The farmer made these remarks to tranquillise as far as he could the
+mind of his wife.  Perhaps he did not feel so confident himself.  So
+Dick at all events thought.  The family soon afterwards separated for
+the night.
+
+Dick went to his room, but could not sleep.  The storm itself, though it
+whistled and howled around the cottage, would not have kept him awake.
+He thought over all that had happened, what he himself had said, and how
+Lord Reginald had looked and replied.  "Whatever the gamekeeper may say,
+that other young fellow is against me, and if they take me before the
+magistrate, Mr Jackson will be upon his oath, and compelled to
+corroborate the midshipman's statement.  It all depends on what they
+choose to do.  There is no doubt I did threaten to shoot Lord Reginald,
+and I felt wonderfully inclined to do it, too.  There's only one way I
+can see to get out of it and save father, and that is to take advantage
+of Ben Rudall's offer and to keep out of the way until the affair is
+blown over; I won't tell father or mother or they may be wishing to stop
+me; but I'll write a letter just to wish them and Janet good-bye for a
+short time, without saying where I am going, for that would spoil the
+whole thing.  Ben says I shall like the life on board the lugger; so I
+shall, though I would not have gone if there had not been this good
+reason.  I cannot fancy that either father or mother will be really
+sorry when they find that I am safe out of the way."  So said Dick to
+himself, and having come to this resolution, he at length fell asleep.
+
+It was not a wise one, for it was like falling out of the frying-pan
+into the fire.  There was a very remote risk of his being summoned
+before the magistrates, and if summoned, of his being committed for
+trial, whereas, in addition to the dangers of the sea, if captured on
+board the lugger, he would to a certainty be condemned as a smuggler and
+be sent to jail, if even worse did not come of it.  For a lad to be sent
+to jail in those days was a fearful punishment, for there was no
+separation of prisoners, and should Dick go there he would be herded
+with ruffians of every description, and could scarcely fail to come out
+again without being very much the worse for his incarceration.  Just
+then, however, he only thought how he could best keep out of the way of
+Mr Gooch, and thus prevent him from inducing his father to yield up his
+rights, which he might do, notwithstanding his resolutions to the
+contrary, should he be thus able to save his son from punishment.
+
+Dick awoke just as the light of the early dawn made its way into the
+room.  The storm had ceased, and the clouds were fast disappearing,
+giving promises of a fine day.  He had been a good penman at school, so
+that he had no difficulty in writing his letter.  He had bade an
+affectionate good night to them all, and he would not run the risk of
+being hindered in his project by remaining for breakfast.  His letter
+was brief.
+
+"Dear father," it ran, "don't give up the farm.  I shall be all safe,
+though I don't want you or any one else to find me until the matter is
+settled, but I have made up my mind that they shall not make a cat's paw
+of me.  Love to mother and Janet.  So no more from your affectionate
+son, Dick."
+
+Leaving the letter on the table, with a bundle of clothes and a few
+other articles in his hand, he slipped silently downstairs, thankful to
+find that his father was not yet stirring.  Filling his pocket with some
+bread and cheese from the larder, he hurried out by the back door, which
+was not likely to be opened for some time, and made his way by by-paths
+in the direction of Keyhaven.  He felt, it must be confessed, somewhat
+like a culprit escaping from justice.  Every now and then he looked back
+to ascertain if he was followed; then again he ran on.  He wished, if
+possible, to avoid meeting any one who might question him as to where he
+was bound at that early hour.  The labourers would be going to work, but
+a considerable portion of the country through which he passed was still
+uncultivated.  Twice when he saw people coming, he turned aside and hid
+himself behind a hedge until the men had passed.  He thus reached Ben
+Rudall's cottage, without, as he supposed, being seen by any one who
+knew him.  Ben was not at home; but Susan asked him to come in and sit
+down.
+
+"He has been out nearly all night, Master Richard, but I am hoping to
+see him back safe every minute," she said.  "He got notice that the
+_Nancy_ was standing in for the coast, and went out to lend a helping
+hand.  I don't mind telling you, as I know that you are not one of those
+who side with the revenue people, or would go and give information--"
+
+"Which would injure any of my friends," put in Dick.  "No, indeed, I
+would not.  To say the truth, your husband promised me a trip on board
+the _Nancy_, which I have come to accept."
+
+"He'll be main glad, for he has agreed to go himself the next trip, and
+he told me that he thought the lugger would be away again to-night or
+to-morrow at furthest.  She's not likely to be long away, though, and I
+don't mind his going as much as I used to do.  Sometimes he has been
+from home for six weeks or two months at a time, either looking out for
+a cargo or waiting for a good chance to run across and land one on the
+English coast."  Mrs Rudall did not hesitate to describe the doings of
+the smugglers to Dick, though she would have been wonderfully reticent
+to a stranger; yet she showed her anxiety by frequently going to the
+door and looking round the corner in the direction she expected her
+husband to appear.  "Here he comes! here he comes!" she cried at length,
+and Ben, with a sou'wester on his head, a thick flushing coat on his
+back, and his legs encased in high boots, made his appearance.
+
+"All right, Susan!" he said, as he reached the cottage.  "We've done the
+job neatly, and the goods are twenty miles inland by this time.  We'd a
+famous night for it, couldn't have had a better, got the revenue men
+away on the wrong scent, and had the coast clear long enough to land a
+dozen cargoes.  If we get such another night for the next run, we shall
+do well."
+
+"I am thankful," said poor Susan, who thought more of her husband's
+safety than probably of his share of the profits.  "Now, come in; here's
+a visitor you'll be glad to see."
+
+Ben put out his hand and shook Dick's, but before asking questions he
+kissed his children, who came jumping up round him.
+
+"Now, let's have breakfast, for I am main hungry, and I dare say our
+friend here is," he exclaimed.  "Have you taken my advice, and made up
+your mind for a trip on board the _Nancy_?" he asked, turning to Dick.
+
+Dick replied in the affirmative, and described the visit Mr Gooch had
+paid them the previous evening.
+
+"The sooner you get on board and out of his way the better, for they'll
+not think of looking for you there, and before to-morrow morning the
+_Nancy_ will be away again across the Channel," said Ben.  Breakfast was
+just over, and Ben was smoking his pipe in front of his cottage door,
+when, looking to the southward, he exclaimed, "There she comes; she is a
+beauty!" and he pointed to a fine lugger, which, under all sail, having
+rounded Hurst Point, was standing towards Yarmouth.
+
+Ben having put up a few articles, led the way down to his boat,
+accompanied by Dick, and followed by his elder children, one carrying a
+boat-hook, another the oars, while he himself bore the boat's mast and
+sails on his broad shoulders.  The children stood on the beach, watching
+them as they pulled away.  The breeze being favourable, Ben soon stepped
+the mast and hoisted the sail, when he came aft with the mainsheet, and
+told Dick to steer.
+
+"You should never lose the chance of learning to be handy in a boat," he
+observed; "you don't know when it may come in useful.  You are very well
+as it is, but you are not like one born to it.  Howsumdever, you'll pick
+up something on board the _Nancy_, and we shall have you turning out a
+prime seaman one of these days."
+
+Dick really steered very well, and Ben every now and then gave him an
+approving nod.  Being perfectly familiar with the surrounding scenery,
+he scarcely noticed it, occupied as his thoughts were just then by the
+position in which he was placed.  Away to the right were the white
+Needle rocks, their pointed heads standing high up out of the sea, with
+chalky cliffs rising high above them; wide, smooth downs extending
+eastward; below which were cliffs of varied colour, with a succession of
+bays and rocky reefs; while ahead were the picturesque heights of
+Freshwater, covered by green trees, amid which several villas and
+cottages peeped out.  Further east still, appeared the little seaport
+town of Yarmouth, with its old grey castle and grey stone houses, their
+gardens extending down to the water; on the starboard quarter was Hurst
+beach, with its massive round castle and tall, red lighthouse; while to
+the northward, extended a wood-covered shore, on which could be
+distinguished numerous residences, some of considerable size, and the
+town of Lymington running up the side of a steep hill.
+
+Ben was proud of his boat, though to the outward eye there was nothing
+to admire, as the paint with which she had once been bedecked had been
+worn off, her sails were patched, and her rigging knotted in several
+places.
+
+"I look at what she can do!" he observed; "and a better sea-boat or a
+faster is not to be found between Hurst and Spithead.  It must blow a
+precious hard gale before I should be afraid to be out in her night or
+day."
+
+That she was fast was proved by the speed with which she ran across the
+Channel.  In a short time she was alongside the lugger, which had
+brought up close in shore, her crew evidently fearless of the revenue
+men, two or three of whom stood watching her.
+
+All on board knew Ben, and gave him a hearty welcome.  "I have brought a
+fresh hand, Jack!" he said, addressing the skipper in a familiar tone.
+"I have long promised him a trip, and as it happens, it is as well that
+he should keep out of the way of the big-wigs over there."  Ben then
+briefly explained the danger Dick was in for threatening to shoot the
+son of the Marquis of Elverston.
+
+This announcement gained him a warm reception from the smugglers, who,
+engaged in lawless pursuits themselves, were naturally inclined to
+approve of such an act, and would possibly have looked upon him with
+still greater respect had he fired as he had threatened.
+
+"Glad to see you, my lad," said John Dore, putting out his hand.  "Make
+yourself at home on board the _Nancy_.  We'll give you work when work
+has to be done, and now, if you're tired, you can turn into my berth and
+go to sleep till the evening, when, unless the wind shifts round to the
+southward, we shall be at sea again."
+
+"The best thing you can do," observed Ben.  "I must go to Keyhaven to
+get a hand to take my boat back and look after her while I am away."
+
+Dick, wishing to escape the notice of any one who might visit the lugger
+from the shore, accepted the skipper's offer.  As he had closed his eyes
+but a very short time during the previous night, he was soon fast
+asleep.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FOUR.
+
+UNDER WAY--LIFE ON BOARD THE NANCY--OFF THE FRENCH COAST--SHIPPING THE
+CONTRABAND GOODS--RUN FOR ENGLAND--A STRANGE SAIL--THE CHASE--ESCAPE OF
+THE LUGGER--LANDING THE CARGO--REVENUE OFFICERS--COOLNESS OF
+DORE--"YIELD, IN THE KING'S NAME."--A LITTLE TOO LATE--DICK QUESTIONED.
+
+When Dick awoke, he knew by the motion of the vessel and the sounds he
+heard that she was under way.  The _Nancy_ was a craft of nearly a
+hundred tons, decked all over, with three short, stout masts, the after
+one leaning over the taffrail, with a long out-rigger.  On each of the
+masts a large lug was carried, and above them could be set flying
+topsails, and when before the wind studding-sails could be rigged out.
+She could also hoist an enormous squaresail.  To set these sails, she
+carried a numerous crew of tried seamen; promptitude and decision being
+required in the dangerous work in which she was engaged.  Her armament
+consisted of six short guns and a long nine-pounder, which could be
+trained either fore or aft, to bring to a merchantman endeavouring to
+escape, or to knock away the spars of an enemy chasing her.  Besides
+these guns, she had an ample supply of cutlasses, pistols, and
+boarding-pikes, to enable her crew to repel an attack made by boats or
+from a hostile craft which might run alongside her.  She was truly an
+Arab of the seas, with every man's hand against her, and her hand
+against every man.  The captain, by means best known to himself, had
+obtained a privateer's licence, and in that character he appeared when
+in English waters, though her real employment was more than suspected by
+the revenue officers, who were on the look-out to catch her.  In this
+they had invariably failed, owing to the vigilance of her crew, and to
+the exact information they received from their agents on shore.  Dick,
+turning out of the skipper's bunk, went on deck.
+
+He was greeted by Ben Rudall.  "You are safe enough now, lad, from the
+constables who may be hunting for you through the country; and glad I am
+to have you on board the _Nancy_.  When we get back you must remain
+stowed away until we are at sea again, and in a short time they'll get
+tired of looking for you."
+
+"I hope they won't revenge themselves on my father," said Dick; "that's
+what's troubling me now!"
+
+"No fear of that, for he is not answerable for what you do, any more
+than you are for his acts, and as he doesn't know where you are, he
+can't tell them."
+
+"I wish, however, that I could let mother and Janet know that I am all
+safe; they may be fretting for me," said Dick.
+
+"Never you fear, they'll guess that," said Ben, trying to set Dick's
+mind at ease on the subject.  "It doesn't do to think about home or
+anything of that sort when we are out on a cruise.  Cheer up, lad! cheer
+up!"
+
+A fresh breeze was blowing from the north-west.  The stars were shining
+brightly out of a clear sky, and the lugger, close hauled, was passing
+the Needle rocks, which could be dimly seen rising out of the dark water
+like huge giants on the lee beam, while astern were visible the lights
+on Hurst point now brought into one.  The lugger having rounded the
+western end of the Isle of Wight, the helm was put up, the yards squared
+away, the flying topsails and big squaresail set, and she stood across
+Channel, bounding lightly over the dancing seas.  A craft with a fast
+pair of heels alone could have caught her.  Her hardy crew remained on
+deck, for all hands might at any moment have been required for an
+emergency, either to shorten sail, or to alter her course, should a
+suspicious vessel appear in sight.  All night long the lugger kept on
+her course, steering westward of south.
+
+"I say, Ben, how do the Frenchmen treat us if we go on shore, seeing
+that we and they are fighting each other?" asked Dick.
+
+"Never you fear; we shan't go on shore, except it may be at night, in
+company with friends.  You will soon see how we manage things," was the
+answer.
+
+The lugger made such good way, that when morning dawned, the coast of
+France was seen close aboard.  No vessels of any description were in
+sight.  As she got closer in, the French flag was hoisted, and other
+flags were got ready for making signals.  Dick heard the skipper talking
+to three men whom he had not before observed, and whom he now discovered
+to be Frenchmen.  He asked Ben who they were.
+
+"One of them is to act as captain, the other two as his mates.  They
+will go on shore and arrange about getting our cargo shipped.  They
+won't take long, as it will be all ready.  If we have another favourable
+night, we may run it, and it will be up in London before a week is
+over."
+
+A bright look-out was kept in every direction.  As no suspicious sail
+appeared, the _Nancy_ stood on.  The signal which she made was answered
+from the shore.
+
+"All right," said Ben; "no fear of interruption for the present."
+
+The topsails were lowered, and under the foresail and mizzen she glided
+on into a small harbour between rocks of sufficient height to hide her
+short masts from the view of any craft passing outside.  The crew of the
+_Nancy_ appeared on deck, dressed as much as possible like French
+seamen, while they wisely kept their tongues quiet, so that their true
+character might not be suspected.
+
+The two Frenchmen went on shore, while the third remained on board to
+answer any questions which might be put to them.  Dick observed that the
+lugger lay in such a position that she could easily slip out again,
+should danger threaten.  The crew seemed perfectly at their ease,
+laughing and talking when below, as if their situation was one to which
+they were well accustomed.
+
+The day passed away; still no cargo was forthcoming, nor did the
+Frenchmen re-appear.  This made Dick fear that the authorities might
+have discovered the true character of the _Nancy_, and in spite of their
+precautions the smugglers might be taken in a trap.  He did not,
+however, express his apprehensions, and neither Ben nor any of the men
+appeared troubled on the subject.  At night the crew lay down on the
+deck with their pistols in their belts, and their cutlasses and
+boarding-pikes by their sides, each man at his station so that the cable
+might be cut and the sails hoisted at a moment's notice.  It showed Dick
+that his fears were not altogether without some foundation.  Nothing,
+however, occurred during the night, and the following day passed away
+much as the first had done.
+
+Dore, however, grew impatient, and a boat was sent to watch outside the
+harbour in case any enemy might be stealing along the coast to prevent
+the _Nancy's_ escape.  At length, some time after it grew dark, a boat
+came off from the shore, bringing the two Frenchmen, who reported that
+the cargo was ready and would shortly be on board.  All hands stood
+prepared for hoisting it in.  Several boats were quickly alongside, and
+with wonderful rapidity bales of silks, laces, and ribbons, and kegs of
+spirits and tobacco were transferred to the _Nancy's_ hold.  As soon as
+they were stowed away, the anchor was got up, and the boats going ahead
+towed her out of the harbour, the Frenchmen wishing her "_Bon voyage_,"
+and a speedy return.
+
+Dick breathed more freely when the sails were set, and the _Nancy_
+gliding swiftly over the smooth water, the dark outline of the French
+coast grew more and more indistinct.  "How soon shall we get back to
+England?" he asked of Ben, by whose side he naturally kept when on deck.
+
+"That depends on what may happen," answered Ben.  "We shall have to wait
+for a dark night, and to take care that the coast is clear before we run
+in.  It may be to-morrow, or it may be a week hence.  We have done very
+well as yet, but there's many a slip between tin cup and the lip, as I
+have found to my cost more than once."
+
+Dick had to rest satisfied with this answer.  There were plenty of
+people on board ready to talk to him, but their conversation was not of
+an improving character.  Their chief delight seemed to be to abuse the
+royal navy as well as the revenue laws, and those engaged in preventing
+their infringement.  Dick was not accustomed to look too deep into
+matters, and thought that what they said was very right.  It did not
+occur to him that the same men would greatly have objected to free
+trade, which would completely have deprived them of their present
+illegal way of gaining a livelihood; and though there might have been
+some truth in what they said about the navy, they were wrong in the
+sweeping condemnation they pronounced against the service.  There were
+some abuses still existing, but many had been removed; and there were
+not a few commanders of king's ships who did their best to advance the
+welfare of their crews, and were at all times kind and considerate to
+those placed under them, as had been shown by numerous instances of
+devotion on the part of the men to their officers.  The remarks of his
+associates, however, gave Dick an unmitigated horror of the navy, while
+he learned to look upon smugglers as a much-injured body of men, who
+were unjustly interfered with while engaged in endeavouring to gain
+their daily bread.  At length, growing sleepy, he was glad to go below
+and lie down on one of the lockers in the little after cabin.
+
+Next morning the lugger lay becalmed.  While the breeze lasted, the
+smugglers had been in good humour, but as the watch below turned out,
+they swore and grumbled at finding their craft lying idle on the smooth
+surface of the ocean.  No sail was in sight, and as long as the calm
+continued they could not come to harm; but an enemy might bring down a
+breeze which would enable her to get close up to them before their sails
+were filled.  This was what they dreaded.  All their seamanship and
+courage would not avail if she was a vessel too powerful for them to
+cope with.
+
+Hour after hour passed away, and still the _Nancy_ lay floating idly,
+and carried down Channel by the ebb tide, and swept up again by the
+flood.  An anxious look-out was kept for signs of a coming breeze.
+Evening was approaching.  From whatever quarter the wind might come, it
+might bring up an enemy.  English or French were equally to be dreaded.
+The skipper paced the deck, making short turns, telescope in hand, every
+now and then sweeping the horizon with it, and casting an eye on the
+dog-vanes which hung unmoved by a breath of air.  At last he kept his
+glass longer than usual turned to the eastward.
+
+"There's no doubt about it!" he exclaimed.  "Those are the royals of a
+big ship of some sort; she's got a fresh breeze, too, or we shouldn't
+have risen them so fast above the horizon."
+
+Dick could only see a white spot on which the sun was shining, but it
+appeared to be increasing in size and growing higher and higher.  The
+gaze of most of those on board were turned towards her.  That she was
+either an English or a French cruiser was the general opinion.  Some
+thought that she was a frigate, others a corvette; for no merchantman,
+at that period, would have come down Channel alone.  One thing was
+certain, that she was steering directly for the lugger.
+
+"What chance have we of escaping her?" asked Dick of Ben.
+
+"Many a chance, lad," answered his friend.  "If she's English she may
+not send a boat on board to examine us, and we shall pass for a
+privateer, or we may get the breeze in time to slip out of her way to
+the northward, or to keep ahead of her and give her the go-by during the
+night.  If she's French, we must put the Frenchman in command, show our
+French papers, and bamboozle the mounseers, or if the worst comes to the
+worst, tumble the crew of their boat overboard and try to get away."
+
+"But suppose they fire into us?" said Dick, who though often thoughtless
+was alive to the true state of the case.
+
+"We must run the chance of that, my lad," answered Ben, "though my idea
+is that yonder craft is an English corvette, and although she may be a
+pretty fast sailer, when once the _Nancy_ gets the breeze, we shall show
+her a clean pair of heels."
+
+Dick sincerely hoped that such would be the case.  He had not reckoned
+on the chance of being captured as a smuggler, or made prisoner by the
+enemy, or shot by either the one or the other.  The crew were at their
+stations, ready to trim sails the moment the slightest breath of air
+should reach them.  The topsails had before been set.  The squaresail
+and studding-sails were got up ready to hoist at an instant's notice.
+Still the lugger lay motionless, and the corvette, for such she was
+pronounced to be, came rapidly on, under every stitch of canvas she
+could carry.  She was soon within a mile of the lugger, when some cat's
+paws were seen playing over the water; the dog-vanes blew out and then
+dropped, the canvas flapped lightly against the masts.  The skipper
+swore, and the crew swore, until once more they saw the sails bulging
+out slightly.
+
+"Hurrah! here it comes at last!  We'll keep out of that fellow's way,"
+cried Captain Dore, eyeing the stranger.  The lugger began gathering
+way.  "Port the helm, Tom.  We'll stand to the northward, and shall soon
+see whether he wishes to speak us.  If he does, we'll take leave to
+disappoint him."
+
+The yards were braced up on the starboard tack, and the lugger stood on
+the course proposed, so that the corvette, should she continue on as she
+was now steering, would pass astern.  Dore kept his eye fixed on her.
+
+"She's a fancy to know more about us," he remarked, as he observed the
+stranger also keeping up to the northward.  "Her shot can't reach us
+yet, and we shall soon see, now we have got the breeze, which is the
+faster craft of the two."
+
+As Dick looked over the starboard quarter, he saw the sails and dark
+hull of the corvette, lighted up by the rays of the setting sun, making
+her appear so much nearer than she really was, that he wondered she did
+not fire a shot to make the lugger heave to.  He had no cowardly fears
+on the subject, but he again thought that he should have acted more
+wisely had he stowed himself away safely on shore, instead of coming on
+board the lugger.  The corvette looked so powerful, that it seemed to
+him that a single broadside from her guns, would send the _Nancy_ with
+all on board to the bottom.  He observed, however, that Dore walked the
+deck with as calm an air as usual, all the time, however, narrowly
+eyeing the king's ship, ready to take advantage of any change which
+might occur.
+
+"We shall have darkness down upon us soon, and then we will show yonder
+fellow a trick or two.  He wants to jam us up against the English coast;
+but we are not to be so caught," he observed to his mate, Ned Langdon.
+
+The breeze had freshened considerably, and was now blowing so strong,
+that the lugger could, on a wind, with difficulty carry her topsails,
+which were still set.  The corvette had handed her royals, presently she
+took in her topgallant sails.  She had lately been gaining on the
+lugger.  Dick, with the rest of his companions, seldom had his eyes off
+her; the darkness was increasing, and her outline was becoming less and
+less distinct.  Presently he saw a bright flash dart from her bows, and
+the roar of a gun reached his ears.  The shot, however, had fallen
+short.  The smugglers laughed.
+
+"You may blaze away, but you won't do us much harm!" observed Dore.
+
+Another and another shot followed.  The commander of the cruiser
+evidently wished to make the lugger heave to.  If he had before had
+doubts of her character, he must now have been thoroughly satisfied as
+to what she was, and would become more eager to capture her.
+
+"Stand by, my lads, to make sail!" cried Dore.  "Keep up the helm, Tom,
+and hoist away on the squaresail!"
+
+The lugger was put before the wind, running considerably faster than she
+had hitherto been doing through the water.  The corvette must have
+observed her change of course, as she also kept away, and once more her
+topgallant sails were loosed.  It was too dark to observe how the masts
+stood the pressure.
+
+"I only wish that they would set the royals; with this breeze there
+would be a good chance of the spars being carried away," said Dore.
+
+It was very doubtful whether the corvette was gaining on the lugger.
+Though the advancing night gradually shrouded her more and more in
+gloom, she could still be discerned, her canvas rising up like a dark
+phantom stalking over the ocean.  The crew of the lugger stood at their
+stations, ready at a moment to obey their captain's orders.  He kept his
+eye on the topsails, though if blown away the accident would not be of
+much consequence.  The masts were tough, and bent like willow wands.
+
+"They'll hold on as long as we want them now," observed Dore.  Again and
+again he looked astern.  Presently he shouted, "Lower the topsails!
+Starboard the helm, Tom!  Haul away at the starboard braces!" and the
+lugger, on the port tack, stood close hauled to the southward.
+
+The sharpest eyes on board were turned in the direction their pursuer
+was supposed to be.  Some time passed away.
+
+"There she is!" cried Ben.  "Although we see her, she doesn't see us, as
+we are stern on, and much lower in the water than she is."
+
+Dick looked with all his might.  He could just discern some object
+moving along over the water, but so indistinctly that he could not be
+certain it was a ship.  Still, the commander of the corvette might
+suspect that the lugger had changed her course, and changed his also.
+
+"All right!" cried Dore, after watching the phantom-like stranger in the
+distance, until she totally disappeared.  "She'll not catch us this
+cruise."
+
+The lugger was put about, on the starboard tack, and once more stood
+towards the English coast.
+
+"Shall we be in to-morrow morning?" asked Dick.
+
+"No, no," answered Ben.  "Whatever happens, we shall make the coast at
+night, when the revenue men can't see us.  We have friends on the
+look-out, who will make signals to show us when and where to run in.
+The weather is too fine at present, so that we shall have to dodge about
+and wait for a dark night, with thick rain or fog; but we don't much
+trust fogs, they may lift suddenly and show our whereabouts to those we
+do not want to see us.  However, we must run some risks.  We want to
+land our goods in quiet, but if any one interferes with us, we of course
+must fight to defend our property.  All right and square, you will
+understand, but if there's bloodshed, it is the fault of those who wish
+to take it from us."
+
+Dick did not ask himself whether Ben was right or wrong.  He forgot that
+one party were breaking the laws, the other performing their duty in
+protecting them.
+
+Next morning, when Dick came on deck, he found the lugger hove to, with
+the blue line of the English coast to the northward.  Though the shore
+could be seen, the vessel herself was too far off to be discerned from
+thence.  Most of the crew were below, but the watch on deck, vigilant as
+ever, were turning their eyes in every direction, so that, should a
+suspicious sail appear, they might at once shape a course which would
+enable them to avoid her.  Dick, who had been accustomed to an active
+life, began to grow weary at having nothing to do.  He walked the deck
+with his hands in his pockets, talking to the men, or he sat below
+listening to their yarns, which were generally not of a very edifying
+character.
+
+The greater number of the crew passed their time, either sleeping or
+playing at cards or dice.  Sometimes, for a change they turned to and
+cleaned their muskets and pistols, or burnished up their cutlasses.  It
+was a relief when a stranger appeared whom it was thought better to
+avoid.  The lugger making sail stood to the southward.  She returned to
+her former position, however, as soon as the suspicious craft had
+passed.  This occurred twice during the day.  At night she stood close
+in to the coast, to look out for signals, but none were seen, and before
+the morning she again took up her former position at a sufficient
+distance to be invisible from the shore.
+
+For several days the same sort of proceeding took place.  Two or three
+times she made all sail, it being supposed that she was chased, and once
+she had a narrow escape from a French cruiser, who probably took her for
+an English privateer.  The wind continued moderate, and the sky clear,
+and Dore began to swear and to wish for some real honest Channel
+weather.  At last the wind shifted, first to the southward and
+afterwards to the south-west, from which direction a thick bank of mist
+was seen coming up, and the lugger, directly she was shrouded by it,
+made sail for the English coast.  Although there was no fear of her
+being seen from any distance, she still ran the risk of falling into the
+lion's jaws, to avoid which a sharp lookout was kept, and all hands
+stood ready to trim sails in case it should be necessary.
+
+The night was coming on, and it was soon dark enough to suit their
+requirements.  She now frequently hove to, to sound as well as to watch
+for any signal from the shore.  At length a light was seen, faint and
+dim through the mist, another was shown a short distance from it, and
+then a third appeared, when all three in an instant disappeared.  The
+lugger stood on, sail was shortened, and the anchor dropped.  Scarcely
+had she brought up when half a dozen boats dashed alongside.
+
+"Be smart, my lads!" cried Dore.  "If we are quick about it, we may run
+the whole of the cargo before the revenue men are down upon us."
+
+Not another word was spoken; every one knew exactly what he had to do.
+The lugger's crew hoisted out the bales and kegs, and the men who had
+come off stowed them away in the boats.  The lugger's own boat was not
+idle.  Having loaded her, Ben and Dick, with three other men, jumped in
+and pushed for the shore.  The surf was pretty heavy, but without
+accident they reached the beach, where a large party of people were
+collected, with a number of pack horses and carts.  The boats were at
+once surrounded, and their cargoes quickly taken out of them and placed
+either in the carts or on the backs of the horses.  The work was carried
+on with the greatest rapidity, and by the time Dick and his companions
+had launched their boat, the whole had begun to move off, and before the
+lugger was reached, not a single person was to be seen on the beach.
+
+On their return to the _Nancy_, the boat was hoisted in and preparations
+began for making sail.  The operation required care, for should she cast
+the wrong way, she might drive on shore.  The skipper himself took the
+helm.  The hands went to their stations.  The instant the anchor was
+away the sails were sheeted home, and the lugger, casting, as desired,
+to port, stood off from the dangerous coast, close-hauled.  She had not
+got many cable lengths from the beach when two boats dashed alongside.
+A number of armed men sprang on board.
+
+"We've caught you, my fine fellows," exclaimed an officer.  "Yield, in
+the king's name!"
+
+"Happy to see you, gentlemen," answered Dore, with the greatest
+coolness.  "You are welcome to look over our craft, and if you find
+anything contraband on board--for that I suppose is what you are after--
+we'll yield fast enough."
+
+The officer was evidently nonplussed, but he was still not inclined to
+take the smuggler's word.  He allowed the lugger, however, to stand
+further out, until she could heave to with safety, when he ordered the
+foresail to be backed.  He, with several of his men, then went below,
+Dore ordering Dick and another lad to carry a couple of lanterns, that
+the officer might see his way.  The search, as Dore well knew would be
+the case, revealed nothing on which the revenue could lay hands--not a
+bale nor keg of spirits, nor even a few pounds of tobacco.
+
+"Circumstances certainly were suspicious.  You have cleaned her out
+completely," said the officer, turning to Dick, and as he did so eyeing
+him narrowly.  "Where was the cargo run?"
+
+Dick was very nearly replying, "Not long ago," and thus confessing that
+the cargo had been run, but recollecting in time that the smugglers
+might object to such an answer, he said--
+
+"I am merely a passenger on board, sir, and it is not my business to
+answer questions."
+
+"What's your name, my lad?" asked the officer.
+
+Dick was on the point of replying, when Ben, who had heard the question,
+stepped up.  "It is your business, Mr Lieutenant, to overhaul this
+craft and see that there are no smuggled goods on board, and when that
+business is over you have nothing more to do.  That youngster's name may
+be Jack Robinson, or it may be Tom Jones, but whatever it may be is no
+business of yours."
+
+The officer put several questions to others of the crew, but neither
+from them nor from the captain could he elicit any of the information he
+required.  They were perfectly civil to him, and offered not the
+slightest opposition to his going through every part of the vessel, and
+joked with the boats' crews, several recognising old shipmates.  They
+shook hands, patted each other on the back, and appeared on the most
+friendly terms.  Yet the case would have been very different had the
+_Nancy's_ cargo been on board.  There would then have been a death
+struggle, the one to defend, the other to take possession of the craft,
+and they would have fought until one or the other had been defeated.
+
+"Well, Captain Dore," said the lieutenant, "you have been too smart for
+us this time, but we intend to catch you some day or other."
+
+"Maybe the _Nancy_ will be sunk by an enemy's cruiser before then.  You
+seem to have an idea, lieutenant, that we are smugglers.  I didn't think
+fit to gainsay you before, but if you'll step back into my cabin I'll
+show you my privateer's licence, which will prove to you that we are
+engaged lawfully, making war against the French trade," answered Dore.
+
+"Well, well, whichever you are, I won't longer detain you; but before I
+go I wish to have a word with the youngster I saw on board, the son of a
+respectable farmer living out Milford way."
+
+"We detain no one on board against his will, except he has signed
+articles.  If the lad is the person you suppose, and is willing to go,
+go he may, provided you can promise that no harm can come to him."
+
+"I wish to prevent him getting into harm," said the lieutenant, and he
+sent one of his men to find Dick, who was soon afterwards brought aft.
+
+Dick was in two minds about going.  When the lieutenant told him of the
+anxiety of his father and mother, he was on the point of accepting the
+offer.  Just at that moment Ben stepped up.
+
+"You'd better not," he whispered, "for the officer may mean you well,
+but remember there are others who want to get you into their power, and
+you will repent it."
+
+"Thank you, sir," said Dick.  "I have come on board this vessel of my
+own free will, and would rather stay where I am.  If you will see father
+and mother, and tell them I am all right, I will be obliged to you."
+
+"You see, sir, that the lad doesn't want to go, and as you have found
+nothing on board to enable you to detain this vessel, I must beg you to
+let us make sail, for we are drifting in shore closer than is safe."
+
+Again the lieutenant appealed to Dick.  Dore, however, suspected that if
+the lieutenant got him into his power he might induce him to come
+forward to prove that the _Nancy_ was engaged in smuggling, and that he
+should then be deprived of his privateer's licence, so, giving a hint to
+his men, they surrounded Dick and carried him forward.
+
+As the lieutenant had performed his duty, he ordered his men into the
+boats and they pulled away for the shore, while the _Nancy_ stood out to
+sea.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FIVE.
+
+AT THE HALL--REFUSAL OF LORD REGINALD'S GIFT--LADY ELVERSTON AND HER
+DAUGHTERS--TROUBLES OF THE FARMER'S WIFE--PREPARATIONS FOR REJOINING THE
+WOLF--LIEUTENANT HILTON--INFORMATION RECEIVED OF AN INTENDED LANDING--
+LORD REGINALD AND VOULES JOIN THE REVENUE PARTY--FIGHT WITH THE
+SMUGGLERS--SUCCESS OF THE KING'S PARTY--AN ENCOUNTER BETWEEN THE YOUNG
+LORD AND RICHARD HARGRAVE--DICK'S DEFENCE--LORD REGINALD HURT--ESCAPE OF
+THE FARMER'S SON--UNFAVOURABLE OPINION OF DICK AT THE HALL--THE MARQUIS
+AND VOULES--THE MIDSHIPMEN REJOIN THE WOLF.
+
+Lord Reginald and his messmate greatly enjoyed their stay at Elverston
+Hall.  Parties of all sorts were got up for their amusement, and guests
+were invited to meet them--Voules taking good care to sing the praises
+of his friend.
+
+He employed his time, much to his own satisfaction, in paying court to
+Lady Elverston, and endeavouring guardedly to win his way into the good
+graces of the younger ladies.  They were always ready to listen to him
+while he was talking of their brother, whose faults they either had not
+discovered, or were willing to overlook.  To them, at all events, he was
+always affectionate and courteous, whatever he might be to others.
+
+The rest of the household were not altogether so well satisfied with his
+dictatorial, overbearing manners, though they acknowledged that he might
+be a very brave officer, who would some day prove an ornament to his
+profession; but the wish was general, if not expressed, that he would
+soon go off again to sea.
+
+Though still feeling angry with Dick for the impertinent and bold way in
+which he had spoken to him, he did not forget his promise to replace the
+dog he had shot; and as soon as he could find a suitable animal he
+despatched it by a groom to Farmer Hargrave's daughter, sending, at the
+same time, a note expressing his regret at the accident.  It arrived
+just as Mr Gooch had left the cottage, and the interview the farmer had
+had with the bailiff had not been calculated to soothe his feelings.
+Mr Gooch had again threatened him with legal proceedings, and had
+accused him of sending his son out of the way to avoid the consequences
+of his misdeeds.  Farmer Hargrave, of course, denied this, asserting
+that he did not know where his son was.
+
+He was standing at the door when the groom, leading the dog, arrived,
+and delivered his message from Lord Reginald.
+
+"Tell my lord that my daughter doesn't require a dog.  None can replace
+the poor brute that was killed, of which she was very fond.  So I beg
+you'll take it back, and say I am much obliged to him for his
+intentions," he said.
+
+"I don't think my lord will be well pleased to hear this, Farmer
+Hargrave," answered the man.  "He thought he was doing your daughter a
+great honour in sending her a dog, but he didn't do it on account of
+your son, I've a fancy."
+
+"The very reason why I refused to receive the animal," answered the
+farmer.  "I have nothing more to say; and the least said the soonest
+mended."
+
+"Am I to take this message, then?" asked the groom.
+
+"Yes; I have no other to send.  Good day to you," said the farmer,
+turning round as if about to enter his house.
+
+The man led off the dog, observing to himself, "The young lord will be
+in a pretty way when he hears this; it won't be the better for the
+farmer or Master Dick.  That young fellow will get into more trouble if
+he doesn't mend his manners."
+
+Lord Reginald, who had just returned with Voules from a ride, was
+standing in front of the house when the groom appeared, leading the dog.
+
+"I thought I ordered you to take that dog to Farmer Hargrave?" exclaimed
+the midshipman.
+
+"So I did, my lord, but Farmer Hargrave won't have him, and says he
+doesn't want any gifts from your lordship."
+
+"Impudent fellow!" observed Voules.  "The father must be as great a
+barbarian as that precious son of his."
+
+"Did you give him my message properly?" asked Lord Reginald.
+
+"Yes, my lord, word for word, and I advised Farmer Hargrave to take the
+dog, but he would not on any account."
+
+"Then his daughter must go without the animal.  I sent it to her, not to
+him," said Lord Reginald, turning to Voules.  "This sort of thing is
+really provoking; the people about here are next door to savages.  I was
+rather inclined to pity the old Hargraves on account of their blind
+daughter, but I shall persuade my father to do as Gooch advises.  His
+house and barns are a great eyesore from the dining-room windows, and we
+shall be able to add several acres to the park if he could be removed."
+
+"Whether he is right or no, he ought, for the sake of pleasing the
+marquis, to be ready to give up his farm," said Voules, "and if he won't
+do so of his own accord, he should be compelled.  I have no idea of the
+commonalty venturing to set themselves up against the aristocracy in the
+way they have done since the French Revolution."
+
+Lord Reginald had been induced by a right motive to send the dog, and
+the refusal of the farmer to receive it again raised his angry feelings
+against Dick.  "If I come across the young fellow, I'll punish him for
+his own and his father's impertinence!" he exclaimed.
+
+The incident, slight as it may appear, prevented him for some days
+enjoying, as he might otherwise have done, the pleasures of home.  Lady
+Elverston had fulfilled her promise of speaking to the marquis.
+
+"I would not, of course, act unjustly towards Hargrave," he answered;
+"but Gooch, who has consulted the lawyer, tells me that I have a perfect
+right to turn him out; besides which I have offered him an ample sum to
+go, but he has refused to receive the compensation, and insists on
+standing up for what he calls his rights.  I, of course, cannot be
+thwarted by a man at my own gates, and have given authority to Gooch to
+proceed as he thinks necessary for my interests."
+
+"But we consider the farm-house, the stacks, and the buildings,
+picturesque objects in the distance, and we could not desire to have
+near us more respectable, worthy people than the Hargraves," urged Lady
+Elverston.
+
+"He is an obstinate fellow, and a Republican at heart, and will to a
+certainty vote against our son, should John stand for the next
+Parliament," answered the marquis.  "However, I promise you I will act
+with perfect justice; but you could not wish me to submit to the
+insolence of a fellow of his description."
+
+Poor Lady Elverston, though not convinced that her husband was right,
+was unable to say anything more.  She saw that he had been strongly
+biased against the farmer, and she was naturally displeased with the way
+his son had behaved to Lord Reginald.  Her compassionate feelings for
+Janet, however, were not altered.  In the afternoon, accompanied by Lady
+Julia, she took a drive in her pony carriage.  In passing Farmer
+Hargrave's house she stopped to see Janet, wishing also to ascertain the
+reason for the objection Mr Hargrave had to giving up his farm, and
+hoping to induce him to yield with a good grace to the wishes of the
+marquis.
+
+The ladies found Janet and her mother seated in the parlour.  A smile
+played over the countenance of the blind girl when she heard the voice
+of the marchioness.
+
+"Very kind, my lady, very kind in you to come and see us, and mother
+wants so much to talk to your ladyship about the matter of the farm,"
+she said, after the ordinary inquiries had been made and answered.
+
+Lady Elverston was glad of this opportunity of entering on the subject,
+and she begged to hear what Mrs Hargrave had to say.
+
+"My husband, my lady, doesn't desire to oppose the wishes of the
+marquis, but as every Englishman should--as your ladyship will agree--he
+stands on his rights, and as he has a long lease of this property, which
+his fathers for many generations held before him, he refuses to be
+compelled to give it up.  You see, my lady, Mr Gooch has been here and
+threatened that the law will force him if he refuses, and when my good
+man told him that the law could not compel him, the bailiff said that he
+would bring up our son Richard before the justices for threatening to
+shoot Lord Reginald, which I cannot believe he ever did, even though he
+was vexed at his lordship killing his dog.  My husband, my lady, is a
+determined man, and neither I nor any one else can induce him to change
+his mind if he thinks he is doing what is right."
+
+"I certainly would not ask him to do what he thinks is wrong," said Lady
+Elverston, "and I am quite sure that the marquis did not give authority
+to Mr Gooch to use any threats.  Lord Elverston told me this morning
+that he was willing to offer any reasonable compensation to your husband
+for quitting the farm, and he would probably give him ample time to find
+another equally suitable."
+
+"I was sure, my lady, that the marquis would not have allowed the
+bailiff to make use of the threats he did; and if you will speak again
+to his lordship and induce him to make a fair offer to my husband,
+though it would well-nigh break our hearts to move, I will try and get
+him to accept it."
+
+Lady Elverston, who suspected that the marquis had been deceived by Mr
+Gooch, promised again to speak to him; though well aware that he was as
+obstinate as the farmer, she did not say that she was certain of
+success.  Lady Julia in the mean time was talking in her gentle way to
+Janet, and promised to call for her the first sunny day to take her out
+for a drive in the pony-carriage.  Her ladyship then inquired for Dick,
+and expressed a hope that he would harbour no ill feelings towards her
+son.
+
+"I pray that he won't, my lady; he has ever been a good and faithful son
+to us, though somewhat headstrong at times, but he has not a revengeful
+spirit, and I am sure he would not wish to harm Lord Reginald.  We are
+in sad trouble about him, for Mr Gooch frightened him so by his
+threats, that he has gone away, we don't know where."
+
+"Have you no clue to his hiding-place?" asked Lady Elverston.  "I should
+much like to have some conversation with him, and I trust that I might
+soften any lingering ill feeling--should such exist in his breast--
+towards my son."
+
+"I shall never forget your kindness, whatever happens, my lady," said
+Mrs Hargrave.
+
+After some further conversation, the marchioness took her departure,
+accompanied by Lady Julia, still, however, in considerable doubt whether
+she had done much to settle the vexed question.
+
+The time of the two midshipmen's stay at Elverston Hall was drawing to a
+close.  Voules had received a letter from a messmate, saying that the
+_Wolf_ was nearly ready for sea.  He flattered himself that he had not
+let the grass grow under his feet; that he had established himself in
+the good graces of Lord and Lady Elverston; and he had even the vanity
+to suppose that he had made some progress in those of Lady Julia.  He
+was gentlemanly in his manners, and Lord Reginald always spoke of him as
+"a capital fellow," and seemed to regard him with affection.
+
+Lord Reginald himself, accustomed to an active life, was, however,
+beginning to grow somewhat tired of his stay on shore; though attached
+to his family, he was perfectly ready to go back to his ship.  He had
+experienced, indeed, lately some difficulty in finding amusement for
+himself and companion.  He and Voules had made the acquaintance of the
+lieutenant of the neighbouring coastguard station, who, having seen a
+great deal of service, and being a merry fellow, with a fund of
+anecdote, was an amusing companion.  Lieutenant Hilton had several times
+been invited to dine at the hall, an honour he highly appreciated,
+although it cost him a long trudge there and back, over a somewhat wild
+region, with the risk of encountering some of the lawless characters of
+the neighbourhood, who looked upon him as their worst foe.  He had one
+day been dining at the hall; the gentlemen having indulged freely in the
+bottle, as was too common in those times, were about to join the ladies
+in the drawing-room, when a servant entered to inform Lieutenant Hilton
+that a person wished to see him immediately on important business.
+
+"He has probably brought information that a run is to be made to-night,
+and if so, Hilton, we'll accompany you to see the fun," said Lord
+Reginald.  "Don't go off without us, remember.  We'll mount you, and we
+will ride together, with any one else who likes to come."
+
+Lieutenant Hilton hurried out to see the messenger.  He returned to say
+that Lord Reginald was right in his conjectures, and that there was no
+time to be lost, as a suspicious lugger had been seen off the coast, and
+that as the night promised to be dark, there was no doubt she would try
+to run her cargo before the morning.
+
+The other gentlemen declined the proposed expedition, and Voules would
+gladly have remained behind, but he could not venture to allow Lord
+Reginald to go without him, especially as he himself had proposed
+assisting the revenue, should an opportunity occur.  Very unwillingly,
+therefore, he went to his room to prepare for the ride, instead of
+passing the evening, as he had hoped, in the society of Lady Julia.
+
+The marquis, although he would rather his son had not undertaken what
+might prove a hazardous expedition, could not object, as he had
+expressed his resolution by every means in his power to put down the
+smugglers.  The horses were soon ready, and the lieutenant and the two
+midshipmen, led by the mounted exciseman who had brought the
+information, set off by a road which would lead them to the westward of
+Milford.  The excise officer informed the lieutenant that a messenger
+had been despatched to obtain the assistance of a party of dragoons
+stationed at Lymington, and that a small body of sea-fencibles,
+belonging to the district, were hurrying on towards the expected scene
+of action.  With the aid of the lieutenant's own men, a sufficient force
+would thus, it was hoped, be collected to seize the goods should they be
+landed, while the boats on the station were despatched to try and
+capture the lugger herself before she had completely discharged her
+cargo.  The exact spot where it was intended the lugger should run her
+cargo was unknown, but it was supposed that it would be somewhere
+between Hurst and Christchurch.  The cliffs here are of considerable
+height, rising above a narrow beach, and, continually crumbling away,
+exhibit numerous fossil remains.  In some places they are broken by
+narrow gullies, which, sloping up gradually from the shore to the downs
+above, afford easy pathways up which both men and loaded animals can
+climb without much difficulty.
+
+Since information had first been received of the intended run from a
+treacherous confederate of the smugglers, preparations for their capture
+had been carried on with the greatest possible secrecy and rapidity.  It
+was important to prevent the smugglers' associates on shore from
+discovering that the revenue men were approaching.
+
+Lieutenant Hilton having reached his station, summoned eight of his own
+men to accompany him.  Here the midshipmen were provided with pistols
+and cutlasses.  Their services were likely to be of use, as it was
+certain the smugglers would muster in large numbers.  The horses were
+left at the station, while the lieutenant and his party proceeded to the
+spot where the sea-fencibles were posted, waiting for any information
+they might receive to guide their future proceedings.
+
+It was in a hollow, surrounded by trees and brushwood, and about half a
+mile or so from the sea-shore.  The night, as had been expected, was
+very dark, the wind a moderate breeze, blowing from the north-west.  Not
+a word was spoken above a whisper, for fear lest their position should
+be discovered by any passing associates of the smugglers.  The latter
+had given it out that the run was to be made on the other side of
+Christchurch head, and to induce them to suppose that this was believed,
+a party of revenue men had started off in that direction, taking care
+that their movements should be observed.  It was hoped by this that the
+smugglers would be deceived, and would attempt the run at the spot named
+in the private information which had been received.
+
+"This is dull work!" whispered Voules to Lord Reginald.  "I thought we
+should be up and doing long ago."
+
+"Dull enough!  I vote we set off by ourselves, to try and find out what
+the smugglers are about," answered Lord Reginald.
+
+"I should recommend riding back to the hall, and letting our friends
+here follow their own devices," said Voules; "but it would not do, now
+that we have once put ourselves under Hilton's command, to desert him."
+
+Their patience was to be further tried.  At last, one of the scouts who
+had been set to watch the direction taken by those who were sure to
+assist in the landing, came in with the intelligence that he had traced
+them midway between the hamlets of Barton and Ash, and that he had seen
+suspicious lights both on shore and at sea.  The latter were, it was
+guessed, shown on board the lugger, which was exchanging signals with
+the spotsmen on shore, leaving little doubt as to where the goods would
+be run.  As the distance to the spot was considerable, there was no time
+to be lost, for not only might the lugger's cargo be landed, but carried
+far away into the interior before the revenue men could get there.
+There was a danger, however, should they arrive too soon, of their being
+discovered by the smugglers, who would in that case put off to sea again
+and wait for a more favourable opportunity.
+
+The road followed by Lieutenant Hilton and his party led some distance
+from the shore.  They proceeded as fast as they could move, forming a
+compact body, that they might run the less risk of being seen.  The
+commander of the sea-fencibles arranged the plan of proceeding.  He,
+with his men, would go to the westward, while the lieutenant was to
+attack the smugglers on the opposite side, and the excisemen were to
+guard the upper part of the hollow or gully which led down to the water,
+so as to catch any of the smugglers who might be making their way up it
+to escape.  This plan was arranged as they went along.
+
+On reaching the neighbourhood of the spot, they halted, and scouts were
+sent out to ascertain if the smugglers had collected where they had been
+expected.  In a short time the scouts returned, stating that a large
+body of men were on the beach, and one of them added that he had nearly
+been discovered by a party with pack animals proceeding down the gully
+which led to the same part of the shore.  Lord Reginald was on the point
+of exhibiting his satisfaction by giving a loud shout, when Voules
+stopped him.
+
+"On my lads!" said the lieutenant in a low voice; and he led his men by
+a narrow path which wound down the cliff to the west of the village of
+Barton, while the rest of the party, by a wide circuit, made their way
+to the opposite side.
+
+It was agreed that Lieutenant Hilton should fire off a couple of pistols
+in rapid succession, as the signal for attacking the smugglers, and that
+both parties were to rush on them simultaneously, while the men at the
+top of the gully should stop them from making their escape in that
+direction.
+
+Lord Reginald was eager for the attack, but Voules, as he made out the
+numbers in which the smugglers mustered, heartily wished that he had
+remained to enjoy the society of the ladies at the hall.
+
+"We are likely to get more kicks than ha'pence, and little honour, at
+all events," he muttered to himself.
+
+From where they lay concealed, they could observe the boats coming on
+shore with the lugger's cargo.  The lieutenant watched until he
+considered that the larger portion had been landed.  He directed Lord
+Reginald and Voules, with three men, to guard the foot of a pathway
+leading up the cliff, by which possibly some of the smugglers might
+attempt to make their escape.  The outlaws had been carrying on their
+undertaking in perfect silence.  Not a sound had been heard, when the
+report of the two pistols echoed among the cliffs.  It was the signal
+for a general uproar.  The revenue men dashed forward from both sides
+towards the party on the beach, who began shouting and swearing
+vehemently.  Then came the flash of firearms, and the clash of
+cutlasses.  The smugglers fought desperately.  Some were hurriedly
+loading the horses, hoping to escape with a portion of the goods by
+land, others were engaged in throwing the packages back into the boats,
+and endeavouring to shove off, and regain the lugger.  The revenue
+officers, knowing that this would be attempted, rushed forward to
+prevent them.  Here some of the hottest fighting took place.  As they
+could not escape through the gully, no attempt was made to stop them
+from entering it.  Before long, however, the smugglers discovered how
+they had been entrapped, when those who had gone off came running back
+with the disastrous intelligence.  All attempts to save the goods were
+abandoned.  Each man thought only how he could best make his escape.
+Some endeavoured to climb the cliffs, others rushed beneath them, to the
+westward.  One party made a dash for the pathway guarded by Lord
+Reginald and Voules.  So furious was their onslaught, that Voules was
+knocked over, and while their men had each an opponent, two other
+smugglers rushed past Lord Reginald.  He fired, but whether his bullet
+took effect or not, he could not tell; by the flash, however, he thought
+that he recognised the features of Dick Hargrave, whose companion,
+wresting the young lord's sword from his grasp, dashed on up the path,
+and both were soon lost to sight in the darkness.  Lord Reginald made a
+vain attempt to follow the fugitives, but, unable to see his way, was
+glad to rejoin his companions.
+
+"I know the young rascal, and have now proof positive that he is a
+smuggler!" he exclaimed.  "Voules, did you see him?"
+
+But Voules, who had been lying on the sand where he had been thrown,
+some feet below, only just then began to recover.  Several seconds
+elapsed before he was again able to take part in what was going forward.
+The other smugglers, who had tried to escape up the path, were secured.
+
+The fighting continued, however, for some time longer, till, one after
+the other, the smugglers were knocked down and captured, four being
+killed, and a large number wounded, while two of the revenue men lost
+their lives, and several others were severely hurt.  Dore, with the few
+people still remaining on board the lugger, waited in the hopes of the
+boats getting off, but when they knew by their not returning that their
+friends must have been taken, the cable was cut, and the _Nancy_ stood
+out to sea.  She had, however, proceeded but a short distance when two
+revenue boats dashed alongside, and her diminished crew, being unable to
+make any effectual resistance, she was captured, with the remainder of
+the contraband goods on board, more than sufficient to condemn her.
+
+Lieutenant Hilton was very well pleased with the result of the
+enterprise.  Seldom had so large a capture been effected.  He had,
+however, still a difficult task to perform, as he had scarcely men
+sufficient to guard the prisoners, whose desperate character he knew
+full well, while he had the additional duty of conducting the
+packhorses.
+
+The smugglers at first appeared to submit quietly enough, but that was
+no proof that they would continue to do so, should they find an
+opportunity of escaping.
+
+As there were not more than three lanterns among the whole party, it was
+difficult to ascertain whether the prisoners were properly secured.  At
+any moment, they might break loose and effect their escape.  They had,
+indeed, every motive for doing so.  They had not only been captured
+smuggling, but had weapons in their hands, opposing the king's
+authority, and one and all of them might be tried for the death of the
+two revenue men who had fallen.  All who had been taken were now brought
+together and placed under the cliffs, watched by a strong guard, while
+the bales and kegs, which lay scattered about in all directions, were
+collected and packed on the horses.
+
+The order to march was given.  The pack animals went first, followed by
+the captured smugglers, who uttered curses, deep if not loud, on their
+hard fate.  Then came the men told off to carry the wounded who were too
+much hurt to walk.  Lord Reginald and Voules brought up the rear.  The
+killed were left above high water mark on the beach, until a party could
+be sent to carry them to Barton churchyard, where the revenue man and
+smuggler were destined to lie side by side.
+
+The party at length reached the top of the cliff, and directed their
+course towards the high road running between Christchurch and Lymington.
+They had proceeded about a mile, when a number of armed men, springing
+out from behind the hedges on either side, suddenly attacked the
+conductors of the pack-horses, which they endeavoured to carry off.  The
+prisoners, taking advantage of the confusion, attempted to escape, and
+there appeared every probability that some would succeed.
+
+"Cut down the fellows, if they try to get off!" cried Voules, and the
+other officers repeated the order.
+
+At that moment the clattering sound of horses' hoofs coming along the
+road was heard.  A cry arose, "The dragoons are upon us!"  The men who
+had made the last daring attempt to recover the goods took to flight.
+Two were captured by the soldiers, who went in pursuit, but the rest
+effected their escape.
+
+Mr Hilton gladly handed over the prisoners to the charge of the
+military, while he accompanied Lord Reginald and Voules back to the
+station where they had left their horses.
+
+"I wish that you would remain here until the morning," said the
+lieutenant, when they reached it.  "There are a number of rough
+characters allied with the smugglers, who, should they fall in with you,
+may take it into their heads to revenge themselves by shooting you."
+
+"I am not afraid of them," answered the young lord.  "Voules and I
+together are able to tackle a dozen such fellows.  Thank you for your
+invitation, but our friends at the hall will be anxious to know what has
+happened, and I want to tell my father how admirably you have managed
+affairs."
+
+The lieutenant, finding that the midshipmen could not be induced to
+remain, ordered the horses to be brought out, and Lord Reginald, saying
+that he would the next morning send a groom for the animal the
+lieutenant had ridden, being well acquainted with the way, set off with
+Voules for the hall.
+
+"As there is no fear of our losing the road, even in the dark, we may as
+well take a short cut," he observed, after they had gone some distance.
+"We shall save a mile or more, and have the advantage of turf.  The
+moon, too, will soon be up, and we shall be able to gallop a good part
+of the distance."
+
+Voules had nothing to say against this proposal, though he would have
+preferred the high road.
+
+"This lane will lead us on to the heath, and as the sky is clear, there
+will be light enough, even before the moon rises, besides which our
+horses know the way as well as I do," said Lord Reginald.
+
+They rode down the lane at a more steady pace than they had hitherto
+been going, for it was full of ruts, and somewhat narrow and winding.
+It conducted them on to a wild heath, beyond which could be discerned
+the outskirts of the New Forest, the trees in some places projecting
+over the heath like the advance guard of an army, while in others wild
+glades opened out extending far into the interior.  Towards one of these
+glades Lord Reginald directed his course.
+
+"By keeping a little to the right it will lead us to the high road
+again," he observed.  "There's the moon just rising above the trees.  We
+shall be able to push along now, without fear of rushing into a hedge."
+
+Crossing the heath by a tolerably well-defined footpath, they entered
+the forest, and were galloping along a grassy glade, on which their
+horses' hoofs produced scarcely a sound, when Lord Reginald uttered an
+exclamation of surprise.
+
+"Halloa!  I see a fellow ahead.  Where can he be going?"
+
+"Probably one of the smugglers, who managed to make his escape,"
+answered Voules.
+
+"Whoever he is, we will stop him and ascertain why he is out at this
+time of night.  Stop, you fellow!" cried Lord Reginald; "we want to
+speak to you."
+
+The person, who apparently had not before heard them coming, only
+increased his pace; on seeing which the young lord spurred on his horse.
+
+The stranger, who might possibly have escaped by darting in among the
+trees, instead of making the attempt, finding that his pursuers were
+gaining on him, stopped and faced them, holding a thick stick, which
+might properly have been called a club, in his hand.
+
+"Throw down that bludgeon and come here," said Lord Reginald.
+
+"Not while I am spoken to in that tone," answered the stranger.  "I have
+as much right to be out in this forest as you have."
+
+"You must tell us who you are, and where you are going!" cried Lord
+Reginald, riding up to him.
+
+The stranger lifted up his club, exclaiming, "Hands off!  If you attempt
+to touch me, you must take the consequences."
+
+Just then a gleam of light from the rising moon shone on the stranger's
+face.
+
+"I know the rascal!" cried Lord Reginald; "it's that young Hargrave.
+Not the first time we have met tonight.  You are one of the fellows who
+made their escape from the excisemen; but you are not going to do so
+from us; so yield at once!  Come, help me, Voules!" and the young lord,
+spurring forward his horse, attempted to seize Dick by the shoulder.
+
+The latter sprang back, and, whirling round his club, struck Lord
+Reginald a blow on the arm which effectually prevented him from using
+it, and before Voules could lay hold of him, Dick had rushed off among
+the trees, which quickly concealed him from view.
+
+In vain Lord Reginald, in spite of the pain he was suffering, urged his
+horse after him.  The stems of the trees, growing thickly together,
+prevented him from following, and Dick was soon safe beyond the pursuit
+of the horsemen.
+
+"This is provoking; but we will have him yet!" cried Lord Reginald.
+
+"I am afraid the villain has broken your arm!" exclaimed Voules.
+
+"It seems something like it from the pain I am suffering," answered Lord
+Reginald; "however, the sooner we can get home to have it looked to the
+better."
+
+"Yes, indeed," said Voules; "I am deeply grieved.  I would have shot the
+young savage had I thought he would have had the audacity to strike
+you."
+
+"No, no; I should have been sorry if the fellow had been killed," said
+Lord Reginald.  "All I wanted was to take him prisoner, and send him off
+with the rest to sea, for I suppose that will be the lot of all who are
+fit to serve.  However, as we are not likely to see more of him for the
+present, I shall be glad to get home.  This arm of mine hurts me
+fearfully."
+
+They again put their horses into a gallop, and continued on until they
+reached the end of the glade, which led out on the high road.  Lord
+Reginald bore the pain manfully; indeed, it was surprising that he did
+not faint and fall from his horse.  The trotting along the road was even
+worse than the gallop, and at last he had to tell Voules to stop and
+walk.  It was nearly two o'clock in the morning when they reached the
+hall.  They found Lord and Lady Elverston, with Lord John, sitting up
+for them.
+
+"Most thankful to see you back," said Lord Elverston, who came out to
+meet them; "we were too anxious to go to bed.  One of the grooms had
+brought word that there had been a desperate fight between the revenue
+men and the smugglers, and that there had been a number of killed and
+wounded.  Good Heavens! what is the matter?  You look very pale.  Are
+you hurt?"
+
+"Yes, but not in the fight," answered Reginald, as he entered the
+drawing-room and sank into a chair.  He then described the encounter
+with Richard Hargrave.
+
+"The young ruffian must be punished," exclaimed the marquis.  "It is
+evident that he is leagued with the smugglers, and this last outrage
+shows his desperate character.  Do you feel much pain?"
+
+"Very much; indeed, I fear that my arm is broken," answered Lord
+Reginald.
+
+On hearing this Lady Elverston came to his side.  "My dear boy, I trust
+not," she said; "you must go to bed, and let Mrs Cross and me examine
+your arm."
+
+"If it is broken we must send off for a surgeon immediately," said the
+marquis.
+
+"I would rather have some supper first.  I dare say so would Voules, for
+we both of us felt very hungry as we came along, and I hope after all,
+no bone is broken."
+
+The tray was at once brought up, and though Voules did ample justice to
+the viands it contained, Lord Reginald, after making several ineffectual
+attempts to eat, had to confess that the pain overpowered him, and he
+allowed himself to be led off to his room by his mother and brother.
+
+Mrs Cross, the housekeeper, was soon in attendance, having evidently,
+by the way her dress was put on, with her night-cap on her head, just
+risen from her slumbers.  The young lord was quickly undressed, when, on
+his arm being examined, Mrs Cross declared it as her opinion that no
+bone was broken; and all that was required were fomentations and rest.
+
+"I am sorry to hear so bad a character of young Hargrave.  His mother
+and blind sister are at all events good people, and it will grieve them
+sorely," observed Lady Elverston to her husband, who answered only with
+the significant exclamation of--
+
+"Humph!  Perhaps so."
+
+The pain was somewhat relieved by the fomentations applied by the
+housekeeper, who offered to sit up with the young lord; and though he
+declared that he should do very well without assistance, he was glad at
+length to accept her offer.
+
+Voules came in just before going to bed, to express his deep concern.
+
+"I shall do very well in a day or two," said Lord Reginald, "and it
+won't prevent me from joining my ship."
+
+Notwithstanding his assertion, he was very feverish during the night,
+when he was constantly uttering expressions which showed the animosity
+he felt against Dick Hargrave, complaining that he was the cause of the
+pain he was enduring.  This was reported the next morning by Mrs Cross
+to the marchioness.
+
+"It is a shame, my lady, that so bad a lad should be allowed to be at
+large.  I hope my lord will have him taken up and sent off to Botany
+Bay, or anywhere out of the way, for if he meets Lord Reginald again, I
+don't know what will come of it."
+
+Next morning the doctor, who had been sent for, arrived, and greatly
+relieved the minds of Lord and Lady Elverston by assuring them that
+their son's arm was not broken.
+
+"No thanks to the young ruffian who inflicted the blow," observed the
+marquis; "we must have him apprehended, for such an outrage must not be
+allowed to go unpunished."
+
+The doctor directed Lord Reginald's arm to be fomented, and observed
+that he must carry it for a few days in a sling, assuring him that he
+need not fear any serious consequences.
+
+"Then it will not prevent him from joining his ship?" observed the
+marquis, who had his reasons for wishing that the midshipmen should not
+remain longer at Elverston.
+
+"Not if he can perform his duty without going aloft, or using his arm
+for the present," replied the doctor.
+
+Lord Elverston said he would write to the captain on the subject.
+
+"In that case his lordship may join his ship immediately," observed the
+doctor, who seemed to understand the marquis's wishes.
+
+Voules, who had been present during the discussion, was far from
+satisfied with the doctor's decision.  He had hoped that the injury Lord
+Reginald had received would serve him as an excuse for remaining until
+the frigate was on the point of sailing, as he himself was in no hurry
+to leave Elverston Hall.
+
+The marquis, however, had observed his attentions to Lady Julia, and
+although he gave his daughter credit for discretion, he thought it was
+as well to send the young gentleman away.  Having a pretty good
+knowledge of the world, he had taken the measure of Toady Voules more
+accurately than his son had done, and had seen through him.  When Lord
+Reginald, faithful to his promise, had begged his father to use his
+influence at the Admiralty to get Voules promoted, the marquis replied
+that he should be happy to serve any friend of his, but for certain
+reasons he could make no promise, and that he must know more about the
+young gentleman before he could recommend him to their lordships.
+
+"But he is really a capital fellow," said Lord Reginald.  "He sticks
+like a leech to me, and I can always depend upon him."
+
+"Leeches suck blood," answered the marquis, laughing.  "I don't think
+you have well considered the simile."
+
+"I mean that he is always ready at hand when I want him to do anything I
+require," answered Lord Reginald.  "He is the most convenient fellow I
+ever met."
+
+"Well, well, I will remember your wishes," said the marquis.
+
+Lord Reginald saw that he must not press the point further.  Voules
+looked very melancholy at the thought of leaving Elverston.  He was in
+an especially bad humour too, for though Lady Julia treated him as she
+had always done, he began to suspect that he had made no great way in
+her good graces.  The utter indifference she showed when he talked of
+going away, convinced him of this, and although to the last the family
+treated him, as Lord Reginald's friend, with the utmost kindness, no one
+expressed the hope that they might soon again have the pleasure of
+seeing him.
+
+A couple of days having passed, the midshipmen were ready to obey the
+order to rejoin their ship.  A Yarmouth pilot vessel having been engaged
+to convey them to Portsmouth, they set sail in her from Keyhaven.
+Taking a favourable tide, with a fair wind, they might easily get there
+in six hours, whereas the journey by land would have occupied nearly a
+couple of days.  The crew of the pilot vessel, as they stepped on board,
+looked at the midshipmen askance, evidently having heard of the part
+they had taken in the capture of the smugglers, many of whom were their
+relatives and friends.  The captain, however, treated them with the
+greatest civility, but took good care not to answer any questions they
+put to him concerning the smugglers, leaving them to suppose that he was
+ignorant of the existence of such persons, and was not even aware that
+there was any smuggling on that coast.
+
+Of Dick Hargrave nothing had been heard, but a warrant had been taken
+out for his apprehension, and people were on the watch to capture him
+should he make his appearance, or should his place of concealment be
+discovered.  A fresh breeze quickly carrying the cutter up to
+Portsmouth, Lord Reginald and Voules once more found themselves on board
+the _Wolf_, which had hauled away from the dockyard, ready to go out to
+Spithead.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER SIX.
+
+THE SECOND TRIP OF THE NANCY--PARTICULARS OF THE LANDING--HOW IT FARED
+WITH DICK AND BEN--WANDERING IN THE FOREST--IN HIDING--NEARLY CAUGHT--
+SEIZED BY A PRESSGANG--KINDNESS OF THE LANDLADY AT THE ADMIRAL BENBOW--
+BEN RUDALL A PRISONER--ON BOARD THE TENDER--OFF COWES--THE WOLF--MR
+BITTS, THE BOATSWAIN--DICK RECOGNISES LORD REGINALD AND VOULES--AN
+ATTEMPT TO MAKE AN EXCHANGE.
+
+When Dick Hargrave sailed the second time on board the _Nancy_, he
+forgot the saying that "the pitcher which goes often to the well gets
+broken at last," or that few who follow a lawless occupation escape from
+suffering in the end.  Of course, he should have been influenced by a
+far higher motive, but he had not been taught to look upon smuggling in
+the same light which an honest man does nowadays.  Even his father
+regarded it with a lenient eye, though he had ever refused to take a
+share in the proceedings of the smugglers by permitting his horses to be
+used in transporting the goods when landed on the coast.  Dick had a
+tolerably pleasant life on board the _Nancy_, as Dore and the crew
+always treated him kindly.
+
+The lugger, as before, ran into the quiet little harbour in which she
+was wont to take her goods on board, and had a narrow escape from a
+French cruiser; but had got free by the very common device of lowering
+all her canvas during the night and allowing her pursuer to pass her.
+Without further cause for alarm, she made the English coast.  Dick,
+though he liked the life well enough, had no wish to continue in it; he
+wanted to see his parents and Janet, and to relieve their anxiety about
+him.  He had resolved, therefore, to quit the _Nancy_, and to go on
+shore with Ben, who did not intend to make the next trip in her.  It was
+settled, therefore, that he and Ben were to pull in one of the boats
+engaged in landing the cargo, and that afterwards they were to assist in
+escorting the goods safe into the interior.  After they had once got
+away from the coast, there was but little danger of their being
+captured.
+
+"All right," said Ben to Dick, as the lugger stood in to the westward of
+the Shingles; "the revenue men have been told that there is to be a run
+made this very night, Portland way, and they will all have gone off
+there and left the coast clear for us, so that there is no fear as to
+our getting the goods safe on shore."
+
+There seemed every probability that Ben's prognostications would prove
+true.  The night was dark, and the wind sufficiently off shore to enable
+the _Nancy_ to stand close in.  The expected signals were seen.  The
+anchor was dropped, the boats lowered, and immediately afterwards,
+others came off from the shore, bringing the satisfactory intelligence
+that everything was clear for the run.  The vessel was rapidly unloaded.
+The greater part of her cargo had been discharged, and was already on
+the beach, when the reports of Lieutenant Hilton's pistols were heard,
+and the smugglers found themselves beset on both sides by their enemies.
+Dick and Ben were already on shore, and were engaged in loading the
+packhorses.
+
+"You get out of it, Dick," said Ben, "either climb the cliff or run
+along the beach; you've nothing to fight for."
+
+Dick hesitated; he felt that it would be cowardly to desert his
+companions.
+
+Ben, though not thus influenced, suspected his motive.  "Come, lad," he
+said; "there's a path not far from this, and the chances are there is no
+one to stop us going up it; I'll show thee the way."  Saying this, he
+dashed forward quickly, followed by Dick.
+
+He was disappointed in one respect--the path was guarded, but knocking
+over the first person who opposed him, who happened to be Mr Voules,
+and wrenching the cutlass out of Lord Reginald's hand, he dashed on.
+Dick, who kept close behind him, had a narrow escape of being shot, and
+felt pretty sure that Lord Reginald, whom he recognised, had seen him.
+
+Continuing on a short time, they were satisfied that they were not
+pursued, and might proceed homewards with little risk of further
+interruption.  Still, Ben could not resist the temptation of trying to
+ascertain the fate of his companions.  It appeared to him that they had
+been attacked by a comparatively small party, and that could a number of
+determined men be collected, they might effect a rescue.  He and Dick
+made their way, therefore, to a farm-house, in which it had been
+arranged that the heavier part of the goods should be stowed, until they
+could be conveyed away to a distance.  Here he found several persons, to
+whom he gave the first intelligence of the disaster.  They instantly
+hurried off to collect other men from all directions.  As it was well
+known what road the party with the captured goods would take, they
+intended to form an ambush to surprise them, but the smugglers, not
+having time to do this, made their attack in a less favourable position,
+with the result which has been seen.
+
+Dick again escaped, but what became of Ben he could not tell, though he
+hoped that he also had got off.  Much as he had wished to see his father
+and mother, he now almost dreaded to meet them.  His intention was to
+reach home by daybreak, and having seen them again to go off and hide
+himself in a woodman's hut in the forest, or in some other place, where
+he could remain until the search after him had ceased.  It was not
+likely indeed, that much trouble would be taken, unless Mr Gooch, for
+the sake of influencing his father, tried to get him into his power.
+
+With this intention he was making his way towards home, his thoughts so
+occupied that he did not hear the approach of Lord Reginald and Voules
+until they were close upon him.  He would gladly have avoided an
+encounter, but at the same time he determined not to be taken prisoner
+when he saw that such was the young lord's intention.  What happened has
+been described.  On escaping from Lord Reginald, he soon reached a thick
+bush, behind which he could conceal himself with little chance of being
+discovered.  He there lay perfectly quiet until he heard the two
+horsemen ride off.
+
+"I am thankful I had not my gun with me, or I might have been tempted to
+use it," he said to himself.  "Why should that young lord persecute me?
+He had no business to come and help the revenue men, and it could do him
+and that other fellow no good to make me a prisoner, except to boast of
+what they had done.  If I go home now they will accuse poor father and
+mother of harbouring me, and I shall bring them into trouble.  I wonder,
+after all, if Ben got off.  If I thought that he did, I'd go to his
+cottage.  He would hide me there until these two fellows have gone back
+to their ship, and the rest have got tired of looking for me.  If poor
+Janet could see, I'd go home and let her alone know that I had come, and
+she would hide me away.  As she can't help me, poor girl!  I don't know
+what to do."
+
+Such were some of Dick's meditations.  Overcome with fatigue, he lay
+down to rest a little, and, as was very natural, fell fast asleep.  When
+he awoke it was broad daylight.  It would not now do to venture down to
+Keyhaven.  He would too probably meet some of the revenue men, who would
+to a certainty capture him.  Home he dared not go; his only alternative
+was to remain in the forest until the return of night, when he could
+traverse the country with less risk of encountering any one.  He was
+very hungry, but he was equally afraid of going to any cottage to beg
+for a crust, lest he should be recognised.  Not far off was a pool, of
+which there were many in the forest, where he quenched his thirst.  Hips
+and haws were now ripe, there were plenty around could, he eat enough to
+satisfy the cravings of hunger.  There were tench, too, in some of the
+pools--fine, fat fish, which he might catch, as they lay under the bank,
+with his hands, but he had no means of lighting a fire to cook them.  He
+walked about listening, lest he might be surprised by any one coming;
+then, growing weary, he again sat down under his bush.  He was very
+hungry and very unhappy.  Sometimes he thought he would go home in spite
+of the risk he would run, and try to see his mother alone.  He might
+easily hide in one of the out-buildings, and steal in when his father
+had left the house, but then, knowing that he had been recognised by
+Lord Reginald, who would, he supposed, inform against him, he feared
+that he might be discovered by those who would be sent to search for
+him, though his mother, he felt sure, would do her best to conceal him.
+
+"I had better not," he said to himself; "it shall only get father and
+mother into trouble; if they don't know where I am, they cannot say.
+I'll go down to Susan Rudall's; she'll stow me away, if I can reach her
+cottage without being seen.  No one will think of looking for me there."
+
+Dick, when on board the lugger, had been rigged out thoroughly as a
+young sailor.  The dress, as he thought, was a sufficient disguise,
+should he meet any one in the gloom of the evening.  His hunger made him
+very eager to reach Susan's as soon as possible.  Soon after the sun had
+set, therefore, he started for Keyhaven, going along by the by-paths,
+and keeping himself concealed as much as possible among the trees and
+brushwood.  He calculated that it would be perfectly dark by the time he
+got to the village, and that he might enter Susan's cottage without
+being perceived.  For some time, meeting no one, he became bolder, and
+made his way along the lanes with less caution than he had before used.
+He had just turned an angle of the road, when he saw in the distance
+several persons coming towards him.  He darted back, hoping that he had
+not been seen, and, getting through a hedge, he lay down in a dry ditch.
+
+Though perfectly concealed, he was almost afraid to breathe, lest he
+might be heard by the people passing.  They had been too far off when
+first seen to enable him to ascertain who they were, and he dared not
+look through the hedge, lest they should perceive him.  His heart beat
+quickly as he heard their footsteps approaching; he felt like a criminal
+escaping from justice.  Though constitutionally brave, the consciousness
+that he had acted wrongly in many respects made him a coward.  The men
+were only, as far as he could judge, labourers returning home after
+their day's work.  He heard them talking of the attempted run of
+contraband goods, the capture of the _Nancy_ and her crew, as well as of
+the number of people assisting in the landing who had been taken.
+
+"It will go hard with some of them," observed one of the speakers;
+"they'll bring it in `murder,' maybe, as two of the king's officers were
+killed, if they can prove who fired the shots.  Whether of not, Botany
+Bay is the best they can expect, and many a year before they can see
+their wives and families again."
+
+"A reward is offered for catching the chaps who escaped," said another.
+
+What more was said Dick could not hear; he was thankful that he had not
+been seen by the men, or they would probably have detained him for the
+sake of the reward.  He waited until they had got some distance, and
+then, creeping along the hedge, he again got into the lane, and ran on
+as before, looking out ahead so that he might not come suddenly on any
+other persons.  Hungry and tired, he at length got close to Keyhaven.
+To pass through the village without being seen would be difficult.  He
+heard voices, as if people were still about, and lights shone in the
+windows of the cottages in sight.  Had he not been so hungry, he would
+have again hidden under a hedge until later in the evening; but eager to
+obtain something to eat, he hurried on, hoping by good chance to reach
+Susan's cottage without being observed.  He was passing the Rodney's
+Head, when several persons issued from the door.
+
+"Hullo! make that fellow heave to, and see who he is," said a voice; and
+two men came rushing after him.
+
+The words made Dick start off as fast as his legs would carry him.  The
+men, however, followed.  He might still, he hoped, escape, and reach
+Susan's cottage.  It was before him, but should he be seen to enter, it
+would afford him no shelter.  If he could get round it, however, he
+might double back, making his way along on the other side of the
+village.  He was unusually weak from long fasting, and found his
+strength failing him.  His foot struck against a piece of an anchor fast
+in the ground, and down he fell.  Before he could rise his pursuers were
+upon him.
+
+"You made a good run for it, my lad, but you are caught
+notwithstanding," said one of the men.  "No use in kicking up a shindy,
+so come along with us and make the best of it, as many another lad has
+done."
+
+"Who are you?  What are you going to do with me?" asked Dick.
+
+"We are men-of-war's men, and are going to make you serve his Majesty,
+as we are doing," was the answer, as Dick was led back to the village
+inn.
+
+"Won't you let me go and see my friends first, or let me send them a
+message to say where I am gone?"
+
+The men laughed.  "You can send a message when you are safe on board the
+tender.  You'll be sent off there presently, with a few other fine
+fellows we have laid hands on.  Don't be cast down, lad, you'll like the
+service well enough when you get into our ways; and if you don't, like
+many others, you'll have to grin and bear it."
+
+Dick made no answer; he was in for it, and it was useless to complain.
+The disappointment, however, did not take away his appetite.  He quickly
+felt his hunger pressing him as at first.  "I wish that you'd let me
+have a crust of bread and a piece of cheese, for I have not put anything
+into my mouth for many a long hour."
+
+"Mrs Simmons will soon find that for you, and a glass of ale, too, my
+lad," answered the seaman.  "Maybe, if you've no shiners in your pocket,
+you'll find some friend inside who will treat you."
+
+On reaching the inn door, Dick saw a large party of seamen under an
+officer who had just mustered them outside, while several remained
+within, guarding persons with handcuffs on their wrists and seated on
+the benches.  Two or three of them looked very disconsolate, but the
+rest were endeavouring to keep up their spirits by laughing and joking
+and talking to each other, or with their captors.  Among the former,
+Dick, to his sorrow, saw his friend Ben Rudall, who, however, did not
+appear to recognise him.  The landlady looked far from pleased at the
+guests she was compelled to entertain.  Dick caught her eye.
+
+"Do give me something to eat, Mrs Simmons!" he exclaimed.  "I'm pretty
+nigh starved."
+
+"Bless me, Richard Hargrave! is that you?  You shall have what little I
+have in the house; but it will be a sad night to those at home when they
+hear that you are taken."
+
+"I wish that you'd send up and tell them, and get it broken gently to my
+mother and Janet," said Dick, as Mrs Simmons placed bread and cheese,
+and a piece of cold bacon before him, with a mug of ale.
+
+"Be smart, my lad, and stow that food away," said the seaman, who stood
+by with a pair of handcuffs.  "You'll get some breakfast on board the
+tender to-morrow morning."
+
+"Maybe; but I should be starved to death before to-morrow morning, if
+you don't let me eat this," answered Dick, munching away with all his
+might.  He had never eaten so fast, for he expected every moment that
+the seaman would lose patience and clap the handcuffs on him.  He was
+allowed, however, to swallow the contents of the plate as well as the
+ale.
+
+"I'll pay you, Mrs Simmons, some day when I come back; and thank you in
+the mean time," said Dick, when he had finished his hasty meal.
+
+"You are welcome to it, my boy," said the landlady, "and who knows but
+that you'll one day come back a captain."
+
+The sailor laughed as he clapped the handcuffs on Dick's wrists.
+Directly afterwards the officer ordered the prisoners to be brought out,
+as the boat had arrived from the tender to carry them on board.
+
+Ben Rudall, who had hitherto been silent, finding that he was at once to
+be carried off, rose to his feet and lifting up his manacled hands
+addressed the officer, "It is hard lines for me, sir, to be dragged away
+from my wife and family, without so much as saying good-bye to them.
+They live not many doors off, down the lane; won't you just let me go
+down and kiss the children?  Maybe you are a father yourself, and you
+wouldn't like to be carried away from your young ones without saying a
+few last words to cheer them up."
+
+"It can't be done, my man," answered the officer, turning away.  "If I
+grant you the favour, all the rest will be wanting to go and wish their
+wives and children farewell, and a fine account I should have to give of
+them!  Bring the prisoners along!" he shouted to the seamen.
+
+"You'll tell poor Susan what has happened," said Ben, as he passed the
+landlady.  "Tell her to keep up her spirits.  I'll be back home as soon
+as I can."
+
+"Trust me, Ben," said kind-hearted Mrs Simmons; "I'll see your wife
+to-morrow morning, and tell her what you say."
+
+The officer, losing patience, ordered his party to move on.  The
+men-of-war's men kept close around their captives, who would, they knew,
+attempt to escape if there was the slightest chance of their doing so,
+or they thought it possible that the smugglers' associates might
+endeavour to rescue them.  The boat, however, was reached without any
+attempt of the sort being made, and the prisoners were compelled to step
+on board.
+
+Some of the more daring resisted, hoping that perhaps even then
+assistance might come to them, but a seaman's pistol held at the heads
+of the refractory ones compelled them to obey, and in another minute
+they were all seated in the boat, which at once pulled away for the
+tender.
+
+Dick found himself seated next to Ben.
+
+"A bad job this, my boy; I never thought you and I should be hauled away
+like this," whispered Ben.  "If they hadn't put our wrists in irons we'd
+be overboard and soon stowed away where they wouldn't find us in a
+hurry."
+
+Dick did not say he thought that it was owing to Ben he was brought into
+his present condition.  He merely answered, "I wouldn't try to escape if
+I could.  If a man-of-war is as bad as you say, I shall be dead in a
+short time, and it won't much matter to any one."
+
+"Silence there, men!" shouted the officer, who overheard Ben and Dick
+talking.  "Give way, lads!"
+
+The boat was soon alongside the tender, a large cutter, which lay off
+the mouth of the creek.  The captured men were compelled to mount her
+side, two stout fellows standing by to lift them up by the collars of
+their jackets, as they were unable to use their hands, when they were at
+once sent down into the hold of the vessel, over which a sentry with a
+loaded musket kept guard.
+
+It was a large, gloomy place, lighted by a single ship's lantern, which
+hung from one of the beams.  Dick could see that it already contained
+about twenty people, most of them rough, seafaring men, seated with
+their backs against the side, or stretched on the deck.  Some were
+talking in low, grave tones, others were endeavouring to forget
+themselves in sleep.  A few looked up and nodded as they recognised
+acquaintances, but not many words were exchanged between them.  Dick saw
+several persons whom he knew, but the greater number had been captured
+by the pressgang on other parts of the coast.  Dick, though no longer
+hungry, was very tired, and seeing a vacant spot, threw himself down
+with his back against the after bulkhead.
+
+"I have found out all about it," said Ben, who some time afterwards
+seated himself by his side.  "It is all owing to that young lord and his
+father.  The marquis, I hear, wrote over to Portsmouth some time ago to
+have this pressgang sent down here to make a clean sweep of all the
+seafaring men they could lay hands on.  If they had come a few days
+sooner, they would have stopped the _Nancy_ from attempting the run, and
+we should have got off again; but as ill luck would have it, they
+arrived just in time to catch us, and the other poor fellows who had
+come on shore.  I wish that I could lay hands on that Lord Reginald; I'd
+pay him off."
+
+"Little chance of that," observed Dick; "he'll soon be safe on board the
+_Wolf_, and we shall be sent off, maybe, in some ship to the other end
+of the world.  I don't care where I go; but it seems to me what we have
+now to do is to make the best of it.  I have been thinking over the
+matter since I have been staying here, and of course, as the king wants
+men to fight his battles, and as it is my luck, good or bad, to become
+one of them, I'll do my best and try to keep clear of the
+cat-o'-nine-tails which you used to tell me about."
+
+"You'll be precious lucky if you are able to do that, my lad," growled
+Ben.  "Howsumdever, as we're in for it, I don't want to make you think
+things are worse than they are.  You'll soon find out what's what."
+
+"I suppose I shall," answered Dick, who was becoming very sleepy, and in
+spite of the noises going on around him--the loud talking--the tramping
+of feet overhead--the movement of the vessel, which had got under way,
+and his uncomfortable position, he was soon in happy forgetfulness of
+all his troubles.
+
+The cutter, after proceeding some distance, met with a strong head wind,
+and was soon pitching her bows into the fast rising seas.  Dick was
+awakened by finding himself slipping away to leeward, and presently
+afterwards the vessel shipped a sea, the heavy spray from which came
+down through the main hatchway, and gave an unpleasant shower-bath to
+those below it, and Dick had to scramble as best he could out of the
+water which collected to leeward.  The cutter, under close-reefed
+mainsail, stood on, heeling over to starboard for some time; then she
+went about, and directed her course towards the north shore.  Once more
+she tacked in the direction she had before been going.  The smugglers
+grumbled and swore, expressing very little confidence in the seamanship
+of the dockyard maties.  At length, however, they heard the order to
+take in the jib.  The vessel came on an even keel, the anchor was let
+go; she had brought up in Cowes Roads.
+
+"If this wind holds, we shan't see Portsmouth harbour to-day," said Ben.
+"I suppose they can't intend to keep the irons on our wrists, now they
+have got us all safe.  If we stop here for the night, I have a great
+mind to try and get away.  I have many friends on shore, and some of
+them are sure to come off to learn what this craft is about.  If I get
+the chance, I'll slip overboard and swim to one of their boats.  What do
+you say, Dick; will you come?"
+
+"We haven't got the chance yet," answered Dick; "if I get off where
+should I go?  I cannot return home, and I should just have to starve or
+beg, or take to some worse course.  No, no; you may try it if you wish,
+but I'll stay here and learn what a man-of-war is like."
+
+Ben made further vain attempts to induce Dick to join him.  Their
+conversation was interrupted by several men coming from forward with a
+supply of biscuits and cold salt beef and a grog tub, which, with a
+number of tin mugs, was placed in the centre of the deck.  The latter
+seemed to afford infinite satisfaction, and the prisoners, in much
+better humour than before, laughed and talked and joked as if they had
+no cares in the world.  A strict watch was still, however, kept over
+them, as, from their desperate character, it was suspected that they
+would not fail to try and take advantage of any opportunity which might
+offer of getting free.
+
+For upwards of three days the cutter lay at Cowes, the captured men
+being narrowly watched, though tolerably well fed and not ill treated.
+The time passed heavily away.  Growling and swearing was the order of
+the day.  Dick heard some of the smugglers vow that, if taken on board a
+man-of-war, they would sooner blow the ship up than remain in her; that
+all ships were alike--perfect hells afloat; and that it would be better
+to be shot or hung at once than to endure the existence they would have
+to lead on board.  Of one thing he himself was certain, that he was
+heartily sick of being kept down in the cutter's hold.  He felt eager to
+get free, even though he might have to exchange it for one of the
+much-abused king's ships.
+
+At length, the weather moderating, the cutter got under way and stood
+for Spithead, where several men-of-war rode at anchor.  While the cutter
+lay hove to, a boat with a lieutenant from one of them came alongside.
+The officer, on stepping on board, ordered the men to be mustered.  Dick
+watched him, and thinking from his countenance that he must be a
+good-natured, kind man, hoped that he himself might be among those he
+was about to select for his ship.  The lieutenant spoke to the men one
+by one, asking them various questions, and finally chose a dozen of the
+best hands, who were forthwith ordered to get into his boat.
+
+Dick was greatly disappointed on finding that Ben and he were not taken.
+The commander of the cutter then received directions to run into
+Portsmouth harbour, and to take the remainder of the prisoners on board
+another ship, which lay there ready to receive them.  Various surmises
+were offered as to what ship she might be.  Neither Dick nor Ben could
+gain any information.
+
+"It matters very little; they're all alike," growled Ben.
+
+On entering the harbour the question was soon settled.  A fine frigate
+lay at anchor off the dockyard, with her sails bent, and with every
+appearance of being ready for sea.  The cutter brought up close to her,
+and a signal being made, she at once sent a boat alongside.
+
+"Now, lads, tumble up!" cried the lieutenant.  "You have got to serve
+his Majesty, and I would advise you to put a good face upon the matter,
+and show that you are honest Englishmen, ever ready to do your duty and
+fight for your country.  You'll come back with your pockets full of
+prize money, and be glad you went."
+
+Dick listened.  "That's what I want to do," he said to himself; "and I
+will if I can."
+
+Some of the old hands--Ben among the rest--were not influenced in the
+same way.
+
+"All very fine!" he growled out; "but the proof of the pudding is in the
+eating.  We shall get more scars on our backs from the cat than guineas
+in our pockets, I've a notion."
+
+The boat was soon alongside, and Dick with his companions were ordered
+up on deck, where they stood grouped together until the first lieutenant
+came to take down their names, and enter them on the ship's books.  It
+was the first time Dick had ever been on board a man-of-war.  He gazed
+round with astonishment at the extent of the white decks, the size of
+the highly polished guns, the height of the masts, the ropes neatly
+flemished down, and the order which everywhere prevailed.
+
+"She's a fine ship, at all events; and if it wasn't for father and
+mother and Janet, I should not be sorry to have come," he thought.
+
+The first lieutenant, an active, kind-eyed looking officer, spoke to the
+men much in the same way as the commander of the cutter had done.  When
+he came to Dick, he inquired whether he had been to sea before.
+
+"Only on board a lugger, sir," answered Dick.
+
+"Well, my lad, I do not inquire what you were doing on board her; but I
+tell you, as you look a smart lad, that if you do your duty you will be
+sure to get on, and soon obtain a good rating."
+
+Dick touched his cap, as he had seen some of the men doing when they
+spoke to an officer, and replied, "I'll do my best, sir."
+
+"That's right, my lad," observed the first lieutenant, as he turned away
+to attend to some other duty.
+
+Although on deck strict order and discipline prevailed, Dick on going
+below found a very different scene, and it was some time before he got
+accustomed to the uproar, the men in hoarse voices bawling to each
+other, and laughing and joking and playing all sorts of tricks, some
+rushing here and there, others seated in groups, amusing themselves in a
+variety of ways.
+
+"At all events, there can't be much to make them unhappy, for they seem
+to be a merry set of fellows," thought Dick, as he was standing by
+himself, watching what was going forward.  An officer, with a silver
+chain and whistle round his neck, coming by, asked him his name.  Dick
+told him, and replied to a few other questions.  The officer passed on.
+
+"Who's that?" asked Dick of another lad who happened to be standing
+near.
+
+"That's Mr Bitts, the boatswain."
+
+"He seems a fair-spoken gentleman," observed Dick.
+
+"Gentleman!  I don't think he calls himself a gentleman; but he has a
+good deal to do with us, and it is wise to stand well with him, for he
+can use that rattan he had in his hand pretty smartly."
+
+Shortly afterwards Mr Bitts came back.  Touching Dick on the shoulder,
+he said, "I want a boy, and I have applied for you.  You'll understand
+you are to attend on me, so look out and do your duty."
+
+Dick, on inquiring of the other lad, found he was to be the boatswain's
+servant, which, although not an office of much honour, had its
+advantages, if he could manage to please his master.  Dick soon found
+that his duties were not very onerous, and provided he was smart and
+active, Mr Bitts appeared to be satisfied.  Altogether, when the
+hammocks were piped down, and he was allowed to turn into the one
+allotted to him, which the boatswain ordered one of the men to show him
+how to sling, he was tolerably well pleased with the prospect before
+him.  As he was not placed in any watch, he had the advantage of
+sleeping through the whole night.
+
+When the hammocks were piped up the next morning, he turned out
+refreshed and ready to do anything required of him.  He had lost sight
+of Ben, who having found several acquaintances on board, and being
+engaged in talking with them, did not trouble himself about him.
+
+The next day, the captain coming on board, the crew were mustered, when
+all the men as well as the officers had to come on deck.  Dick was
+thinking what a fine body of men they appeared, when his eye, glancing
+aft, fell on two of the midshipmen, one of whom had his arm in a sling,
+and he at once recognised Lord Reginald and Mr Voules.  The former
+seemed to know him, for he saw the young lord turn to the other
+midshipman and say a few words, and then look again towards him.  Dick
+had not before inquired what ship he was on board, but he now found that
+he belonged to the _Wolf_.
+
+"I hope we shall not come across each other, and I'll do my best to keep
+out of his way," he said to himself.  "He'll not forget, however, how he
+came to have his arm in a sling, and maybe he'll try to pay me off; if
+he does, I'll show him that I won't stand bullying aboard, any more than
+I would on shore."
+
+Captain Moubray, having made a short address to his crew, reminding them
+of the renown they had already gained, and expressing his confidence
+that they would keep up their credit, ordered the boatswain to pipe
+down.
+
+Dick, according to his resolution, kept clear of Lord Reginald.
+
+"It is lucky for you, my lad, that I had applied for you, as the
+midshipmen have asked for you to be the boy of their mess," said Mr
+Bitts, when Dick was attending on him that evening.  "That young lord
+and Mr Voules wanted me to swap you for Tom Dolter, but I took Tom's
+measure some time ago, and let me tell you, my lad, that you may bless
+your stars.  It's not pleasant to serve a dozen masters, though, if I
+hadn't held out, that young lord and Mr Voules would have had their
+way."
+
+Dick had good reason to be thankful at his escape.  Next day the frigate
+went out to Spithead, took her powder on board, and blue-peter was
+hoisted, as a signal that she was about to sail.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER SEVEN.
+
+DEFIANT LOOKS--THE SPIRIT OF ILL-WILL INCREASES--SOME "VERY KIND
+INTENTIONS"--DICK'S PERSECUTORS--IN THE MIDSHIPMEN'S MESS--PADDY LOGAN
+AND TOADY VOULES--THE LAST LOOK AT OLD ENGLAND--THE FIRST ENCOUNTER--MR
+BITTS TO THE RESCUE--IDEAS OF REVENGE--A SAIL ON THE LEE BOW--PREPARING
+FOR ACTION--A FIERCE BATTLE--THE WOLF VICTORIOUS--BRAVERY OF DICK--HARD
+WORK TO KEEP THE PRIZE AFLOAT--BOUND FOR PLYMOUTH WITH THE PRIZE.
+
+The frigate's sails were loose, the crew at the capstan tramped round to
+the merry sound of the fife, the boatswain's pipe was heard shrilly
+repeating the orders he received; the sails were sheeted home, the
+anchor came to the bows, was catted and fished, and the _Wolf_, with
+canvas widespread to the breeze, glided majestically through the waters
+of the Solent.  Dick wisely kept as much as possible out of the way of
+Lord Reginald.  When they occasionally came in sight of each other, he
+did not fail to remark the angry look the young lord cast at him, while
+he himself could not help glancing at the other's arm, still in a sling.
+
+"That young ruffian's insolence is unbearable!" exclaimed Lord Reginald,
+on one occasion, turning away and addressing Voules, whom he happened to
+meet.  "I wish that he had been caught on shore, when he would have been
+sent off to prison, and we should not have been troubled with him here.
+I was half inclined to denounce him as a fugitive from justice when I
+first saw him on board; but as we wanted hands, I thought that the
+captain would not thank me."
+
+"We'll pay him off somehow or other," answered Voules.  "I'll find the
+means to do it, and he'll wish he had been sent to prison before he
+stepped on the _Wolf's_ decks."
+
+"I say, Oswald, what's happened to your arm?" asked Charles Ludlam, the
+senior mate of the berth, in which most of the members of their mess
+happened to be collected.
+
+"A blow I received on it," answered Lord Reginald, not being willing to
+explain matters.
+
+"He got it while attempting in a very gallant way to seize a fellow who
+was suspected of being a smuggler," observed Voules, coming to his
+friend's rescue.  "You may depend upon it that Oswald would have caught
+him if it had not been for that."
+
+"Faith!  What business had he to be trying to seize a smuggler?" asked
+Paddy Logan, who was no admirer of Lord Reginald, and still less of
+Voules.
+
+The latter was somewhat puzzled how to reply.  "In support of the law
+which you Irish fellows delight in breaking," he at length answered.
+
+"Do you dare to cast reflections on the honour of Irishmen?" exclaimed
+Logan, firing up.  "Naval officers are not expected to be excisemen.  Of
+course the fellow had every right to defend himself."
+
+"I cast no reflections on the honour of Irishmen, but you yourself show
+your readiness to take the part of a lawless character," answered
+Voules.  "Besides, the young scoundrel had previously grossly insulted
+Oswald and me."
+
+"Then he was influenced by private motives rather than public spirit,"
+observed Ludlam, who was fond of speaking the truth, even though it
+might be unpalatable to his hearers.  "Still, Oswald, I am sorry you are
+hurt, and hope that you will be wiser in future."
+
+"I shall always be found ready to defend my own rights whether against
+my equals or plebeians," answered Lord Reginald, haughtily.  "I consider
+that I acted properly, and do not require to be pitied by you or any
+other person, merely because I happen to get an inconvenient blow on the
+arm."
+
+"Mayn't any one else pity you?" asked Tommy Shackel, the smallest
+midshipman on board, who was apt to take a malicious pleasure in seeing
+his seniors have a scrimmage among each other.
+
+"Hold your tongue, Master Jackanapes!" exclaimed Voules; "Oswald knows
+best what he likes and dislikes."
+
+"I only asked a question," said Tommy, in his squeaky voice; "and I put
+it to Oswald, and not to you."
+
+"How dare you speak to me in that fashion?" exclaimed Voules, about to
+give the small midshipman a box on the ear.
+
+"You'd better let him alone!" cried Paddy Logan, jumping up.  "I appeal
+to Ludlam, who allows no bullying in the berth.  Because you have had
+the honour of staying at Elverston Hall, you fancy you can exhibit your
+airs to us, but you are mistaken, my boy, as much as Oswald was when he
+first joined."
+
+Voules retorted, and Paddy and he would soon have come to blows, had not
+Ludlam interfered, and by the exercise of the authority he maintained in
+the berth, restored order.
+
+This scene took place on the first evening that the members of the berth
+all met together.
+
+The frigate was now standing down between the mainland and the wooded
+shores of the Isle of Wight.  Calshot Castle--then held as a fortress,
+with a governor and a garrison--was seen on the right.  On the left hand
+was the little town of Cowes, surrounded by woods, among which, here and
+there, a few cottages peeped out.  Then Lymington became visible on the
+Hampshire shore, and, beyond it, the long shingly beach of Hurst.  Many
+eyes on board were turned in that direction.  Lord Reginald and Voules,
+using their spy-glasses, thought that they could catch a distant view of
+the hall, while forward, Dick Hargrave, Ben, and several other men were
+turning their gaze on well-known spots.  Dick felt more sad than he had
+done since he came on board.  He was thinking how anxious his father,
+mother, and poor Janet would be about him; even should Mrs Simmons have
+conveyed his message to them, they would only know that he had been
+carried off in the tender, and would remain ignorant of the ship on
+board which he had been sent.  He had not written, for he possessed
+neither pens, ink, nor paper, and would have found it a difficult matter
+to indite an epistle with the uproar going on around him.  Poor Dick
+gazed on until the tears came to his eyes.  Though it was greatly owing
+to his own fault that he was being carried away from home and those he
+loved, he was not the less to be commiserated.  While he thus stood,
+scarcely conscious of what was going on around him, Lord Reginald, who
+had been sent forward with a message to the third lieutenant on some
+duty, passed him.
+
+"What makes you stand idling there, boy?" exclaimed the midshipman,
+looking at him as if he had never seen him before, giving him a blow
+with the end of a rope.  "You have no business on deck; go and attend to
+your duty below."
+
+Dick's first impulse was to raise his arm to defend himself.  It was
+with difficulty he could refrain from retaliating.
+
+"I have no duty that I know of to attend to, and I have a right to look
+towards yonder shore, which neither you nor I may see for some time to
+come," he answered.  "What!  You are a sea lawyer, are you?" exclaimed
+Lord Reginald, angrily, Dick's words adding intensity to the vindictive
+feelings he already entertained towards him.
+
+"I'll report you to the first lieutenant, and he'll soon find means to
+make you mend your manners."
+
+Dick was going to reply, when he saw Voules coming along the deck, and
+he had the discretion to hold his tongue, knowing that the worst
+interpretation would be put on whatever he said.  This was the
+commencement of hostilities on board the frigate between the young lord
+and the farmer's son.  Scarcely a day passed that they did not come in
+contact with each other, when Lord Reginald never lost an opportunity of
+abusing the ship's boy, or striking him, if he had the least excuse,
+with a rope's end.  Dick bore the ill treatment manfully, and
+endeavoured to the best of his power to do his duty.  Though treated
+kindly by the boatswain, with the ordinary feelings of a yeoman's son he
+would not willingly have rendered menial service to any one, but as it
+was his duty he did not complain, and did his utmost to please his
+master.  Mr Bitts had, by some means or other, discovered how Lord
+Reginald behaved to Dick, but had not actually seen him struck.  The
+boatswain was not a man to allow any one to interfere with his
+prerogatives.  He at length, however, saw the young lord, who did not
+observe him, strike Dick across the shoulders with a rope's end, and
+order him off to perform some duty or other.
+
+Mr Bitts immediately came forward and confronted the midshipman, with
+an angry glare in his keen eyes, for although Mr Bitts was not a man of
+many inches, he was a determined person, with huge whiskers, a firm
+mouth, large forehead, and broad shoulders.  "Are you aware, Lord
+Reginald Oswald, that you are infringing the rules of the service?  That
+boy belongs to me, and I'll let you know that neither your lordship nor
+any one else shall dare to ill-treat him."
+
+Lord Reginald looked somewhat astonished at this unexpected address.  He
+was too proud to apologise, as he might have done and so settled the
+matter.  "The fellow was idling," he answered, haughtily, "and I am not
+expected to know what boys you consider belonging to yourself.  If I
+find him or any one else neglecting his duty I shall see that he attends
+to it."
+
+"I shall report you, Lord Reginald Oswald, if I find you interfering
+again with that boy, or any other over whom you have no authority,"
+retorted the boatswain.
+
+"You may stand well in the opinion of the captain and some of the
+officers, but others, let me tell you, hold you at a much cheaper rate."
+
+"This insolence is unbearable!" muttered Lord Reginald; but he
+recollected that, although he was the son of a marquis, the boatswain
+was his superior officer in the service, and that he should be guilty of
+insubordination should he continue the dispute.  He walked away,
+therefore, with feelings more embittered than ever against Dick
+Hargrave.  Soon afterwards, meeting Voules, he told him what had
+occurred.
+
+"I don't know what will become of the discipline of the ship, if the
+warrant officers venture to interfere in the way old Bitts has done,"
+observed Voules.  "We must pay him off some day; but as to that fellow
+Hargrave, he is beneath your notice.  I wish that we could have got him
+as our mess boy; we would soon have tamed his spirit.  However, I won't
+let slip any opportunity of punishing him as he deserves."
+
+Voules was as good as his word, every time the opportunity occurred,
+though he took very good care that Mr Bitts should not see him
+ill-treating Dick.  He told Lord Reginald what he had done, apparently
+taking a pleasure in nourishing the resentment the young lord felt
+against the farmer's son.  It was but natural that Dick himself should
+feel ill-will towards his persecutors.  He did not complain to Mr
+Bitts, of whom he stood not a little in awe, but he frequently did so to
+Ben Rudall, who ground his teeth and clenched his fists as he listened.
+
+"We'll pay the chaps off one of these days," he muttered.  "You've heard
+tell, Dick, of the mutiny at the Nore, when the men rose and took the
+whole fleet from their officers, and would not give in until the
+Admiralty granted their terms.  To be sure, a few of them were run up to
+the yardarm, but the men won't stand bullying now any more than they did
+in those days.  If officers don't know how to behave themselves they
+must be taught.  I wouldn't advise you to give the young lord tit for
+tat, or turn round when he next hits you, and use the rope's end on his
+back, but I should be wonderfully inclined to try it on, and let them
+hang me afterwards if they like."
+
+Dick listened eagerly to what Ben said--the advice was too much in
+accordance with his own feelings.
+
+Voules had spoken of him to the first lieutenant and to some other
+officers, and described him as a young ruffian who had been leagued with
+smugglers, and was now the associate of men of the worst character on
+board.
+
+Dick was accordingly strictly, if not harshly treated, and though he had
+at first been well-disposed to do his duty, he became every day more and
+more discontented, and ready to retort upon those whom he looked upon as
+tyrants.
+
+The frigate had been ordered to cruise in the Channel off the French
+coast, and a sharp look-out was kept night and day for an enemy.
+
+"We shall soon see how these young gentlemen behave if we get alongside
+of mounseer.  They can hold their heads high enough now, but when the
+Frenchman's shot come whizzing about their ears, they'll duck them fast
+enough," said Ben.
+
+"Is there a chance, then, of our having a battle?" inquired Dick.  "I
+should like to be in one, just to see how things are managed."
+
+"If Captain Moubray is the sort of man I have heard him described, he'll
+do his best to look out for an enemy," replied Ben.
+
+Still, day after day passed by and no suspicious sail was met with.  At
+length, one evening, soon after dark, the _Wolf_ was standing in towards
+the French coast.  Having passed the Island of Groix, she continued on
+until several shots were fired at her from a fort, which, however, did
+no damage.  She put about, and a short time afterwards, the wind being
+East-North-East, the look-out aloft shouted--
+
+"A sail on the lee bow!"
+
+The stranger was now seen to be running west by south.  The _Wolf_
+immediately made all sail, and as she got nearer, two muskets were fired
+towards the chase, which appeared to be a large ship, to bring her to.
+Instead of so doing, however, the Frenchman, for such she undoubtedly
+was, set all the sail she could carry, endeavouring to escape.  This
+seemed strange, for as far as could be judged, she was a larger ship
+than the _Wolf_.
+
+"Will she get away?" asked Dick, who was standing near Ben Rudall at one
+of the bow-ports on the maindeck, through which they could dimly see the
+chase rising like some phantom giant stalking over the deep.
+
+"Not if we continue to overhaul her as we are now doing," answered Ben.
+
+"Will she fight?" inquired Dick.
+
+"Ay, and fight hard, too, just as a rat does when caught in a corner.
+It's a way those Frenchmen have, though why she runs now is more than I
+can tell.  Maybe some of us will be losing the number of our mess.  I
+should not care if I was among them myself.  It's a dog's life I lead on
+board here; but I am thinking of poor Susan.  If I am hit, it will be
+hard lines with her; she and the young ones will have to bear up for the
+work'us, for there's no one will care for the smuggler's wife, as they
+call her."
+
+"But I hope you won't be killed, Ben," said Dick; "there's no reason why
+you should be more than any one else."
+
+"Well, well, I'm not afraid," answered Ben; "the enemy's shot are in no
+ways particular, and I should not be so very sorry if one of them was to
+take off the head of that Lord Reginald or Toady Voules, as his
+messmates call him."
+
+"I could not bring myself to wish either one of them such a fate as
+that," observed Dick, who had not altogether forgotten his mother's
+instructions and Christian principles.
+
+"I have no reason to love either the young lord or his toady, and I
+should not weep my eyes out if they were to be killed--they'd only get
+their deserts; and for my own part, I would like to see them both
+knocked over by the same round shot," growled Ben, between his teeth.
+
+The frigate was now approaching the chase.  The drum beat to quarters,
+and the crew hurried up from below, most of them stripped to the waist
+with handkerchiefs round their heads and loins.  The glare of the
+fighting lanterns, hung up on the beams along the deck, cast a glow on
+their muscular figures, the breaches of the guns and other salient
+points, while all the rest were cast in the deepest gloom.
+
+Ben went to his gun, and Dick was ordered below to the magazine to bring
+up ammunition.  Though much bigger than any of the other lads so
+employed, as he had been only a short time at sea, he had to perform the
+humble duty of a powder monkey.  He would far rather have been engaged
+in working one of the guns.
+
+The _Wolf_ was carrying all the canvas which could be packed on her,
+studding-sails on either side and royals aloft.  The chase also, under
+all sail, was still doing her utmost to keep ahead, but the _Wolf_,
+being the fastest ship of the two, gained rapidly on her.  The men stood
+at their guns, waiting eagerly for the moment that the order to fire
+should be given, laughing, however, and cracking their usual jokes.  The
+officers went their rounds, to see that all necessary preparations had
+been made.
+
+Dick was seated on his ammunition tub on the maindeck, when Lord
+Reginald and Voules, who had each a certain number of guns to look
+after, passed him.
+
+"I say, Oswald, that young smuggler looks pale enough now," observed
+Voules, in a voice sufficiently loud for Dick to hear him.  "We must
+keep a sharp look-out on him, or he'll be running below to stow himself
+away in the hold."
+
+"Trust me for that! those ruffians ashore are the greatest cowards
+afloat," answered the young lord, as he passed on.
+
+Dick heard him.  "I'll show him that I am no coward," he said to
+himself.
+
+Ben also, who was stationed at one of the guns it was Dick's duty to
+serve, heard the remark.  "`Cowards!' does he call us?" he muttered.
+"He and Mr Toady will be the first to show the white feather, I've a
+notion."
+
+Shortly afterwards the sounds of two guns were heard.  One shot,
+glancing along the _Wolf's_ bow, sent the splinters flying off it, while
+the other was seen to ricochet over the smooth water.  The enemy had
+fired her stern chasers.  The _Wolf_, without yawing, could not reply.
+She stood on, therefore, eager to come up with the chase.  The latter
+was seen directly afterwards taking in her studdingsails and royals.
+The British crew cheered as they saw this.  There was no longer any
+doubt that the enemy was ready to fight.  The order was now given to
+take in all the studdingsails.  The royals were next handed; the crew,
+who had left their quarters for the purpose, immediately hurrying back
+to their guns.  Both frigates were still rapidly running through the
+water.  Suddenly the chase put down her helm and luffed up on the
+starboard tack, intending to rake the _Wolf_, which was now coming up on
+her weather quarter.
+
+"Hard a-starboard!" shouted Captain Moubray, and the _Wolf_ was brought
+up on the opposite tack, thus avoiding the raking fire, and receiving
+the enemy's shot on the starboard side.  "Well done!" cried the captain.
+"Now hard a-port!"
+
+The ship once more came up to the wind, and just clearing the French
+frigate's starboard quarter, shot up right abreast of her to windward.
+Both thus in near proximity, poured their broadsides into each other,
+and the battle became hot and furious.  The British crew ran their guns
+in and out, the frigate's shot dealing death and destruction along the
+decks of her antagonist.  It was just the position English sailors like
+the best.  Dick saw several of his shipmates knocked over, and one poor
+boy, with whom he had just been talking, fell close to his side.  He
+knelt down to help him, but not a movement was perceptible.  He took his
+hand; it fell on the deck.  The boy was dead.
+
+Dick's tub was soon exhausted of its contents, and he hurried below to
+the magazine to get it refilled.  He lost not a moment, but was again at
+his station.
+
+"They shan't say I'm skulking," he muttered.  "I wonder what Lord
+Reginald is doing."
+
+Dick might have seen the young lord, in spite of the shot crashing on
+board and sending the splinters flying about in all directions, killing
+or wounding several near him--the colour in his cheeks somewhat
+heightened, perhaps--attending to his duty and cheering on his men, and
+when the captain of a gun was killed, taking his place and laying hold
+of the tackles to haul it in for reloading.
+
+For some time the two frigates ran off before the wind; as tacks and
+sheets and yards were shot away, gradually decreasing their speed.  In
+consequence of the injuries the French frigate had received, the _Wolf_
+shot slightly ahead, when the former attempted to cross her stern, for
+the purpose of raking her, or gaining the wind, but not having room for
+this manoeuvre, she ran her jib-boom between the British ship's main and
+mizzen rigging.
+
+The third lieutenant, calling several of the men, attempted to lash it
+there, while the _Wolf_ poured in a fire which swept across the
+Frenchman's bows, but half those engaged in the effort, while hanging in
+the rigging, were shot, and the lieutenant himself fell badly wounded to
+the deck.  Immediately afterwards the ships separated and stood on as
+before, exchanging furious broadsides.  Dick saw Ben still working away
+at his grin, as eager as the rest of the crew, having evidently
+forgotten all about his gloomy anticipations of losing the number of his
+mess.
+
+For upwards of two hours the ships had been engaged, and no perceptible
+advantage had been gained by either.  At length the _Wolf_ again forged
+ahead.  Captain Moubray did not neglect the much-wished-for opportunity,
+but ordered the helm to be put hard a-starboard, and, while thus passing
+across the hawse of the French frigate, poured in a broadside which
+swept her decks fore and aft, killing and wounding many of her crew, and
+inflicting serious damage on her masts and rigging.  Again the _Wolf's_
+helm was put hard a-port, which brought the enemy a little before her
+starboard beam, when again the ships ran on with the wind about a point
+on the starboard quarter.  Still it remained doubtful which would gain
+the victory.  The British officers and crew had, however, made up their
+minds not to give in while a stick was standing; but the most
+indomitable bravery cannot always overcome the chances of war.
+
+While Captain Moubray, with the master by his side, was eagerly watching
+every movement of his antagonist, to take advantage of what might occur,
+a shot from her struck the mizzenmast, already severely wounded.  With a
+fearful crash down it came on deck, inboard, killing one of the men at
+the wheel, which it much damaged, and severely injuring many others,
+while it encumbered the whole quarterdeck with its rigging, spars, and
+sails.  They could hear the crew of the French ship cheer as they saw
+what had happened.
+
+"You may `hulloo' as long as you like, mounseers, but we'll be giving
+you as good before long," cried Ben; several of his shipmates echoing
+his words.
+
+They were right, for scarcely had the Frenchmen's cheers ceased, than
+down also fell their mizzenmast with a tremendous crash, evidently doing
+much damage.  Almost immediately afterwards the mainmast followed,
+though the foremast still stood, enabling her to continue the action.
+
+The boatswain and his crew hurried to clear the wreck, while the
+carpenter endeavoured to repair the damaged wheel.  The two ships again
+lay abreast of each other, though at a greater distance than before.
+The _Wolf_, however, did not, in consequence of the accident, slacken
+her fire, and she and her opponent were gradually sheering closer
+together, when the latter was seen to put her helm hard a-starboard, so
+as to lay the _Wolf_ on board.  The order was now received from the
+captain to load the maindeck guns with double shot and the carronades
+with grape.
+
+"She will strike us on the bow," observed Captain Moubray to the master,
+"and as she is sure afterwards to rebound, the quarters of the two ships
+will be brought together.  She intends to board us.  Boarders, be
+prepared to repel boarders!" he shouted.  At the same time the word was
+passed along the decks, not again to fire until the order was received
+from the captain.
+
+The two ships drew closer and closer together, until the bows met with a
+loud crash, and although the Frenchmen at the same time let fly a
+broadside, the English gunners, obedient to their orders, refrained from
+firing in return.  As was expected, the bows rebounded from each other;
+the quarters of the two ships almost immediately came together.  The
+quarter of the French ship was seen crowded with men, ready to spring on
+board the _Wolf_.
+
+"Now, my lads, give it them!" cried Captain Moubray, and his word was
+passed along the decks.
+
+The big guns sent their balls, and the carronades their showers of
+grape, into the very midst of the Frenchmen.  Fearful must have been the
+effect among the crowded masses, and cries and groans resounded through
+the night air.
+
+Four guns only replied to the last broadside, showing the havoc and
+confusion it had caused.  At the same moment flames burst forth from the
+Frenchman's deck.  The English worked their guns with redoubled vigour.
+Scarcely had the fire disappeared from one part of the French ship, than
+it broke forth in another.  Her shrouds and running rigging had been cut
+away, and her remaining mast was tottering.  Still the Frenchmen fought
+on, though they could scarcely, it seemed, have hoped for victory.
+
+Once more the ships separated, still continuing to exchange broadsides,
+though many of the Frenchman's guns had been silenced.  Still, from the
+number of men seen on her decks, they might hope to gain the victory by
+boarding.  To guard against such a contingency was now Captain Moubray's
+chief care.  Again the bows of the two ships met, when the outer arm of
+the _Wolf's_ best bower anchor, entering the foremost main-deck port of
+the French frigate, held her fast.
+
+Though the English continued to pour broadside after broadside into
+their enemy, no signal of surrender was shown.  Every moment it seemed
+as if the foremast of the latter, already tottering, would go by the
+board, and probably fall on the deck of the _Wolf_.
+
+"We must put an end to this!" cried Captain Moubray.  "Boarders, follow
+me!"
+
+He sprang forward, several of his officers and those to whom he had
+given the word, pressing round him, all eager to be the first on the
+enemy's deck.  Among them was Lord Reginald, who, regardless of danger,
+burned to distinguish himself.  The gallant boatswain led another party,
+hastily collected on the main-deck.  Richard Hargrave, on hearing the
+boatswain's summons, and finding that ammunition was no longer required
+on his side, left his station and joined them.  Two stout planks had
+been thrust through the Frenchman's second bow port.  By this means the
+boatswain's party forced their way, for the gun which filled the port,
+having been dismounted, allowed them ingress.
+
+With cheers and shouts the British seamen, led by the captain, leaping
+down on the Frenchman's deck, with pistols flashing and cutlasses hewing
+and hacking, quickly drove their enemies aft.  As they reached the main
+hatchway, many of the latter, unable to resist the impetus of the
+onslaught, sprang down below, where they were met by the boatswain's
+party, who, sweeping along the fore part of the deck, quickly cleared
+it.  Still a determined band resisted.  A marine was on the point of
+running his bayonet into the breast of Lord Reginald, when the captain
+cut down the man.  In vain the Frenchmen attempted to resist.  Foot by
+foot they were driven back, until the cry rose from an officer on the
+quarter-deck of "We surrender."  At the same time he lifted a lantern
+above his head, as a signal which all might understand.
+
+"Lay down your arms, then!" cried Captain Moubray, "and no more blows
+shall be struck."
+
+The boatswain, with Richard Hargrave and others, were still using their
+cutlasses with deadly effect, the shouts and cries of the Frenchmen, as
+they endeavoured to withstand them, preventing all other sounds from
+being heard.
+
+Before advancing towards the French commanding officer, to receive his
+sword, Captain Moubray sent Lord Reginald and a party of men below to
+stop the slaughter.  He sprang down in time to see Dick Hargrave and two
+other men engaged in a fierce combat with three Frenchmen, who, ignorant
+of what had taken place above, were still holding out.
+
+"You mutinous rascals!" exclaimed Lord Reginald to Dick and his
+companions; "didn't you hear the captain's orders to desist from
+fighting?  The frigate has struck, and is our prize."
+
+Then shouting to the Frenchmen in their own language, he told them what
+had occurred, when immediately dropping the points of their weapons,
+they sprang back, to be out of reach of the British seamen's cutlasses.
+
+"I am not a mutinous rascal," exclaimed Dick, turning to Lord Reginald;
+"I didn't know that the Frenchmen had given in."
+
+"How dare you speak to me in that way?" exclaimed the young lord, even
+at that moment not forgetting his enmity towards Dick.  "Look out for
+the consequences!"
+
+He then shouted to Mr Bitts, and in another minute the fighting, which
+had gone on for so many hours, altogether ceased.  Both decks presented
+a terrible spectacle.  In all directions lay the bodies of dead and
+dying men.  Many had already passed away, others were writhing in agony,
+while the surgeon's attendants, regardless of what was going on around,
+were employed in carrying below those to whom assistance might be of
+use.  One lieutenant alone stood on the quarter-deck.  Captain Moubray,
+advancing among the bodies of his late foes, inquired for the French
+captain.  The lieutenant pointed to a form which lay near the wheel,
+covered with a flag.
+
+"The captain of the _Thesbe_--the ship I yield to you--lies there," he
+answered, presenting the hilt of his sword.  "There lies the first
+lieutenant, and there the second, and I, the third, am in command."
+
+"I return your sword to as brave a man as I can ever hope to meet.  You
+have fought your ship with the greatest gallantry.  Englishmen cannot
+desire to encounter more noble foes," said Captain Moubray, returning
+the sword, which the lieutenant, taking, sheathed with a deep sigh.
+
+Indeed, out of a crew of between four and five hundred men, upwards of a
+hundred had been killed, and nearly the same number wounded, while the
+frigate's hull was fearfully shattered, her bulwarks were torn away--she
+was a mere wreck.
+
+Captain Moubray, returning to his ship, sent a prize crew on board under
+the command of Mr Jager, the second lieutenant, who had with him Lord
+Reginald, Voules, and Paddy Logan, and forty men, Richard Hargrave being
+among the number.
+
+It was no easy matter to clear the ships, so firmly had the _Wolf's_
+anchor hooked on through the _Thesbe's_ port.  It was at last, however,
+freed.  Scarcely had the two ships separated, than down came the
+_Thesbe's_ foremast, narrowly escaping falling across the bows of the
+_Wolf_.
+
+In an action lasting the best part of six hours, the _Wolf_ herself had
+suffered severe damage.  The third lieutenant, the second lieutenant of
+marines, a midshipman, and ten seamen were killed, and nearly fifty
+officers and men wounded.
+
+She had lost her mizzenmast, and her other masts and several of her
+yards were injured.  Her sails and rigging were cut to pieces.  So
+numerous were the shot-holes in her hull, that the carpenter and his
+mates were unable to stop them until she had three and a half feet of
+water in her hold.  A portion of her diminished crew was sent to the
+pumps, while every officer, man and boy, was employed in fishing the
+masts and spars, knotting and splicing the rigging, and shifting the
+sails.  The two ships lay close together, drifting with the tide.  The
+prize was won, but it was a question whether she would be kept.  They
+were close in with the French coast; and should any other of the enemy's
+ships be in the neighbourhood, it was certain that they would be sent to
+look after the combatants.  Mr Jager and his prize crew had work enough
+to do to keep the _Thesbe_ afloat, to heave the dead overboard, to
+attend to the wounded.  The surgeons laboured away all night in
+amputating arms and legs, and binding up the limbs of those most
+injured.  Not only was the cockpit crowded, but every cabin was full of
+wounded men.  The greater part of the prisoners were of course removed
+on board the _Wolf_, but a few were retained to assist in working the
+pumps and attending to the wounded.
+
+While the carpenters were engaged in stopping the shot-holes--through
+which the water was rushing with a rapidity sufficient in a short time
+to carry the prize to the bottom--it was impossible to attempt repairing
+other damages.
+
+When morning broke, a shattered, blood-stained hull lay floating, with
+her victor watching near her.  An anxious look-out was kept for any sail
+which might appear.  Should a single frigate be seen, Captain Moubray
+and his officers resolved to fight their ship and defend their prize to
+the last.
+
+No one thought of resting.  Mr Bitts piped his call, until, as Paddy
+Logan observed, "it seemed mighty curious that he had any wind left in
+his body."
+
+The frigate's crew laboured on, until many were ready to drop with
+fatigue.  All knew that not a moment was to be lost.  Another
+contingency might occur, besides the appearance of an enemy of superior
+force; a northerly gale might spring up, and drive the disabled frigates
+on the French coast.  Happily, the masts of the _Wolf_ were secured, the
+rigging repaired, and fresh sails bent, and the wind coming from the
+southward, she took her prize in tow, and shaped a course across the
+channel for Plymouth.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER EIGHT.
+
+ON BOARD THE PRIZE--BEN GIVES BAD ADVICE--A STRANGE LINE-OF-BATTLE
+SHIP--FRIEND OR FOE?--THE WOLF AND HER PRIZE REACH PLYMOUTH--NOT ALLOWED
+TO GO ASHORE--PETER PURKISS--DICK DESERTS--HOMEWARD BOUND--VISIT TO THE
+SMUGGLER'S WIFE--RECEPTION AT THE FARM--DICK RECOGNISED BY LORD REGINALD
+AND VOULES--FEAR OF BEING RETAKEN--DICK LEAVES HOME--CAPTURED AND SENT
+ON BOARD A CUTTER.
+
+The _Wolf_, with a fair breeze, having her prize in tow, shaped a course
+for Plymouth.  The wind though favourable was light, and should it
+continue so, it would be some time before she could reach her
+destination.  It was fortunate, however, that the sea was smooth, as it
+enabled the carpenters the more easily to get at the numerous shot-holes
+in the sides of the prize, and to stop the water coming in, which it had
+been doing at a rapid rate, making it necessary to keep the pumps
+constantly going.  This was hard work for the prize crew, for the few
+Frenchmen left on board, though they did not refuse to go to the pumps,
+worked listlessly, and very soon knocked off, declaring that they could
+work no more.  The British seamen had therefore to work away until they
+could stand no longer.
+
+Lieutenant Jager, commanding the prize, had sent Lord Reginald and
+Voules to see that the crew at the pumps were persevering in their
+labours.  Among them his eye fell on Ben Rudall and Richard Hargrave,
+who had both been working away for some time until their arms ached.
+
+"Spell oh!" cried Ben.
+
+"Spell oh!" echoed Dick, in order that some other men might come and
+help them.
+
+"Keep at your work, you idle rascals!" cried Lord Reginald.
+
+"I am not an `idle rascal,'" answered Ben, leaving the pump and folding
+his arms; "I have been working for two hours, and can work no longer
+until I have had some rest."
+
+Dick, who could really work no longer, and was wellnigh ready to drop to
+the deck, also knocked off, though he said nothing.
+
+Lord Reginald's anger was aroused in a moment.  Seizing a rope, he
+struck Dick across the shoulders.  "Go back, both of you!" he exclaimed;
+"we can have no skulking on board here."
+
+"I am not skulking," answered Dick, again seizing the pump handle and
+working away as hard as his strength would allow.
+
+"Do you dare to answer me?" exclaimed the young lord, striking Dick.
+
+Ben stood still, fixing his eye on the midshipman, who, though he
+flourished the rope, did not strike him, and Ben, with a look which
+showed the ill feelings aroused in his bosom, returned to the pump.
+
+Lord Reginald stood by, watching them until the whole gang, utterly
+unable to work longer, were relieved by fresh hands.
+
+"Let me see that you fellows keep at it longer and better than the last
+have done," he said.
+
+"That's what we get for working our lives out," growled Ben, as he and
+his shipmates staggered forward and threw themselves down to rest.
+"It's just as well he did not strike me, or something might have come of
+it.  If I were you, Dick, I wouldn't stand it; I'd give him as good in
+return.  He can but hang one, and that would be better than leading a
+dog's life on board this ship."
+
+"He might flog you round the fleet, which would be something worse than
+hanging," observed an old man-of-war's man, who had overheard Ben.  "You
+wouldn't like that.  I've a notion, mate, that it's wiser to grin and
+bear it, and hope for better times."
+
+"I do hope for better times," said Ben, addressing Dick, when no one
+else was within hearing.  "I'll tell you what, lad; I'd advise you to
+give them leg-bail, if you have the chance.  That's what I've made up my
+mind to, as soon as we get into port; they're sure not to keep a strict
+look-out, and, as usual, crowds of people will be coming on board to
+visit the ships.  Tom Harris was right; keep your temper, as you did
+just now.  To strike an officer, even though he strikes you first, is a
+serious matter, and I was wrong in advising it.  But though, if you
+desert and are caught, you run the risk of a flogging, the chances are
+you'll escape, for they'll not take the trouble of sending after you if
+you can once get off into the country."
+
+"I'll think about it," said Dick.  "I can't bear being struck by that
+young lord, or by any one else; and if he treats me as he has done
+before, I cannot answer for keeping my temper."
+
+The conversation was put an end to by the whole gang being ordered back
+to the pumps.  The carpenters were gradually getting the leaks stopped,
+and before night the crew were able with less difficulty to keep the
+water under.  Fresh hands were sent on board to attempt getting up
+jurymasts, in case the _Wolf_ should be compelled to cast off the prize.
+It was still doubtful whether they would reach the port in safety.  An
+enemy might at any moment appear, and not only retake the prize, but
+themselves.  A single frigate would prove a serious antagonist to the
+_Wolf_ in her present battered and disabled condition.
+
+During the night the breeze increased slightly, and the two frigates
+made better progress.  Lord Reginald had told Voules of Hargrave's
+impudence, as he called it, and the midshipman had reported it to Mr
+Jager.
+
+"If we have mutinous behaviour among our own crew, we shall have the
+Frenchmen rising upon us," observed the lieutenant.  "You must keep an
+eye, Voules, on those fellows, and put down that spirit of
+insubordination."
+
+"A flogging would do that lad Hargrave good," observed Voules, "and that
+old smuggler richly deserves one also."
+
+Voules, believing that it would please Lord Reginald, kept a watchful
+eye on both Dick and Ben, hoping that they would give him the
+opportunity of reporting them.
+
+Twice finding Dick moving slowly, as he considered about his duty, he
+started him with a rope's end.  Several of the other men, knowing that
+he was no longer under the protection of the boatswain, took the
+opportunity of bullying him in a variety of ways.  Ben did not
+interfere, his object being evidently to disgust him with the service.
+Fortunately for Dick, however, his persecutors had no time to annoy him
+when below, for, fatigued with their work, the moment they turned in
+they fell asleep.  All hands, indeed, were employed from morning until
+night in clearing the ship of water, getting up jurymasts and repairing
+the worst damages, so that there might be a chance of keeping her afloat
+should bad weather come on.  Hitherto but little progress had been made.
+All the sail which the _Wolf_ could carry was set.  The prize was at
+length able to help herself by hoisting a small amount of canvas.  A
+very sharp watch was kept for the appearance of any strange sail.
+
+At length, early on the second morning, the look-out from the masthead
+of the _Wolf_ shouted, "A sail in the south-west!"
+
+The first lieutenant went aloft to have a look at her.  On his return to
+the deck, he reported that she was a large ship, standing on a course
+which would soon bring her up to them.  It was difficult, at that
+distance, to say whether she was a frigate or a line-of-battle ship.
+
+"We must steer as we are," observed Captain Moubray.  "Whatever she is,
+we must fight her."
+
+He then hailed the prize, directing Lieutenant Jager to get all the guns
+he could ready for use, so that he might be able to take a part in the
+fight, should it be necessary.  He was, however, to do his best to
+escape, while the _Wolf_ engaged the stranger.
+
+The French officers on deck eagerly watched the ship coming up.  As her
+topsails rose above the horizon, various opinions were expressed about
+her.  Some thought that she might be the leading ship of a French
+squadron; others that she was a British man-of-war.  As, however, she
+drew nearer, no other vessels were seen astern of her.  One after the
+other the officers went aloft, to try and discover her character.  She
+was soon pronounced to be a seventy-four, at least.  The Frenchmen
+became highly elated, having fully persuaded themselves that she was a
+French line-of-battle ship.
+
+"Never mind, my friend," said one of them, "you have treated us well; we
+hope soon to have an opportunity of showing our gratitude."
+
+"Much obliged to you," answered the first lieutenant, to whom the
+observation was made.  "It is not settled beyond doubt that yonder ship
+belongs to your nation.  There is something about the cut of her canvas
+which tells me that she is an English line-of-battle ship.  If she's an
+enemy, we intend to fight her, and, if we can, enable our prize to
+escape."
+
+"Morbleu!" exclaimed the Frenchman.  "One might suppose that you rarely
+capture a prize, you seem so anxious to retain the one you have now
+got."
+
+On board the prize, all the preparations which could possibly be made
+were carried out.  Such guns as were uninjured were loaded, fresh
+tackles rove.  Her hard-worked crew recovered their spirits, and even
+Ben, for a time, ceased to growl.  Still, considering the battered state
+of both ships, there seemed every probability, should the stranger turn
+out to be an enemy, that they must fall into her hands; and that a
+French prison would be their destination, instead of the triumphant
+reception they expected to meet at home, and the prize-money with which
+they hoped to fill their pockets.
+
+"It would be a great bore if that fellow does turn out to be a
+Frenchman," observed Voules to Lord Reginald.  "I was in hopes that you
+would be able to get leave to pay another visit to Elverston Hall.  It
+would be a great pleasure to accompany you."
+
+"Of course, my dear fellow, I shall be delighted, as my father gives me
+leave to bring any friends I like; though it appeared to me that you got
+rather tired at last, or you wouldn't have taken to dangling after the
+ladies in the curious fashion you did."
+
+"Tired!  Oh dear no! their delightful society was sufficient attraction.
+I was never happier in my life."
+
+"Well, the honest truth is, my brother John told me that he thought you
+spent too much of your time with them, and he made one or two other
+remarks which I don't wish to repeat.  You'll take the hint, should you
+go there again.  However, instead of that, we may possibly have to spend
+the next few months at Verdun, or some other delectable place in France.
+I suppose they won't shut us up in the Bastile, or treat us as Napoleon
+did Captain Wright?"
+
+"Oh, don't talk of that!" cried Voules.  "We must hope that yonder ship
+will prove to be a friend; for though the captain may resolve to fight
+her, should she be an enemy, we must inevitably suffer severely, even if
+we escape capture."
+
+As the stranger drew nearer and nearer, the excitement on board
+increased.  The countenances of the Frenchmen at length, however, began
+to look blank.  Then, as the glorious flag of England blew out from the
+peak of the stranger, a cheer rose from the deck of the _Wolf_, which
+was taken up by that of the prize.
+
+Signals were exchanged.  The British ship made her number, the
+_Triumph_, seventy-four, Captain Sir Thomas Hardy, one of the noblest
+officers in the British service.  Drawing nearer, and directing the
+frigate to cast off, he took the prize in tow, and all three ships
+proceeded together, as had previously been intended, to Plymouth.
+Having arrived at the mouth of the harbour, the _Wolf_ once more took
+charge of her prize, while the _Triumph_ again stood out to sea on her
+cruise.  Cheers saluted the _Wolf_ as she proceeded through the narrow
+entrance to Hamoze, and scarcely had she dropped her anchor than
+numberless boats were alongside, containing people of all ranks, eager
+to hear an account of her victory.  As soon as the prisoners and wounded
+had been sent on shore, the decks of the prize were crowded with
+visitors, and the Frenchmen lost no credit when it was seen to what a
+state she had been reduced before they yielded.
+
+Ben found several old friends, with whom he had many long talks, though
+what they were about Dick did not hear.  The prize agents took charge of
+the captured frigate, and her crew returned on board their own ship.
+Battered as was the prize, she sold for a good sum, and was bought in by
+the Government.  Then came pay day, and many a golden guinea jingled in
+the victors' pockets, though with most they did not jingle there long.
+Leave being given to as many as could be spared to go on shore, scarcely
+had the poor fellows landed than they were set upon by harpies of every
+description, whose object was to extract the said golden guineas, which
+Jack--not knowing what to do with--was willing enough to throw away.
+Some of the brave heroes might have been seen driving about in a coach
+and four, crowding the vehicle inside and out, with bottles and mugs on
+the roof, cheering as they went.  Others might have been met with
+parading the streets, bedecked with pinchbeck watches and chains, which
+they had purchased under the belief that they were pure gold; seldom
+without a companion of the other sex on their arm, dressed out in the
+finery their money had bought.  The dancing saloons and grog shops were
+crowded, few troubling themselves as to how the seamen were employed,
+provided that they returned on board in due time with empty pockets,
+ready to fight the battles of Old England, and win more prize-money, to
+be expended in the same senseless fashion.
+
+The crew of the _Wolf_ had been turned over to a hulk, while the
+dockyard people took possession of her to repair the numerous damages
+she had received, with orders to proceed with all possible despatch.
+
+General leave had of course not been granted, for many of the crew who
+had lately joined could not, it was considered, very justly be trusted:
+the smugglers, the jailbirds, the pressed men, and the boys.  A certain
+number of old hands, together with the ever-faithful marines, were
+retained on board to watch them.  Grumbling was of course the order of
+the day.
+
+Ben, being among those who could not obtain leave, was loud in his
+complaints.  He vowed that leave he would have, though it might be
+French leave.  "It is hard that a steady man, who never got drunk, and
+always did his duty from the time he stepped on board, should not be
+allowed to go on shore to send off his prize-money to his wife!" he
+exclaimed.
+
+People still came off in considerable numbers every evening, to see the
+victorious frigate; and although when the workmen were about they could
+not go on her deck, they could see her from the hulk.
+
+"Now is your time, Dick," said Ben, one evening when the decks were more
+than usually crowded.  "Here's an old chum of mine alongside, Peter
+Purkiss; he'll take us ashore and will rig us in smock-frocks and
+gaiters, to look for all the world like countrymen.  You slip first into
+his boat, and as soon as it's dark I'll follow; we'll then start away
+out of the town, and by the morning we shall be a long stretch off, my
+boy; no fear of being caught then."
+
+Dick hesitated; he had often thought that if properly treated he should
+like the service.  The step his evil counsellor advised would be fatal
+to all his best aspirations.
+
+"Do as you like," said Ben; "depend upon it that Lord Reginald won't
+rest until he has seen you and the cat make acquaintance."
+
+At that moment Dick caught sight of the young lord talking to Voules.
+They did not observe him, but he thought that there was something
+sinister in the expression of their countenances.  "They shan't catch
+me, as they fancy they will," he said to himself.  He no longer
+hesitated.  Several persons were descending the side; going down to the
+main-deck, he slipped through a port into the boat Ben had pointed out.
+
+"Where is your shipmate Ben?" asked the old boatman.
+
+"He said that he was coming as soon as it was dark," answered Dick.
+
+Several other people from the shore got into the boat, and ordered old
+Peter to land them without delay.  Dick every moment expected to be
+discovered and to hear a hail ordering him back, but no one had observed
+him, and he was soon landed.
+
+"Now, lad," said the old man, "I'll take you to my house, as I promised.
+Ben will no doubt come next trip.  You must be smart, though, lest we
+should meet any of your officers."
+
+As it was growing dusk Dick hoped not to be seen, and soon reached a
+house not far from the water's edge.  The boatman, taking him into a
+small room, produced a carter's frock and gaiters, with a billycock hat
+and a large red handkerchief to tie round his throat.
+
+"Put on these duds, and keep close until I come back, when you and Ben
+may start together," said old Purkiss, as he left him to return to his
+boat.
+
+"Maybe he'll find it a harder matter to slip away than I did," said Dick
+to himself, "and if he doesn't come, I shall look foolish.  Still, I
+have no fancy to go back and be bullied by that Lord Reginald and his
+toady Voules."
+
+Dick waited some hours; at last old Purkiss came back.
+
+"Poor Ben's in for it," he said.  "He was just slipping down the side
+when the master-at-arms laid hands on him, and I'm afraid he's in limbo
+and very little chance of getting out of it until the ship goes to sea.
+Whether or not he thought something of the sort might happen, I don't
+know, but he gave me these ten guineas which he wants you to take to his
+wife.  It won't do, however, for you to stay longer here, unless you
+wish to go back and be flogged to a certainty for attempting to desert.
+I'd advise you to cut and run this very night.  Now, lad, fair play's a
+jewel.  I am helping you off, and I expect to be paid for what I'm
+doing, as well as for the clothes I got for you.  A five-pound note will
+satisfy me, though it wouldn't if you were not a chum of my old shipmate
+Ben."
+
+Dick paid the money without hesitation, for he knew that old Purkiss
+might have fleeced him, had he been so disposed, of every sixpence in
+his pocket.
+
+"Now we are clear," said the old man, who prided himself on his honesty,
+"and I want to give you a piece of advice, which mind you stick to.
+Don't show your cash to any one, or you'll be robbed and murdered maybe.
+I'll give you change for a guinea in sixpences and coppers; don't show
+too many of them either; better by far pay in coppers for the food you
+want, and sleep under haystacks or in barns until you reach home.  You
+may get a lift in a cart or waggon, but don't let anybody know you've
+been on board a man-of-war.  Just say you've been down to see an old
+friend, Peter Purkiss, and that's true for the most part, and that you
+are going home again to your father and mother.  Now, lad, it's time to
+be off.  I'll put you in the way out of the town, and when once you are
+in the country strike away north-east.  You've got Dartmoor to cross,
+and as it's a wildish tract, I'd advise you to get a lift if you can
+until you are over it.  If you can't get a lift, don't attempt to cross
+it at night, or you may lose yourself."
+
+Peter, who was a good-natured old fellow, though his morality was not of
+the strictest order, gave Dick a hearty supper, then, taking a thick
+stick in hand, started off with him, walking at a rapid pace until they
+reached the confines of Plymouth--a much smaller town in those days than
+it is at present.  Dick then, having received directions from the old
+man as to the road he was to take, commenced what he had made up his
+mind would be a long tramp homewards.
+
+He was strong and active, and had not been long enough at sea to lose
+his shore legs.  The night being clear, he was able to see the road, and
+he knew by the position of the Great Bear, which he always kept on his
+left hand, that he was going in the right direction.  The dread he felt
+of being overtaken by a pressgang, or by the seamen of his own ship,
+whom he thought might be sent in pursuit, made him walk all the faster.
+It was with difficulty indeed at first that he restrained himself from
+breaking into a run; but he guessed rightly that he would thus be more
+likely to be stopped by any one who might meet him, and he restrained
+himself, continuing on only at a rapid walk.  Every now and then,
+however, he turned his head over his shoulder, fancying that he heard
+footsteps, expecting to find himself seized and carried back to be
+ignominiously flogged--a fate he well knew would be in store for him,
+should he be caught.  He was not, however, very well contented with
+himself.  He was perfectly aware of the light in which the crime of
+desertion was regarded; and that he was abandoning all hopes of rising
+in the service, for which he had always had a liking, notwithstanding
+the way Ben had abused it.  He had sufficient discernment to distinguish
+the good, true-hearted seamen from the bad, and he had observed that the
+former were well treated and looked on with respect by their officers.
+Then the recollection of the way Lord Reginald and Toady Voules had
+behaved to him would occur.  "If it hadn't been for them, and others
+like them, I should have been happy enough on board, and willing to do
+my duty," he exclaimed.  "I should have got on very well with Mr Bitts,
+for he was always kind in his way, and wanted to make a seaman of me;
+and I should have been one, for he was ready to show me how to do
+everything I wanted to learn.  However, it's all past now, and I must go
+back to the plough.  I must take care, though, that Mr Gooch doesn't
+hear of my being at home again, or he will be down upon me.  I suspect
+that father will be afraid of that, and will be sending me off to a farm
+away from home, so that, after all, I shall not be with him and mother
+and Janet.  I've half a mind even now to go back again--but then there's
+this flogging, and Lord Reginald would be down upon me more than ever;
+and what would Ben say? and old Purkiss would get it for helping me
+off."
+
+Such were some of Dick's meditations as he trudged on during the night,
+making good about four miles an hour, so that he was nearly thirty miles
+away from Plymouth when morning broke.  He still walked on until he came
+to a roadside inn, where, feeling very hungry, he stopped for breakfast.
+While the landlady was cooking some eggs and bacon, he fell asleep,
+with his head on the table.
+
+"What ails you, lad?" said the woman, as she placed the smoking hot dish
+near him, and shook him by the shoulder.  "It's not the time o' day
+people who have had a night's rest take to sleeping."
+
+"But I haven't had a night's rest," answered Dick, rousing himself.  "I
+have been walking on all the morning; but I am more hungry than sleepy,
+so I thank you for the eggs and bacon, and would be glad of a jug of ale
+to wash them down."
+
+The landlady, still looking at him somewhat suspiciously--detecting,
+perhaps, the seaman's shirt below his frock--placed the ale before him.
+From the questions she put to him, Dick thought that she guessed who he
+was, and deemed it prudent to again set off.  Recollecting Peter's
+advice, he produced sixpence to pay for his breakfast, and then at once
+took his leave.  For another hour or more he trudged on, until he became
+so weary that he could scarcely move.  He saw a haystack a short
+distance from the road, inviting him to rest beneath it.  Hardly had he
+thrown himself down on the lee side, away from the public path, than he
+was fast asleep.
+
+It was late in the afternoon before he awoke, when he continued his
+journey, stopping only at the first inn he came to that he might obtain
+some food.  He at length reached Exeter, but as he saw seamen moving
+about and ships in the distance, he was afraid of stopping there, and,
+passing through it, he again found himself in the country.
+
+Many a weary mile he trudged on.  What might be in store for him he
+could not tell, but anything would be better than going back.  Puzzling
+questions were often asked him, and he ran, on several occasions, great
+risk of being detected.  His sun-burnt countenance and seaman's roll,
+which he had already acquired, often nearly betrayed him.
+
+As he approached his home, the anxiety to get safely to his journey's
+end increased.  At length, passing through Christchurch, he recognised
+the familiar scenery of his native district.  The high white cliffs of
+the Isle of Wight, the Needle rocks below them, and the tall lighthouse
+of Hurst, with its cheese-like castle, bathed in a rich glow from the
+rays of the setting sun.  He sat down on the top of the cliff, and
+considered--while he ate some bread and cheese he had obtained at his
+last stopping-place--in which direction he should bend his steps.
+Longing as he did to go home, he was anxious to fulfil Ben's commission
+by delivering the money entrusted to him for Susan.  He decided to do
+this first.
+
+"She'll be longing, poor woman! to hear of her husband; and it won't
+make much difference to father and mother whether I get home an hour or
+two later."
+
+Having come to this resolution, he hurried on, wishing to reach Keyhaven
+soon after dark, as he had no desire to be seen by any one.  He reached
+Susan's cottage.
+
+"Who's there?" asked a voice from within, in reply to his knock.
+
+"Open the door, and I'll tell you," he answered.
+
+Susan herself admitted him, though he would scarcely have known her, so
+pale and wan did she look.  She did not know him, and he had to tell her
+who he was.  She then began to make inquiries about "her good man."
+
+Dick had no very satisfactory account to give.  All he could say was
+that Ben had intended to desert and come home, but that in all
+probability he had been caught and kept on board.  "He did not forget
+you, however," said Dick, presenting ten guineas to the poor woman.
+
+At the sight of the money Susan's countenance brightened.  "Bless him!
+he was always kind and ready to give when he had it; but it is the last,
+I much fear, I shall ever get from him!" she exclaimed, and then burst
+into tears.
+
+"I hope not," said Dick.  "The ship will be paid off some day, and then
+he will be able to come home, with plenty more in his pocket.  I have
+sometimes wished that I had stopped, but he advised me to run with him;
+and it might have been better if I had been caught, and he got away."
+
+"It cannot be helped, Dick," said Susan, inclined to take the matter
+very philosophically; "though when the ten guineas are gone--and they
+can't last for ever--I don't know what I shall do.  If it hadn't been
+for them, I should have been in the workhouse next week."
+
+"I must tell my mother about you," said Dick; "maybe she'll send some
+food for you and the children."
+
+"Your mother will be a long way off, Dick.  You haven't heard, maybe,
+that they are going to leave the farm next week, and have taken one the
+other side of Christchurch.  Your father, after all, accepted Lord
+Elverston's offer, though it was what my good man always said he would
+not do if he was in his place, and the farm is to be taken into the
+park.  It was a sore trial to your father and mother, but after you went
+they seemed not to care what became of them."
+
+"And Janet!  Have you heard how she is?" asked Dick, eagerly.
+
+"She's better than she was, and it is said she's at the bottom of the
+matter."
+
+"How's that?" asked Dick, somewhat astonished.
+
+"Why, Lady Elverston, who is a very kind lady--and even those who don't
+like my lord confess that--was very often at your cottage, and one day
+she told your mother that she thought Janet's sight might be restored.
+She promised to take her up to London to a doctor of some sort, who
+makes blind people see, they say.  So it is all arranged, and after that
+your father gave in.  As soon as they move to their new home, Janet is
+to go up with my lady."
+
+Dick could scarcely believe what he heard, and was now, naturally
+enough, in a greater hurry than ever to get home.  He promised, if he
+could manage it, to come back and see Mrs Rudall again.
+
+In better spirits than he had been for some time, he set off on his walk
+home.  He had not much fear of being recognised, since Susan had failed
+to know him.  He therefore took the shortest road.  Seeing a light
+beaming through the window, he guessed that his father and mother were
+still up.  The door, however, was bolted.  He knocked loudly, crying
+out, "Let me in! let me in!"
+
+"Oh, that's Dick!" he heard Janet exclaim.
+
+The door was hastily opened, and in another minute he was in his
+mother's arms.
+
+"Where do you come from?" asked his father, somewhat sternly.  "You have
+given us all a great fright about you since we found that letter which
+you left in your room; and the rumours we heard did little to allay it."
+
+Dick expressed his contrition, declaring that he had acted for the best,
+and then gave, as briefly as he could, an account of himself up to the
+present time.
+
+"No man must do evil that good may come of it, and in this case I don't
+see that any good has come of it," said his father.  "You leagued
+yourself with smugglers and got pressed in consequence, and now you have
+run from your ship, perhaps to be seized and carried back as a
+deserter."
+
+"But I must take care not to be seized, and am ready to stop and work
+with you, father.  I deserted because I was forced to serve against my
+will, though I found the life on board not so bad as I expected, and if
+it hadn't been for the bullying I got from Lord Reginald and that other
+midshipman, I would have remained where I was."
+
+Mrs Hargrave and Janet now took Dick's part, and his father was
+ultimately pacified, though, as he said, it went against the grain to
+have a son of his called a deserter, however ill he might have been
+treated.  Dick found that the account Susan had given him about Janet
+was correct; that she was shortly to accompany Lady Elverston to London,
+to be put under a celebrated oculist, and to undergo the operation of
+couching.
+
+"Bless her ladyship's heart for her kindness!" said Mrs Hargrave.
+
+"We have not many days to remain here, and I must have you stay
+in-doors, lest you should be seen by any who have an ill will against
+you, Dick," observed his father.
+
+"I don't think they would know me any more than Susan Rudall did when I
+paid her a visit," answered Dick.  "I'd rather not be boxed up in the
+house, if I can help it.  I should soon fall sick after being accustomed
+to the sea air so long."
+
+"Better remain in-doors at home than be locked up in a prison," observed
+his father.  "It is a sad thing for me to have to say it, but remember,
+Dick, you have made yourself liable to that, and it will be wiser for
+you to remain in hiding until we go to our new farm and people have
+forgotten all about you."
+
+Dick did not longer argue the point, but he made no promises.  His
+mother, observing how weary he was, and that he could scarcely keep his
+eyes open, suggested that he should go to bed, and gladly acting on the
+advice he staggered off to his room, which remained exactly as he had
+left it.
+
+Dick took a day to recover from his fatigue and, after that, shut up in
+his room, be began to find the time pass heavily away.  His mother was
+engaged in household affairs, and in preparing for the removal, while
+his father was absent from home until late in the evening, having to
+make more than one trip to the new farm.  Janet came and sat with him
+frequently.  She was in good spirits at the anticipation of recovering
+her sight, about which she was very sanguine.  Still Dick pined for
+fresh air.  "You ought to get out," he said to Janet, "instead of
+sitting all day shut up here.  I'll chance it; put on your shawl and
+bonnet; we are not likely to meet any one, and if we do they'll not
+interfere with us."
+
+Janet, without further consideration, forgetting her father's warning,
+agreed, and she leaning on Dick's arm, they took their way down a green
+lane in which she especially delighted, and which turned off near the
+house.  She knew that scarcely any one passed that way, as she had
+frequently gone along it alone, with her dog to guide her.  Tempted by
+the pleasantness of the evening, they went on for some distance, through
+a forest glade.
+
+"We ought to be going back," said Janet at length, "for I feel the air
+damp, though you don't find it out, Dick, and I know that the sun must
+have set."
+
+"There will be plenty of light for me to see my way home," answered
+Dick; "but we will turn, as you wish it."
+
+They had not got far on their way back, when Janet felt Dick give a
+start, and she heard the sound of horses' approaching at a quick pace.
+
+"What do you see?" she asked.
+
+Dick did not answer; he was looking about to find some place of
+concealment.  Had he been alone he could easily have hid himself, but he
+could not leave Janet.  The horsemen approached rapidly.  Dick tried to
+walk on in an unconcerned manner.  In another minute they were up to
+him, and he saw Lord Reginald and Mr Voules.  He felt sure that they
+recognised him, for he saw the latter turn to the young lord and make
+some remark, though, possibly on Janet's account, he did not speak
+sufficiently loud to allow what he said to be heard.  They both,
+however, stared very hard, and then passed on, allowing Dick and his
+sister to proceed on their way.
+
+"Who are those persons?" asked Janet.
+
+Dick told her, but, not wishing to alarm her, observed, "If they knew
+me, they didn't think it worth while to interfere.  I don't suppose any
+harm will come of it."
+
+Janet, however, became very anxious.  "As they are officers of the ship
+you ran away from, they'll think it right to take you.  Oh, Dick! you
+must try and hide where they can't find you.  It would be dreadful to
+have you carried off again!"
+
+"Don't tell father and mother, then; it will frighten them, and I'll see
+what's best to be done.  Both these fellows hate me, and I don't suppose
+they will let me remain in quiet.  They were afraid of attempting to
+seize me, for they knew well that they would have found it a tough job."
+
+It did not occur to Dick that he enjoyed his safety at the moment from
+being in company with his blind sister, as Lord Reginald, at all events,
+was unwilling to interfere with him.
+
+Janet, in her eagerness to get home, almost dragged Dick along, and he
+felt her arm tremble as she thought of the danger to which he was
+exposed.  According to his wish, she said nothing to her mother of the
+encounter.  Mr Hargrave was not expected home until late.  Dick had
+been thinking of what he should do.  As soon as he had had supper, Janet
+having gone to her room, he jumped up, saying--
+
+"Mother! that young lord and his friend are at the hall, and they have
+seen me.  They may not trouble themselves about me, but I'd rather not
+trust them.  I'll go off and hide somewhere; and if they send here, you
+can say that you don't know where I am.  Tell father that I am sorry,
+very sorry, that he should be troubled so much about me; but it cannot
+be helped now.  Those two midshipmen will be joining their ship soon.
+It won't be long before she's ready for sea again, and then I may go
+back to the new farm without fear.  No one in that neighbourhood will
+know me, and I'll promise to work hard and make amends to you and
+father, and keep clear of smugglers in future."
+
+Mrs Hargrave was naturally much grieved, but she had no other proposal
+to offer.  She knew the angry feelings which existed between her son,
+and the young lord, and thought it best that they should not again run
+the risk of meeting.
+
+"But where do you intend going?" she asked.
+
+"That's the very thing I don't want you to know, mother," he answered.
+"You can now say honestly that I left home, and that you have no idea
+where I went to.  Good-bye, give my love and duty to father."
+
+Mrs Hargrave embraced Dick with tears in her eyes.  He ran in to wish
+Janet good-bye.
+
+"I have told mother all about it," he said.  "Keep up your spirits! no
+harm will come to me.  I need only keep away for a week or two, and as
+soon as the ship sails, I shall be all safe."
+
+Janet was not so satisfied as her brother appeared to be on that point.
+She threw her arms round his neck, and burst into tears.
+
+"Cheer up, cheer up!" said Dick, "I know I am a brute to have made you
+all so unhappy, but when I come home again I intend to turn over a new
+leaf."
+
+Janet held his hand.  An indefinite fear of what might happen seized
+her.  He tore himself away, half inclined to be angry with her and his
+mother, for making so much fuss about the matter, and rushed outside the
+house.  He soon turned off the high road and hurried on along a path in
+the direction of Keyhaven.
+
+"I'll get Susan Rudall to stow me away.  She'll be grateful to me for
+bringing her the money, and, as I've got a few guineas in my pocket, I
+can pay her well for keeping me, and it will be an advantage to her," he
+said to himself.  "I must take care that no one sees me going into her
+cottage, and I don't suppose the young lord or that fellow Voules will
+think of looking for me there."
+
+The night was dark, but Dick, who knew the way, ran on, stopping every
+now and then to listen if any one was approaching.  He had got close to
+Keyhaven, when it became necessary to use more caution, as people who
+knew him might probably be about, and should an inquiry be set on foot
+they might state that they had met him.  He had almost reached Susan's
+cottage when, turning up an angle of the road, he found himself close to
+several men who were coming up it.  He stopped, he could not go on
+without passing between them.  Acting on the impulse of the moment, he
+turned and ran back, hoping to find some place where he might conceal
+himself until they had passed.
+
+"Stop that fellow, whoever he is!" shouted a voice, in an authoritative
+tone.
+
+A couple of men darted forward, and before Dick had got many paces away
+he found himself seized by the shoulder.
+
+"Halloa, my fine fellow! who are you? and what are you about?" asked one
+of the men.
+
+"I am going to visit a neighbour," answered Dick, trying to free
+himself.
+
+"You must come back to our officer first, and give an account of
+yourself," said the first speaker, whom Dick recognised as a
+man-of-war's man.
+
+Resistance was useless, and he made no further attempt to escape.  The
+officer and the rest of the men soon came up, and Dick repeated the
+account he had given of himself.
+
+"Very fine!" was the answer; "but you must come up to the station, and
+if Lieutenant Hilton knows you he will be able to state how far what you
+tell us is true."
+
+Dick, making no answer, walked on between his two captors.  From what he
+could make out, the men belonged to a revenue cutter, which had dropped
+anchor off Hurst that evening, in consequence of information received of
+some smuggling work likely to take place in the neighbourhood.
+
+"My ill luck!" thought Dick.  "If it hadn't been for that I should have
+got down to Susan's without difficulty, and now, because I am known to
+have been on board the _Nancy_, they'll accuse me of being concerned in
+this matter, of which I never so much as heard, until this moment."
+
+Dick was perfectly right in his conjectures.  Lieutenant Hilton, who had
+just returned from visiting the neighbouring posts, no sooner set eyes
+on Dick, than he exclaimed, "Why, that's young Hargrave, the very fellow
+Lord Reginald Oswald was speaking to me about, not an hour ago, a
+deserter from the _Wolf_, a desperate young ruffian, by all accounts.
+I'll hand him over to you Mason, to carry on board your cutter, but you
+must take good care that he doesn't escape."
+
+The commander of the cutter laughed.  "I'll clap him in irons, and he'll
+be clever if he gets his wrists out of them," he answered.
+
+Dick was led down to the beach by the cutter's crew, who at once pulled
+on board.  Being hauled up the side without ceremony, he was handed down
+below, and a pair of handcuffs were placed on his wrists.
+
+"You've had a long run on shore, my lad, and it is to be hoped you
+enjoyed yourself," said the seaman who was fastening them on.  "I
+wouldn't stand in your shoes for something, let me tell you.  You've
+heard tell of Tim Macarthy, who three times ran from his ship, and got
+hanged.  You must look out that the same doesn't happen to you if you
+play that trick again."
+
+Dick made no reply; his spirit was so utterly broken that he could have
+burst into tears, had he not made a strong effort to restrain himself.
+
+"They shan't see me play the woman, if I can help it," he said to
+himself; "but if ever I have the chance I'll make that Lord Reginald pay
+for it.  If he hadn't informed against me, the chances are I should have
+got off.  He and his messmate hadn't the courage to stop me by
+themselves, and so they must needs gallop off and tell that lieutenant
+that they had seen me.  What a fool I was to go down to Keyhaven,
+instead of striking away inland, where I should have been safe from
+them.  Now, I suppose I shall be flogged and branded as a deserter, and
+perhaps be hung, as that fellow says.  I shouldn't care if I had changed
+my name, I should not like to bring disgrace on my father and mother.
+It would break their hearts to know such had been my fate."
+
+These, and if possible, still more gloomy thoughts passed through Dick's
+mind, until, leaning his head against the side of the vessel, near which
+he had been placed, he fell off into a troubled slumber.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER NINE.
+
+TREATMENT OF THE PRISONERS--CHASED BY A PRIVATEER--THE PRESSED MEN
+ARMED--THE FIGHT--DICK'S GALLANTRY--CAPTURE OF THE LUGGER--PRIZE CREW
+SENT ON BOARD--ATTEMPT OF THE FRENCHMEN TO TAKE THE CUTTER--DICK
+HARGRAVE'S PRESENCE OF MIND--RECEPTION ON BOARD THE FRIGATE--NEARLY
+FLOGGED--BEN RUDALL'S STATEMENT--THE CAPTAIN'S DILEMMA--DICK'S
+GRATITUDE.
+
+Dick was not the only occupant of the cutter's hold.  There were several
+other men--some pressed, others released from prison on condition of
+serving on board the fleet; and these for security were kept down below,
+until they were placed on board the ships for which they were destined.
+Besides them there were a few volunteers, mostly young men, who had
+joined at the places at which the cutter had touched.
+
+Daylight was streaming down the hatchway when Dick awoke.  The cutter
+was still at anchor.  He knew that although he was so near home there
+was no chance of his friends learning where he was, and of their trying
+to obtain his release.  His father he would rather not see.  He made
+out, from the conversation going on around him, that the cutter was
+bound down to Plymouth, with men for the _Wolf_, to replace those who
+had been killed and wounded.  If he had any wish, it was that the vessel
+would get under way.  He was eager to face the worst, and get it over as
+soon as possible.  A dull stupor at length came over him, and for long
+he sat neither asleep nor awake, without thinking.  He could hear the
+tramp of feet overhead; still the vessel remained stationary.  He was
+aroused when the breakfast was served out to him and the other
+prisoners.  He ate mechanically, exchanging only a few words with those
+near him, and then went off into the same state as before.  At length he
+heard feet descending the companion ladder, and looking up, he saw the
+officer who had captured him holding a lantern in his hand, accompanied
+by two persons, whom he recognised as Lord Reginald and Mr Voules.
+
+"Is that the young fellow, my lord, who deserted from the _Wolf_," asked
+the officer.
+
+"No doubt about it," answered Lord Reginald.  "I'm glad you have caught
+him."
+
+"I should have known him from among a hundred," said Voules, "though he
+has got out of his sea rig.  Take care that he doesn't get away from
+you.  I should be sorry if he escapes the flogging he'll get on board!"
+
+"You see I have him fast enough at present," answered the officer,
+pointing to the handcuffs on Dick's wrists, "He may be very clever, but
+he'll not get out of those in a hurry."
+
+The midshipmen looked round, but could identify no other prisoners as
+deserters from their ship.
+
+"I shall not sail until the tide makes to the westward; so if your
+lordship intends to honour me by returning in the cutter to Plymouth,
+you will have time to go back to Elverston and get your traps," Dick
+heard the lieutenant observe as they ascended the companion ladder; but
+the reply did not reach his ears.  As the cutter remained stationary, he
+had good reason to fear that the two midshipmen would take a passage in
+her, and that he should be subjected to their taunts and ill-treatment,
+and have no chance of being set at liberty, which he might otherwise
+have had when they once got to sea.  Whether or not he was right in his
+conjectures he could not tell.  He heard several persons come on board;
+then the anchor was hove up, and the cutter got under way.  He would
+have given much to have sent a message on shore, but he had no
+opportunity.
+
+A fresh breeze carried the cutter along at a good rate.  Before
+nightfall she was off Portland.  Hitherto neither Lord Reginald nor
+Voules had come below.
+
+"I only hope they'll not show themselves, for it will be a hard matter
+to keep a quiet tongue in my head if they speak to me," thought Dick.
+"It will be all the same, though, for I shall be flogged to a certainty
+when I am on board again, and I should like to give them my mind first."
+
+Though below, Dick could judge pretty accurately what the cutter was
+about.  She was evidently making little or no way, for he could hear not
+the slightest sound of a ripple against her side.  She lay, indeed,
+becalmed, in West Bay, between Portland and The Start.  It was night,
+and the men round him were asleep, as their loud snores in various tones
+told him.  He would have had no inclination to talk, however, had they
+been awake.  The only other sounds which reached him were the occasional
+footsteps of the watch on deck, as they paced over his head, or the
+creaking of the jaws of the mainboom and gaff, and, now and then, the
+flap of the mainsail.  In vain he tried to get one subject out of his
+head--the thought of the flogging.  Not that he dreaded the pain he
+should suffer one-tenth part so much as he did the disgrace.  His
+father's heart would well-nigh break should he hear of it.  The stout
+English yeoman was as proud in his way as was the Marquis of Elverston.
+
+"It is he--he, that Lord Reginald, who has brought me to this!" he
+muttered, clenching his fists and grinding his teeth.  "If ever I have
+the chance I will be revenged on him!  I must, I could not help it."
+Dick conjured up a fearful picture--the young lord in his power, his
+hand upon his throat.  He forgot that it was through his own folly that
+he had enabled Lord Reginald to treat him in the way he had done.  Had
+he kept free of the smugglers, had he not been tempted to desert, Lord
+Reginald, when exhibiting his ill feeling, would have been seen by all
+to be in the wrong.
+
+The cutter made no way during the night, and though she drifted to the
+westward with one tide, the flood carried her as far back again; so that
+when morning broke The Start and Portland Bill were almost at equal
+distances from her.  Dick dozed off while the crew were washing decks.
+He was only fully aroused when, as before, breakfast was brought down
+for the prisoners.  After some time, sounds of laughter and frequent
+footsteps reached his ears, and he guessed that the commander with his
+young passengers were walking the deck after their breakfast.  Presently
+he heard the former order the steward to hand him his spyglass.
+
+"What is she, Mr Mason?" asked Lord Reginald.
+
+"A large lugger, at all events.  She may be a Jersey privateer, or she
+may be French.  As she is bringing up a fresh breeze from the eastward,
+we shall know more about her soon."
+
+"Suppose she is French, shall you attack her?" asked Voules, in a tone
+which showed no great satisfaction at the thoughts of such an event
+taking place.
+
+"She is more likely to attack us, as she probably carries six or eight
+guns and one long nine-pounder.  Such is the armament of most of those
+craft, and twice as many hands as we can muster, while we have only got
+our four small carronades, which are of very little use except at close
+quarters."
+
+"Then I suppose we shall have to run for it," said Voules; "there'll be
+no honour or glory in fighting her."
+
+"I shouldn't like to have to run from an enemy unless she was very much
+larger than yonder craft appears to be," exclaimed Lord Reginald.
+
+"As to that, my lord, we must do our best not to be taken, and shall
+have to fight for it.  We have hands enough to work our guns, but if she
+runs us aboard, her numerous crew will tell fearfully in her favour."
+
+"But you have a good many prisoners below; I suppose they could be
+trusted to help us?" said Lord Reginald.
+
+"I shouldn't like to put cutlasses into their hands; they might turn
+against us," observed Voules.
+
+"No fear of that," answered the lieutenant; "they are Englishmen, and if
+they see an enemy will fight fast enough.  I shall trust them, at all
+events, and as soon as I can make out whether yonder lugger hails from
+Jersey or not, I will have them on deck and arm them."
+
+Dick, as he heard this, heartily hoped that the stranger might prove an
+enemy.  The rest of the prisoners, he judged, from the remarks they
+made, were much of his way of thinking.
+
+"The mounseers won't make any difference between us and the crew, if
+we're taken," observed one of the men.
+
+"Right there, mate; better have a jolly stand-up fight than be sitting
+down here all day, doing nothing," remarked another.
+
+The officers had gone aft, and Dick could not hear what was said.  In a
+short time, however, he knew that the cutter was moving by the rippling
+against her side.
+
+Presently she heeled over slightly, showing that the breeze was
+freshening, and he heard the order to set the squaresail and
+square-topsail.  There was little doubt, then, that the commander was
+following the advice given by Mr Voules, making the best of his way to
+the westward.  He would do that under ordinary circumstances.  It was
+still uncertain whether the lugger which had brought up the breeze was a
+friend or an enemy.
+
+He had heard the order to hoist the ensign, and some time afterwards a
+voice called out, "That's a French craft, I'll take my davy, though we
+can't see her colours."
+
+Again some time elapsed, when a gun was heard, but the sound was so
+faint that Dick thought the vessel which fired it must be at a great
+distance.  Presently Mr Mason came down into the hold.
+
+"Lads," he said, looking round, "you are all Englishmen, though you are
+pressed against your will to serve his Majesty.  I put it to you,
+whether--as I think it likely we are somewhat over-matched--you'll fight
+to preserve this vessel and to save yourself being carried to a French
+prison.  I have come down to give you your liberty, as I am sure that
+you will all make the same answer, and if cutlasses are put into your
+hands, that you'll fight as bravely as any men on board.  We shall then,
+I have no fear, lick the lugger, and carry her as a prize into Plymouth
+harbour."
+
+A hearty cheer was given.  "We'll thrash the mounseers; no fear about
+that," answered the men; Dick joining as warmly as any one.
+
+The men's handcuffs were soon taken off.  Dick, on finding himself free,
+sprang to his feet and grasped the cutlass which was put into his hands.
+On reaching the deck he found the cutter was prepared for action.  Two
+of the guns were trained aft, boarding-pikes were placed along the
+bulwarks.  An arm-chest stood open, containing pistols, hand-grenades,
+swords, and cutlasses, while a number of muskets lay on the companion
+hatch.
+
+The two midshipmen, with pistols in their belts and cutlasses at their
+sides, stood watching the lugger, which under press of sail was coming
+up astern.  She was evidently a much faster craft than the cutter,
+though the latter was a stout vessel of her class.  The lugger now began
+to fire her long gun; the shot, though failing to strike, pitched
+sometimes on one side, sometimes on the other side of the cutter.
+
+"Why don't we try and knock away some of her spars?" observed Lord
+Reginald.
+
+"Little use firing our pop-guns," answered the commander; "our shot
+won't reach her as yet."
+
+Presently the long gun sent its missile through the cutter's squaresail.
+Another shortly afterwards made a second hole, but did no other damage.
+
+"Those fellows know how to handle their gun.  We shall see how they
+behave when we get them within range of ours.  Stand by, Beal, to give
+it them," he said to the gunner, who had brought a match from the galley
+fire.
+
+The guns were fired almost simultaneously.  What effect their shot
+produced could not be seen, though Beal declared that one, if not both,
+struck the lugger.  They did not, however, stop her way.  She fired her
+long gun in return.  It was well aimed, for down came the squaresail,
+the halliards shot away.  The lugger's crew were heard cheering.
+
+"Shout away, my fine fellows!" cried Beal; "we'll make you sing a
+different note if you come alongside."
+
+Hands were instantly ordered to repair the damage.  It took some time,
+however, to bend fresh halliards and hoist up the yard.  During the
+interval, the lugger had gained considerably on the cutter, but this
+enabled the latter to fire her stern chasers with more effect.  The men
+worked vigorously, loading and firing almost as fast as the lugger's
+crew did their long gun.  Still, with short guns the aim was uncertain,
+and of the many shots fired, comparatively few did any damage to the
+enemy.  Mr Mason's object was to get to the other side of The Start,
+when probably the firing might attract the attention of some man-of-war
+near the mouth of Plymouth harbour, which might come out to the rescue.
+He was determined, however, to fight to the last, rather than yield his
+vessel.  The Frenchman's object was evidently to knock away some of the
+cutter's spars, to get alongside as soon as possible, trusting to obtain
+the victory by boarding her, well aware of the small crew she was likely
+to carry; probably, also, supposing that she conveying specie or
+valuable stores to Plymouth, as was frequently done, instead of sending
+them by land.  Most of the damage inflicted on the cutter was therefore
+aloft.  Her sails already showed many holes.  Her starboard backstay had
+been shot away, her topmast was wounded, though it still stood.  Mr
+Mason now made preparations for what he saw was inevitable.
+
+"When the cutter boards, my lads, remember we must not only drive back
+the boarders, but follow them into their own vessel and take her.  Even
+if we wished it, should we lose any of our spars, we could not get away
+from her.  It is pretty certain that her guns are heavier than ours.
+Lord Reginald, I'll get you to stand by the helm with half a dozen hands
+to manage the cutter in case we are separated, and all the rest of you
+will board with me.  Lads, I'll depend upon you to carry that craft.  I
+know what privateersmen are like, when they see cold steel in their
+faces.  They'll come on boldly enough at first, but when once beaten
+back, they'll turn tail like hounds, and skulk for shelter below."
+
+The cheers which rose from the throats of the crew, joined in heartily
+by Dick and the rest of the pressed men, gave promise of victory, in
+spite of the odds which might be against them.  The firing was continued
+by both vessels as fast as the guns could be loaded, the lugger
+gradually gaining on the chase.
+
+The lieutenant ordered as many hands as were required, to drag over the
+two stern guns to the side on which the lugger might come up; while the
+other two were loaded with musket-balls ready to fire into her.
+
+At length, a shot aimed high by the lugger struck the cutter's topmast.
+The spar held on for a minute, but a stronger puff of wind filling the
+sail, with a loud crash it gave way, and down came the gaff-topsail and
+square-topsail.  The mainsail and squaresail still, however, stood.  The
+lugger now came up hand over hand.  The two stern chasers were once more
+fired.  The lugger was steering for the cutter's starboard quarter.  In
+a few minutes the guns were dragged over to the starboard side and run
+through the two after ports, while the other remaining gun was hauled up
+with equal rapidity to the same side.
+
+"Lower away the squaresail; down with the helm.  Now fire, lads!"
+
+Four guns were simultaneously discharged, raking the lugger fore and
+aft.  The next instant the helm was again put up, or the lugger would
+have run into her stem on.  Instead of this, striking on the counter,
+she ranged up alongside.  A large body of men were seen grouped on the
+forecastle armed with pikes and cutlasses.  The moment the sides of the
+two vessels touched, with loud shouts, led by one of their officers,
+they leaped on board, many to meet their doom, for before they reached
+the deck they were cut down by the stalwart arms of the British seamen.
+Others followed, but, met with a bristling array of pikes and cutlasses
+in their faces, they dared not spring from their own bulwarks.  The men
+aft, under the command of Lord Reginald, had been keeping up a warm fire
+of musketry, when the lieutenant, turning his head, saw a party of the
+enemy kept in reserve, about to board the cutter aft.  He instantly
+sprang towards the threatened point, followed by several who had
+gallantly been keeping the first party of boarders in check.  Among them
+was Dick Hargrave and several of his companions.  Leading the French
+boarders was a big fellow with huge bushy whiskers, and a red
+handkerchief tied round his head.  With a sword of a size which few men
+could have wielded, he made a desperate slash at the lieutenant, which
+would have brought him to the deck, had not Dick sprang forward and,
+interposing his cutlass, dealt the next instant such a blow on the sword
+arm of the giant, that the fellow's weapon dropped from his hand.
+
+"Thank you, my good fellow, I saw what you did," said the lieutenant.
+"Now lads, we will drive these Frenchmen below, as we promised them.
+All of you follow me!" and, led by the lieutenant and Dick, the English
+crew threw themselves on the lugger's deck, trusting rather to their
+cutlasses and stout arms than to any other weapons.
+
+Voules, with those who had remained on the cutter's forecastle, now
+gained a footing on the fore part of the lugger's deck.  Her crew fought
+bravely, but besides their big officer, many of them were cut down.
+Inch by inch the lieutenant and his men made their way forward, until
+the quarter-deck was cleared, the Frenchmen being either killed or
+wounded, or driven down the main-hatchway or overboard.  One of their
+officers alone remained alive, and, seeing that all hope of gaining the
+victory was lost, he shouted out "We surrender!"  Dick, who knew the
+meaning of the cry, repeated it in English, and running aft to the peak
+halliards, quickly hauled down the Frenchman's ensign.
+
+"Well done, my lad!" cried Lieutenant Mason.  "I'll not forget you."
+
+The Frenchmen, who had hitherto kept their cutlasses in their hands,
+threw them on the deck, asking for quarter for themselves and their
+companions below.  Their officer, coming aft, surrendered his sword.
+Those below now being called up one by one, were transferred to the
+cutter's hold, and Mr Voules, with eight men, including Dick Hargrave,
+was sent on board the lugger to navigate her into Plymouth.
+
+"You will keep close to me, Mr Voules," said Lieutenant Mason, "for I
+have as many prisoners on board as I can well manage, and should they be
+disposed to rise upon us they might succeed if we don't keep a bright
+look-out."
+
+The French privateersmen were indeed a very rough-looking set of
+fellows.  By the way they had fought they showed that they were capable
+of daring and doing any act of violence.  Although nearly twenty had
+been killed or wounded, they still far outnumbered the cutter's crew,
+now reduced by three killed and five wounded, as well as by those sent
+on board the lugger.
+
+The two vessels were soon separated, though they kept as close as they
+could together.  Voules and his men had enough to do, heaving the dead
+overboard and attending to the wounded, while they had to wash down the
+bloodstained decks.  Some of the rigging, too, required knotting and
+splicing, and several shot-holes had to be plugged in the vessel's side.
+It was the first command Voules had ever enjoyed, and he walked the
+deck with his spyglass under his arm, issuing his orders in an
+authoritative tone.  At last his eye fell upon Dick, who was engaged in
+some work which it appeared he was not doing according to the
+midshipman's notion of the way it ought to be done.
+
+"What are you about there, you lubberly hound?" he shouted out,
+springing up to him with a rope's end.  Dick leaped out of his way, and
+the uplifted rope fell on the back of another man, who turned round with
+a look of no little astonishment.
+
+"I beg pardon, sir, but you hit somewhat hard," said the man.  "I'll
+splice this here rope for the lad, for if he's not quite up to it, he
+knows how to use his cutlass, at any rate.  If it hadn't been for him,
+our commander would be among those poor fellows who have lost the number
+of their mess in this here fight."
+
+"Belay the slack of your jaw, fellow!" exclaimed Voules, turning away.
+
+The man thrust his tongue into his cheek as he caught the eye of another
+seaman standing near him.
+
+Dick kept out of the midshipman's way as much as he could, though he
+continued actively engaged as before.  His spirits rose with the feeling
+that he was at liberty, and that he had gained Lieutenant Mason's good
+opinion.  "I wish that I had been allowed to remain on board the cutter.
+I could serve under her commander, and do my duty.  But when I get on
+board the frigate, all will be changed, I fear," he said to himself;
+"however, I must not think about that.  I must do my duty as well as I
+can now, and maybe he'll speak a word for me, though I have little to
+expect from such fellows as Mr Voules and his friend."
+
+The breeze continued, The Start was passed, the Eddystone light came in
+sight.  No one on board the vessels turned in.  The whole crew on board
+the lugger could only just manage her sails, while that of the cutter
+were required to keep a watch on the prisoners.  The two vessels kept
+close together, Voules every now and then hailing the cutter, to learn
+if all was right on board her.  The lugger had twice to shorten sail, or
+she would have run ahead.  Dick, as he walked forward, kept his eye on
+the cutter.  The idea had come into his head that the Frenchmen might
+rise on their captors.  He had formed a higher estimate of their courage
+than had most of his shipmates.  The lugger was now about twenty fathoms
+off on the cutter's quarter.  Voules, who had become very hungry,
+telling the man at the helm to keep the vessel as she was going, dived
+below, in the hopes of finding something to eat.  Two or three of the
+men, following his example, had gone below, with the same object in
+view.  Dick, who was standing on the lugger's forecastle, with his eye
+turned towards the cutter, suddenly saw a flash, though there was no
+report.  This was immediately followed by shouts and oaths.
+
+"Starboard!" he cried out to the man at the helm; "there's something
+going wrong on board the cutter."
+
+The lugger was just then feeling the breeze, and forging ahead.  This
+brought her bows close to the cutter's side.  Dick could see that a
+struggle was going on around the main hatchway, up which a number of
+figures were forcing themselves.  His cries brought the lugger's men
+forward.  To lash the two vessels together was the work of a moment, and
+then he, with five of his shipmates, leaped down on the cutter's deck.
+Their arrival turned the scales in favour of the crew, who, surprised by
+a sudden uprising of the French prisoners, were struggling hard to keep
+them down, several having incautiously unbuckled their cutlasses while
+engaged in repairing the rigging.  Lieutenant Mason and Lord Reginald
+were aft, at supper.  So sudden and silent had been the rising, that
+they had only just before reached the scene of action when the lugger
+ran alongside.  "Thank you, Voules; you came in the nick of time," cried
+Lieutenant Mason, when the Frenchmen were forced below.
+
+Voules made no reply.  He had been busily engaged in the lugger's cabin,
+and was not aware of what had taken place until all was over.
+
+"It was this here lad, sir, who did it," exclaimed the seaman who had
+received the blow aimed at Dick's shoulders; "he see'd what was
+happening.  If it hadn't been for him, no one else would have found it
+out."
+
+"Thank you, Richard Hargrave; that is the second time to-day you have
+rendered me good service," said Lieutenant Mason.
+
+"Richard Hargrave!" said Lord Reginald; "he is the last person I should
+have thought likely to do anything worthy of praise."
+
+"Depend upon it, your lordship will find there is something in that lad,
+if he has the opportunity of proving it," observed Lieutenant Mason.
+
+No lives had been lost in the outbreak.  Order was quickly restored, the
+lashings cast off, and the lugger's crew returning to her, the two
+vessels pursued their course as before.  The Frenchmen now saw that all
+hope of escape was gone, and quietly submitted to their fate.
+
+The night was sufficiently light to enable the cutter and her prize to
+make their way up Plymouth harbour.  Before the day broke they were both
+safe at anchor in Hamoze, close to where the _Wolf_ lay.
+
+Soon after sunrise Lieutenant Mason, with the two midshipmen he had
+brought for the frigate, went alongside her.  Captain Moubray, who was
+on board, at once desired to see him.  Having given an account of the
+capture of the lugger and described the good conduct of the pressed men,
+and especially mentioned Richard Hargrave, he added, "He saved my life,
+sir, in boarding the lugger, and afterwards, when the Frenchmen were on
+the point of breaking out of the hold, he brought the lugger alongside
+just in time to enable us to drive them below without bloodshed.  He
+had, I understand, deserted from the frigate, but as he was in the first
+instance pressed, I trust that you will pardon him, and judge rather by
+the way he has lately behaved than his past conduct."
+
+"I'll take the account you give into consideration, Mr Mason," answered
+the captain.  "To prevent desertion, it is absolutely necessary to
+punish those who are retaken; but I should be very unwilling to do so in
+this instance.  I will see this Richard Hargrave, and if I can overlook
+his offence without injury to the discipline of the ship, I will gladly
+do so."
+
+With this promise, Lieutenant Mason was obliged to remain satisfied.  It
+was all he could do to show his gratitude to Dick for saving his life.
+He had, however, several duties to perform--to get rid of his prisoners,
+and to hand the lugger over to the prize agents.  On paying his respects
+to the admiral, he received many compliments on his gallantry, and a
+promise that his conduct would be duly reported.  He then mentioned Dick
+Hargrave's conduct.  "Very praiseworthy," observed the admiral.  "I am
+glad you have spoken of him to Captain Moubray, who will doubtless see
+that he is rewarded, and keep an eye on him in future."
+
+Dick, soon after he got on board, fell in with Ben Rudall.  Ben looked
+very downcast.
+
+"Sorry to see you back, Dick," he said.  "What has happened?  Did you
+manage to get home and see my old woman, and give her the money? or did
+they catch you afore, and take it from you?"
+
+Dick briefly explained all that had happened, and gave an account of the
+action with the lugger, and how the lieutenant had spoken of him.
+
+"That's good luck for you.  It may save you from what I got.  I thought
+I was safe off, but I was brought back, and had a taste of the cat in
+consequence."
+
+Dick received a very different greeting from what he had expected.  The
+news of his behaviour had spread from mouth to mouth, and he was looked
+upon by his messmates in a far better light than formerly.  Seamen are
+always ready to acknowledge merit, and his attempt to desert was
+overlooked, especially when it was known among the men that he had been
+put up to it by Ben Rudall.  He was naturally somewhat nervous as to how
+he might be treated by the captain, not being aware that Lieutenant
+Mason had spoken in his favour, for he had no hope that Lord Reginald or
+Voules would have mentioned his conduct on board the cutter.
+
+At length his name was called along the decks.  He hurried aft.  The
+master-at-arms, who had been looking for him, told him that he was
+wanted on the quarterdeck.  He screwed up his courage to brave the
+worst.  He found the captain and first lieutenant standing aft, as he
+approached, hat in hand.
+
+"Richard Hargrave, you entered some time back on board this ship, and
+deserted.  You made no attempt to return of your own accord, and were
+retaken.  You know the punishment, and discipline requires that it
+should be inflicted," said the captain in a stern voice.
+
+"I was pressed against my will, sir; and I did my duty in the action
+with the French frigate which we took.  But I wanted to see my mother
+and blind sister, and I ran, and can't deny it.  Now I've been brought
+back, I'll try to do my duty.  That's what I've got to say, sir."
+
+"Have you nothing more to say?" asked the captain.
+
+"Yes.  When I was set free, I did duty on board the cutter, and helped
+to take the French lugger.  The commander says I saved his life; and
+afterwards, when I was on board the prize, it was through me that the
+lugger was brought alongside the cutter, and the Frenchmen, who were
+rising on her crew, were overpowered."
+
+"You acted well, then, on both occasions?" said the captain.
+
+"Yes; I did what I thought was my duty," answered Dick.
+
+"Still, you do not deny that you deserted, and had no intention of
+returning?" observed Captain Moubray.
+
+"I cannot deny it, sir," said Dick.
+
+"You know that desertion is always punished by flogging?" said the
+captain.
+
+"Yes," answered Dick; "if it were not for the disgrace I shouldn't mind
+it."
+
+"It is a greater disgrace to desert your ship," said the captain; "but
+discipline must be maintained, although, considering your gallant
+conduct on board the cutter, I would gladly overlook your crime."
+
+Just as Dick was expecting to hear his sentence pronounced, he was
+conscious that some one, who had come up, was standing by his side, and
+glancing round, he saw Ben Rudall.
+
+"Beg pardon, Captain Moubray, for speaking, but I makes bold in this
+here case to come for'ard, as I knows more about the desertion of this
+lad than any one else," said Ben, giving a pull at his hair.  "I put him
+up to it, as I had been the cause of his being taken, and as I knowed
+that he is the only son of his father and mother, they would be main
+glad to have him back again; and I had made up my mind to go too, as I
+have a wife and children at home waiting for me, but I was taken and
+brought back."
+
+"Then you merit the punishment more than he does," said the captain.
+
+"That's just it, sir; and I axes the favour of being flogged instead of
+him.  My hide is tough, and can bear it; but his is young and tender,
+and ain't been accustomed to hard blows."
+
+The captain looked greatly puzzled.  He was struck by Ben's magnanimity,
+if so it could be called, in being ready to sacrifice himself, and was
+therefore unwilling to punish him; yet the crime of inciting another to
+desert was greater even than the act of desertion, and he felt, as the
+man had acknowledged it, that he ought to be punished as a warning to
+others.
+
+The first lieutenant relieved him of his dilemma by observing that,
+"That man has already been flogged for attempting to desert, and I may
+venture to think that it would not do to punish him again for the same
+crime."
+
+"You are right, Mr Curling.  The discipline of the ship will not
+suffer, should I overlook this lad's offence in consideration of the
+gallantry he has displayed."
+
+"I feel sure of it, sir.  It would do more harm to punish than to pardon
+him."
+
+"Go forward, my man," said the captain, addressing Rudall.  "I have
+heard what you say about this lad, and let it be known among the men,
+that although he is let off this time, I will not again pardon any
+attempt at desertion, whatever may be the excuse offered."
+
+Ben, pulling a lock of his hair, obeyed the captain's orders, and went
+forward, exhibiting very little trace of the lawless, vaunting smuggler
+he had appeared to Dick on board the _Nancy_.
+
+"And now, Richard Hargrave," said the captain, addressing Dick, "you
+made a bad commencement by committing a grave crime, but you have shown
+that you are capable of performing your duty well and gallantly.  Your
+late conduct atones in a great measure for your previous behaviour; and
+as you know what your duty is, I would urge you to perform it, in spite
+of the bad example or advice of such associates as may try to lead you
+into evil.  Remember that the eyes of the officers will be upon you, and
+I shall be glad to hear a favourable report of your conduct."
+
+Dick, grateful to the captain for pardoning him, and especially for the
+last encouraging words which he had spoken, could with difficulty
+refrain from bursting into tears.  His breast heaved, a choking
+sensation came into his throat, and he was unable to utter a word beyond
+"Thank you, sir; thank you, sir;" and making the usual salute, he turned
+round and hurried below.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TEN.
+
+AN EAST INDIAN CONVOY--TOADY VOULES TURNS NURSE--FAIR RUN TO THE CAPE--
+FEAR OF PRIVATEERS--CARELESSNESS--A STRANGE SIGNAL--MIDNIGHT ATTACK--
+TIMELY ASSISTANCE--TREACHERY--LORD REGINALD IN COMMAND OF THE PRIZE--
+TREATMENT OF THE MARIA'S CREW--DISCONTENT--A STERN CHASE IS A LONG
+CHASE--OBSTINACY OF THE YOUNG LORD--VOULES'S ADVICE NEGLECTED--A CALM--
+BURSTING OF THE HURRICANE--WRECK OF THE PRIVATEER--WASHED ASHORE.
+
+A few days after Lord Reginald Oswald and Richard Hargrave returned on
+board the _Wolf_, she went out of harbour and came to an anchor in
+Cawsand Bay, where she, with another frigate, surrounded by a fleet of
+merchantmen which they were to convoy to the East Indies, lay waiting
+for a fair wind.
+
+Dick had never seen so many ships together.  To his eyes they presented
+a grand sight, as with colours flying and sails loosened from the yards,
+they were prepared to obey the signal for getting under way.  He felt
+proud of belonging to one of the ships which had charge of so many fine
+vessels, many of them capable, it seemed to him, of coping with even the
+enemy's men-of-war.  The wind suddenly came round to the northward.  The
+_Wolf_ fired the signal gun, the anchor was hove up, her canvas was let
+fall and sheeted home, and she glided out of the Sound, followed in
+rapid succession by the merchant vessels; the _Ione_, the other frigate,
+bringing up the rear and acting as whipper-in to the fleet, which, as
+they spread out on their course down the British Channel, with their
+snowy canvas extended below and aloft, seemed increased in number.  The
+signal midshipmen had work enough to do in watching the merchant
+vessels, and in hoisting and hauling down the bunting as the requisite
+signals were made, while both frigates were continually firing their
+guns to hasten on the laggards, or to make the faster sailing ships
+shorten sail.
+
+Rapid voyages were not expected to be made in those days, for the more
+nimble-heeled had to wait for the slower-sailing craft, while the
+men-of-war had to keep the whole of the vessels under their charge in
+sight, and as close together as circumstances would allow.
+
+The midshipmen had assembled for dinner in their berth on the day the
+fleet sailed, with the exception of those on duty.
+
+"Faith, Ludlam!  I thought you'd have been our new third, rather than
+Oswald, who hasn't been in the service half as long as you have, and
+isn't as good a seaman by a long score," said Paddy Logan.
+
+"It's my ill luck; I've not got a marquis for a father, and must
+submit," answered Ludlam, shrugging his shoulders.
+
+"It's a crying shame, I say.  Oh! you should have seen him come on board
+last night, with his new-fledged honours thick upon him, in the shape of
+an epaulet on his left shoulder.  How he strutted about the deck, with a
+shaggy Newfoundland pup running after him! and how he shook hands with
+Curling and Jager, giving a nod to the master and old `cheese-parings,'
+as if he considered them scarcely worth his notice, though he did
+condescend to offer the tips of his fingers to Renton, our new
+lieutenant of marines, and to Dr O'Brien!  I say, old Voules, I thought
+he was going to cut you altogether; but perhaps he'll honour you by
+giving that yelping pup of his into your charge to dry nurse.  You'll
+not have many opportunities of paying court to him if he treats you in
+the fashion he does others."
+
+"I pay court to Lord Reginald Oswald! never did such a thing in my
+life," answered Voules, blushing to the forehead.  "But you are
+mistaken, Paddy, as to the way he treated me.  If you had seen him
+afterwards, you would have said that he was as friendly as ever, only
+now, as he has become a gun-room officer, he is of course obliged to
+keep up a certain amount of reserve."
+
+"Reserve! do you call it?" cried Tommy Shackel.  "He glanced at me as if
+he had never seen me before, and when I went up to him, and put out my
+hand, he drew back with a look of astonishment at my audaciousness, I
+suppose, as he thought it."
+
+"You fellows shouldn't speak of Lord Reginald in the way you are doing,"
+exclaimed Voules.  "I consider he was an ornament to our mess while he
+remained in it, and it is but natural that his father the marquis should
+get him promoted as soon as he was eligible.  As a friend of mine, I
+cannot allow him to be spoken of disrespectfully."
+
+There was a general laugh at this remark.
+
+"Faith! an' who's speakin' disrespectfully of him?" asked Paddy Logan.
+"Sure, we're only saying that he's inclined to give the cold shoulder to
+those he looks upon as his inferiors in rank.  And the belief is,
+Voules, that he's going to throw you overboard, notwithstanding all the
+court you paid him."
+
+"I say I never did pay him court," said Voules, emphatically.  "He did
+me the honour to select me as his friend, and I fully believe that he
+intends to treat me as a friend in future."
+
+"`The proof of the pudding is in the eating!'" answered Paddy.  "As I
+said, Voules, to show his affection, I have no doubt he'll make you dry
+nurse to that pup of his.  Faith! what an honour it will be!"
+
+At this last remark, Voules was nearly boiling over with rage, but just
+then, as the whole mess was against him, he saw that it would not do to
+give away to his feelings, and Paddy Logan continued--
+
+"When you last accompanied Oswald--I mane his lordship--to Elverston
+Hall, you thought instead of joining us again, you would have got your
+promotion, as you always boasted that the marquis had promised to obtain
+it for you."
+
+"I boasted of no such thing!" cried Voules, scarcely able longer to
+restrain himself.  "I merely said that the marquis had promised to give
+me his interest as soon as his son had been promoted.  Before many
+months are over, I expect to get my step and be appointed to some ship
+on the East Indian station."
+
+As may be supposed, his messmates watched him whenever he was speaking
+to Lord Reginald, to observe the terms he was on.  Voules was evidently
+himself not very confident about the matter.  Instead of taking his arm
+and walking up and down the quarter-deck, on the larboard or lee side,
+as he had been accustomed to do, he approached the lieutenant with the
+usual mark of respect shown by an inferior to a superior officer, always
+addressing him as "My lord," and looking highly pleased on all occasions
+when spoken to.  It was asserted in the berth that there must have been
+some difference between them, or that Voules had offended the young
+lord, but what it was no one could exactly tell.  However, by his humble
+conduct, Voules won his way back into the good graces of Lord Reginald,
+who did not find either of his brother officers or the lieutenant of
+marines or purser very genial companions.  The two lieutenants were
+middle-aged men, who had gained their present position by long service
+and hard work, and they looked with a jealous eye on one who had been
+placed on the next ratline below them, over the heads of many older men
+than himself.  The marine officer was a married man, rather grave and
+saturnine, and the purser had Republican tendencies, though he did not
+exhibit them except in the expression of his feelings towards lords and
+big-wigs in general.
+
+Thus Lord Reginald was induced to seek the society of Voules and his
+former messmates more than he otherwise might have done.  As Paddy had
+surmised, Lord Reginald did actually tell Voules that he should be much
+obliged if he would look after his pup Neptune, and the toady was
+frequently seen carrying its food to the dog, washing and brushing it,
+and attempting to teach it various tricks.  Before long a drawing
+appeared, with Voules dressed as a nurse, a mob cap on his head, a bowl
+of pap by his side, from which, spoon in hand, he was feeding the puppy
+on his knees, while a figure, which could not fail to be recognised as
+that of Lord Reginald, was standing by, saying, "You make a capital
+nurse, and I shall be happy to recommend you to a similar situation."
+
+It was handed about among the members of the mess, until somehow or
+other it reached the gun-room.  When Lord Reginald saw it, he laughed
+heartily, and declared that he must show it to poor old Toady.
+
+He occasionally dined in due course with the captain.  On such occasions
+his rank enabled him to speak more familiarly than any of the other
+officers would have done, with the exception perhaps of the first
+lieutenant.  Captain Moubray was not the man to have allowed him to take
+the slightest liberty on duty.  Lord Reginald had seen Dick Hargrave,
+with the other men from the cutter, come on board, and as he eyed the
+young sailor the ill feelings with which he had before regarded him
+regained their ascendancy in his bosom.  Dick would willingly have kept
+out of his way, but in the course of duty they were constantly brought
+together, when he saw by the glances the third lieutenant cast at him,
+and the tone of his voice, that he was as much disliked as ever.  His
+own proud spirit was aroused.  He could not help often returning glance
+for glance, though he kept his lips closed to prevent himself saying
+anything which could be taken hold of.  Lord Reginald never addressed
+him by name, but frequently shouted at him, and bestowed epithets of
+which--"You lazy hound!"
+
+"You skulking rascal!" were among the least offensive.
+
+Dick bore this as other men had to bear it from their officers in those
+days, and although from any one else he would have been very indifferent
+to such treatment, he felt little inclination to brook it from one whom
+he considered had so wronged him.
+
+It must not be supposed that Lord Reginald fancied that he was acting in
+a revengeful spirit towards Richard Hargrave.  He considered that he had
+formed a correct opinion of Dick, whom he looked upon as a daring young
+ruffian, and that Captain Moubray had acted unwisely in not punishing
+him for deserting the ship.  He ventured, even, after introducing the
+subject of desertion, to express his opinion of Richard Hargrave, Ben
+Rudall, and other men of extremely doubtful characters whom he classed
+together.  "They come from my part of the country," he observed, "and
+are all smugglers to the backbone, ready for any sort of outrage.  At
+one time my father lived in dread of having his house burnt down by
+them, so fearful were the threats of vengeance they uttered in
+consequence of his determination of putting a stop to their illegal
+practices.  That young Hargrave was a poacher as well as a smuggler, and
+nothing but strict discipline can keep him in order."
+
+The captain bit his lip, for he could not fail to see at what the third
+lieutenant was driving.  "They cannot poach or smuggle here, and the
+daring and hardihood they have exhibited in their illegal calling may be
+turned to good account," he answered.  "They are the fellows to send on
+any dangerous or difficult undertaking, and we may feel very sure that
+they will not show the white feather."
+
+"Young Hargrave is a desperate ruffian, notwithstanding, and I wouldn't
+trust him," muttered Lord Reginald.
+
+"He has shown his ruffianism by acting very gallantly on two occasions,
+I understand," observed the captain.  "I wish we had a couple of hundred
+young fellows on board of the same description.  After a few months'
+training they become prime seamen, and will fight their guns to the
+last."
+
+Under ordinary circumstances, during a long voyage, time would have hung
+heavily on the hands of the officers, but with a large convoy to look
+to, there was plenty to do at all hours of the day and night.  Not only
+had the merchantmen to be watched, but a bright look-out had to be kept
+for strange sails, especially for any daring privateers, who, tempted
+with the prospect of obtaining a rich booty, might pounce down on some
+unfortunate trader during a dark night and carry her off.  This had
+actually been done on several occasions, and Captain Moubray endeavoured
+to impress upon the masters of the vessels under his charge the
+importance of sailing in due order together, and keeping a strict watch
+at night.  The convoy hove to off Saint Helena, to obtain fresh
+provisions and water.  The line was passed without any enemy having been
+encountered, when, falling in with the south-east trade wind, they got
+well to the southward, after which with a fair breeze they stood to the
+eastward on their passage round the Cape of Good Hope.  It was
+considered advisable not to put into Table Bay, to avoid the risk of
+information being given to the enemy of their whereabouts.  Unusually
+fine weather had hitherto been enjoyed, and the ships keeping well
+together at length entered the Indian Ocean.
+
+Although the masters of the merchantmen generally strictly obeyed
+orders, there were one or two who caused more trouble than all the
+others put together, by sometimes carrying too much sail and getting
+ahead of the convoy, sometimes too little and lagging astern, knowing
+that they could always regain their position.  This occurred especially
+at night, when the skippers, wishing to save their crews the trouble of
+making sail, would wait until daylight to do so.
+
+One evening a strange sail had been seen to the northward, and Captain
+Moubray had ordered the _Ione_ to go in chase and ascertain her
+character, while he shortened sail so as to bring the _Wolf_ on the
+weather quarter of most of the ships.  At dark the _Ione_ had not
+returned, though Captain Moubray ordered a look-out to be kept for her,
+expecting every moment to see her signal.  At the same time, of course,
+a constant watch was kept on the various vessels of the convoy, which
+could be seen like so many dark shadows gliding over the ocean to
+leeward, each carrying a light to show its position.
+
+It was blowing a fresh breeze from the north-west, but there was not
+much sea on.  The captain frequently came on deck, inquiring whether the
+_Ione_ had yet shown her number.  The same answer had been returned that
+no light had been seen to windward.  He was pacing the quarter-deck with
+his night-glass in his hand, when the sound of a gun, which seemed to
+come up far away from the southward, reached his ears.
+
+"What can that be?" he asked of the first lieutenant, who just then
+joined him.
+
+"That's more than I can positively say," answered Mr Curling.  "It must
+be a signal from one of the convoy, something must have happened to her,
+and she wishes to draw our attention."
+
+While he was speaking the sound of another gun came up from the same
+direction.
+
+"We will run down and see what's the matter," said the captain; "but you
+need not turn the hands up at present."
+
+The helm was put up, the yards squared away, and the frigate, allowing
+the sternmost of the merchantmen to pass her, ran down in the direction
+whence the sound of the firing had come, and where, a long way off, a
+light could be seen, showing the whereabouts of the vessel supposed to
+be in distress.  Several times the sound of a gun was heard, and the
+frigate, as she drew nearer, returned the signal.  All eyes were
+directed towards the light, when flashes were seen, the rattle of small
+arms was heard over the clashing of cutlasses, and some declared that
+they could distinguish the shouts and cries of men engaged in mortal
+combat.
+
+"There can be no doubt as to what is passing.  Turn up the hands,
+Curling.  There seems to be either mutiny on board the ship, or some
+other vessel has run her aboard.  If we attempt to go alongside with
+this sea on, we shall too probably sink both together, while if we fire
+into one, we may injure our friends.  We must board her in the boats.
+We will stand on, shorten sail, heave the ship to, then lower them and
+let them drop alongside."
+
+"Ay, ay, sir," said the first lieutenant, and immediately issued the
+necessary orders.
+
+So fiercely engaged all the time were the two vessels, that no signal
+was made by the English merchantman to show that she was aware help was
+at hand.  The captain's orders were quickly executed, and the frigate
+now being on the weather bows of the two ships, the boats were lowered
+and placed under the command of the second and third lieutenants, Mr
+Bitts, Voules, Paddy Logan, and another midshipman, with a party of
+marines, going in them.  They had not far to pull, for the vessels going
+ahead, the boats dropped alongside the English merchantman, which was to
+windward.
+
+Led by Mr Jager, Lord Reginald and Mr Bitts quickly clambered up her
+side, and reached her deck, where a fierce struggle was taking place,
+the enemy having boarded and almost overcome her crew, who, however,
+though many of their number had fallen, were still struggling manfully.
+They cheered as they discovered the timely assistance which had arrived.
+
+Mr Jager and his party furiously attacking the enemy, soon turned the
+tide of war and drove them back to the starboard bulwarks, where the
+bravest in vain attempted to defend themselves.  Those who could manage
+it leapt back on board their own vessel, others making the attempt were
+cut down, and not a man of the remainder escaped, all being killed or
+desperately wounded by the onslaught of the _Wolf's_ crew.
+
+The Frenchmen were in the mean time attempting to cast off the grappling
+irons, but in the darkness and confusion they were unable to succeed.
+
+"Follow me, my lads!  We must board the enemy.  It will not do to let
+her get away," cried the lieutenant.
+
+Dick, who was near him, with Ben Rudall and several other men, sprang
+into the main rigging of the privateer, for such she appeared to be, and
+clearing a space before them with their whirling cutlasses, leapt down
+on her deck.  Others came after them.  One party following Mr Jager,
+drove the enemy forward, where the larger part of them were assembled;
+while Lord Reginald and the boatswain attacked those on the
+quarter-deck, compelling them inch by inch to give way, until the poop
+was gained.
+
+The struggle did not last long.  Cries for quarter were heard from the
+people forward as well as from the after part of the ship, but the crew
+of the English merchant vessel seemed little disposed to grant it, and
+continued hacking away at every Frenchman they could come up with.
+Again and again Mr Jager had to order the combatants to desist, and
+shouted to the Frenchmen to throw down their weapons.
+
+"Hold, my men!  Don't you see the enemy have given in?" he exclaimed.
+"We are bound to show them mercy, as they ask for it."
+
+"It's mighty little we can see how to know friend from enemy," cried a
+voice from among the seamen.
+
+"Bring a lantern or two along here," cried the lieutenant, and he called
+out to the Frenchmen to throw down their weapons, while he peremptorily
+ordered his own men to desist from striking.
+
+Lord Reginald and the boatswain had in the mean time driven their
+opponents, the larger number of whom were officers of the ship, right
+aft to the starboard quarter, where they stood grouped together,
+defending themselves bravely until, seeing that all hope was gone, they
+too cried out for quarter.
+
+"Quarter!  Yes, we'll quarter you!" cried Mr Bitts the boatswain.
+"Come on, lads!  We shouldn't let such ruffians as these live."
+
+Lord Reginald, however, interposed, and speaking French well, directed
+his hard-pressed foes to throw down their swords and they should be
+safe.  It was not without difficulty, however, that he restrained the
+merchant seamen from rushing in and cutting them down.  Unfortunately,
+some Frenchmen who had leapt below, maddened by their defeat, fired up
+the hatchway, when the victors, springing down after them, followed them
+round the deck, killing all they met with.
+
+On the lanterns being brought, the deck presented a fearful scene, for
+more than half of the crew lay dead or desperately wounded.  The
+survivors, with their officers, three of whom only had escaped, were
+mustered, and being deprived of the pistols and long knives generally
+worn in their belts, were conveyed across the deck of the trader into
+the boats.  A savage, sunburnt crew they appeared as the light of the
+lantern fell on their countenances, and doubts were entertained whether
+they could claim to be even privateersmen, so greatly did they resemble
+the most desperate of pirates.
+
+The deck of the merchantman had even a more fearful aspect than that of
+her foe.  Besides the Frenchmen who had been killed, and whose bodies
+lay thick under the starboard bulwarks, nearly a fourth of her people
+had been shot or cut down, while bravely defending their ship.  Among
+them was the master, who had been nearly the last to fall, just before
+the man-of-war's men leaped on board.
+
+His body presented several wounds; one through his breast had evidently
+been fatal.  He was a strongly built man, with a sunburnt visage.
+Probably he had been endeavouring, by his courageous resistance, to
+redeem his fault in not more carefully attending to his sailing
+directions.
+
+The first officer presented himself with his arm hanging loosely by his
+side, from a severe cut in the shoulder and another wound in his leg,
+while the second and third were both more or less hurt.
+
+The first officer informed Mr Jager that they had taken the privateer
+for one of the convoy.  That when hailed a reply was given in English,
+and that the same voice inquired whether they had a surgeon on board, as
+their own had gone mad, and they had three sick people who required
+immediate attendance.  While the surgeon was preparing to go, and they
+were thus thrown off their guard, the stranger was seen to be sheering
+alongside.  The master, suspecting treachery, called up the watch below,
+and ordered all on deck to seize such weapons as were at hand to resist
+the boarders, while he directed the rest of the people to arm
+themselves.
+
+Scarcely were the crew thus partially prepared for an attack, than the
+stranger, running alongside, threw grappling irons aboard them.  On this
+the master had the gun fired, which was first heard on board the
+frigate.  His promptness had saved the ship.  The crew well knew that
+they were fighting for their lives.
+
+As soon as one party had armed themselves completely they took the
+places of those who had received the first attack and had driven the
+enemy back.  In vain, however, they attempted to cast off the grappling
+irons.  The ships' yards had become locked, and no effort they could
+make could separate them.  Thus, had not the frigate come to their
+assistance, they must have been taken.  Whether or not the privateer
+would have succeeded in getting off with them was doubtful.  As soon as
+the prisoners had been secured, Mr Jager ordered Lord Reginald and the
+boatswain to return on board the frigate and bring back the captain's
+orders.  In the meat time he and the men remaining with him, aided by
+the crew of the merchant vessel, got the two ships free from each other,
+and, making sail, stood for the frigate, which, as soon as the boats got
+alongside, had kept away.  Neither ship was injured, except where their
+sides had ground together, and the yards when interlocked had torn the
+canvas and carried away some blocks and ropes.
+
+Some time elapsed, during which the _Wolf_ had been making signals to
+the rest of the convoy, to put them on their guard, lest other ships of
+the enemy should be in the neighbourhood.  Dick and Ben had remained on
+board the prize.
+
+"I say, I wonder who'll have charge of this craft," observed the latter
+to Dick.  "I hope it will be Mr Jager.  She's a fine little ship,
+carries twenty-four guns, and would make a capital cruiser.  If the
+captain commissions her, and sends her away to play the same game on the
+enemy that she's been playing on our ships, we may chance to fill our
+pockets with prize-money.  I think it's very likely, too, and if Mr
+Jager gets command we shall have an officer who'll keep his eye open,
+and not let the grass grow under his feet."
+
+"I should like it well enough, especially as we shall be free of that
+Lord Reginald and Toady Voules," said Dick.  "They have been as bad as
+ever lately; one sets on the other.  Voules knows that the third
+lieutenant hates me, and so, to curry favour with him, he loses no
+chance of bullying me.  I have kept out of trouble as yet, but I don't
+know how long I shall be able to do so."
+
+"But what if the toady be sent with us?  He is on board now, and may be
+appointed to do duty as first lieutenant," remarked Ben.
+
+"I shouldn't mind him alone," answered Dick.  "When he hasn't his master
+to hound him on, he'll let me alone.  He does it to please the other,
+and when Lord Reginald's eye is off him, he won't bother himself about
+me."
+
+As may be supposed, Ben and Dick had very little time for conversation.
+They were speedily called to trim sails, and the scanty crew of the
+prize, beginning to get weary from their constant exertions, were
+looking out for the frigate to heave to, a sign that the boats were
+about to return.  She waited, however, until daylight broke, when once
+more, having gathered the convoy together, she hove to, and the prize
+coming up, doing the same, the boats were soon alongside.
+
+"I say, Ben," said Dick, as they approached, "it is my belief that Lord
+Reginald is to have command, for there he sits, with his dog by his
+side, and a big portmanteau between his knees.  I'd sooner be out of
+this craft than in her.  I hope we shall be sent on board the frigate
+again."
+
+Dick was right.  Lord Reginald, his dog and portmanteau, were soon on
+board.  He presented some papers to Mr Jager, who replied--
+
+"Very well, I congratulate you on having so fine a command, and I
+confess that I wish I had been able to take charge of the prize, but as
+the doctor considers me unfit to be away from him, I must submit.  Who
+are to form the prize crew?"
+
+"Voules and Lucas, the men on board, as well as the men I brought with
+me," answered Lord Reginald.  "They'll do very well, and, as we are
+rather short-handed, no more could be spared from the frigate."
+
+"Then all I have to do is to wish you good-bye and a pleasant cruise.
+It's fortunate we had not to fire into her, or the vessel must have gone
+into harbour to refit.  Now she's as well able to keep the sea as she
+ever was."
+
+"I hope her late master was a man of taste, and has some good curry and
+plenty of cuddy stores," said the young lord, laughing; "and I say,
+Jager, I wish you'd ask the captain to send me back the French cook.
+He'll know best how to dress his own provisions, and I should like to
+keep a good table while I am on board."
+
+"I'll do your bidding," answered Mr Jager, and shaking hands with Lord
+Reginald and his two subordinates, he returned in the boat to the
+frigate.
+
+The _Marie_ proved herself to be a capital sailer, a quality her crew
+had counted on when they ventured to attack the _Dunmore Castle_,
+expecting to be able to pillage her and get away before daylight.
+
+Lord Reginald walked the deck with a self-satisfied air, which was well
+imitated by Voules and Lucas.  The young lord invited them into the
+cabin to mess with him, an honour they gladly accepted.  "We shall have
+a jolly time of it," he said, "and I hope old Moubray will send us on an
+independent cruise when we get to Java."
+
+"He'll have to send us more men, then, for we are too short-handed to
+meet an enemy," said Voules; "otherwise, I'd rather not go at all."
+
+"No fear on that score," observed Lord Reginald.  "We shall get as many
+as we want out of the merchant vessels.  They must spare us their men,
+whether they like it or not.  By-the-by, that young Hargrave is on
+board; I would have dispensed with his services.  The very sight of him
+is annoying.  He eyes me with the same daring, impudent look he always
+did, and I shouldn't be surprised if he and the other smuggler were to
+try and get up a mutiny on board, if they have the opportunity."
+
+"I'll see that he plays no trick of that sort," answered Voules.  "I'll
+take the spirit out of him, depend upon it, and make him wish that he
+had remained on board the frigate."
+
+"I don't want him treated unjustly, or punished unless he gives occasion
+by his conduct," remarked Lord Reginald.
+
+"Oh, no, no," answered Voules, with a significant smile; "of course not.
+The truth is, I have a grudge against him myself.  The other night I
+heard him, when he didn't know I was near, speaking of me as `Toady
+Voules.'"
+
+"Did he, indeed?" said Lord Reginald, leaning back and laughing.  "Why,
+that's the name you've got in the mess.  Ah, ah, ah!  However, for one
+of the men to make use of it is next door to mutiny.  They must not be
+allowed to speak so disrespectfully of their officers."
+
+Voules, who was considerably irritated by his superior's remark, did not
+fail to exercise his ill feelings on Dick, and not a day passed that he
+did not find some excuse for ill treating him and making him perform the
+most unpleasant duties.  Voules, like other men of mean spirit,
+delighted in acting the tyrant; indeed, had he wished to create a
+mutiny, he took the most effectual means of causing one.  He had now
+numberless opportunities which he could not have obtained on board the
+frigate.  He was constantly abusing the men during every operation they
+were ordered to perform, though his chief displeasure fell on the heads
+of Ben and Dick, who were instantly placed on the black list, when their
+grog was stopped and they were compelled to walk the deck with a shot in
+each hand during their watch below, or other punishments were inflicted.
+Dick, as he had resolved, kept his temper and submitted without
+complaint to this injustice; but Ben nourished a spirit of revenge, and
+secretly formed a plan for wreaking his vengeance on the heads of his
+persecutors.  With this object in view, he found out who among the crew
+were most dissatisfied and were likely to join him in his project.  He
+did not, however, venture to speak to Dick.  He fully believed that he
+should in time win him over.  "He'll do something or other before long,
+which will rouse even his spirit," he said to himself, and "then he'll
+be more ready than any of us to do what I want."
+
+Although the provisions in the cuddy were of good quality, and there was
+a sufficient supply for ten times the number of the commander's limited
+mess, those of the crew were scanty and of bad quality, and it seemed
+surprising that Frenchmen should have consented to live upon such fare.
+
+The steward told the men of the abundance which existed aft, but when
+they complained through Mr Voules to Lord Reginald, they were told that
+the provisions intended for the cabin could not be spared, and that they
+must be content with what they had got.  Neither did Dick nor any of his
+officers dream of what was going forward.
+
+The convoy was approaching its destination.  The _Ione_ had rejoined the
+day after the capture of the _Marie_, but no other event of general
+importance had occurred.  The fleet was now within two hundred miles of
+the Straits of Sunda, when from the masthead of the _Marie_, which was
+to leeward, a sail was seen to the southward.
+
+She immediately communicated this by signal to the _Wolf_, and received
+in return an order to chase the stranger and ascertain her character.
+The other part of the signal was either not seen, or misunderstood by
+Lucas.  "Up with the helm!" cried Lord Reginald; "square away the yards!
+If the fellow doesn't appear to be too tough a customer, we will bring
+him to action and sail back in triumph."
+
+The young lord did not observe the expression which passed over Voules's
+countenance, but fully believed that they had been ordered to chase,
+and, if to chase, to fight the vessel in sight, should she not prove to
+be an enemy of overwhelming force.  Though Voules had never shown the
+white feather, he was decidedly prudent, and he remembered the _Maria's_
+limited crew, which, though sufficient to navigate her, was not strong
+enough to man the guns.
+
+The _Marie_ looked more formidable than she really was, and as she
+approached the stranger made all sail to escape.  The latter soon showed
+that her sailing powers were not much inferior to those of the _Marie_,
+by keeping almost the same distance ahead as she had been when she first
+discovered that she was pursued.
+
+The _Marie_ soon lost sight of the fleet.  Voules suggested that as
+there was no probability of coming up with the chase for many hours,
+that they should haul their wind and stand back.
+
+"Certainly I will not do that," answered Lord Reginald.  "Captain
+Moubray must have known that we could not come up with her in a hurry,
+and intended that we should overhaul her.  We are gaining on her, and if
+we continue the chase and do not lose sight of her during the night, we
+shall probably, some time to-morrow, get alongside."
+
+"If we get so far away we shall find it no easy matter to regain the
+fleet," observed Voules.  "The chase may not prove to be worth the
+trouble we are taking to capture her."
+
+"That remains to be proved," answered Lord Reginald.  "If you feel
+uncomfortable, turn in and go to sleep, perhaps when you awake you will
+find that we have fought an action, and taken the enemy."
+
+Voules reddened at the taunt.  It was a cruel return, he thought, for
+all the flattery he had bestowed on the young lord.  "I have no wish to
+avoid a fight, but I say again, there is no chance of its taking place
+for many hours to come, at least at the slow rate at which we are now
+overhauling the chase, and if we take her--which is problematical--we
+shall find it a difficult matter to rejoin the convoy."
+
+Lord Reginald was in one of his obstinate moods.  The more Voules urged
+him to abandon the chase, the more determined he was to continue it.
+
+The wind remained fresh, and he asserted that they were gaining on the
+chase.
+
+Dick and Ben were stationed forward.
+
+"How soon do you think we shall come up with that craft?" asked Dick.
+
+"Maybe to-morrow and maybe the next day, if we follow her long enough
+and the wind doesn't shift.  But if it does, and she slips away to
+windward, the chances are we shan't see her again.  The weather doesn't
+look very settled to my eye, though I am not accustomed to these seas,
+but I have heard tell that it blows pretty strong hereabouts at times."
+
+The day wore on; still the chase kept well ahead.  She was probably
+bound to one of the Dutch settlements in the Moluccas, and intended to
+pass through the Straits of Lombok or some other passage into those seas
+to the east of Java.
+
+Night came on.  It was bright, and the stranger could still be
+distinguished as she glided over the moonlit sea.
+
+"Everything is in our favour," observed Lord Reginald to Voules; "but we
+must take care not to lose sight of her for a moment.  Take care that
+sharp-eyed fellows are stationed on the forecastle.  I must turn in for
+a spell, though do not fail to call me should anything occur."
+
+"Ay, ay, sir," answered Voules, though he grumbled not a little, as he
+went forward to see that his lordship's orders were carried out.  He
+found Ben and Dick on the forecastle.  "Can you see the chase?" he
+asked, pretending not to notice who they were.
+
+"Ay, ay, sir.  It must be a pretty deal darker than it now is, not to
+see her," answered Ben.
+
+"Well, well, take care that you keep her in sight, and sing out if she
+changes her course."
+
+"Ay, ay, sir," answered Ben, and Voules went aft again earnestly hoping
+that thick weather would come on, and that the chase would be lost sight
+of.  He could then throw the blame on the two look-out men, who would
+not be likely to escape punishment.  They, however, during their watch,
+had no difficulty in keeping the chase in sight; when they turned in she
+appeared right ahead as clear as ever, with the moonbeams shining on her
+white canvas.
+
+When Lord Reginald came on deck at the commencement of the morning
+watch, the chase could still be seen, and he felt convinced that the
+_Marie_ had gained upon her.  This made him determined to hold on.  The
+sky, however, gave indications of a change of weather.  Dark clouds were
+gathering in the horizon astern, while the wind came in fitful gusts,
+sometimes falling so much that the sails flapped against the masts.  As
+the sun rose, the whole sky was suffused with a fiery glow, which,
+reflected on the ocean, made it appear like a sea of burnished copper.
+As the sun rose higher the heat became almost unbearable, growing more
+and more oppressive.
+
+"Does your lordship recollect that we are in the region of hurricanes?"
+asked Voules.  "It would be prudent to shorten sail."
+
+"Not until the chase does, though.  I wouldn't for much lose the chance
+of coming up with her.  If we hold on for another two or three hours, we
+can get her within range of our guns.  We have been gaining on her
+faster than ever lately."
+
+"If the wind catches us and whips the masts out of the ship, the
+`holding on' will do us little good," replied Voules.
+
+"Well, we will see about it by-and-by," said Lord Reginald, who was on
+the point of going down below to breakfast, the steward having just
+announced that the meal was ready.
+
+The midshipman Lucas was left in charge of the deck.  Soon afterwards an
+old seaman, who acted as quartermaster, came up to him.  Touching his
+hat, he said--
+
+"Won't you order the hands to shorten sail, sir?  We can't tell when we
+shall have the wind down upon us, and we shall be losing some of our
+spars, if no worse happens."
+
+"His lordship wants to come up with the chase first, though I should be
+glad to have some canvas taken in."
+
+Just then the look-out forward shouted, "The chase is shortening sail,
+and is hauling up to the northward!"
+
+Lucas ran aft and shouted down through the skylight, announcing what had
+occurred.  "Shall we shorten sail, too, sir?" he asked.
+
+Voules sprang on deck, and looking round him, without waiting for Lord
+Reginald's orders cried out, "All hands shorten sail!"
+
+The royals were quickly handed, but there was brief time to stow the
+canvas before the wind filled the sails, and away flew the ship before
+it.  The fore top-gallant sail, imperfectly secured, blew out, and in an
+instant was torn into shreds, which fluttered wildly for a few seconds,
+and became wrapped in inextricable coils round the yard.  The courses
+were next brailed up, but it was hard work to stow them.  Lord Reginald
+saw, when too late, that it would have been wiser to shorten sail before
+the wind struck the ship.  All hands were now employed in reefing the
+topsails, for the masts bent like willow wands.  Though the ship was
+kept before the wind, there was great risk of their being carried away.
+Two hands were sent to the helm, but even they had the greatest
+difficulty to steer the ship.  The only hope of saving the masts was in
+keeping directly before the wind until the canvas could be taken off
+her.  The mizzen-topsail had been furled.  The main-topsail was already
+on the cap, when a loud report was heard as it was split, and fluttering
+violently threatened to carry away the men off the yard.
+
+The crew with their knives endeavoured to cut it adrift, when they were
+called down to assist in securing the foresail.  It was of the greatest
+importance to keep head sail on the ship, lest she should broach to.
+The sea was rising, sending the spray in thick masses over the ship,
+obscuring all objects round her.
+
+Dick and Ben had been actively engaged aloft.
+
+"I say, Ben, what's become of the chase?" asked Dick, shading his eyes
+and looking out ahead through the driving sheets of spray.
+
+"That's more than you or I or any one else can tell.  She may be where
+she was, or she mayn't.  Mortal eyes can't see through that thick mist
+ahead, and we are not likely to set ours on her again even if she keeps
+afloat, and that's more than I can say any ship will do if it comes on
+to blow much harder than it does now.  I thought I knew what a gale of
+wind was, but this beats all I have ever seen.  Old Harry Cane rampaging
+about on board with a vengeance!"
+
+The hurricane had in truth burst on the _Marie_, and the utmost skill of
+the best seamen was required to preserve her from destruction.  All that
+day she ran on before the wind.  Spilling-lines had been got over the
+closely reefed fore-topsail, but even then it seemed that the sail would
+break away.  With a report like a clap of thunder the mizzen-topsail was
+blown clean away from the bolt ropes.  The royal masts were seen bending
+about like fishing-rods, first one way then the other.  The lee clue of
+the fore top-gallant sail was blown adrift.  Two hands went aloft to
+endeavour to stow it.  One of the poor fellows, in making the attempt,
+was torn from his hold.  A wild shriek was heard as he sank into the
+seething foam, without hope of being rescued.  The other, pale and
+trembling, came down, leaving the sails fluttering wildly.  Scarcely had
+he reached the deck than away went the fore top-gallant mast over the
+side.
+
+Lord Reginald bravely maintained his presence of mind, endeavouring to
+act for the best, as he stood holding on to the mizzen rigging while he
+issued his orders.  Voules looked pale and anxious; he comprehended
+fully the dangerous position of the ship.  Unknown islands were ahead,
+against one of which she might strike with but little warning.  Again he
+urged the men to keep a lookout, not for the chase but for land, now so
+much dreaded.
+
+Lord Reginald came aft, and stood by his friend, "Well, Voules; things
+don't look promising," he said, in as cheerful a voice as he could
+command.
+
+"No, and they may look worse, if we find ourselves running down on one
+of the many islands which dot these seas."
+
+"We must keep a bright look-out, and haul up in time," replied the young
+commander of the _Marie_.
+
+"But if we do haul up with this hurricane raging and this sea running,
+we may drift on shore notwithstanding," answered Voules.  "Our only
+chance will be to endeavour to get round the island, if we see it in
+time, and to anchor under its lee, if holding ground can be found, and
+wait there until the storm is over."
+
+"We will have a look at the chart, and ascertain how far off the land
+is," said Lord Reginald.
+
+Going below, he and Voules eagerly examined the chart.  No islands
+appeared for some distance ahead.  To the northward, was the east end of
+Java, with Bali, Sumbawa, and Floris, extending in a long line beyond
+it.  Should the wind shift to the southward, they might run through one
+of the passages existing between those islands; but still, the ship was
+a considerable distance to the southward of them, and they hoped that
+the hurricane would cease before they were driven thus far.  On
+returning on deck, the wind appeared to have increased rather than
+decreased.  As they were standing together, looking anxiously at the
+bending masts, the remaining top-gallant sails were torn from their
+lashings, and before any hands could be sent aloft to secure them, the
+masts themselves were carried away and the lately trim ship looked now
+almost a wreck.  To cut them clear was a work of no little danger.  The
+men saw what was required.  Several volunteered, notwithstanding the
+risk they ran, to go aloft.  Among them was Dick.  With knives and axes
+they cut desperately at the rigging, until, as the ship heeled over,
+they fell clear of her into the water.  Relieved of so much top hamper,
+she appeared to be greatly eased.  Another night was approaching, but
+the storm raged as furiously as before.  All night long the ship ran on,
+the seas increasing in height, and threatening every instant to poop
+her.  Although for a short time Lord Reginald turned in, yet neither he
+nor any one on board could obtain much sleep.  Several times he came on
+deck, only to see the ship labouring on amid the foaming billows.
+
+Another morning dawned, the weather looking as wild as on the previous
+day.  Few on board failed to ask themselves, "Shall we see another
+sunset?"  Again and again Lord Reginald and Voules examined the chart,
+with anxious forebodings of evil.  They saw that numerous islands and
+reefs lay ahead of them.  Lord Reginald proposed hauling the ship up
+before dark, to escape the risk of running on one of them during the
+night.  Voules feared that if it was done the canvas would not stand,
+and that she would then be drifted helplessly on any reef or island in
+her way.  No sun was to be seen; the whole sky wore one uniformly leaden
+hue, while the dark seas of the same tint rose and fell, their tops
+covered with masses of foam which, blown off by the wind, filled the
+atmosphere.  "Should there come a lull, we will haul up," exclaimed Lord
+Reginald.  "We shall do it at our peril," observed Voules.  "It must be
+done," was the answer.  "Stand by to haul out the spanker!  Starboard
+the helm!"
+
+The ship as she came to heeled over almost on her beam ends, while the
+seas broke over her, driving the masses of spray into the eyes of the
+crew, so that they could scarcely see a few yards before them, while the
+lee side of the deck was almost under water.  Although no signs of a
+leak had hitherto been discovered, the acting carpenter, who had been
+ordered to sound the well, came aft with a pale face, announcing that a
+large quantity of water had found its way below.
+
+"Man the pumps!" was the answer, and the already hard-worked crew were
+soon labouring away to clear the ship.  So often, however, were the
+nozzles of the pumps under water, that the men could not tell whether
+they were drawing or not, and the cry, "Hold on for your lives!"
+compelled them frequently to let go and clamber into the rigging, or
+hold on by the stanchions, while a furious sea swept over the deck,
+threatening to carry them away.  Again darkness had come on.  Except a
+closely reefed fore-topsail and mizzen-trysail, not a sail remained.
+She was furiously plunging into the seas, when once more a report was
+heard, and the fore-topsail was seen blowing away in shreds.  Directly
+afterwards the spanker gaff came down, and now not a shred of canvas
+remained, the ship in consequence drifting bodily to leeward.  Most of
+the crew were forward, the officers and some of the men remaining on the
+poop.  Among the former were Dick and Ben.
+
+"I thought things were getting very bad," said Ben.  "They could not be
+worse."
+
+"What, then, do you think will happen?" asked Dick.  "Why, we shall
+either go down or be driven ashore.  It matters little which, for if the
+ship strikes there's little chance of any of us reaching the land, with
+these seas breaking over her, and then sweeping everything before them.
+I know what it is on our own coast.  With such a hurricane as we have
+got blowing, it will be ten times worse."
+
+"Then is there no chance of saving our lives if we strike?" asked Dick.
+
+"Our best chance is to get hold of a piece of wreck and hold fast to it.
+You may be washed on shore, or you may be carried out to sea--it is six
+of one and half a dozen of the other.  You may depend upon it, there's a
+watery grave for some of us before the night is over."
+
+Dick felt his heart sink, but he remembered the prayers his mother had
+taught him.  He tried to pray for himself; he knew, too, that she would
+be praying for him.  His courage rose, he determined to struggle bravely
+for life.
+
+Ben advised that they should go forward and stick to the forecastle.
+"That generally holds together the longest, and will give us a better
+chance of life," he observed.  "Don't let go until the ship breaks up,
+and then you will have no choice, and must do as I before told you."
+
+Dick replied that he would follow his advice, and they made their way to
+the forecastle.
+
+As may be supposed, it was only by speaking at the tops of their voices
+that they could make each other heard.  Their sentences, therefore, were
+brief and to the point.  In the mean time, Lord Reginald, with Voules
+and Lucas, clung on to the mizzen rigging; near them were gathered the
+few men who had come aft.  Anxiously they looked to leeward, hoping
+against hope that they might still be at a distance from land.  The
+stout ship was drifted on, the hapless people on board frequently being
+covered by the seas which broke over her.  At last Voules uttered an
+exclamation of dismay.
+
+"I caught sight of land close under our lee; before ten minutes are over
+we shall be upon it," he cried out; "and Heaven have mercy on our
+souls!"
+
+"We must look out for a spot on which to run her, and if we lose her, we
+may save our lives," said Lord Reginald.
+
+But although the attempt was made, the ship would not answer her helm.
+An anxious gaze was cast at the dark shore, on which the roar of the
+breakers could be distinctly heard.  All they could now do was to cling
+to the bulwarks until the fatal crash came, and after that, how long the
+stout ship would hold together it was impossible to say.  Much would
+depend upon the ground on which she was thrown.  If on rocks projecting
+from the shore, she would in all probability be soon dashed to pieces.
+Even the stoutest seamen held their breath as they waited for the
+inevitable catastrophe.
+
+Lord Reginald, as he stood on the deck, could feel the ship now as she
+rose, now as she fell in the trough of the sea, surging on closer and
+closer to the dreaded coast.  Those agonising moments were not to last
+long.  At length came a fearful crash.  The mainmast, as if torn up by
+some invisible hand, fell over the side, the foremast and mizzenmast
+following in quick succession.
+
+"She's struck, she's struck!  All's lost, all's lost!" cried several of
+the crew; while many who had hitherto shown ample courage in battle,
+shrieked out in their agony of fear.
+
+"Hold on, until the ship breaks up!" cried Lord Reginald.  "We may have
+a chance of getting on shore in the morning."
+
+Though he gave this advice, he had little hope of its being followed.
+Sea after sea continued to dash against the ship, and he feared, from
+the cries which reached him, that many of his men were being torn from
+their hold and carried away.  He could just distinguish Voules and Lucas
+clinging to the bulwarks a short distance from him.  Now he cast his
+eyes on the dark shore with a line of foaming breakers between him and
+it.  Then he looked seawards, and as he looked he saw an enormous black
+wave advancing, higher, it seemed to him, than any of its predecessors.
+On it came, and struck the ship, with a blow resounding louder than the
+loudest thunder.  The centre of the ship seemed to melt away with part
+of the poop, carrying off several who had been clinging to it.  No one
+could render help to another.  It was each man for himself.  He saw a
+figure, which he knew to be young Lucas, caught by the sea and whirled
+round and round.  Voules still remained, holding on to the bulwarks.
+Then another sea came; he felt the poop breaking up beneath his feet.
+In another instant he found himself among the foaming breakers,
+surrounded by masses of wreck.  He sank, but again coming to the
+surface, clutched a piece of timber.  It was of too small a size to
+float him.  He was rolled over and over, until compelled to let go.  As
+he did so he saw close to him a large beam, with a bolt projecting from
+one end.  Grasping the bolt, he got astride of the beam, being thus
+enabled to keep his body above the water, though he ran a risk of having
+his legs injured by the heavy pieces of wood dashing about on all sides.
+In vain he shouted, to ascertain if Voules or Lucas were near him.  The
+only objects he could distinguish were the masses of dark timber amid
+the white, foaming breakers, and the outline of the rocky shore.  It
+seemed even then doubtful whether he should ever reach that shore.
+Once, indeed, he fancied that he saw a human form clinging to a spar at
+no great distance from him, but unable to direct the movements of the
+piece of timber on which he floated, he could render no assistance to
+the hapless person, who returned no answer to his shouts.  His own fate
+seemed uncertain.  Should the timber be dashed against the rocks, he
+would in all probability be ground to pieces before he could escape, but
+on looking towards the land, he fancied that he could make out a sandy
+beach.  He prayed that the timber to which he clung might be directed to
+it.  Still, as he heard the fearful roar of the breakers, and watched
+the masses of foam which swept towards the shore, he felt the
+uncertainty that he should ever reach it.  Several times he was nearly
+torn from his hold by the masses of wreck driven against him.  His
+strength was decreasing.  Another sea came rolling on, it might wash him
+from his hold.  He clung to the bolt with all his might, and almost the
+next moment he felt his feet touch the ground.  At first he was afraid
+of letting go.  The second time he put down his feet he trod on the
+sand.  Fearful that the beam which had carried him in safety might roll
+over and crush him, he let go, and making a last effort, struggled
+upwards.  The foaming seas washed round his legs, and threatened to
+carry him back, but on he struggled, gasping for breath until the dry
+ground was reached, and then, by one strenuous effort, getting out of
+the reach of the water, his strength giving way, he sank to the ground,
+utterly exhausted.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER ELEVEN.
+
+DEATH OF VOULES--ALL LOST--DESPAIR OF LORD REGINALD--NEPTUNE--WATER
+FOUND--A MOURNFUL DUTY--BURYING THE DROWNED--REMORSE--THE RIVAL
+CRUSOES--THE LAST OF POOR BEN--STONE THROWING--NOTHING BUT CLAMS--
+NEPTUNE AND THE PIGEON--THE BODY OF LUCAS DISCOVERED--GOOD INTENTIONS--
+AN ANGRY MEETING--NEPTUNE'S DISLIKE TO SHELL-FISH--A PERILOUS SWIM--
+LOOKING OVER THE ISLAND--ANOTHER STORMY ENCOUNTER--LABOUR IN VAIN--PRIDE
+AGAINST REASON--BOW-MAKING--NEP FINDS A TREASURE.
+
+Lord Reginald lay for some minutes on the beach utterly exhausted, but
+not senseless.  He recollected vividly all that had occurred.  So
+battered and bruised did he feel, it seemed to him that he had only
+escaped from drowning to die a more lingering death on the barren shore,
+or to be massacred by the savage inhabitants of the island on which he
+had been cast.
+
+"Is it my fate alone to have escaped among all the stout fellows who
+manned the ship?" he at length asked himself.  "Perhaps even now some
+are struggling in the waves, and as I have been carried in safety to the
+shore, I ought to try and help them."
+
+This thought made him attempt to rise, and he found that he could do so
+with less difficulty than he had supposed possible.  The wind had begun
+to fall almost directly after the ship had struck, but still the seas
+rolled in as heavily as before.  He knew, weak as he was, should he
+venture into their power, that he might be lifted off his feet and
+carried away in their cruel embrace.  On looking around he saw a mass of
+broken spars, torn canvas, and running rigging thrown up within his
+reach.  On examining it he found that he could unreeve some of the rope.
+He set energetically to work.
+
+By using a knife which he fortunately had in his pocket, he was able to
+cut off several lengths, which, knotting together, formed a long rope.
+Taking three spars he forced them with all his might, in the form of a
+triangle, into the sand, and secured one end of the rope to the spar
+nearest the sea, while the other end he fastened round his waist.  This
+done he was able to advance further into the water than he would
+otherwise have ventured to do.
+
+He stood listening and straining his eyes over the foaming masses which
+continued to roll up unceasingly before him.  He could distinguish the
+black ledge upon which the _Marie_ had struck on one side, and on the
+other a lofty point which ran out to an equal distance forming the bay
+on the shore of which he had been thrown.  The waters of the bay
+appeared still covered with floating masses of wreck tumbling and
+tossing about.  While he was looking a crescent moon broke through the
+clouds, revealing to him for an instant what he supposed was the bows of
+the ship still holding together.  The next instant the moon was
+obscured, and the object shut out from sight.  Some of the crew might
+still be clinging to it, and if so he might not be left entirely alone.
+He shouted again and again, but no answer came; indeed, the roar of the
+breakers prevented his voice being heard at that distance.  Some one
+might be clinging to any of the pieces of wreck floating about before
+him.
+
+He listened, and at length fancied that he heard a faint cry.  He gazed
+anxiously in the direction from whence he believed it came.  He had
+picked up a long stick, so that he might the better be able to resist
+the force of the breakers should they surround him, or prevent him being
+carried off as they receded from the beach.  Again he shouted, and once
+more fancied he heard a faint cry.
+
+Yes, it was a human voice borne to him by the wind across the seething
+waters.  He waited anxiously for the re-appearance of the moon, hoping
+that her light would enable him to discover the whereabouts of his
+shipmate, whoever he might be.  He wished to save life, but he wished
+also to have a companion to share his misfortune.
+
+At length, the moon appearing, he saw a piece of wreck, to which a human
+being was clinging, being carried by every succeeding sea closer and
+closer to the beach.  The man was evidently lashed to it, or he could
+not have clung on.  Lord Reginald at once saw the difficulty there would
+be in extricating him before the beam was rolled over and over.  He
+again got out his knife that he might cut the lashings.  The beam was
+almost within his reach, he could clearly see that it bore a man who,
+however, neither cried out nor made a sign that he was alive.  "Still,
+the poor fellow may recover," thought Lord Reginald, and rushing forward
+as the next sea threw the piece of timber on the beach, he at once
+seized the inanimate form, cut the rope, and with a strength he scarcely
+believed himself to possess, dragged it up out of the reach of the
+water.  As he did so he saw by the uniform that it was his own messmate
+Voules.
+
+He laid him on the dry beach, and having loosened the handkerchief round
+his neck, knelt down by his side, and endeavoured to restore him to
+animation by chafing his hands and chest.  After he had been thus
+engaged for some time, he heard Voules emit a low sigh.
+
+"He is not dead, at all events, and may, I trust, be restored!" he
+exclaimed, resuming his efforts.
+
+Voules sighed again, but still lay without making any effort to move.
+Lord Reginald looked round to try and ascertain if any place which would
+afford him and his shipmate shelter from the night air, was near.  He
+could only see black rocks rising up above the beach, though in one
+place there appeared to be an opening, but it was too dark to
+distinguish whether there were trees beyond.
+
+"It will never do to remain here all night," he said to himself; "it is
+still some hours off morning, and we both of us may perish."
+
+The effort he had to make to take care of his friend was of the greatest
+benefit to himself.  It prevented his thoughts dwelling on his own
+sufferings.  He tried to lift up his companion, to carry him in his
+arms, but his strength was insufficient, and after going a few paces he
+was obliged to let him sink again on the ground.
+
+"Voules, Voules, my dear fellow, do speak!" he exclaimed; "tell me where
+you are hurt.  What can I do for you?  You are safe on shore.  If you
+could but arouse yourself, we might get under shelter."
+
+But Voules only gave an occasional sigh.  He seemed too weak almost to
+groan.  Again Lord Reginald attempted to carry him towards an
+overhanging rock which rose at some distance beyond the beach.  In this
+he succeeded better than at first, and after stopping two or three times
+he reached it.  To his satisfaction, he discovered that there was a
+small cave, the bottom covered with dry sand.  This would, at all
+events, afford a more comfortable resting-place than the open beach, as
+well as shelter from the rain, which now came on in dense showers.  It
+was so dark, however, that he could not see his companion's features.
+Seating himself by his side, he once more began to chafe his hands and
+breast, he then turned him on one side, when his patient threw up some
+of the water which he had swallowed.  Thus relieved, Voules appeared to
+recover slightly.
+
+"You'll do well, I hope, my poor fellow, if you would but pluck up
+courage," said Lord Reginald.  "When daylight returns we shall find some
+food and water."
+
+"I fear not," answered Voules, in a faint voice.  "I am bruised all
+over, and I feel as if my right leg was broken."
+
+"I hope not," said Lord Reginald, examining the limb.  To his dismay he
+found that Voules was right.  "We must try and set it," he observed;
+"though it will prevent you being of much use for some time to come, you
+must not despair on that account.  I earnestly hope that some of the men
+may have escaped to help us, though I could discover no one on the part
+of the beach where we were thrown."
+
+Voules groaned deeply.  "I am much obliged to you, Oswald, for what you
+have done for me, but it is of no use.  I almost wish that you had left
+me to perish in the sea, for I feel that I am dying.  It is very
+terrible; I have all sorts of sins on my conscience.  Then I think of
+how I encouraged you to get that young Hargrave and the older man Rudall
+carried off from their homes, and how they have both now probably been
+lost.  It seems to me as if their deaths were at my door."
+
+"If they are at yours, they are at mine also," said Lord Reginald.  "I
+dislike the fellows, and though I should be thankful if any of the crew
+escaped, I should not like to see their faces.  The chances are they
+would wreak their vengeance on our heads, helpless as we are, without
+the slightest means of defence."
+
+"I should be thankful to think that we had not been the cause of their
+deaths," said Voules.
+
+"Well, well, don't talk about them, but try and get some sleep, old
+fellow; it will restore your strength more than anything else."
+
+Voules groaned.  "I shall never sleep again, until the last sleep of
+all," he muttered.
+
+"Try, try," said Lord Reginald; "I'll sit up and keep watch."
+
+"Thank you," murmured Voules.
+
+Lord Reginald was silent, but Voules's heavy breathing and the low moans
+to which he gave vent, showed that his slumbers were troubled, if he
+slept at all.  The young lord could understand how much his companion
+suffered from the pains which racked his own body, and yet, with the
+exception of the few bruises he had received, he was unhurt.  For a long
+time he sat and watched, earnestly wishing for day, and at length he
+himself sank down on the sand and fell asleep.  His dreams, too, were
+troubled.  All the horrors of the shipwreck were ever present to his
+thoughts.  Now he fancied himself struggling in the waves, now reaching
+the beach, but in vain attempting to climb up it, the seas carrying him
+back every time his feet touched the firm ground.  He awoke with a
+start, fancying that Voules was calling him.  The sun had risen, and the
+rays were streaming across the white sand in front of the cave.  The
+storm had ceased, though the seas still came rolling sluggishly on,
+dashing into foam as they reached the beach.
+
+"Did you call, Voules?" he asked, raising himself on his elbow to look
+at his companion, who however made no answer.  "I must not awaken him,"
+he said; "sleep will do him more good than anything else.  I must go out
+and try and find some fresh water and food of some sort."
+
+He got up on his feet; though he felt weak, he was able to walk.  He was
+about to go out, when he cast a glance at Voules.  He started back with
+horror, as he saw the pallid countenance before him, the glazed eyes
+staring wildly, the fallen jaw.
+
+"Can he be dead?" he exclaimed, stooping down.  He could not discover
+the faintest breathing.  He lifted an arm, it fell lifeless on the sand.
+"Voules, Voules!" he almost shrieked out; "speak but one word to me."
+
+No answer came from those open lips, and he saw too evidently that his
+companion was dead.  The horrors of his situation burst upon him with
+more force than ever.  He was alone in that apparently desert island; no
+one to consult with, no one even to speak to.  He threw himself on the
+sand, and for some time lay almost as motionless as the inanimate form
+near him, believing that he himself would die.  Then the desire to
+prolong his life returned.  A burning thirst oppressed him; though he
+had eaten nothing since the previous day at noon, he felt but little
+hunger.  He was about to leave the cavern in the hopes of discovering a
+spring, when he saw in the distance an object moving towards him.
+
+At first he thought it must be some wild beast, but presently his
+favourite dog, Neptune, hove in sight, and came rushing on, leaping up,
+uttering loud barks of joy, placing his paws on his shoulders, and
+trying to lick his face.
+
+"Where have you come from, Nep?" he asked.  "Your coat is perfectly dry,
+you must have been on shore some hours."  But Nep only wagged his tail,
+and bounded round and round him.  Lord Reginald fondly patted the dog's
+head.  "Thank Heaven, you have been saved, Nep.  I have one trusty
+companion left, and I must not lose heart."
+
+The dog seemed to understand him, and redoubled his signs of
+satisfaction.  Suddenly he stopped, and looked towards the body of
+Voules, then he approached it cautiously, and after examining it for a
+moment he set up a loud howl, and turning round, ran crouching back to
+his master, as if fully conscious of the fate of the unhappy young man.
+
+"Yes, he's gone, in truth!" said Lord Reginald.  "You and I are now
+alone.  We must set out to try and find a spring and some food, if they
+exist on this dreadful spot; but you don't look either hungry or
+thirsty.  Perhaps you have found a spring.  Come along, Nep; come
+along!"  So saying, Lord Reginald, accompanied by the dog, directed his
+steps towards an opening in the line of cliffs which circled round the
+bay.  As he advanced, the opening widened out, and to his joy he saw
+numerous cocoanut and other trees.  At first he could discover no sign
+of a spring.
+
+"That verdure cannot exist without water," he said to himself; "there
+must be some near at hand.  Surely, if it exists Nep will find it."  As
+he advanced further he found himself in a small valley running directly
+up from the sea, and shortly afterwards his eye fell on the sheen of
+water.  It appeared to be a stream running down the centre and losing
+itself in the porous sand before it reached the ocean.  He uttered a cry
+of joy, and pushed forward.  He was soon stooping down, lapping the
+water up eagerly with his hand.  He then began to feel the pangs of
+hunger.  The only fruit he could discover were cocoanuts, but they hung
+so high above his head that he had no hope of obtaining any.  He was too
+weak to attempt climbing even the smallest of the trees on which they
+grew.  He thought of various devices for bringing them down.  He might
+manage to get some could he find a long thin line which, by means of a
+stone, he might throw over the boughs.  Then he searched about for other
+food.  He looked also anxiously for human habitations.  The sun beat
+down with intense heat into the valley, and the tall trees afforded but
+little shade.  He was compelled at length to retreat towards the cavern.
+That, at all events, would be cool, he thought.  A few more cocoanut
+trees only had to be passed, when, just as he was going under the boughs
+of one, he saw a large brown mass covered with fibre lying before him.
+Though he had never before seen a cocoanut when growing in a wild state,
+he knew what it was.  He seized it eagerly, and began tearing off the
+outer cover.  Conveying it to the cave, with a piece of stone he broke
+off the top, and having swallowed the refreshing juice in the interior,
+he soon broke it to pieces so as to get at the flesh.  With this he
+somewhat satisfied the gnawings of hunger.
+
+"Such food won't suit you, my poor dog!" he said, looking at Nep.
+However, the dog wagged his tail, and very readily swallowed a few of
+the pieces cut out of the shell, which his master threw him.  He had now
+to consider what was next to be done.  His eye fell on the body of poor
+Voules.
+
+"He was a miserable counsellor, and did me harm by attempting to flatter
+me; though I confess that I had but little real regard for him, I
+certainly wish that he was still alive; but as he has gone, I must
+endeavour to pay him the respect I would to any fellow-creature, and
+give him decent burial."  Saying this, he got up and looked about to
+settle by what means he could accomplish his object.  The shore was
+strewn with timber and pieces of plank of all shapes.  Hunting about he
+soon found a piece which would answer his purpose, though had he
+possessed an axe he might have chopped it into a more suitable shape; as
+it was, however, it would have to serve his purpose.  His next care was
+to select some fitting spot for the grave.  He pitched on one under the
+cliff, where the sand appeared sufficiently soft, while the shape of the
+rocks around would make it easily recognised.
+
+He began to dig away, but the sand fell in almost as quickly as he
+shovelled it out of the pit, and he had greatly to increase its size
+before he could reach any depth.  He felt sick at heart as he performed
+his unaccustomed task.
+
+Neptune stood by watching him, apparently understanding his object,
+although he could render no assistance.  At last the grave was dug.  His
+courage almost gave way as he prepared to place the body of his late
+companion--one whom he had known for so many years--in his last
+resting-place.  While chafing Voules's chest he had observed a locket
+hanging to a riband.  He undid it, that he might deliver it to his
+friends.  On opening it he saw that it contained the miniature of a
+young and pretty girl.
+
+"Poor thing!" he said.  "She thought him probably all that is brave and
+good.  Now she'll value him the more because he has gone!  I wouldn't
+undeceive her for worlds, though I have but little chance of ever being
+able to deliver this to his friends."  He took his watch, and a few
+other articles.  There was a pocket-book, but he had neither time nor
+inclination to look into it.  Indeed, in all probability, whatever
+writing there was had been obliterated by salt water.  Among other
+things was a small pocket spyglass, which was likely to prove useful.
+He found, on trying to lift the body, that his strength was insufficient
+for the task, so that he had to drag it by the collar of the coat to the
+edge of the grave, into which he managed to lower it.
+
+"Rest there, my poor shipmate," he said.  "I little thought when we were
+last on shore, amusing ourselves to our hearts' content, that such would
+so soon be your end.  Yet, what may be mine?"
+
+He rested for some moments, gazing with a sort of fascination on the
+dead body, unwilling to cover it up for ever from view.  "It must be
+done!" he said at length, and he began to shovel in the sand, a task
+which was very quickly accomplished.
+
+"Now I am all alone, the sole inhabitant of this island.  That, however,
+would be better than finding it peopled by a savage tribe, who would
+either kill me or make me work for them as a slave.  Had I the strength,
+I would build a tomb of rock over him, but he'll rest well enough
+without it.  I suppose there are no creatures which will come and dig
+him up."
+
+He would gladly after this have rested in his cave, for the rays of the
+sun, now high in the heavens, beat down with intense force on his
+unprotected head.  At the same time, the pangs of hunger reminded him
+that he must go in search of more substantial food than cocoanuts would
+afford.  He had heard that turtles laid their eggs on the sandy beaches
+of these islands, but whether he should find them at this time of the
+year, or whether the young turtles had been hatched and crawled away, he
+was utterly ignorant.  As he walked along the shore, he carefully
+examined the sand, in the hopes of finding some mounds or the marks of
+turtles' feet to show where their eggs had been deposited, but not an
+indication of any sort could he discover.
+
+"I shall have to depend upon shell-fish," he said to himself; "there
+must be numbers sticking to the rocks, and I must try and get them off
+with my knife.  I wish that I had some fishing-hooks and lines.  By
+scrambling out to the end of a reef I might very likely catch as many
+fish as I require, but as I have not the hooks and lines, I must manage
+with what I can get."  He sighed as he felt his helplessness.  On
+looking along the beach he saw it covered with pieces of wreck as far as
+the eye could reach.  He might at all events find something useful among
+the articles thrown up.  He had not got far when he caught sight of a
+human form surging up and down, close to the beach.  It might be some
+person who, having clung on to a piece of the wreck during the night,
+was attempting to reach the shore.  He rushed forward to assist the man
+to land, but scarcely had he seized an arm than he saw that it was that
+of a dead body.  He did not, however, let go his hold, but dragged it up
+on the beach.
+
+"I must bury the poor fellow, at all events," he observed, looking at
+the countenance of the man, who was one of the ordinary seamen.  The
+discovery of the body made him look more narrowly along the beach, and
+he saw several others either thrown up, or floating close to the shore.
+The sight brought Richard Hargrave to his recollection.  "He is probably
+among them," he thought, "and I was the cause of dragging him away from
+his home, prompted by my revengeful spirit and bad feelings.  I am as
+guilty as if I were his murderer.  I wish that he had made good his
+escape and remained at home, and I would give much now to know that he
+had reached the shore in safety, but that is not likely."  He dragged up
+body after body, scanning their countenances anxiously, fearing that he
+should recognise that of Richard Hargrave.  At last he came to one with
+grizzled hair and beard, which he recognised as that of the smuggler Ben
+Rudall, who had by his means been torn from his home.
+
+"Unhappy wretch!  By the way Voules and I treated him he must have had a
+miserable life of it on board.  I suspect that he and Hargrave, if they
+had had the opportunity, would have treated me as I deserve.  Would that
+I could forget the past!  However, I cannot let them lie here to rot."
+On counting the number of bodies he had hauled out of the water, he
+found that there were no less than five.  The task was abhorrent to his
+nature.  "I little thought that I should ever become a grave-digger!" he
+exclaimed, bitterly.  "However, it must be done; I couldn't rest at
+night if I knew they were there.  I only hope that the sea has washed
+away the remainder, that I shall not have to bury the whole of my crew;
+perhaps by that time I shall become accustomed to it, only every day
+will render the business more horrible."
+
+The young lord, however, managed to muster up resolution to commence the
+task.  He went back for the piece of board which had served him to dig
+the grave of Voules, and commenced shovelling away the sand some
+distance above high-water mark.  It would evidently require a large
+grave, and the task would occupy him some hours.  The sun, which was
+intensely hot, beat down on his unprotected head, while the perspiration
+streamed from his forehead.  At last he could work no more, and,
+supporting himself by the spade, followed by Neptune, he staggered to
+the nearest spot where he observed some shade beneath the cliff.  As he
+threw himself on the ground, the dog lay down by his side with his
+tongue out, showing that he too felt the heat.
+
+Overcome with fatigue, he dropped into an uneasy doze, painful fancies
+filling his brain.  How long he had thus remained he could not tell,
+when, on opening his eyes, they fell on a figure standing by the
+half-finished grave.  His disordered imagination made him fancy that it
+was one of those he was about to bury who, recovering, had regained his
+feet.  Or could it be a spirit?
+
+His eyes dilated as he gazed.  The person, after looking into the grave
+for a few seconds, turned round and went towards where the bodies lay
+and then knelt down by the side of one of them.  Lord Reginald, not
+seeing him, as he was concealed by the slope of the beach from where he
+lay, fancied as he gradually recovered his senses that he must have been
+subjected to some hallucination, and resolved to finish his task.
+
+"Come, Nep," he said, rising, "we must finish the work, terrible as it
+is!"  What was his surprise to find that his dog had gone?  He made his
+way back to the grave, keeping his head turned in an opposite direction
+from the bodies, unwilling to look at them from the sickening feeling
+which came over him when he did so.  Descending into the pit he had
+formed, he began to throw out the sand.  While thus employed he heard a
+voice close to him say--
+
+"Shall I help you?"
+
+His first impulse was to spring out of the grave and express the joy he
+felt that one of his crew had escaped, but on looking up he saw Richard
+Hargrave standing near, with a piece of wood similar to the one with
+which he was employed.  At first his feelings softened towards his
+enemy, for so he regarded the young seaman, but the next instant he
+fancied that he detected a look of scorn in his countenance.  Still, he
+wanted to get the work done, and alone he could not accomplish it.  He
+therefore answered, "Yes, you may fall to, for it is more than one man
+alone can do."
+
+Without exchanging another word, Dick leapt down into the pit and began
+shovelling out the sand in a far more effectual way than Lord Reginald
+had done.  When the grave was of sufficient size, Dick got out and
+immediately went towards one of the bodies, beckoning his companion to
+assist him in carrying it to its last resting-place.  Lord Reginald
+hesitated, but when Dick began to drag the body by the shoulders he took
+it up by the feet.  One by one three of the other bodies were carried to
+the grave.  Lord Reginald was about to lift up the feet of Ben Rudall,
+when Dick exclaimed--
+
+"No, no; let him alone.  We will give him a grave to himself.  He was an
+old friend of mine, though he might have led me astray, and I want to
+pay him all the respect I can."
+
+Lord Reginald let the feet drop, and without speaking returned to the
+grave, where he began to shovel in the sand.  Dick joining him, the task
+was soon accomplished.
+
+"As I undertook to dig this poor fellow's grave alone, I won't ask you
+to help me," said Dick, turning aside without attempting to exchange any
+further words with his companion.
+
+Lord Reginald, utterly exhausted, retreated to the shade of the cliff,
+calling in an angry tone to Neptune, who had followed Dick, to watch his
+proceedings.
+
+He observed that Hargrave wore a hat roughly made from palm leaves, and
+was thus able to endure the heat much better than he could.  It did not
+occur to him that he possessed a handkerchief in his pocket which, had
+he bound round his head, would have afforded him some protection.  At
+length he could endure the thirst from which he was suffering no longer,
+and getting up, endeavoured to make his way to the spring at which he
+had before obtained water.  He reached it at last, and sank down by the
+side of the pool, scarcely able to lift the water with his hand to his
+parched lips.  He succeeded, however, and felt somewhat restored.  Nep
+showed how thirsty he was by lapping it up eagerly.
+
+He waited some time, half expecting that Hargrave would join him.  He
+was too proud to call him, and inquire how he had escaped from the
+wreck, which he wished to know, as well as to ascertain if any one else
+had been saved.  Even Neptune appeared surprised, and showed an
+inclination to start off every now and then and join Dick, who had
+become a great friend of his on board.
+
+All this time Lord Reginald had eaten nothing except the remains of the
+cocoanut.  He was sensible that he was becoming fainter and weaker.
+Whether or not Nep had got any food when he disappeared, he could not
+tell, but from the way he observed Hargrave work he felt very sure that
+he, at all events, was not starving.
+
+He saw numerous birds of gay plumage flying among the trees, but he had
+no means of getting them.  He thought that he might possibly knock some
+of them down.  For this purpose he returned to the beach to pick up some
+pebbles.  Having filled his pockets, he went back to the neighbourhood
+of the stream.  Though he got frequently within reach of the birds, he
+could not manage to hit one of them.  At last he had exhausted every one
+of his pebbles, and, prompted by hunger, was about to go back to obtain
+more, when he bethought him that by hiding behind a bush an unwary bird
+might come near enough to enable him to knock it down with a stick which
+he had picked up.  He waited for some time.  Though several birds came
+near--one a fine fat pigeon with beautiful plumage--they kept beyond his
+reach.  At length, losing his patience, he threw his stick at a bird
+which had perched on a bough about twelve feet off.  The bird rose,
+wagging its tail as if in derision, and flew off unhurt.  Nep, who was
+by this time as famished as his master, showed his eagerness by dashing
+here and there after the birds, which flew near the ground.
+
+"It's of no use, Nep," said Lord Reginald; "we must try what the
+sea-shore will yield."  They returned together to the beach.  The tide
+was low and shell-fish--some of large size--clung to the rocks or lay on
+the sand.
+
+Supposing that the latter were dead or not fit to eat; he attempted to
+cut off with his knife some of those clinging to the rocks, a more
+difficult task than he had expected, and he blunted it considerably in
+the attempt.  At last he got several off, and with these, as well as a
+few of the freshest looking which he had picked up on the beach, he
+returned to the cave.
+
+He nearly cut his finger in attempting to open them, and when he had
+succeeded in separating the shells of a couple, he recollected that he
+must cook them before they would be fit to eat.  First he had to collect
+firewood.  For this purpose he was compelled to go back to where he
+could obtain some dry branches, broken off by previous gales.  While
+thus engaged, he saw some smoke in the distance.
+
+"That must be a fire kindled by that fellow Hargrave," he said to
+himself; "he probably has found something to eat, but I cannot go and
+ask him for a light, still less can I bring myself to beg for some of
+the food.  Probably he would refuse me if I did.  No, no, I will let him
+come to me and ask my pardon for his insolent behaviour."
+
+By exerting himself, the young lord collected a bundle of sticks.  On
+his way he found another cocoanut, which prize he was glad to obtain,
+for it would serve as bread to help him swallow the shell-fish.
+
+With his bundle on his shoulders he returned to the cave.  He unscrewed
+the object glass from Voules's telescope, but in vain tried to obtain a
+light.  The sticks might have burned had a flame once been established.
+He had, therefore, to go back and search for dry leaves or moss, or some
+more inflammable substance.
+
+He found some fungus, which from its dry nature he thought would quickly
+ignite.  With this and his arms full of leaves, he once more made his
+way back to his cave.  The sun was by this time sinking low, and he was
+afraid after all that its rays would be too oblique to enable him to
+obtain a spark.  He anxiously held the glass in its right position, and
+was thankful when he saw a fine line of smoke ascending; by blowing
+gently and placing some dry leaves above it, he at length obtained a
+flame, with which he set the pile of leaves he had placed under the
+sticks on fire.
+
+"I am now as well off as that fellow Hargrave," he said to himself, as
+he placed the shell-fish on the embers.  He had never before attempted
+to cook anything, and had very little notion of how it was to be done.
+
+He saw the shells getting hotter and hotter, when on raking them out he
+found the interior burnt to a cinder.  "Rather overdone," he thought; "I
+must not let them stay in again so long."  He succeeded rather better
+with the next, but had to confess that they were very tough.
+
+Though his hunger was not satisfied, he had no inclination to eat more;
+having broken the shells, he bestowed the remainder on Neptune, who
+apparently preferred them raw to cooked.  He eked out his scanty meal
+with cocoanut, having drunk the juice, which he found very refreshing
+after the salt, coarse-tasting clams.  He had no longer any fear of
+starving, though the food he had obtained was neither wholesome nor
+palatable.
+
+After finishing his meal, he threw himself on the sand within the shadow
+of the cave, trying to reflect what he should next do, but his mind was
+in a state of confusion.  He could not sufficiently collect his thoughts
+to arrive at any determination.  Neptune lay by his side, occasionally
+licking his hand, trying to amuse him.  He felt the solitude to which he
+was doomed trying in the extreme.  The only human being on the island
+beside himself, was, as far as he could tell, young Hargrave, whom he
+had despised and hated, and who seemed in no way disposed to forget the
+mutual ill-feeling which had so long existed, or to show him any marks
+of attention.  He looked out, half expecting to see his enemy approach,
+but the latter had evidently taken up his abode in the further part of
+the island, and kept out of his way.
+
+Another night was approaching; it was necessary to collect some more
+wood to keep in his fire, for should a cloudy day come on, he would have
+no means of relighting it.  At last, seeing the necessity of exerting
+himself, he got up, intending to fill two of the largest clam shells he
+had picked up with water, which might serve to quench his thirst during
+the night.  Directly he rose to his feet, Neptune showed his
+satisfaction by leaping about him, and barked with joy when he found
+that he was directing his steps towards the fountain.  On arriving at
+it, both he and the dog drank their fill, then placing the shells by its
+side, he set to work to collect fire-wood.  There was no great amount of
+fallen sticks, and it took him some time before he could pick up a
+sufficient quantity.
+
+As formerly, he observed in the distance the smoke of a fire, which he
+felt sure had been kindled by Hargrave.  The dog, by pulling his
+trousers, attempted to draw him in that direction.
+
+"No, no; we will not go and interfere with the fellow.  He'll fancy that
+we want his assistance, or are begging for some of the food he may have
+obtained.  We must show him that we can do very well by ourselves," he
+said, addressing his dog.  Fastening the sticks to his back by a piece
+of rope he had picked up, and taking the two clam shells in his hand, he
+set off to return to the cave.  He had gone a short distance without
+thinking of Neptune, when on looking round he found that the dog had
+disappeared.
+
+"Where can the animal have gone to?" he exclaimed.  "Has he deserted me
+for the sake of that scoundrel?  If he has, when he comes back I'll tie
+him up and teach him that he must not associate with my enemy."
+
+On reaching the cave he sat down more oppressed even than before by
+gloomy thoughts.  He believed that the _Marie_ had been cast away on a
+remote island, near which no English ship was likely to pass, and that
+he might remain there for months, perhaps for years, without having an
+opportunity of escaping, even should he live so long; but he felt so
+sick and weak that he feared his existence would soon be cut short.
+"Perhaps," he thought, "that young Hargrave may take it into his head to
+murder me.  What is there, to prevent him?  All that he has to do is to
+bury me in the sand, with the rest of the poor fellows.  And if
+questions are asked, he could say I was cast lifeless on the shore, or
+died afterwards from sickness, and such, judging from my sensations, is
+very likely to be the case."
+
+The pangs of hunger aroused him.  As there was sufficient daylight
+remaining, he went down to the rocks and cut off a few more shell-fish.
+The task was so hard a one that he did not collect more than he
+required.  He had slightly improved in the art of cooking them, but he
+much wished that he had some pepper and salt to make them more
+palatable.  They were nearly cooked, when he saw Neptune scampering
+along the beach towards him, with something in his mouth.  The dog
+approaching laid it down at his feet, and Lord Reginald discovered that
+it was a beautiful pigeon.
+
+"Is that what you left me for?" he exclaimed, highly delighted, patting
+the dog.  "This will be far better than those dreadful clams which I
+could hardly swallow, and which when swallowed made me feel as if I had
+eaten lead."
+
+Neptune wagged his tail, as much as to say, "I am very glad, master, I
+have brought you something you like."  The puzzle was now how to cook
+the bird.  At first he thought of putting it in a clam shell to bake.
+He had actually placed it on the fire, feathers and all, when he
+remembered that it must be plucked.  This he did in a somewhat awkward
+fashion.  Then he recollected seeing pictures of camp fires, with
+animals spitted on sticks roasting before them.  He selected such from
+the heap near him as would serve his purpose.  Peeling one with his
+knife, he ran it through the bird, then placed it on two forked sticks,
+which he stuck in the ground.  This done he raked the ashes of the fire
+beneath the bird close round it, and began turning his spit with his
+hand.  It was hot work, and exercised all his patience.  At last he saw
+that the bird was becoming browner and browner.  He was satisfied that
+he was cooking it in the right fashion.  Neptune lay down with his paws
+out, watching the process.  Lord Reginald was too hungry to wait, and
+taking it off the spit he put it into a clam shell to serve as a dish,
+and began eagerly eating it.  Though, from being just killed, and
+underdone, it was somewhat tough, it afforded him a far more
+satisfactory meal than any he had tasted since he had reached the
+island.  He would have been wise had he reserved a portion for next
+morning's breakfast, but without consideration, after he had satisfied
+his hunger, he threw the remainder to Neptune, who gobbled it up in a
+few seconds.
+
+Being now perfectly dark, having made up his fire he retired to his
+cave, where, with a piece of wood which he had brought up from the shore
+for his pillow, he lay down to sleep with Neptune by his side.  He knew
+that his faithful dog would keep watch, and that he need have no fear of
+being attacked by any wild beasts which might exist in the island.  It
+was some time before he could go to sleep, but at length, overcome by
+fatigue and mental anxiety, he dropped into an unquiet slumber.
+
+It appeared to him that he was dreaming or thinking the whole night
+through.  Great was his surprise to find it broad daylight when he
+awoke.  Instead of the hurricane which had lately blown, there was a
+perfect calm, though the smooth undulations broke in a line of foam
+along the beach where it was not protected by rocks.  His fire had gone
+out, but he had no difficulty in lighting it by means of his burning
+glass.  His first care was to make it up.  He then set off to collect
+some more shellfish.
+
+He had got down to the shores of the little bay which has been before
+described, and was scrambling along the reef, when his eye fell on a
+figure apparently clinging to a cleft of the rock on the opposite side,
+just above high-water mark.  The figure seemed to move.  Taking out his
+small telescope he watched it eagerly, trying also to discover some
+means of getting to the spot.  He at once saw by the dress that the
+figure was that of young Lucas.  Was it possible that he was still
+alive?  He feared not.  He lost no time in returning to the beach, and
+then made his way along the rocks until he descended to the point where
+he had seen his shipmate.  A glance at the features told him that the
+midshipman was dead, and had probably been washed up by the sea into the
+cleft of the rock.  How to remove the body was now the question.  He
+could not let it remain there festering in the hot sun, and it seemed
+impossible for him to carry it over the rough rocks on his shoulders.
+At last he thought he might tow it to the shore.  There were plenty of
+materials for forming a raft.  He soon lashed a few pieces of wreck
+together, when, having launched them, he took off his clothes and towed
+them out.  Had it not been for the uniform he could not have
+distinguished his young shipmate.  Extricating the body, not without
+difficulty, from the cleft of the rock in which it had been fixed, he
+lowered it down to the raft.  Then taking the end of the tow-rope in
+hand, he began to swim towards the beach.  The raft was heavy, and so
+weak did he feel that he was afraid he should be unable to reach the
+shore with his melancholy freight.
+
+He was puffing and blowing away, and making but slow progress, when he
+saw Neptune--who had disappeared in the same mysterious way as he had
+done on the previous day--coming scampering along the beach.  He called
+the dog, who with a bound plunged in and swam towards him.  He placed
+the tow-rope in the mouth of the animal, who, seeming to know perfectly
+well what to do, swam with it towards the shore, allowing his master to
+rest his hand on his back.  He thus, in a much shorter time than would
+otherwise have been possible, reached the beach.  He felt so fatigued
+that he had to rest while the hot sun dried his body, before he could
+again put on his clothes.
+
+Neptune, who was now aware of the freight he had brought ashore, waited
+as if to see what more was required of him.  Suddenly he seemed to
+recollect that he had another duty to perform, and running back to the
+spot from which he had leapt into the water, he took up a pigeon, which
+he brought to his master.
+
+"You are a wonderful dog," said Lord Reginald, patting his head.  "How
+have you managed to catch this bird?"
+
+He would gladly have got through the painful task he had set himself,
+but the pangs of hunger made him determine to cook the bird first.
+Following the plan he had adopted on the previous evening, he soon had
+it plucked and spitted.  As he opened the crop he was surprised to see
+three large nuts drop to the ground, which split as they fell; it seemed
+wonderful that the pigeon could have swallowed them, large as they were.
+The kernels, which he put into the fire and roasted, were especially
+nice and served instead of bread.  Neptune, as before, came in for the
+remainder of the bird.  He ate it up, but not greedily, as if he was in
+want of food.  "The rogue has been catering for himself, I suspect I
+hope that he may bring me something for dinner, for though a pigeon a
+day is something, sufficient to keep body and soul together, I shall
+require more to retain my strength."  As he again rose a sensation of
+lassitude oppressed him.  He felt very much disinclined for the painful
+task he had undertaken.  It must be done, however, and rousing himself
+he seized the wooden spade he had before used, and set to work to dig a
+grave near that of Voules.  He had not long been engaged in his task,
+when looking up he saw Richard Hargrave approaching.  This at once made
+him suspect that he had been watched by his rival, although he had not
+discovered him.
+
+"I don't like to see you engaged in that sort of work; it is as much my
+duty as yours," said Dick.  "So I have come to help you."
+
+"I shan't require your aid," answered Lord Reginald, haughtily; "you can
+bury any of the men you may find, but I choose to bury this young
+officer myself."
+
+"Very well, do as you like," said Dick, indignant at having his
+well-meant offer refused.  "I thought as we had both suffered a common
+misfortune, you would have been glad of the society and assistance of a
+fellow-creature."
+
+"You don't suppose that any common misfortune would bring me down to
+your level?" exclaimed Lord Reginald.  "I don't require either your
+sympathy or your assistance; all I desire is that you should keep out of
+my way, and remember that I am still your officer."
+
+"I remember that you were once my officer, and that as such you took
+every opportunity to show your ill-feelings towards me, or allowed
+others to do so.  One of them lies there, and unless you exercise such
+sense as you have got, you'll soon take your place by his side.  I speak
+plainly, but I speak the truth.  Except the few shell-fish, and the
+couple of cocoanuts you have picked up, you have been unable to procure
+any food for yourself."
+
+"You are wrong there," said Lord Reginald; "my faithful dog has catered
+for me, and I have no doubt he will continue to do so; but I do not
+choose to waste words on you.  Be off, and look after your own affairs."
+
+Dick laughed scornfully.  "Do you suppose that the dog would have got
+those birds by himself?" he asked.  "You give him credit for more
+cleverness than he possesses."
+
+"I have told you I do not desire to hold any conversation with you,"
+said Lord Reginald, not inquiring for an explanation of the last remark
+Dick had made, though it somewhat puzzled him.
+
+"You must take the consequences of your obstinacy, then!" exclaimed
+Dick, walking away with as haughty an air as Lord Reginald himself could
+have assumed.
+
+The poor young lord resumed his uncongenial occupation, which Dick's
+appearance had interrupted.  The grave was dug, and the body of the
+midshipman dragged into it.  He lost no time in covering it up, as it
+was painful to look upon those features, once so full of life and
+animation.  "Are we two, then, the only survivors from the _Marie_?"
+exclaimed Lord Reginald.  "I wish that some one else had been saved,
+though I now know for certain that the only ones with whom I could have
+associated are dead!"
+
+Instead of setting to work to try and improve his condition, oppressed
+with lassitude, he lay for the remainder of the day in front of his
+cave, doing nothing.
+
+Neptune remained by him for some time, then apparently getting weary of
+inaction, after playing about on the sand, scampered off into the
+interior.
+
+"I hope that he has gone to get me another pigeon, or something else,"
+said Lord Reginald, when he found that the dog had disappeared.
+"Sagacious brute, he knows my wants, and is sure to bring me something."
+
+Hour after hour, however, passed by, and he began to get very hungry.
+The dog did not return, and evening was approaching.  He at last got up,
+and set off for the spring, to obtain a draught of water, and hoping to
+find at all events another cocoanut in the palm grove, where he had
+procured the others.  Having drunk as much water as he required, he
+searched about.  Though numbers of cocoanuts grew on the trees above his
+head, he could not find one fallen to the ground.  There were a few
+husks, which had been broken open and their contents abstracted.  He
+looked about, expecting to see his dog.  Neptune did not make his
+appearance.  All he could do therefore, was to collect some more sticks
+to keep up his fire, after which he obtained some clams from the
+seashore, off which, though imperfectly cooked, he was fain to make his
+supper.  He had just finished when he saw Neptune coming towards him,
+not scampering along as usual, but advancing slowly, with his tail
+between his legs.  Lord Reginald looked out eagerly for the pigeon, but
+Neptune's mouth had nothing in it.  "What, my good dog, have you been
+unsuccessful in your hunting?" he said.  "It is a bad look-out for me,
+as I shall have nothing but these clams.  However, you shall share them
+with me."
+
+When, however, he offered the shell-fish to the dog, he refused to eat
+them, and, looking ashamed of himself, crouched down by his side.
+
+Another night passed away.  When the young lord tried to get up in the
+morning, his limbs ached, and he found himself much weaker than before.
+He became somewhat alarmed.  "If this goes on I don't know how it will
+end," he said to himself.  "It is evident that the clams do not agree
+with me; however, as I have nothing else, I must eat some for
+breakfast."
+
+In spite of the pain he was suffering, he crawled down to the beach, and
+collected as many as he thought he and his dog would require.  Bringing
+them back, and making up his fire, he tried to cook them with more care
+than before.  But they tasted like so many pieces of salted leather, and
+he could with difficulty swallow them.  Neptune ate a few; they were
+evidently not much to his taste.  He soon showed signs of a wish to get
+away from his master.  Twice he started off, but Lord Reginald called
+him back.
+
+"Come, old dog, we will go and hunt together, and I hope that we shall
+be more successful than before," he said, at length getting up, and
+taking a stick to support himself.  Sick as he was, he thought a bath
+would refresh him.  He accordingly went down to the bay, and taking off
+his clothes waded in.  The cool water had the effect he expected.  He
+thought he might venture to swim out to a little distance.  The dog
+followed him, keeping close to his side.  He had not got far when
+Neptune uttered a bark, very different in tone to that which he usually
+emitted.  It appeared to be indicative of alarm, and Lord Reginald,
+looking ahead, saw a black fin rising above the water.  He immediately
+turned, and swam with all his might back to the beach, expecting every
+instant to feel his leg seized by a shark, for he knew too well that the
+black fin belonged to one of the monsters of the deep.  Nep continued
+close to him, though he might have got ahead, but the moment he touched
+the beach he scampered up it, and then turned round and barked
+furiously, leaping and splashing about in the shallow water.  Lord
+Reginald also, as soon as his feet touched the sand, waded out as fast
+as his strength would allow, and did not stop until he reached dry
+ground.  Scarcely had he landed, than a pair of huge jaws appeared above
+the surface, making directly for the dog.  But Neptune was too active to
+be caught, though he had a narrow escape.  Lord Reginald, exhausted by
+the exertions he had made, sank on the sand.  Some minutes passed before
+he could manage to put on his clothes.  It was a warning to him not to
+bathe in future in the bay.
+
+As soon as he had somewhat recovered, again taking his stick in hand he
+set off, as he had before intended, for the fountain.  He felt much
+refreshed, after taking a draught of pure water and washing his face and
+head in it, and was sufficiently strong, he thought, to make an
+exploring expedition through the island, to ascertain its size, and
+whether he could obtain more food than the sea-shore afforded.  Finding
+an accessible hill he toiled up it.  From the summit, he obtained a view
+over the larger portion of the island.  It was generally volcanic and
+barren.  The hill on which he stood formed the side of a volcano, but
+whether active or not, he could not determine.  It was destitute of
+vegetation, and was covered with black lava, which, from being hard and
+smooth, he supposed had long been exposed to the atmosphere.  There
+were, however, level spots, in which grew a number of tropical trees,
+and he could see far off, a broad valley, through which a stream
+meandered.  He looked round for signs of inhabitants, but could discover
+no huts or buildings of any sort, or traces of cultivation.  In the far
+distance, round a point which ran out to the southward, beyond the spot
+where the _Marie_ had been wrecked, he saw a wreath of smoke ascending
+through the pure air.  This, he had no doubt, rose from Richard
+Hargrave's fire.  Descending the hill, he made his way along a valley,
+which was of far greater extent than the one he had just discovered near
+his cave.  He was struck with the number of birds--some of beautiful
+plumage, and others resembling barn door fowls, which were running about
+among the trees, picking up seeds and fruits fallen from the lofty
+boughs.  He caught sight of some small deer, but the moment they saw
+him, they scampered off as fleet as the wind.  Further off he came upon
+a small herd of queer-looking pigs.  They took to flight, and although
+Neptune made chase, they quickly distanced him.  Presently he heard a
+chattering above his head, and looking up he saw a number of very small
+monkeys, grinning out at him from among the boughs.  Impulsively he
+threw his stick at one of the nearest, but the monkey saw it coming, and
+quickly getting out of the way, clambered with its companions to the
+higher boughs, where a bullet alone could have reached it.
+
+"There's game enough here to support a ship's company," he thought; "but
+they only appear to tantalise me, and I may be doomed to starve in the
+midst of abundance."  Among the birds were numerous white cockatoos
+which flew over his head, but as he approached took good care to keep
+out of his way, while green pigeons, similar to those Neptune had
+brought him, were in great numbers, and evidently less timid.  Some flew
+close to him, or remained perched on the boughs, but though he threw his
+stick at several, he failed to bring one down.
+
+"I wonder that this island, like others in the neighbourhood, is not
+inhabited."  The thought then occurred to him that the volcano had
+either driven the natives away, or prevented them from occupying it,
+although the fertility of the valley through which he was walking showed
+that it was capable of supporting a tolerably numerous population.
+
+He went on and on, interested in the objects he saw, and almost
+forgetting his fatigue, being able occasionally to quench his thirst at
+the stream along the banks of which he made his way.  He cast a longing
+eye at several fruits hanging from the boughs of trees of the palm
+species, but they were all beyond his reach, and no way occurred to him
+of getting at them.  The chief inconvenience he suffered was from the
+want of a hat, as the sun beat down with intense force on his head, but
+although he had seen Richard Hargrave wearing one, it did not occur to
+him that he might manufacture a similar protection.  He at length
+remembered his white handkerchief, which he tied round his head, placing
+several layers of leaves beneath it, to add to its thickness.  This
+somewhat relieved him, but did not shelter his eyes and face.  At last
+he reached a hill of slight elevation, to the top of which he climbed.
+It overlooked a small picturesque bay.  On the nearest point was a large
+mass of wreck, apparently the bows of the ship, which, when she parted,
+had been driven there by the current and the fury of the hurricane.
+
+On one side, though at no great distance from the shore, was a neat hut,
+at which a person was working, whom he felt sure was Richard Hargrave.
+Neptune, on seeing him, bounded off without asking his master's leave,
+and Lord Reginald, to his intense disgust, saw the dog rush up and lick
+the hand of his rival, who patted him, then going into the hut, quickly
+came out with some pieces of meat, which he gave to the dog.
+
+The sight exasperated the young lord, so that, not considering the folly
+of what he was about, hurrying down the hill, he made his way towards
+Dick.
+
+The latter, who had mounted a ladder to continue his work, turning his
+head, saw him coming, and descended to meet him.
+
+"You scoundrel!" exclaimed the young lord, his features distorted with
+anger.  "You are trying to entice my dog from me by giving him food,
+which you might at all events have had the grace to offer to me, your
+officer."
+
+"I have no wish to entice your dog from you!" answered Dick; "and I
+would advise you to calm your anger, and listen to reason.  I sent you
+two pigeons I trapped, by your dog, first giving him a hearty meal, that
+he might not eat them on the way, and from your own lips I know that you
+received them, though you had not the grace to thank me, and declared
+that you could do very well without my assistance; so I left you to look
+after yourself, though I hadn't the heart to refuse to feed your dog,
+when I knew you would have nothing to give him."
+
+"That's false!" exclaimed Lord Reginald.  "I know full well that your
+object was to deprive me of my dog, for the faithful animal--though his
+instinct induces him to take the food--managed to break away from you,
+and to return to me, and had you really wished to assist me you might
+have sent some more of those pigeons, or any other provisions you have
+obtained."
+
+"It's of no use arguing with an angry man," retorted Dick.  "You accuse
+me of uttering falsehoods.  Again I assure you that I have spoken but
+the simple truth, and say that, as you have obstinately refused my
+assistance, you must take the consequences."
+
+"Impertinent scoundrel!" cried Lord Reginald.  "You dare to speak to me
+thus!  I desire you not again to feed my dog, or to let him remain if he
+comes to you.  He and I must forage for ourselves, and there's game
+enough in the island, so I shall be able to catch as much as I require
+for myself and him."
+
+"As you please," said Dick, turning aside, and whistling as he went on
+with his work, which the arrival of Lord Reginald had interrupted.
+
+The young lord, calling Neptune, who seemed very unwilling to leave,
+walked off, foaming with anger, and muttering, "I must put a stop to
+this, or it is impossible to say what he will next do!"  As he reached
+the top of the hill, he could not refrain from turning round, to watch
+the proceedings of his rival.
+
+Dick had built a good-sized hut under the shade of a grove of trees, and
+had dug up the ground in an open space near it, to form a garden, which
+he had begun to rail in.  "The fellow seems determined to make himself
+at home, as if he expected to live here for years to come.  A low-born
+fellow has mechanical talents such as I don't possess; they certainly
+give him an advantage over me, under the circumstances in which we are
+placed, but I must see what I can do for myself.  My cave has only
+hitherto afforded me shelter, but should the wind blow strong and
+directly into it, I should not find it a comfortable abode.  I must try
+and build a hut for myself.  I don't see why I shouldn't, though it
+might not be so well finished as his.  But there's wreck enough on the
+shore for the purpose, though I shall be puzzled how to get it up.  Then
+about providing myself with food, I'll make a bow and arrows; I shall
+then be able to shoot some birds, or perhaps a deer, and occasionally a
+pig.  Anything would be better than being beholden to that fellow.  It
+is important that I should show how independent I am of him."
+
+Such thoughts occupied the young lord's mind as he continued his walk
+along the valley, Neptune every now and then giving chase to a deer or a
+hog, but the animals scampered off, soon leaving him far behind, and on
+each occasion he came slinking back to his master, greatly disconcerted
+at his want of success.
+
+"I see, poor fellow, you are not more likely to catch one of those
+creatures than I am," he said.  "We must try what we can do in some
+other way.  We need not starve in the midst of abundance, that's very
+certain."  He looked about carefully on every side for a young sapling
+or a tree of some flexible character of which he might form a bow, but
+he was too ignorant of their nature to know which to select.
+
+"I must try them first, perhaps I shall hit upon one which will answer
+my purpose."
+
+At last he came to a small straight stem.  "This will do, at all
+events," he thought, and he set to work with his knife to cut it down.
+As the knife was blunt, he made but slow progress.  Even when it was
+down, he would have to pare off the lower part, so as to make it of the
+same size as the upper.  At length by cutting round and round, he made a
+notch of sufficient depth to enable him to break off the stem.
+Shouldering his prize, he walked on to the cave, which he thought would
+be cooler than any other spot.
+
+Poor Nep followed him, wondering what was going to happen.  On measuring
+the sapling he found that he might have cut it much higher up and saved
+himself a great deal of trouble.  The bow, were he to use it of its
+present length, would be much too long.  He had therefore to remedy this
+by cutting off two feet at the bottom end.  He then peeled it and began
+shaping the stick by paring off the thicker end.  He had shaped it very
+much to his satisfaction, before it occurred to him to try and bend the
+bow.  What was his annoyance to find, on making the attempt, that bend
+it would not.  It would have formed a very good lance, had he retained
+the full length, but it was useless for a bow.  Again and again he tried
+to bend it.  Using all his force, he felt it yield in his hand, and
+presently it snapped across.  He threw it to the ground with an
+exclamation of disgust, and for a few minutes felt utterly dispirited.
+
+"I ought to have tried it first to ascertain whether it was of the
+nature of the yew.  Surely savages in this region use bows.  There must
+be wood suited for the purpose, so that if I can find it, I ought to be
+able to make as good a bow as they can."
+
+While occupied he had not felt hungry, but as he began to move about, he
+was reminded by his sensations that he must find something to eat.  He
+felt a dislike to making another meal off the shell-fish, but he knew
+that unless he should be successful in catching some bird or animal he
+would be compelled to do so.  Neptune also showed that he was conscious
+of the necessity of providing for the inner man.  The moment he saw his
+master get up, he bounded forward, leaping and frisking about to
+encourage him to proceed.
+
+Poor Lord Reginald, as he walked on after the dog, felt downcast and
+faint.  By going to Richard Hargrave and apologising for his conduct, he
+might have obtained all he required, but he would rather starve than do
+that.
+
+As he reached the valley he saw a large number of white cockatoos and
+green pigeons flying about, and preparing to roost for the night.
+
+"If I can manage to steal on some of those fellows at night, I might
+catch a few; that, perhaps, is the way Hargrave gets them."
+
+But that was a long time to wait with the possibility of not succeeding,
+and so Neptune thought, for he went ranging far and wide, evidently
+looking for food.
+
+Going to the fountain, Lord Reginald took a draught of cold water,
+hoping that it might stay his hunger.  Though it somewhat refreshed him,
+he soon became more eager than ever for food, and sat down on the bank
+to consider how he could possibly obtain it.  In vain he had thrown
+sticks and stones at birds.  Perhaps he might form some traps, as he
+knew that such means were used for catching birds, but how to construct
+them was the puzzle.  He turned the matter over and over again in his
+mind, and discovered that he had no inventive genius.  "I shall have to
+go back to the shellfish, after all," he said, with a sigh; "but I must
+get a stick for a bow.  I will try two or three, out of which one surely
+will answer the purpose."
+
+Weak as he was, he again got up, and searching about for the sort of
+wood he wanted, he fixed on a couple of saplings and the branch of a
+tree.  He intended to make the string by untwisting some of the rope
+from the wreck, while there were plenty of reeds by the side of the
+stream which he thought would serve as arrows, though how to form heads
+he had not yet decided.  He hoped that by working away by the light of
+his fire, he might get a bow finished before the morning.
+
+He intended to test the sticks before bestowing labour on any of them,
+but in the mean time it was absolutely necessary to get some food, for
+he felt so weak that he could scarcely drag himself back to his cave.
+Nep was certainly of the same opinion in regard to the necessity of
+finding provisions, as he continued hunting round and round in all
+directions, occasionally stopping and barking eagerly at a monkey, which
+looked down at him from a high branch, or at an opossum, to one of which
+he gave chase, but the creature got up a tree before he could reach it,
+and from its hollow kept looking at the strange animal which had invaded
+its native domains.  At last Lord Reginald saw Nep run to the top of a
+mound, which he observed in an open space in the wood.  It appeared to
+be composed of sticks, dead leaves, stones, rotten wood, earth, and
+rubbish of all sorts.  The mound was between five and six feet high, and
+fully twelve feet across.  He thought it must be the grave of some of
+the aborigines who had once inhabited the island, but the dog was
+evidently of opinion that it contained something worth looking after, as
+he began scratching away with might and main, in so eager a manner, that
+Lord Reginald was induced to go up and ascertain what he was about.
+
+Nep had already dug a deep hole, and on looking into it, his master saw,
+to his surprise and satisfaction, a number of eggs as large as those of
+a swan, of a red brick colour.  Stooping down, he eagerly picked up one
+of them, which he broke and found that it was perfectly sweet.  Here was
+a storehouse, which would supply him with an abundance of excellent
+food.
+
+Having collected as many eggs as he could carry in his handkerchief,
+calling Nep, who seemed in no way disposed to leave the treasure, he set
+off for his cave.  Making up his fire, he put three of his eggs under
+the ashes to cook, the only way he could think of to dress them, while
+he ate a portion of the one he had broken, which, though raw, was
+palatable, and contributed to allay the pangs of hunger.  The remainder
+he gave to Nep, who eagerly gobbled it up, showing how hungry he had
+become.
+
+That the eggs were laid by birds, he had no doubt, though of what
+species they were he was unable to determine.  He resolved, however, to
+return next morning, and to wait near the spot, supposing that they must
+be large birds, and that he should be able to kill one, which would
+afford him ample food for a day or two.  "I shall then be as well off as
+that fellow Hargrave," he thought to himself, "and I at all events shall
+be independent of him."
+
+Having finished his supper, he commenced making a bow.  One only of the
+sticks appeared suitable for the purpose.  On bending it, back it sprang
+with considerable force.  While still working away by the light of his
+waning fire, sleep so completely overpowered him, that he let fall his
+knife, and the stick of his bow by his side, while his head bent down
+over his breast.  When he awoke, his fire was almost out, and as he
+could see to work no more, he crept back into his cave, where he lay
+down to sleep, with Nep, as usual, by his side.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWELVE.
+
+A TRYING TIME--THE FATAL CRASH--BEN RUDALL'S LAST EFFORT--AMONG THE
+BREAKERS--THROWN ON SHORE--THE FIRST SHELTER--THE CARPENTER'S CHEST--
+SETTING TRAPS--A VERY SATISFACTORY MEAL--VISIT OF NEP--A PRESENT FOR
+LORD REGINALD--DICK BUILDING HIS HUT--MEETING OF THE RIVAL CRUSOES--
+SUPPLIES STOPPED--COLLECTING STORES--BOAT-BUILDING--USEFUL EMPLOYMENT OF
+TIME--CONSTRUCTING A COT--THE MEGAPODES--A CROSSBOW.
+
+We must now go back to the night of the shipwreck.  Dick, with Ben
+Rudall and several other men, had been stationed forward, and remained
+at their posts when land was first seen under the lee.
+
+"There'll be a watery grave for most of us," said Ben when the cry arose
+of "Land, land!" often so cheering to seamen, but on the present
+occasion of such dreadful import.
+
+"We must have a struggle for our lives, at all events," said Dick.
+"Better than going down in mid-ocean, without a plank to cling to."
+
+"You don't know what a surf like that breaking on a lee-shore under your
+lee can do!" observed an old salt, who stood holding on to the bulwarks
+with one hand, while he searched for a quid of tobacco with the other.
+
+"They would grind up a stout ship like this in a few minutes if she
+strikes.  It can't be helped; I'll take one chaw, though it may be my
+last, and I only wish that I could get a glass or two of grog.  It would
+make one feel more comfortable like."
+
+"We can do without grog, surely," said Dick.  "It strikes me that we
+ought to try and keep our senses wide awake, so that we can judge of
+what's best to be done.  I for one shall struggle to the last, and hope
+to reach the beach in spite of the surf, either on a spar or a piece of
+wreck."
+
+"We arn't wrecked yet; maybe we shall be able to run into some cove or
+other where we can bring up."
+
+"Not unless we had a pilot on board who knows the coast.  From what I
+hear, none of the officers have ever been in these seas before, and we
+have little chance of dropping anchor in a safe harbour."
+
+The gale came down with increased fury.  "Hold on, lads, for your
+lives!" cried Ben, who had cast one anxious look to leeward.  "Keep
+clear of the falling masts, for before a minute is over we shall be on
+shore!"
+
+Scarcely had he spoken than there came a fearful crash.  The masts went
+by the board.  The sea, with thundering roars, broke over the doomed
+ship.  Crash succeeded crash.  The shrieks of those carried away could
+be heard every moment.  Dick kept to his resolution of clinging tightly
+to a stanchion.  Presently came the final crash, when the _Marie_ parted
+amidships, and those forward found themselves separated from their
+companions.  The sea twisted the bow round and floated it away, but it
+still held together.  "We shall be carried off from the land!" cried Ben
+Rudall.  "We had better try to get hold of some spars and float ashore."
+
+"I thought you advised us to cling to the ship as long as she held
+together," observed Dick.
+
+"But she's not holding together," answered Ben.  "To my mind, she'll
+either go down in deep water, or go to pieces when we are too far off to
+reach the shore."
+
+Still Dick had made up his mind to stick to the ship.
+
+"Well, mates, who's for the shore?" cried Ben.
+
+"Only those who are tired of life!" said the old seaman; "the wise ones
+will stick to the wreck.  The chances are that will be cast on the
+beach, where we shall have a better chance of landing."
+
+Ben, however, still adhered to the belief that they would have a better
+prospect of saving their lives by clinging to some of the floating mass
+than by holding on to the forecastle, over which the sea was continually
+washing.
+
+Several, while doubting what to do, were swept from their hold, and had
+no choice given them.  Ben, with three others, got hold of some pieces
+of timber.
+
+"If you escape and I get drowned, give my love to poor Susan and the
+children.  Say that my last thoughts were about them," cried Ben, as he
+threw himself after his companions.
+
+Dick and the old seaman alone remained.  The mass of wreck was tossed
+wildly about for some minutes, being swept by a current parallel to the
+shore, until at length, lifted by a sea, it drove on a reef, when the
+next sea rolling up, carried its two occupants overboard, together with
+several fragments of the bulwarks which it had torn off.
+
+Striking out for his life, Dick succeeded in getting hold of a piece of
+timber.  As he did so he heard a cry, and glancing in the direction from
+whence it came, he dimly saw his late companion through the gloom, lift
+up his arms and sink amidst the foaming waters.  Dick held fast to the
+timber.  Although not a bad swimmer, he knew that he should have but
+little chance of keeping afloat in that boiling cauldron.  The seas
+washed him on nearer and nearer the shore, when just as he felt his
+strength failing him, he found that the timber had grounded; so letting
+it go he scrambled up before the next wave overtook him, and reached the
+dry sand, on which he threw himself, well-nigh exhausted by his
+exertions.  Soon recovering, he looked out, in the hopes that some of
+his shipmates might be thrown up on the same beach, but though he for
+long watched anxiously, running up and down along the whole circuit of
+the bay, he saw no one, and came to the melancholy conclusion that all
+on board excepting himself had been lost.
+
+Numerous articles, besides masses of wreck, were, however, cast on
+shore, and those which appeared the most valuable he made every exertion
+to secure.  Among them was a large chest, which he hoped by its weight
+to have belonged to the carpenter.  Though unable to haul it up beyond
+where the water had floated it, having found a rope he made it fast to
+the handle, and carried the other end to the trunk of a tree.  In vain
+he looked out during the time, in the hope of seeing any of his
+shipmates coming on shore; he feared all had been drowned or washed
+away.  At length he made out amid the foam two bodies floating at no
+great distance from the shore.  They both appeared lashed to pieces of
+timber.  They might still be alive.
+
+He dashed into the water, just as the sea sent one of the pieces of
+wreck close to him, when seizing it he dragged it up, and instantly
+casting off the lashings, carried the man up to the dry beach.  He then
+dashed forward again, and succeeded in getting hold of the spar to which
+the second man was lashed.  It cost him much labour, and he was very
+nearly carried out himself, but by exerting all his strength he
+succeeded at length in getting the spar also up to the beach.
+
+Cutting the man loose, he carried the body up and placed it beside that
+of his companion.  He then set to work to try and restore the men to
+life, rubbing their hands and chests, but all his efforts were in vain.
+As far as he could tell, they were the only people who had reached the
+beach.  He thought of poor Ben.  He still had some hopes that he might
+have been washed on shore, but although he called his name several
+times, no answer was returned.
+
+Finding that all his efforts were vain, he then got up, wishing to
+procure some shelter for himself during the inclement night.  Observing
+the mizzen rigging with a piece of sail entangled among it, he cut the
+canvas loose, and contrived with a couple of bales and some pieces of
+board, to rig up a rough hut.
+
+The storm abated and the moon shone out for a short time, enabling him
+to complete his work.  Scarcely was it finished than down came the rain,
+and he was glad to crawl in and obtain rest.  He slept on until morning.
+Immediately on getting up he went down to the beach on the chance of
+finding any of his companions, but no one was visible, either alive or
+dead.  There were, however, a number of articles and masses of wreck
+floating or cast on shore, while the bows of the ship still hung
+together at the end of the reef.  Hunger reminded him that he must look
+out for food.  The trees and shrubs he saw growing inland gave him hopes
+of finding provision for his wants.
+
+His first care was to form a covering for his head, as he had already
+found the heat of the sun excessive, and he had lost his hat during his
+swim ashore.  He had often seen the seamen on board form straw hats.  He
+at once looked out for such leaves as would serve the purpose of straw,
+and soon finding some, he sat down under a tree and diligently set to
+work.  The fibre of the leaf served as thread, the thick stem as a
+needle.  Certainly the hat was not over well shaped, but it answered the
+purpose of protecting his head and neck from the burning rays of the
+sun.
+
+His next idea was to obtain such food as the sea would afford.  Without
+difficulty he collected as many shell-fish as he required from the reef,
+and was returning with them when he saw a cask, which from its
+appearance he hoped contained biscuits.  He at once rolled it up to his
+hut, then set about collecting wood for a fire.
+
+He easily found a supply of dry sticks which, with some pieces of wreck,
+were amply sufficient for his wants.  As he was collecting the sticks he
+was delighted to see the number of birds as well as animals inhabiting
+the island.
+
+"If I can catch you fellows, I shall have no want of food," he observed.
+"I must set my wits to work, and make some traps."
+
+A couple of large clam shells which he had found on the beach, served to
+carry water.  He had in his pocket a flint and steel, with which he soon
+managed to produce a blaze.  While the shell-fish were cooking, he
+opened the cask, which he found contained flour.  Though the outside was
+wet, by digging down to a little depth, he found the interior perfectly
+dry.  A clam shell served him as a kneading-dish, and he quickly made
+some dough cakes, which he baked in the embers.  He was thus able to
+enjoy a very satisfactory breakfast, although he had cold water alone as
+a beverage.  There were a number of other casks and cases, and he hoped
+to find among them some more flour, and perhaps some tea or coffee, and
+salt beef or pork.
+
+The first thing to be done was to secure all the articles which came on
+the beach, before another tide should float them off.  He at once set
+about this.  It was somewhat hard work, for many of the cases were
+heavy, and he could with difficulty drag them over the soft sand.
+Having drawn up all he could see floating on the shores of the bay, he
+bethought him that by going further to the south, he might find others
+in the bay off which the ship struck.
+
+He accordingly set out, and climbing over the intervening rocks, what
+was his surprise on looking down to see a person at work, whom he
+recognised as Lord Reginald.  He at once guessed how he was employed.
+
+"It isn't fair to let him do that work all alone, though I'd rather have
+kept clear of him, and very likely he'll not take in good part whatever
+offer I make," he said to himself.
+
+He approached, and was received as he expected.  The interview has
+already been described.  Dick felt a sincere grief when he found Ben
+Rudall's body among the drowned; it was not likely that any others had
+escaped.  The headland which extended away to the westward, would
+prevent any persons landing on that side, and he felt sure that Lord
+Reginald and he were the only people who had escaped from the wreck.
+
+The treatment he received made him resolve not to trouble Lord Reginald
+in future with his company.  "He'll come to his senses by-and-by, and
+find out that he and I are pretty much on an equality, or rather that I
+have the advantage of him, as I shall be able to get on much better than
+he does," thought Dick.
+
+From the first, he saw the necessity of providing for his daily wants.
+He must look out for food, and erect some shelter for himself.  The hut
+in which he had spent the first night was hot and close, and though it
+might serve him until he could get a better habitation erected, he was
+anxious to build a more substantial place to live in.  He was desirous,
+also, without delay, to examine the large chest.  It would have been a
+difficult task to get it beyond the reach of the sea, even should Lord
+Reginald have condescended to help him.  He considered, therefore, how
+he could best do it alone.  There were several broken spars about.
+These he collected, and managed, by digging away the sand, to place them
+so as to serve as rollers beneath the chest.  He then picked up several
+blocks, with which he formed a tackle, and secured it to the stump of a
+tree.  By hauling away with all his might, he found that he could move
+the chest, and by shifting the rollers by degrees he hauled it up beyond
+high-water mark.  The next difficulty to be overcome was to get it open.
+He had no tools to work with, and without tools it would baffle the
+strength of fifty men.  Looking about, however, he discovered a large
+flat stone which might, he hoped, serve as a wedge; after a further
+search he picked up another heavy round stone, and armed with these he
+began to work away at the lock.  It resisted for some time, but by
+hammering away with might and main the lock yielded, and the interior,
+full of carpenter's tools and numerous other articles, was revealed to
+his sight.  He had now the means of building a comfortable house.  He
+had been taught to handle tools by a carpenter in his younger days, and
+he had also--which was of great importance--often formed traps for the
+purpose of catching birds and animals, so that he might thus supply
+himself with food.  He saw a number of green pigeons, which appeared
+very tame, and lots of cockatoos, though they looked too wise to be
+trapped.
+
+Selecting such of the tools as he thought he should require, he
+collected a quantity of wood, and took them up to the shade of the
+nearest tree, where he could work in tolerable comfort.  In a short time
+he had formed three traps, similar to those made by boys in England to
+catch sparrows, but of much larger dimensions.
+
+Having picked up a quantity of seed fallen from the trees, for bait, he
+set them in different places apart, where from a distance he could
+command a sight of them.  He watched eagerly, and soon had the
+satisfaction of seeing one go down, and directly afterwards the other
+two.  He ran up to secure his prizes.  Each had caught a pigeon, and
+wringing their necks he reset the traps, and returned to his tree.  Some
+dry fungus served him for tinder.  Having his flint and steel, he struck
+a spark and soon had a fire blazing.  He plucked one of the pigeons and
+set it on to roast, considering that it would be sufficient for one
+meal, and intending to keep the other two.  He then made some dough
+cakes, which he cooked as before, on a large stone surrounded by ashes.
+He had begun his meal when he saw Nep ranging in the distance.  He
+called the dog to him, and observing his hungry look, gave him the
+remainder of the pigeon and some dough cake.  The dog, having eaten what
+was bestowed upon him, looked still anxious.
+
+"I see what it is; you are thinking of your master, old fellow.  Now you
+take back that bird.  He is probably very hungry, and you may tell him I
+sent it, if you like.  I don't suppose he will refuse to eat it, even if
+he knows where it comes from.  Now mind, Nep, don't you stop on the way
+and bolt it down, or I shall be obliged to give you a thrashing when you
+come back."
+
+Nep seemed fully to understand what he was to do.  Taking the bird up
+with as much care as if it were alive, he set off in the direction of
+the cave.
+
+"He'll do it," said Dick, well satisfied with himself.  "I couldn't bear
+to have him starve, while I am enjoying an ample meal.  The chances are
+that he hasn't got the sense to obtain anything for himself.  Nep might
+be able to catch some animals for him, but he won't succeed in getting
+hold of a bird."
+
+Dick felt much more satisfied with himself after this.  He now began to
+consider how he could make himself comfortable.  While setting his traps
+he had observed several trees which bore fruit, and he therefore felt
+convinced he should be able to obtain as much food as he required,
+besides any fish he might catch.  On searching the carpenter's chest, he
+found a number of hooks of all sizes, together with some fine line, so
+that he might go out fishing as soon as he had time.  Several of the
+bales consisted of cotton or linen cloth, and another prize was a box
+belonging to one of the officers, which contained clothes, shoes, some
+nautical instruments, a spyglass, and several books, which, although
+they were in French, were better than none at all, as he might by their
+means teach himself that language.
+
+Having collected all the wood which had drifted ashore from the wreck,
+he dragged it up by means of his tackle, and he had soon enough to build
+a small hut.  He lost no time in making a commencement.  The tropical
+rains, he thought, might soon begin, and it was important to get under
+shelter before then.  He settled to build his hut in such a way that he
+might increase its size as he could procure more materials.  At present
+his plan was to build the frame of drift wood, and then to cover it over
+with planks, for which he might cut down trees and saw them up into
+boards.
+
+For some time, however, his progress was slow, as he was compelled to
+look out for provisions.  For this purpose he had to form several more
+traps, as sometimes whole days passed without those he had at first set
+catching a bird.  Neptune paid him another visit, and he sent a second
+pigeon by the dog to Lord Reginald.  Remembering that several articles
+had been thrown up on the beach of the smaller bay on which Lord
+Reginald had been cast, he thought that he would ascertain if there were
+any things worth having among them.  He set off, therefore, armed with a
+stick for this purpose.  He was going along the beach, eagerly looking
+out for whatever he could draw on shore, when he saw Lord Reginald
+engaged in burying the midshipman.
+
+The coldness with which his overtures were received made him determine
+to leave Lord Reginald to his own devices.
+
+"He'll soon find out how well he can get on alone," he said to himself,
+and turning on his heel he went back to his hut.  "If the foolish fellow
+chooses to starve, there's no reason why the poor dog should.  If he
+comes, I'll do my best to feed him, at all events."
+
+Dick had now plenty of work before him.  His spirits rose as he laboured
+away, and he made good progress with his hut.  It was almost fit for
+occupation.  As long as he could procure nourishing food without
+difficulty, he devoted himself without interruption to the work.
+Neptune paid his visits as before, and Dick fed him well, but would give
+him no food to carry to his master.
+
+"No, no," he said; "he boasts that he can feed himself, let him do so.
+If he starve, that's not my look-out, but you, poor brute, deserve being
+cared for."  At length, to Dick's surprise, Lord Reginald made his
+appearance.  At first Dick hoped he had come with overtures of peace,
+but the young lord's haughty bearing and outrageous remarks convinced
+him that there was little hope of their living on amicable terms
+together.
+
+"Let him go and live by himself as best he can," said Dick.  "I should
+have liked to have had a companion, but I would rather be without one
+than be compelled to associate with so ill-tempered a fellow as he is."
+And he went on boring holes and hammering on the planks of his house.
+Next day Nep made his appearance, begging for food, which Dick gave him,
+but though he had several pigeons, he would not send one by him.
+
+Nep stayed on, hoping to get it, but Dick was determined that the young
+lord should be made to feel his own helplessness.  "If he want food for
+himself, he must come and ask for it," he said; "he chose to despise my
+former presents, and I intend to teach him which is the best man of the
+two."
+
+Dick soon got his hut roofed in, so that should rain come on, he would
+be under shelter.  He had still to make furniture for it, and to build a
+storehouse and other conveniences.
+
+Before commencing these operations, he bethought him of the best means
+of securing a supply of provisions, so that he need not be interrupted
+in his work.
+
+During two or three excursions he had made through the valley, he had
+seen the number of birds and animals inhabiting it.  The pigs, he
+thought, he could catch in pitfalls, though it might be a task of some
+difficulty without an iron spade to dig them in hard ground, but he was
+not to be daunted, and he determined to form some instrument with which
+to accomplish his purpose.
+
+Then he thought, "I ought to have a canoe to go out fishing, while the
+fine weather lasts."  As he wandered about, he looked out for a tree to
+suit his purpose.  He found one of sufficient girth and length, with a
+perfectly straight trunk, though whether the nature of the wood was
+suitable for a canoe, he could not ascertain, except by cutting it down.
+He had often felled trees at home, but without an axe he could do
+nothing.  He went back to the carpenter's chest, in the hopes of finding
+one.  Searching among the tools, at the bottom he discovered three spare
+heads.  He had, however, to fix a handle to one of them.  The first
+thing to be done was to find a piece of wood suited for the purpose.
+After hunting for some time, he discovered a piece of oak, washed ashore
+from the wreck.  On measuring it, he ascertained that it was large
+enough to form three handles.  Before, however, he could use a saw to
+his satisfaction, he considered that it would be necessary to form a
+stool, which he did from a piece of plank, with four stout legs fixed in
+the ground, close to his hut.  He could now shape the handles without
+difficulty.  Having sawn out one, he set to work with chisel and plane,
+and quickly formed a long handle which pleased him well.  Fixing it
+securely in the axe-head, he poised it, and found that it was all he
+could desire.
+
+Throwing off his jacket and waistcoat, rolling up his shirt sleeves, and
+fastening a handkerchief round his waist, he set to work, and began
+chopping away at the trunk of the tree, on the lee side, so that, the
+last stroke being given on the weather side, it might fall without fear
+of crushing him.  He laboured away without cessation until he had cut
+through nearly half the tree, when his arms began to ache.  He stopped,
+retiring to a little distance to contemplate his work.  "Another two
+hours will do it, and I should like to get it down before dark," he
+exclaimed.
+
+The wood was tolerably soft.  This gave him hopes that he should be able
+to shape it without difficulty.  His first idea had been to form only a
+fishing punt, which would enable him to go off a short distance from the
+land, or to visit the various bays in the island, where fish might
+abound.  But as he considered the size of the tree, he thought it might
+be as well to construct one large enough to cross to any of the islands
+to the northward, which he knew to exist in that direction.  For some
+thirty feet the trunk was almost of the same circumference.  By adding
+weather boards, and decking over a portion of the stern and head, he
+might form a boat of a size sufficient to venture on a long voyage.
+
+After resting himself, he again set to work, until he had cut into the
+heart of the tree.  Having penetrated deeply into the tree on the lee
+side, he now stood on the weather side, and prepared to give the
+finishing strokes.  After every stroke, he watched to see in which
+direction the tree was bending, that he might spring out of the way, in
+an opposite one to which it tended.  At length, the wood began to crack,
+and the tall tree hung over on the side he expected.  He plied his axe
+with redoubled vigour, when, tottering for a moment, down it came with a
+crash, making the earth around tremble, and throwing up a cloud of dust
+and leaves.  He uttered a shout of satisfaction as he saw the first part
+of his work accomplished.  In his eagerness, he would have begun shaping
+it out immediately, but darkness had come on, and prevented him from
+working.  He had been so engaged, that he had forgotten all about his
+food.  Hurrying to his traps, he found a couple of pigeons, which he
+hastily plucked, and, having made up his fire, put on to roast.  While
+they were cooking, he kneaded some small dough cakes.
+
+"I wish that foolish fellow had more sense; I would gladly have given
+him some of these," he thought.  "The chances are he hasn't been able to
+kill anything.  Hunger, however, will perhaps bring him to his senses,
+and I shall have him here begging.  I can't have the heart to refuse
+him, though he ought to be made to feel his own helplessness."  Having
+finished his supper, Dick hung up the other bird, and put away his cakes
+for breakfast, that he might set to work as soon as it was daylight.
+
+He had not hitherto formed a bed-place for himself, being content to
+sleep on the ground, with some canvas and cloth from one of the bales,
+which he had first well dried in the sun, for a covering.  Being very
+tired, he lay down, but fancied that he felt creatures crawling over
+him, so he resolved to make a cot before the next night, that he might
+sleep more comfortably.  He had noticed some palm needles and a quantity
+of twine in the carpenter's chest, which would be of great service.  He
+awoke before daylight, but afraid of losing time, he remained awake,
+thinking over his plans, until he saw the first gleams of dawn breaking
+in the eastern sky.  He then at once rose and went down to the beach to
+take a bath, splashing about all the time he was in the water, and
+looking out seawards, in case of sharks or other dangerous creatures
+being near.  Thoroughly refreshed, he returned on shore.  Having
+dressed, he went back to his hut to commence his work for the day.  He
+was so eager to get his boat finished that he would at once have begun
+on that, but there were other things of more immediate importance.  The
+first was to see that his traps were properly set, as he knew that he
+was more likely to catch birds in the morning when they came down to
+feed, than at other times in the day.  It took him, however, some time
+to collect the nuts and other fallen fruits on which the birds fed.  As
+he was thus employed, he counted several different species, mostly of
+beautiful plumage, while a number of monkeys played on the boughs above
+his head, chattering furiously, as if to ask him where he came from.
+
+"If the birds fly away, I shall be able to catch some of you fellows, at
+all events," he said, looking up at them.  "I have heard say that some
+people do eat monkeys, though I would rather have any other meat.  I'd
+sooner have one of those deer or hogs I see scampering away there;
+though, as I have not much chance of finding a gun and powder, I must
+make a crossbow and arrows.  I used to shoot pretty well with one; if I
+can get the right sort of wood I have no doubt I could make one that
+would carry fifty yards or so, and I dare say that I should be able to
+kill some of those fellows, by lying in ambush, or creeping up to them.
+I'm sure, at all events, that I can knock over as many monkeys as I
+require."  Having set his traps, he ate the remainder of his pigeon and
+some of the dough cakes, which he washed down with a draught of pure
+water.
+
+He then began on his cot.  He might have made a hammock with far less
+difficulty, but it would require more space to hang than his hut
+afforded, and would not be altogether so comfortable as a cot.
+
+With two long poles and two short ones for the head and foot, he formed
+a framework, to which he secured canvas.  Then fastening on the
+knittles, he secured a couple of blocks to the rafters of the hut, and
+thus formed a satisfactory sleeping-place.
+
+With some of the cloth he made a pillow and mattress, which he stuffed
+with dried leaves, while another piece of cloth served as a coverlid of
+sufficient thickness for that climate.  "I shall want a table and stool,
+and I must see if I can find any plates and dishes, mugs, or a
+saucepan."  He very soon had fallen into the habit of talking to
+himself.
+
+The day was wearing on.  He had seen nothing of Lord Reginald nor of
+Neptune.  He was surprised that the dog had not paid him a visit, but
+concluded that he had found sufficient food for himself and his master,
+or that he would certainly have done so.  Dick accordingly began to plan
+his canoe.  He had found pencils and paper in the well-stored
+carpenter's chest.  He drew the proposed shape of the stem and stern.
+His chief doubt was about the length.  He finally settled to make the
+canoe thirty feet long.  The tree was upwards of four feet in diameter.
+He proposed to make the gunwale two feet above this by raising it all
+round, and he thus hoped to get a craft of sufficient beam to carry
+cargo and go through a considerable amount of sea.  He had the whole
+plan more clearly defined in his own mind than he could have designed it
+on paper.  His first business was to chop off the bark and to saw the
+two ends even; then to level one side of the tree, cutting off rather
+more than one-third.  On the level thus formed, he drew a line from one
+end to the other, carefully measuring it so that both sides might be
+equal.  He next marked off from his drawing the shape of the bow and
+stern.  By the time these operations were completed it was again night.
+He determined that nothing except what was absolutely necessary should
+stop him until he could finish it.  He intended to fix on a keel and
+stern, so that the boat might carry sail.  While on board the _Wolf_, he
+had often heard the warrant officers discuss the best form of boat.  The
+carpenter described the canoes in those seas with outriggers, which
+would prevent them upsetting.  Dick had comprehended the object of
+these; indeed, the carpenter had shown him some prints in Captain Cook's
+voyages, which enabled him still better to understand the use of such
+contrivances.  Though Dick was highly proud of his proposed craft, he
+was fully sensible of the importance of procuring food.
+
+Next morning when he went to his traps, he found that no birds had been
+taken.  He concluded that, seeing so many of their companions caught,
+the rest had become wary, but he saw many others of different species,
+which he hoped either to trap or shoot.  To do this he must manufacture
+his proposed crossbow.  Without loss of time, taking an axe and saw with
+him, he set out in search of the necessary wood, for none of that from
+the wreck was likely to answer the purpose.  He went on through the
+broad valley, until he arrived at the smaller one, in which was the
+spring whence Lord Reginald procured his supply of water.  He looked
+out, but could see nothing of either the young lord or his dog.  As he
+passed through the wood, he observed several birds; they had large feet
+and long curved claws, and were about the size of a small barn-door
+fowl.  Their plumage was mostly of a dark olive colour, with tints of
+brown on the other parts.  They were busily employed in eating fallen
+fruits, and picking up worms and insects, running about here and there
+at a great rate.  Curious to observe them, he hid himself behind a tree,
+when he saw some, evidently hens, hopping to the top of a large mound,
+where having scraped away the earth to a considerable depth, they each
+deposited an egg, covering it up again with the greatest care.
+
+"Oh, oh!" thought Dick, "if your eggs are fit to eat, I shall have a
+good store of provision," and going to the mound he soon shovelled away
+the earth, beneath which he found a good number of eggs.  These he
+deposited carefully in a handkerchief, wrapping them up with leaves, to
+prevent them breaking.
+
+The birds were a species of megapode, which are found chiefly in
+Australia and Borneo and the intermediate islands.  They are allied to
+the gallinaceous birds but differ from them in never sitting upon their
+eggs, which, thus buried in vegetable rubbish, are left to be hatched by
+heat and fermentation.  It is said that a number of birds unite in
+forming these mounds, and lay their eggs together, but take no further
+care of their offspring.  As soon as the little birds are hatched, they
+run away from the mound, and at once begin picking up food suitable to
+them, trusting to their speed to escape from their foes.  Dick, of
+course, knew nothing of this, but was well satisfied at finding so large
+a supply of fresh-laid eggs.  He was also not aware that it was the very
+mound from which Lord Reginald had obtained the only food, besides
+shell-fish, he had been able to procure since his arrival in the island.
+Dick would certainly not otherwise have carried them off.  Reaching the
+sea-shore, he turned back, for fear of encountering Lord Reginald, as he
+had no wish to have another interview with one who received his advances
+so ill.
+
+"I suppose that he will manage to kill or trap some of those birds for
+himself," he thought, "or, if he is hard up, that he'll come back and
+ask my assistance.  Meantime I must see what I can do for myself."
+After hunting about and trying a number of trees, he selected four
+branches of wood, on which he meant to try experiments to ascertain
+which was most suited for a crossbow.  The stock and string he would
+have no difficulty in forming.  He had the whole plan clearly in his
+head, and now he had got the eggs, which would last him for two or three
+days, he was in no hurry to finish it.  He found a piece of deal, which
+could be easily worked, and he immediately commenced cutting it into
+shape, using his saw, plane, and chisel.  The first piece of wood he
+tried for the bow broke.  He had to take another, which bent easily
+enough, but had not sufficient spring.  With the third he was more
+successful, and was fully satisfied that it would answer his purpose.
+He formed a string by twisting several lengths of twine tightly
+together, and he found that he could send a bolt of wood between thirty
+and forty yards.  By the light of his fire he worked away until late in
+the night, when he was compelled from sleepiness to turn into his cot,
+with which he was well pleased.  It formed a comfortable couch, and
+neither crabs, nor beetles, nor centipedes, nor other creeping things
+came near him.  Still, he could not go to sleep.  His thoughts
+constantly reverted to the poor young lord, who was resting in his
+cavern with dry sand, or a bed of leaves, at best, for his couch.
+
+"Though he treats me with disdain, I ought not in consequence to allow
+him to perish.  He is proud and obstinate, but, of course, he hasn't
+liked the way I have spoken to him.  I hope to-morrow morning he'll
+think better of it, and will come to me for assistance, or will send
+Neptune.  It is hard that the poor dog should starve because his master
+and I have fallen out."
+
+Notwithstanding these thoughts which passed through Dick's mind, he did
+not feel inclined just then to set out in search of Lord Reginald.
+After thinking over what he would say to him if they met, satisfied with
+his good intentions, he fell asleep.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTEEN.
+
+SEEKING FOOD--DISAPPOINTED--SHAPING A BOW--REDUCED TO EXTREMITY--POOR
+NEP IN DISGRACE--FEVER--HOW DICK FARED--THE CROSSBOW BOLT--A
+CURING-HOUSE--NEPTUNE'S APPEAL FOR HELP--DICK TURNS NURSE--ALL BUT
+LOST--A CHANGE OF QUARTERS--LORD REGINALD'S DELIRIUM--FINDING JUICY
+FRUIT--THE RECOGNITION.
+
+Lord Reginald awoke with aching head and confused brain.  For some time
+he lay unable to collect his scattered thoughts.  At length he
+remembered how he had been engaged on the previous evening.  He saw the
+bow he was trying to form, by his side, and Neptune lying down at his
+feet, keeping watch.  As soon as the dog observed that his master was
+awake, he got up and licked his hands and face, trying to arouse him.
+
+"I see you want food; so do I," said Lord Reginald, sitting up.  "When I
+have finished the bow we shall have plenty.  In the mean time, we must
+get a supply of those eggs we found the other day."  He tried, as he
+spoke, to rise.  With some exertion he got on his feet, but felt
+scarcely able to walk.  Taking his stick, however, he managed to totter
+out of the cave.  The fresh air of the early morning somewhat revived
+him, and, followed by Neptune, he made his way towards the curious mound
+in which he had found the eggs.  He felt very giddy, and could scarcely
+drag his legs along.  The necessity of obtaining food, however,
+compelled him to proceed.  Nep kept by his side, looking up into his
+face, and wondering why he didn't move faster.  He had great difficulty
+in climbing to the top of the mound, and nearly sank down in the
+attempt.  At length he succeeded, when Nep ran forward and began
+scratching away as he had done before.  Lord Reginald, sinking to the
+ground, watched him.  "It appears to me as if some one has visited the
+place since I was last here," he thought.
+
+Nep continued scratching away, but no eggs appeared.  As Nep at length
+enlarged the hole, three eggs were disclosed to sight.  Lord Reginald
+broke one of them, and cast it from him with disgust, for it contained a
+nearly formed bird.  Nep, not being so particular as his master,
+supposing it was intended for him, without ceremony at once gobbled it
+up.  The second and the third egg were in the same condition.  Nep took
+them also as his share, and afterwards went on scratching away,
+apparently hoping to find more.  Lord Reginald was too weak to help him.
+
+"That fellow Hargrave has been here, and carried off all the sound eggs,
+leaving only these few for the sake of tantalising me," he exclaimed in
+a bitter tone.
+
+After Neptune had scratched over the whole top of the mound, Lord
+Reginald, finding that he had no chance of obtaining any eggs from it,
+made his way with tottering steps towards the fountain, at which he and
+Neptune, as usual, quenched their thirst.  It seemed to him, that he
+could never drink enough to allay the burning fever which raged within
+him.  Neptune ranged about, and showed a great inclination to set off in
+the direction of Richard Hargrave's hut, but Lord Reginald called him
+back, jealous of the regard he paid to his rival.
+
+"If you play me that trick, master Nep, I shall tie you up.  Remember, I
+will have no paying court to that fellow," he cried out.
+
+The dog came back with his tail between his legs, looking as if he would
+answer, "It will be your loss, master, but I obey you."
+
+Greatly refreshed by the water, Lord Reginald found that he had
+sufficient strength to get to the beach.  He managed, not without
+difficulty, to cut off from the rocks a further supply of clams, with
+which he returned to his cave.  He made up his fire, and dressed some of
+them.  Nep watched him, showing that the eggs had not sufficiently
+satisfied his hunger.  It was with difficulty, however, when cooked,
+that, hungry as he was, Lord Reginald could eat any of the shell-fish.
+Even had he been in full health and strength, such food was not
+sufficient, without vegetables, either to satisfy his hunger or keep him
+in health.
+
+"There, Nep," he said, throwing the remainder to his dog, "they'll suit
+you better than they do me."
+
+Nep ate them up, and then came and lay down by his master's side.
+
+"I must try and get this bow finished, old dog.  We will then try and
+procure some venison, or one of those hogs, if I cannot manage to shoot
+a bird," he said.
+
+He took up the stick he had been forming into a bow, and worked away as
+he had done on the previous night, but he had blunted his knife in
+cutting off the clams from the rocks, and had no means of sharpening it
+effectually.  He tried to do so on a flat piece of rock, and then on the
+sole of his shoe, but after an attempt he found that it was very little
+sharper than before.  He discovered, indeed, that he was ignorant of the
+way to sharpen a knife, as he was of most other arts.
+
+At length, however, the bow was finished in a rough fashion, with a
+notch at each end to hold the string, which had now to be formed.  He
+had first to untwist a piece of rope, then to divide it into small
+strands, and to twist them up again by means of a winch, which he
+manufactured like those he had seen on board.  The string was much
+thicker than he wished to make it, but he could not otherwise give it
+sufficient strength.  At last that was finished, and fitted to the bow.
+He had still the arrows to make.  He remembered the reeds he had seen
+growing by the side of the stream, and rising with difficulty, he
+dragged himself along, supported by his stick, until he reached the
+spot.  He selected a few of the requisite size and length, but with his
+blunt knife it took him a long time even to cut one, and his strength
+was almost exhausted before he had collected half a dozen.  With these
+he returned to the cave.
+
+The wings of the pigeons which Nep had left supplied him with feathers,
+which he bound on to one end.  His difficulty was to form points.  At
+first he thought that he could grind down some stones into the required
+shape, but after labouring away for some time, he had to give up the
+attempt.  He then tried some hard pieces of wood, which he cut into
+shape and then hardened in the fire.  Though not so heavy as he wished,
+he hoped that they might answer his purpose, and enable him to shoot
+straight for some distance.  He had been all day without food except
+such shell-fish as he had taken in the morning, and he felt little able
+to draw his bow with any effect.  As soon as he had finished his first
+arrow he got up, and placing it in the string, shot it along the shore.
+The arrow took a wavering flight, and flew some fifty yards or so,
+burying itself in the sand.  Nep got up to it, barking with delight,
+while Lord Reginald crawled after it.  On pulling it out, he found to
+his excessive vexation that the head had come off, and some time was
+expended in digging it out.  Observing that he had not formed a
+sufficiently deep notch to bind it on tightly, he remedied the error,
+and was tolerably well satisfied with the result.  Having finished the
+other five arrows, he set out, hoping to return with an ample supply of
+food.  If he could but kill one deer, or a pig, or two or three birds,
+he would have sufficient to feed both himself and Neptune.  The sun was
+still hot, but in his eagerness he thought little about it, and dragged
+himself along, hoping soon to see something at which to aim.
+
+He would not have disdained even a monkey, if he could kill nothing
+else.  He first made his way to the spring, where he had to quench his
+burning thirst.  He then crawled on until he reached a tree, behind
+which he stood, hoping that some animal might come by at which he might
+take a steady aim.  He waited and waited, however, in vain.  He saw
+several deer in the distance, but they bounded along far out of range of
+his bow.  At last he saw two hogs come grunting up, turning up the
+ground with their snouts in search of roots.  They approached slowly.
+Trembling with eagerness, hoping that he might be able to kill one of
+them, he kept the arrow in the string, ready to shoot.  The hogs came on
+moving from one side to the other, till they had got to within about
+thirty yards of it, when, fearing that they might suddenly turn off away
+from the tree, and sure that he could send his arrow to that distance,
+steadying himself as well as he could, he bent his bow.  The arrow flew
+from the string, but though it struck the hog with a force which made
+the creature squeak, it glanced off from its thick hide, and both the
+animals, looking round, scampered away at a rate which made it hopeless
+to attempt overtaking them.  Lord Reginald, however, getting ready
+another arrow, shot it, but it missed both hogs, who escaped, whisking
+their tails.  He followed to pick up the arrows.  Neither of them was
+broken.  He next tried his skill at a cockatoo, but the arrow glanced
+against a bough, and the bird flew away with a scream of derision,--so
+poor Lord Reginald thought it.  He was equally unsuccessful when aiming
+at some green pigeons.  He had lost five of the arrows, and was almost
+in despair, when he caught sight of a monkey.  He fixed the last arrow
+to the string and took as he thought a steady aim, but the monkey gave a
+nimble skip, and went chattering away to a distance, as if fully aware
+of the evil intended him, while the bow, as it sprang back again, gave a
+crack, and to Lord Reginald's dismay he found that it was broken.  He
+dashed it down to the ground.
+
+"Unfortunate being that I am!" he exclaimed.  "Surrounded by plenty, I
+am doomed to starve."  The agitation of his feelings almost overcame
+him.  "I must depend in future for subsistence on the shell-fish, the
+_very_ taste of which I abhor."
+
+With difficulty he staggered towards the cave; that would at all events
+afford him shelter at night.  On the way he stopped to drink at the
+spring, and fill a large clam-shell which he had previously carried
+there with water.  He could scarcely, however, carry it along without
+spilling the contents.  He at last reached his cave.  On looking around
+he discovered that Neptune was not with him.  "The dog has gone off to
+that fellow Hargrave, for food.  I'll take care that he doesn't go
+again.  He ought to be satisfied with what I can get," he exclaimed.
+
+Putting down his shell he crawled towards the rocks, and cut off a few
+clam-shells, sufficient for his supper.  He guessed that Nep would not
+require any.  He then made up his fire with the few sticks he had
+remaining.  He was about to throw his bow, which had caused him so much
+labour, on the top of it, when it occurred to him that by binding it
+tightly round with string, he might make it stronger than before.
+
+He wisely determined to do this.  He had just finished eating his supper
+when Nep appeared.
+
+"You ungrateful dog!" exclaimed Lord Reginald.  "You have been tempted
+off by my enemy.  I'll take care that you don't go again," and fastening
+a piece of rope to the animal's collar, he secured it to a portion of
+the wreck, which had been thrown up not far from the mouth of the cave.
+
+Poor Nep looked very much surprised at the way he was treated, but
+accustomed to obey, he lay down with his face between his paws, while
+Lord Reginald retired into the cave and threw himself on the ground.
+While actively engaged, he had for a time thrown off the painful
+sensation caused by fever, but the terrible disease had now a firm grip
+on him.  His head and limbs ached, his throat burned.  Though he drank
+and drank again from the water which he had brought in the clam-shell,
+no quantity seemed to assuage his thirst.  He was unable to sleep for a
+moment, tossing about, now rolling on one side, now on the other, and
+often crying out in the intensity of his sufferings that death might
+relieve him.
+
+Thus the night passed by.  Day came, but brought no cessation of the
+fever, which rather increased than diminished.  All day long he lay
+racked by pain on the cold sand.  A mournful howl reached his ears, and
+he saw Neptune straggling to release himself from the rope which held
+him.  He attempted to rise and set his dog free, but his strength was
+gone, and he sank back again, unable to crawl from the spot.
+
+He thought of home, of his mother and sisters, and of his father, always
+kind and indulgent to him, whom he would never see again.  The
+recollection of his numberless sinful acts came with fearful force into
+his mind.  "No hope, no hope!" he muttered, as he clenched his hands.
+"What would I now give for a few weeks, or even days, to redeem the
+past?  That lad Hargrave, whom I tore from his home and ill treated,
+whose life I took a pleasure in making miserable; he would not forgive
+me, even if I asked him; and should he discover me he would exult over
+my sufferings."
+
+Such were the thoughts which passed through his brain.  Often he groaned
+with pain, and when at length he had exhausted every drop of water, the
+fever seemed to increase, and he felt himself growing weaker and weaker.
+He almost wished that he had shared the fate of Voules and the rest of
+his companions, and had been drowned before he reached the shore.  He
+had had a few days of grace granted him, but he had made no use of them.
+Instead of trying to be reconciled to his enemy, he had treated him
+with haughtiness and contempt.  In vain he endeavoured to pray,--
+confusion of mind, brought on by fever, prevented him from collecting
+his thoughts, and all sorts of fearful phantoms passed before him.
+Again he was on the deck of the _Marie_, surrounded by the dead and
+dying, when he saw as clearly as if they had been present, the distorted
+features of the privateersmen struck down by the cutlasses of his crew,
+and the reports of pistols and clash of steel sounded in his ears.  Then
+once more the tempest was raging, and the sounds of the seas dashing
+over the ship, the wind howling amid the rigging, the sails flapping
+wildly from the yards, the creaking timbers, the cries of the crew, were
+again heard.  He attempted to shout to issue his orders, but his voice
+failed him; not a word could he utter.  Sometimes he fancied that he
+could hear his own voice, at others that it was Nep's loud howls which
+broke the silence.  Another night passed away, and a second morning
+came.  Only a person who had played no tricks with his constitution
+could have endured what the young lord passed through.
+
+He was fully aware at times that he was dying, that unless assistance
+came he could not survive many hours.  He stretched out his hand towards
+the clam-shell which had contained his stock of water, but it was empty.
+His tongue felt like a hot burning coal in his mouth.  He closed his
+eyes from very weakness.  How long he had thus remained he could not
+tell, when he was aware that Neptune was licking his hands and face.  He
+had just sense enough left to know that it was his dog, though by what
+means the animal had got free he could not divine.  He heard the
+faithful creature moan and whine round him and lie down by his side.
+The little strength he had was rapidly decreasing, and he soon lost all
+consciousness.
+
+In a _very_ different position was Richard Hargrave.  With wholesome
+food and abundance of employment, he retained his health and strength,
+and his mind had no time to dwell on his forlorn condition.  At break of
+day he rose from his comfortable bed, and kneeling down, said his
+prayers as he had been wont to do at his mother's knees when a child.
+He then got up, and considered to what he had best first turn his hand.
+
+Not far off from the hut was the log which he was anxious to shape into
+a canoe, and on his bench in the verandah lay his crossbow, nearly
+finished, only requiring a few touches to make it perfect, the most
+important being the arrangement of the lock, that he might let the bolt
+fly immediately he touched the spring.  This done he set to work to form
+some bolts.  The shafts were easily manufactured, but the bolt heads
+required more time.  Hunting in the carpenter's chest he discovered a
+ladle and a quantity of lead.  He then searched about for some clay for
+forming moulds.  He remembered the white appearance of the bank of the
+stream at a certain spot, and hastening to it, he found, greatly to his
+satisfaction, that it was composed of exactly the clay suited for his
+purpose.  He soon returned with a sufficient supply to form a mould,
+hoping to be able to make it of a proper shape with a stem to fit into
+the shaft.  By boring a hole into the stem he was able to secure it with
+wire firmly to the wood.  To give the bolt a sharp point he fixed a
+large nail ground fine, in the centre of the lead, thus obtaining
+sufficient weight and sharpness for his object.  Although this bolt
+might be blunted should it strike a bone, yet it was well calculated to
+pierce the thin skin of a deer, which, from the size of the island,
+should it only be wounded, he would be certain to find again by tracing
+the blood stains on the grass.
+
+Having formed half a dozen bolts in the way which has been described, he
+set off on his first hunting expedition.  He had not gone far, when a
+herd of small deer--the only species which existed in the island--came
+in sight.  He had observed on former occasions that when he got to the
+windward of them they invariably scampered off to a distance, and
+although no hunter, suspecting the cause, he determined to try and get
+near them by creeping up from an opposite direction.  Hiding himself as
+much as possible behind the trees and bushes, he made his way towards
+the herd, making a long circuit until he got well to leeward.  Then
+stooping down he crawled gradually forward, stopping every now and then
+when he saw their heads turned towards him, but they still continued
+cropping the grass and the leaves of the bushes and lower branches of
+the trees.  At last he got to within thirty yards of one of the herd,
+which had separated from its companions.  He stood almost breathless,
+eager to shoot, and yet afraid of missing.  He let fly his bolt, which
+entered the breast of the animal.  It staggered for a moment, then
+turning round, set off with the rest of the herd along the valley.  He
+was provoked at not having killed it at once, for he knew that if often
+hunted the creatures would grow wild, and he would have great difficulty
+in getting up to them.  He, however, eager to secure the deer, set off
+running, keeping it in sight.  At first the wounded deer went almost as
+fast as its companions, until it gradually slackened its speed, leaving
+a long red trail, which grew thicker and thicker, to mark its course.
+It was soon left behind by the rest of the herd; still it struggled on,
+until at length Dick saw it stagger, then turn round and finally sink to
+the ground.  He hurried forward, and with a seaman's sheath-knife, which
+he had found among the things in the carpenter's chest, he quickly put
+an end to its sufferings.
+
+The deer was so small that Dick, whose shoulders were pretty broad, was
+able to carry home his prize.  His wish was to preserve as much of it as
+possible.  He reflected that, as there were only a certain number of
+deer on the island, were he and Lord Reginald to remain there any length
+of time, the whole might be destroyed.  Had he possessed salt, he would
+have been able to pickle the venison, for there were plenty of tubs for
+the purpose.  Though he knew very well that he could obtain salt, yet
+the flesh of the deer would have become uneatable long before he could
+get a sufficient quantity.  He had read somewhere of a mode of
+preserving the flesh of animals by drying it in the sun, and he had also
+seen his mother smoke bacon, so he determined to try both these ways.
+The preserved meat might also be of the greatest use, should he
+determine to sail away from the island in the canoe he was about to
+build.
+
+On reaching home, for such his hut was to him, he set to work to skin
+and cut up the deer.  He then lighted a fire, and put a shoulder and leg
+on to roast, that he might at all events preserve this much, should his
+experiments fail.  A portion of the remainder he cut into thin strips,
+which he hung up to a cross-pole, supported on two forked sticks.  He
+had great faith, however, in his plan for smoking venison.  As there was
+clay near at hand, he mixed a quantity with grass, and quickly built up
+a square tower, with an entrance below and rafters across it, and a
+wooden roof.  As he knew that it would be necessary to have a draught to
+keep up the fire, he formed tunnels under the tower.
+
+He had now his curing-house complete.  He worked very hard, as he was
+aware that the flesh would very rapidly become uneatable.  Having hung
+up the remainder, he placed a fire inside, piled up with green wood,
+which burnt slowly, producing a large amount of smoke.  Not until he had
+done this did he--hungry as he was--fall to on the venison.  Scarcely
+had he put a morsel in his mouth than he thought of Lord Reginald.
+
+"I wonder whether he has been able to procure any food like this," he
+said to himself.  "If not it will go hard with him, for although
+shell-fish may do very well for a short time, with nothing else to live
+on they would prove very unwholesome.  However, I suppose he will come
+to his senses by-and-by.  If he makes his appearance, I shall be glad to
+offer some to him.  Fancy the proud young gentleman coming, hat in hand,
+and asking for a slice of venison!  I wonder poor Nep doesn't show
+himself, as before, to get a meal.  I should have thought his instinct
+would have induced him to come.  Surely his master cannot be so cruel as
+to keep him back, unless he has found plenty of food for him."
+
+Such thoughts occupied Dick's mind while he ate a hearty meal, the most
+abundant he had enjoyed since the shipwreck.  He had just finished, and
+having hung up the remainder of the roast meat, was about to add more
+fuel to the fire in his curing-house, when by chance looking up the
+valley, he saw Neptune scampering rapidly along towards him.
+
+"Oh, oh! knowing old fellow!  He's found out there's something to eat in
+this direction," said Dick.  "He shall have it, too, and willingly would
+I give it to his master."
+
+As Neptune drew near, Dick was surprised to observe a piece of rope
+round his neck, and a part trailing on the ground two or three feet in
+length.  In a minute Nep was up to him, licking his hand.  Dick was at
+once struck with his woebegone, starved appearance; the very countenance
+of the dog seemed changed; there was even an expression of melancholy in
+his eye, which spoke as much as words could have done.  Dick examined
+the rope, which was a pretty thick one, such as Neptune, strong as he
+might be, could not have broken.  The end, he was convinced, had been
+gnawed through.
+
+"Now, if that young lord hasn't had the barbarity to tie up the dog, to
+prevent its coming to me," he exclaimed.  "He deserves to starve, and I
+suspect he and the dog have been doing that for some days, or Nep would
+not look so thin and miserable," and he returned to his larder, followed
+by Nep, who ravenously bolted the pieces of meat which he gave him.
+
+The dog, though he had had a good meal, did not seem content, but
+evidently wished to convey some intelligence to his entertainer.  He
+first ran off in the direction of the cave, and then seeing that Dick
+did not follow, came back and uttered a low bark; then away again he
+went, almost immediately to return, when he seized Dick by the trousers,
+evidently wishing him to accompany him, and then looked up at him in an
+imploring manner, which could not be misunderstood.
+
+"I suppose Lord Reginald is ill, or has met with some accident, and the
+dog wants me to go and help him.  Well, I ought to do it, there's no
+doubt about that," said Dick, moving a few paces in the direction the
+dog had taken.  On this Nep uttered a bark indicative of his
+satisfaction, coming back and licking Dick's hand, then running on
+again.  Dick had no longer any doubt that Nep was anxious to take him to
+his master, and he set off at a rapid rate, while Nep bounded away
+before him, uttering the same sort of bark as before, to hurry him on.
+
+"The poor fellow may be dying," thought Dick, his kindly feelings
+overcoming all sense of the injuries he had received.  "The sooner I get
+to him the better, or I may be too late to render him any help."
+
+On this, greatly to Nep's delight, he began to run as fast as he could,
+leaping over the fallen trees, allowing no impediment to stop him.  He
+stopped for a moment to pick some juicy fruit resembling limes, which
+grew on a tree in his path, on which Nep came back and gave another pull
+at his trousers, as if fearing that he was going to stop.  On passing
+the fountain he found a large clam-shell, which had evidently been left
+there by some one.  He expected every moment to find Lord Reginald
+stretched on the ground, dead or dying, but Nep still kept on until he
+reached the sea-shore.  He then saw the dog enter the cavern.  At first
+he felt unwilling to follow, but Nep quickly rushed out again, and once
+more seizing his trousers, pulled away until Dick showed that he
+understood him.  On going in he perceived in the dim light the
+unfortunate young nobleman extended on the sand, in a stupor so nearly
+resembling death that he started back in horror, fully believing that
+his spirit had already fled.
+
+Fearful, indeed, had been the effect of the fever.  The expression of
+his handsome features was changed, his countenance had assumed the hue
+of death.  His eyes, half closed and fixed, had lost all signs of
+intelligence.  His lips were parched and burning.  His hair, tangled and
+disordered, hung in masses over his fine brow.
+
+Dick, on kneeling down, felt greatly relieved on discovering that he
+still breathed, though unconscious of his approach.  He lifted the young
+nobleman's hand.  The palm was dry and burning.  In an instant,
+forgetful of the enmity which existed between himself and the unhappy
+sufferer, he bitterly regretted that he had not, when he came to his
+hut, attempted to gain his good will.  He remembered that once when a
+child he himself had been attacked by a fever, which had brought him to
+the brink of the grave; he had then received the greatest kindness from
+the marchioness, who had brought delicious grapes from the hot-house,
+and ices, which had, his mother always told him, done much to preserve
+his life.
+
+"If he had treated me ten times worse than he has done, I ought to
+endeavour to do my best to attend to his wants," said Dick.
+
+As he thought of this, he endeavoured to raise the head of the sufferer,
+who uttered a sound in so mournful and low a tone that Dick could not at
+first understand him, but on bending over him, he caught the single word
+"water."  Dick looked eagerly round, the shell was empty.  He then
+bethought him of the fruit he had picked, and cutting one of them in
+two, he allowed a few drops of juice to trickle into Lord Reginald's
+mouth.  This had an almost instantaneous effect.  He squeezed out a
+larger quantity; some minutes more elapsed, when at length Lord Reginald
+became conscious of the relief, and eagerly swallowed the refreshing
+juice.  Still Dick saw that his chance of recovery, while he remained in
+the cave, was very small, and after reflecting awhile he came to the
+conclusion that he ought, if possible, to remove him to his own hut.
+This would be no easy task, but Dick's arms were strong, and once having
+made up his mind, he lost no time in carrying out his intention.
+
+Nep stood by, anxiously watching him, apparently perfectly satisfied
+with what he was doing.  Lifting the young nobleman up as if he were a
+child, he carried him out of the cave, and made his way towards the
+fountain, every moment expecting to see his hapless burden breathe his
+last.  The fountain, however, was reached; then, placing him on the
+grass, he poured some of the refreshing fluid down his throat.  This
+seemed greatly to revive him, and he thanked Dick, sometimes addressing
+him as his brother, and sometimes as "Voules."
+
+"You are a better fellow than I took you for," he murmured.  "Poor old
+Toady!  I thought you would have left me to shift for myself; but we
+have gone through strange scenes.  Didn't you die, and didn't I bury
+you? but I'm glad you've come to life again, and I won't have you
+laughed at behind your back."
+
+Thus he rambled on, but soon again relapsed into unconsciousness.  Dick
+had to stop several times to rest himself, but as he was anxious to get
+the sufferer within the shelter of his hut, he went on again the moment
+he felt able to proceed.  Great was his relief when at length he placed
+the young lord in his cot.  He was aware that he must not venture to
+give him meat; indeed, the poor young man could not have swallowed it
+had he made the attempt, but he at once mixed him some of the juice of
+the fruit with water.
+
+Lord Reginald had swooned from weakness, and from being carried along so
+far in the open air.  For many hours he lay in a state of stupor.  Dick
+sat by his side, continually moistening his lips with the juice of the
+fruit and water, and bathing the sufferer's hands and temples, while he
+anxiously watched for returning life.  All night long he sat up, fanning
+his brow with the feathers of some of the birds he had killed, and
+keeping away the stinging insects which flew into the hut.
+
+The next morning Lord Reginald opened his eyes and exclaimed in a dreamy
+tone, "Where am I?  What has happened?"
+
+"You are well cared for, my lord," answered Dick; "but don't talk;
+you'll get round the sooner if you keep quiet."
+
+Lord Reginald's answer showed that he was still in a state of delirium.
+"Thanks, Julia; thanks, mother; you have nursed me very tenderly.  I'll
+do as you wish, only don't let that young ruffian Hargrave come near me.
+He has been the bane of my life.  I wish that we had got him out of the
+_Wolf_ before we sailed from home, or that a chance shot had taken his
+head off.  You don't know what I went through when I was wrecked on that
+horrible island.  He came and taunted me, and would have left me to die
+in a wretched cave by myself, while he was living luxuriously on birds,
+deer, and pigs that he killed."
+
+Having thus rambled on for some time, Lord Reginald began to blame
+himself, and to confess that he had allowed Dick to be unjustly treated,
+and had instigated Toady Voules and others to behave ill to him.
+
+These latter expressions greatly relieved Dick's mind, although the
+abuse which Lord Reginald had showered on his head would not have made
+him less attentive to his patient's wants.  For hours together the
+latter rambled on; sometimes he fancied himself at home, and asked for
+ices and peaches and grapes from the hot-houses, turning his eyes to
+Dick, and ordering him to bring them immediately.
+
+The word "grapes" reminded Dick that he had seen a juicy fruit somewhat
+resembling the grape of temperate climes, of which several of the birds
+of the island appeared to be very fond.  He hurried out to search for
+them, leaving Nep to watch by his master's side.  He was fortunate in
+discovering some bunches which appeared ripe, and instantly returned
+with them.  Dick ate several himself, to ascertain their character, and
+was satisfied that they were wholesome and at the same time nutritious,
+though far less juicy than real grapes.  On his return, Lord Reginald
+abused him, supposing him to be one of the servants, for having been so
+long away; then eagerly seizing the fruit with an expression of joy, he
+endeavoured to convey it to his mouth, but such was his weakness that,
+letting it drop, he asked Dick to feed him.
+
+Dick bore all the abuse he got with the greatest patience.  At length,
+exhausted by the violence of the fever, Lord Reginald sank again into a
+death-like stupor, in which he lay without moving the whole night and
+until the next day was far advanced.  Dick, as before, continued to
+bathe his hands and face at intervals, and when perceiving by the
+painful motion of his lips that he wanted something to drink, he raised
+his head and placed to his lips a shell full of the juice of several
+fruits which he had collected.  Lord Reginald eagerly drank this
+delicious beverage, then, opening his eyes, which Dick thought would
+never again have unclosed, the young lord looked up in his face, as if
+to thank him for the relief.  Dick saw by the expression of wonder and
+astonishment in those eyes, so lately fixed and rayless, that he knew
+him, and that the delirium had passed away.  Lord Reginald tried to
+speak, the colour for a moment mounted to his pallid cheek as he said,
+"Hargrave, I don't deserve this kindness at your hands."  Then with a
+deep sigh he once more relapsed into insensibility.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FOURTEEN.
+
+SELF-REPROACH--THE CRISIS OVER--A STORM--RETURNING TO LIFE--GRATITUDE TO
+DICK--A RIGHT UNDERSTANDING--TURTLE-CATCHING--GAINING STRENGTH--DICK'S
+CARE REWARDED--AN AGREEABLE SURPRISE--SOMETHING TO READ--A REFRESHING
+CHANGE--HAT-MAKING--HARDLY STRONG ENOUGH--GOING ON WITH THE CANOE--A
+DESIGN ON THE PORKERS--PIG-DRIVING--COFFEE BERRIES AND SUGAR-CANES
+DISCOVERED--AN EARTHQUAKE--GRAVE APPREHENSIONS--THE BURNING MOUNTAIN.
+
+Richard Hargrave sat by Lord Reginald's cot, watching his sufferings,
+with the anxiety and sorrow he would have felt for a brother and dear
+friend.  Not a spark of animosity remained.  In his heart he fully
+believed that the young lord would die, and was ready to accuse himself
+of being his murderer.  Only a short time during each day did he venture
+to leave him, to set his traps, or shoot birds, or collect fruits, which
+latter were more especially required by the sufferer.  On each occasion
+when he hurried back, he dreaded to find that his patient had expired
+during his absence.  Neptune was always left in charge, as Dick hoped
+that the instinct of the dog would induce him to summon him should he be
+required.  He was well aware that it would be dangerous to give any
+heavy food to the sufferer, and yet he dreaded, lest by taking too
+little, he might die of starvation.  There was, however, he hoped,
+sufficient nutriment in the fruit to keep up his strength without
+increasing the fever.  Day after day went by, and the violence of the
+complaint in no way appeared to abate, nor did the young lord recover
+his reason except at long intervals, when the words he uttered showed
+that he was fully aware of his own condition.  His thoughts were
+evidently of a gloomy character, as he was constantly uttering
+expressions of self-reproach.  No longer petulant or impatient, he
+appeared sunk in the deepest despondency.
+
+This change of ideas was more alarming even than his wild fits of raving
+to Dick, who began to accuse himself of being the cause of much of the
+young lord's conduct.  He considered their difference of rank; he
+recollected his own defiant looks and expressions, which had so often
+aroused his rival's anger.  "Had I treated him with respect, which of
+course he thought his due, and avoided him as much as possible, he would
+soon have forgotten a person so much beneath him in rank," exclaimed
+Dick.  "True, he abused his power on board the _Marie_; but how have I
+behaved since we were thrown together on this island?"
+
+At last one morning, Lord Reginald appeared to drop off into a more
+quiet slumber than usual, and Dick was induced to go out in search of
+game with his crossbow in his hand.  Scarcely had he left his hut than
+several deer, without discovering him, came bounding by.  He shot a
+bolt, one of the animals was struck, and immediately fell dead to the
+ground.  Thankful for his success, he quickly returned with it, and
+having skinned it he cut up a portion into small bits, which he put into
+a pot, with the intention of making some broth.  Several times while
+thus engaged, he returned to the side of Lord Reginald, who still slept
+on.  He had obtained from the rocks a small quantity of salt, sufficient
+to flavour the broth.  While it was boiling he roasted another piece of
+meat, and hung up the remainder in his smoking-house, which had answered
+beyond his expectations.  Though the meat dried in the sun might keep,
+yet it was hard and dry, and presented a far from satisfactory
+appearance.
+
+He had observed signs of a change of weather.  Clouds had been
+collecting for some time in the sky.  Scarcely had he completed his
+culinary operations, than the rain began to pour in torrents, while the
+thunder rolled, and flashes of vivid lightning darted from the clouds.
+The fire was put out, but Dick managed to keep the broth warm.  He
+anxiously watched Lord Reginald, expecting that the roar of the thunder
+would awaken him, but he slept quietly through the storm, and appeared
+to be breathing more easily than before.  At length the thunder-clouds
+rolled off, the wind ceased, and the air appeared far purer than it had
+hitherto been.  Dick, who had opened the shutter, which he had kept shut
+during the rain, went to the door to open that also and enjoy the fresh
+air.  He was standing inhaling it with much satisfaction, when he heard
+Lord Reginald's voice exclaiming--
+
+"What has happened?  Is that you, Hargrave?"  Dick hurried to the side
+of the cot, and was thankful to observe a marked change for the better,
+in Lord Reginald's countenance, which, though thin and pale, had a
+composed appearance.  "Do not be agitated, my lord," said Dick; "you
+have been very ill, but I trust you may now recover, as the worst is
+past I would advise you not to talk, but let me give you some broth,
+which I have fortunately just prepared.  It will assist to restore your
+strength quicker than the fruits on which you have so long lived."
+Saying this, without waiting for a reply, Dick poured some of the soup
+into a shell, which he presented to the invalid.
+
+"Hargrave, I can scarcely believe my senses!" said Lord Reginald.  "I
+don't deserve this kind treatment at your hands.  Have you really been
+watching over me all this time?"
+
+"Do not talk about it, my lord," said Dick.  "Here, take this; it may
+not be first-rate soup, but I think it will do you good."
+
+As he spoke he placed the shell to the lips of his patient, who taking
+it in both his hands, drank off the contents.
+
+"First-rate stuff, whatever it is," murmured Lord Reginald.  "Pray give
+me some more, I feel it putting new life into me.  I have had a narrow
+escape, I suspect.  If it hadn't been for you, Hargrave, I should have
+died; I am fully aware of that."
+
+"I only did my duty, and I am thankful to see your lordship so much
+better," said Dick.
+
+"You are a generous, noble fellow, Hargrave, that I know, for, after the
+way I treated you, I had no right to expect that you would trouble
+yourself about me."
+
+"I should never have forgiven myself if I hadn't done my best to look
+after your lordship," answered Dick, turning away to make some of the
+cooling drink, which had hitherto proved so beneficial to his patient.
+
+"Hargrave, my dear fellow," said Lord Reginald, in a comparatively
+strong tone of voice, "can you really forgive me?"
+
+"My lord, I am sure I need your forgiveness, so pray don't ask me to
+forgive you, though I do so most heartily.  Let bygones be bygones.  It
+will be the happiest day of my life when I see you restored to perfect
+health."
+
+"Hargrave, I wonder I could have been guilty of persecuting a man
+capable of such generous conduct," exclaimed Lord Reginald.
+
+"Again I say, my lord, don't talk about it," answered Dick, observing
+that Lord Reginald was becoming too much agitated.  "I trust in a short
+time that you will be well enough to say what you think fit; but I want
+you to understand that not a particle of ill feeling, to the best of my
+belief, remains in my heart."
+
+"I must say what I have got to say, or I may never have an opportunity,"
+replied Lord Reginald; "for what I can tell I may not have another
+interval of reason.  I wish to assure you that I die at peace with you,
+and pray for forgiveness from all I have ever ill treated.  When I am
+gone, cut off a lock of my hair, and if you ever reach home give it to
+my mother, and tell her that one of my greatest regrets was not being
+able to see her and my brothers and sisters again, and confessing to my
+father that I had attempted to misrepresent you to him.  Again, I ask,
+can you forgive me?" and Lord Reginald stretched out his emaciated hands
+towards Dick, who gave his in return, as he answered--
+
+"Yes, yes, indeed I do, most heartily."  As Lord Reginald grasped his
+hand, he pressed it to his lips, and burst into tears.
+
+Dick felt a choking sensation, such as he had never before experienced,
+and turned away from a delicacy of feeling, lest Lord Reginald should be
+ashamed of the agitation he was exhibiting.  He felt also very anxious
+to calm the mind of his patient, who in his weak state was ill able to
+undergo any excitement.
+
+For a long time after this the poor young lord was unable to rise from
+his cot, but every day Dick observed a change for the better, it being a
+good sign that he evidently enjoyed the food provided for him.
+
+Dick had now to leave him for a much longer time than before to the care
+of Neptune, who never quitted his master's side during his absence.
+
+One night, after his day's work was over, Dick had wandered down to the
+sea-shore, with a thick stick in his hand, which he usually carried to
+defend himself, should he encounter any savage beasts, as he thought
+that such might possibly exist, though he had not hitherto seen them.
+
+As he approached the beach, he caught sight on the white sand of some
+dark objects, which were crawling up slowly from the sea.  Though he had
+never before seen any, he at once guessed that they were turtles.  He
+remained concealed, so as to allow them, without being frightened, to
+reach the upper part of the beach, where they began scratching away and
+depositing their eggs.
+
+"We shall have food enough now, without diminishing the stock of wild
+animals on shore," thought Dick.  "Those are just the things to do Lord
+Reginald good.  If we have to make a voyage, we can lay in a good store
+of them."
+
+He wisely waited until a number of turtles had deposited their eggs in
+the sand, then rushing from his place of concealment, he turned over
+half a dozen on their backs, thus effectually preventing them from
+making their escape.  Then, seizing one by the hind legs, he dragged it
+up towards his hut, when he killed it.  Lord Reginald was still awake.
+He ran in and told him the good news.
+
+"I wish that I could get up and help you, Hargrave," was the answer.
+
+"Do not think of it, my lord," said Dick.  "I can manage them by
+myself," and away he again started, and dragged up in succession the
+remainder of his captives.  These, however, he did not kill.  He
+determined, if possible, to keep them alive until the flesh of the first
+was consumed.  They might exist on their backs, he knew, for a
+considerable time, but he rightly feared that the heat would kill them,
+unless he could bring up a sufficient quantity of water to pour over
+them.  This would be a severe task, and it appeared to him that the best
+thing he could do would be to build a pen, and enclose these and any
+others he might catch on subsequent nights.  He accordingly at once, as
+the moon was bright, set about carrying out his intention.  By actively
+plying his axe, he cut down a number of thick stakes, which he drove
+into the sand just above high-water mark, so that by digging a channel
+he might let the sea in at every high tide.  As he had abundance of
+rope, he lashed some cross bars along the sides, so as to keep the
+stakes firm.  He saw there was no necessity for putting the
+perpendicular stakes close together, as the turtles were upwards of two
+feet across, and could not manage to get through a less space.  In a
+couple of hours he had finished his task, and dragging back the turtles
+he allowed them to crawl about in their natural position.  He waited
+until the next morning to roof in his pen, which was necessary, he saw,
+for the sake of keeping the turtles cool.
+
+"You have worked hard, my dear Hargrave," said Lord Reginald, when he
+returned.  "I should not have thought of attempting the task until
+to-morrow morning.  It would have taken me the whole day, or probably
+longer.  As soon as I am well, you must teach me how to use your tools,
+and let me help you, for I have no desire to eat the bread of idleness."
+
+"I have been accustomed to carpentering since I was a boy, so that what
+your lordship would find difficult would prove easy to me," answered
+Dick; "but I should be very thankful if your lordship will think fit to
+work at the canoe which I thought of building before you were taken ill.
+I haven't seen a single vessel pass since we have been here, and
+perhaps none will come near us for many months to come.  We might find
+it necessary to quit the island to rejoin our ship or to get on board
+some other vessel.  In the mean time we may use our boat to go out
+fishing, and thus obtain a change of diet."
+
+"A boat!  Do you really mean to say that you could build a boat?" asked
+Lord Reginald in a tone of surprise.
+
+"I intend to try and do so, for though I have never actually built one,
+I have assisted in repairing several, and know how they are put
+together," answered Dick, and he then explained the character of the
+craft he proposed to build.  "My idea is, that when your lordship can
+take a part in the work, we may build one large enough to carry us to
+Batavia, or to one of the other places of which the English have of late
+taken possession."
+
+"I really don't know that you ought to count much on my help, though
+I'll do my best," said Lord Reginald; "but the idea is a capital one,
+and I long to get well to be able to help you.  But you must be pretty
+tired by this time, and you ought to lie down and get some sleep.  I
+feel ashamed of keeping you so long out of your cot."
+
+"Thank you, my lord.  If I thought it worth while I would soon make
+another for myself; but my bed is as comfortable as I want, and I beg
+you will not think I miss the cot," was the answer.
+
+Dick awoke early, and found Lord Reginald sleeping soundly and calmly.
+As he watched him he began to hope that he might recover, and he knelt
+down and prayed that he might be made the instrument of restoring him to
+health.
+
+His patient gave no sign of waking.  Dick, having first made up his fire
+ready for cooking breakfast, went down to the shore, to see how the
+turtles had behaved in their pen.  He found to his satisfaction that
+although they had turned up the sand, they had not escaped.  He at once
+cut a number of boughs to place over the top and the upper part of the
+eastern side, so as to shade them from the heat of the sun, which rose
+before he had completed his task.  He then returned, and looking into
+his hut, found that his companion was still sleeping.
+
+He now set to work to cut up the turtle, and to cook some of it for
+breakfast.  He felt very doubtful as to how this should be done, but
+thought he should be safe in putting some on to stew, and in carving
+some cutlets, which he placed before the fire to cook, as he had done
+the venison.  He also kneaded some cakes as thin and delicate-looking as
+he could make them.  This done, he entered the hut, when he found Lord
+Reginald sitting up in his cot.
+
+"I should much wish, Hargrave, to get up and wash my hands and face, but
+I feel so weak that I am afraid I could not accomplish it alone.  May I
+venture to ask you to assist me?" he said, in a hesitating tone.
+
+"My lord, I should be delighted to help you; but I am sure you had
+better not make the attempt.  I'll get some water.  I have a piece of
+cloth which will serve as a towel, and as I have a comb which I found in
+the carpenter's chest, I will, if you will let me, comb out your hair,
+and try and make you comfortable."
+
+"Thank you, thank you," answered Lord Reginald; "but I feel ashamed of
+giving you trouble."
+
+Dick smiled, and, going out, returned with a large clam-shell, which
+made an excellent basin, filled with water.  Lord Reginald in vain made
+the attempt to wash his face.  Dick, placing the shell before him,
+performed the office, and having washed his hands and combed his hair,
+with as much care as his mother might have done, the young lord repeated
+his thanks, and assured Dick he felt quite another being.
+
+"I hope you will feel still better," said Dick, producing several
+clam-shells, one containing several nicely cooked cakes, another some
+turtle cutlets, a third some stewed turtle, while a fourth was full of
+the several fruits he had gathered.  "I have cooked a variety of dishes;
+but after your illness your lordship may fancy one more than another.
+Just tell me what you like best, and I will try and prepare it for you."
+
+"Thank you, Hargrave; I feel as if I could eat a whole turtle, or a deer
+for that matter," answered Lord Reginald, laughing in a way which
+greatly cheered Dick's spirits.  However, on making the attempt, Lord
+Reginald found that a very small quantity satisfied him, and Dick did
+not press him to eat more.
+
+Every day after this he made rapid progress, though Dick would not allow
+him for some time to get up or do anything for himself.  In the mean
+time, Dick dug out of the sand a number of turtles' eggs, which he hung
+up in bags in a cool place in the shade, hoping thus to preserve them.
+He also caught several more turtles, which he turned into his pen.  He
+was never idle, sometimes working in his garden, in which he had planted
+a number of seeds, some evidently of melons and pumpkins, from which he
+hoped in a short time to obtain fruit.  Of the nature of others he was
+not acquainted, but he had little doubt that they would prove useful in
+some way or other.  Outside the hut he had built a storehouse, in which
+he placed all the articles which had been cast on shore.
+
+He had one morning taken his crossbow and gone out before sunrise in the
+hopes of killing a deer or some birds, that he might afford a variety of
+diet to Lord Reginald, knowing that such would contribute greatly to
+restore his strength.  The deer, however, were too wild, and he was led
+further from home than he intended.  At last, in despair of killing one,
+he looked out for some of the feathered tribe, and succeeded in knocking
+over a couple of white cockatoos and a green pigeon, with which he
+hurried back to the hut.  On his return, he was greatly surprised to see
+Lord Reginald not only dressed, but employing himself in preparing
+breakfast.
+
+"I am sorry, my lord, that I was not back earlier," exclaimed Dick,
+"that I might have helped you to dress."
+
+"I regret that you should have had so long to undertake a task which I
+ought to have performed myself, had I been able.  Do not speak about it,
+my kind Hargrave," answered Lord Reginald, smiling.  "I feel myself
+bound to take an equal share in all the work we have got to do.  You
+have hitherto toiled for me, and it is now my business to work for you.
+Just tell me what you want done, and I will do it to the best of my
+power."
+
+"Pray don't talk in that way, my lord," said Dick.  "I wish that you
+knew how much pleasure I feel in serving you."
+
+"I am sure of that; but once for all, Hargrave, I want you to understand
+that while we remain on this island I am `Reginald' or `Oswald,' and you
+are `Hargrave,' the better man of the two.  Don't `My lord' me any more.
+I am not worthy of it.  That sort of style may do very well in Old
+England, or on board a man-of-war, though my messmates there treated me
+as an equal, and took good care to make me feel that I was one, too.
+Will you accept my services, and let me work under your orders?"
+
+"I cannot refuse you anything," answered Dick; "but until you are as
+strong and hearty as I am, you must let me work for you, and not knock
+yourself up by attempting tasks for which you have not the strength."
+
+"Well, well, my dear Hargrave, we understand each other, and while we
+are talking the turtle and cakes are getting cold."
+
+Dick at last, getting Lord Reginald to sit down on one of the
+three-legged stools he had made, placed the breakfast on the table.
+
+"There is one thing you are not provided with, Hargrave, that is tea and
+sugar," observed Lord Reginald; "but perhaps we may find some
+substitute.  Coffee grows in these latitudes, and very likely we may
+find sugar-cane in some part of the island."
+
+"I saw some pods full of seeds, looking in shape _very_ much like coffee
+berries, only they were white," said Dick.
+
+"That was because they were unroasted," answered Lord Reginald.  "I
+should not be surprised if those seeds were really coffee berries, and
+if so we shall soon have something to drink instead of this nectar, of
+which I confess I am beginning to get very tired, delicious as it tasted
+while I was suffering from fever."
+
+Dick sighed as he thought, "Perhaps the young lord will get tired of
+other things, as also of my society, when he regains his strength."
+
+His companion looked at him, but made no remark.  "What about the boat
+you propose building?" asked Lord Reginald, when breakfast was over.
+"Could not we begin on that?  And if you will show me how I can best
+help you, we will lose no time."
+
+"I am very sure your lordship--I beg your pardon--you are not strong
+enough to do any heavy work," answered Dick, "especially in the sun.  I
+must first make you a hat such as I wear, which will help to guard your
+head, and we will then, in the cool of the evening, begin work.  We must
+first strip off the bark from the outside, then cut away the angles at
+the bows and stern.  By-the-by, I have just remembered finding some
+books in an officer's chest, and though I cannot read them, as they are
+in French, they may amuse you while I am at work."
+
+"That is fortunate," exclaimed Lord Reginald.  "Pray get the books, and
+let me have a look at them.  I shall be very glad to read while you are
+at work, if you still insist on my not helping you."
+
+Dick hurried out to his store-room, and soon returned with several
+volumes.  Two were on navigation, another on astronomy, and a fourth on
+natural history; but Lord Reginald found that the others were not such
+as were likely to prove edifying either to himself or Dick.  He first
+took up one, and glancing over its pages, said, "Throw that into the
+fire."  A second and a third were treated in the same way.  He looked at
+the last more carefully, but finished by saying, "Let that go, too.  I
+am very sure that it will be better not to read at all than to fill our
+minds with the evil thoughts such works as these are likely to create.
+I should at one time have been amused, and considered that there was no
+harm in perusing such tales.  After being so mercifully preserved, I
+look at matters in a very different light.  I am sure that allowing our
+minds to dwell on any such subjects as those books contained, is
+offensive to a pure and holy God.  What would I not give for some really
+well-written books, and more than anything for a Bible, which, after
+all, as I have often heard my mother say, is the Book of books."
+
+"I have heard my mother say the same," observed Dick.  "I am very
+thankful that you have put the temptation out of our way."
+
+"What else did you find in the chest?" asked Lord Reginald.
+
+"Some nautical instruments, which, although they are French, I dare say
+you know how to use," said Dick.  "And,--how stupid I was not to think
+of it before!--some shirts and waistcoats and other articles of dress.
+I must get you to put them on at once, while I wash out your own linen:
+they will add much to your comfort, and though they may be damp, the sun
+will soon dry them."  Dick immediately hung out the French officers'
+clothing, and then brought a clam-shell, larger than an ordinary
+foot-tub, full of water, that Lord Reginald might enjoy a bath, which he
+had hitherto been afraid of taking.
+
+"I feel quite like a new man!" exclaimed the young lord, after he had
+dressed himself.  "If you will not let me work to-day, I hope by
+to-morrow to show that I can do something.  It won't be for the want of
+will if I don't succeed."
+
+Dick, who had before this gone out, had returned with a supply of palm
+leaves, and sat down to make a hat, while Lord Reginald opened one of
+the books, and with considerable fluency translated a portion of its
+contents.  Dick listened attentively while he plaited away at the hat,
+stopping every now and then to ask for an explanation.
+
+"I am glad to see you take interest in the subject," said Lord Reginald,
+"and if we continue it, I shall not only improve myself, but be able to
+give you a good notion of navigation.  The instruments, which are the
+same as we use, will help us, and in a short time you will become as
+good a navigator as I am, as this book is evidently a capital one."
+
+Dick looked up and smiled.  "You see, you can instruct me in some
+things, as well as I can teach you how to handle a saw or a plane."
+
+"All right!" said Lord Reginald, laughing; "so much the better; we are
+quits, as I said."
+
+Dick was longer than he otherwise might have been in making the hat.
+When it was finished, his companion declared that it was capital, and
+that it would thoroughly defend his head from the rays of the sun.  Dick
+had made the top very thick, while the sides were strong and light, with
+openings all round, which allowed of ample ventilation.  He then
+insisted on Lord Reginald lying down while he went out to attend to his
+turtle-pens and garden, and to prepare a large saw to use on the boat.
+
+In the evening Lord Reginald declared that he felt quite able to
+commence work.
+
+"I don't want to hinder you," said Dick; "but I am afraid that you will
+find your strength not equal to the task."
+
+Lord Reginald, however, insisted on trying, and Dick, notching the wood,
+fixed the saw ready for work, he taking one end and Lord Reginald the
+other, but before the latter had pulled it backwards and forwards a
+dozen times he had to confess that he could not go on, and sat down
+completely exhausted.  Dick instantly ran and got some broth he had
+prepared for supper.  Though the young lord revived after he had
+swallowed some of it, Dick insisted that he should not again make the
+attempt, and persuaded him to sit down in the shade, while he, with his
+axe, began stripping off the bark.
+
+Dick pursued the plan followed by boys when cutting out a model boat.
+He first carefully planed the upper surface, using a level, until he was
+satisfied that it was perfectly even.  He then began pencilling out the
+form of the upper works, so that both sides might be exactly even,
+avoiding the risk of making the boat lop-sided.
+
+"You seem to me, Hargrave, to bestow a great deal of pains on the work
+you are about," observed Lord Reginald.  "You will have to scoop out the
+whole centre part; what can be the use of polishing it down in that
+fashion?"
+
+"If I don't do that I may run the chance of not having the sides even,"
+answered Dick.  "Now, all we have got to do, when we have formed the
+upper part, will be to turn it over, so that the log may lay quite flat,
+and, with the aid of some forms which I propose making, shape out the
+two sides.  Though by using the forms we shall take longer than if we
+did without them, it will be better than trusting only to the eye."
+
+Before dark Dick had made some progress, but as he could not expect much
+help from Lord Reginald for some days, he determined in the mean time to
+prepare the wood which he would require for the gunwale, and also the
+forms.  For the latter purpose he used some flat boards, which, as the
+canoe was four feet wide, required only to be a little more than two
+feet broad.  This latter work he was able to carry on indoors during the
+evening, while Lord Reginald assisted him in drawing out the plan.  They
+agreed that it was important to give the boat a flat floor, though she
+might be made more seaworthy by having a deep keel, which could be
+easily bolted on.
+
+Before they lay down to rest that night, they had in their minds' eye
+completed the craft.  Dick saw Lord Reginald busily drawing on a blank
+page in one of the books.
+
+"There, Hargrave; that's what our craft will be like," he said, when he
+had finished, handing him the paper.  "You see, I give her three lugs,
+with a flying main-topsail, so that we can carry plenty of sail, if
+required, or get her quickly under snug canvas.  By raising the gunwale
+two feet all round, and decking over the fore and after ends, we shall
+have plenty of room to stow away our provisions, and be able to go
+through a pretty heavy sea.  She'll be a fine craft, depend upon that,
+and I shall feel quite proud when we run alongside the old _Wolf_ and
+hail her, to ask `What ship is that?' as if we didn't know her."
+
+"I am afraid it will be many a long day before we get the boat to look
+like that," observed Dick.  "Digging her out will be a tedious business,
+I suspect, and it will take a considerable time, after the lower part of
+the hull is finished, to raise the gunwale and put on the deck.  Then,
+remember, we have to fit her with outriggers, which we must make as
+strong as possible, or they may chance to be carried away."
+
+"Oh, you don't know how hard I shall work when I once begin," answered
+Lord Reginald.  "I can fancy myself already chopping and sawing and
+chiselling away under your directions, for I shall leave all the more
+delicate work to you, though, as I improve, I may be able to help you in
+that also."
+
+Notwithstanding Lord Reginald's eagerness to begin, Dick saw the next
+day that he was far too weak to do any work out of doors.  He could sit
+only in the shade, with a book in his hand, or watching him as he
+laboured at the bench.
+
+"Why, Hargrave, you ought to have been rated as one of the carpenter's
+crew, for you work as well as the best of them could do.  However, I
+hope, when we return on board the frigate, that you may have a far
+higher rating than that.  You will have learned navigation by that
+time."
+
+"I'm afraid that will not be of much use to a man before the mast,"
+observed Dick.
+
+"But, my dear Hargrave, I hope you won't always remain before the mast,"
+answered Lord Reginald.
+
+"I don't see any chance of my ever being anywhere else; and pray do not
+raise my expectations, as I should never have thought myself of being
+promoted, except some day, perhaps, after I have more experience, I may
+become a warrant officer," said Dick.
+
+"Well, well, perhaps I ought not to have spoken of my own hopes and
+wishes," replied Lord Reginald.  "I let out a thought which has been in
+my head for some days, and I would on no account try to raise hopes
+which may never be realised."
+
+Eager as Dick was to work at the boat, he was compelled to make
+excursions in search of game, and he seldom returned without two or
+three birds or a small deer.  Besides opossums, he had occasionally
+caught sight of a tiger-cat, which, however, was not of a size to make
+him fear that it would venture to attack him, savage as it appeared
+while climbing a tree or leaping from bough to bough.  Though he had no
+wish to interfere with the tiger-cat, he had a great fancy for catching
+some of the pigs which scampered about beneath the trees, picking up
+fruits and nuts, and digging for roots.  His bolts, though capable of
+penetrating the more delicate skin of the deer, glanced off the thick
+hide of the pigs.  He bethought him, therefore, after watching their
+runs, that he would make a pitfall in which some might be caught without
+difficulty.  Finding the ground tolerably soft, he set to work
+immediately with a wooden spade, and dug a hole four feet square and the
+same in depth, which he covered over carefully with bushes and earth.
+His success was greater than he expected, for the very next day, on
+visiting the pit, he found two fat porkers grunting away at the bottom,
+and tumbling over each other, in vain endeavouring to extricate
+themselves from their prison.  Running back to the hut for a rope, he
+managed to get it with a slip-knot over the hinder leg of one of the
+pigs, which he quickly hauled out.  He took the precaution of having a
+thick pointed stick in readiness, should the pig attempt to charge him.
+At first the animal lay on the ground, astonished at the unusual
+treatment it was receiving.  Dick then getting his stick ready in one
+hand and the rope in the other, gave a pull away from the hut.  The pig
+instantly jumped up and dashed off at full speed, in the direction Dick
+wanted it to go.  He followed, laughing, every now and then giving a
+pull at the rope, which he kept as tight as he could, at the same time
+holding his stick ready for his defence.  With loud squeaks and angry
+grunts, on it rushed towards Lord Reginald, who was quietly reading,
+seated on the ground in the shade, while Dick shouted and laughed in
+addition.  The noise aroused the young lord, who started up with looks
+of astonishment in his countenance.  He was just in time to leap out of
+the way, when the pig charged full at the spot where he had been
+sitting, Dick being only just able to check the brute's progress, but he
+managed to bring it up by making the rope fast round small tree which
+came in his way.  No sooner was the pig thus brought to a stand, than,
+looking round, it espied its captor, who, however, springing back,
+avoided the onslaught.  The pig, after making several strenuous efforts
+to escape, grunting and squeaking terrifically all the time, exhausted
+by its exertions, lay down, with its keen eyes watching for an
+opportunity of revenging itself.
+
+"I say, Hargrave, I might try my hand at building a pig-sty," said Lord
+Reginald.  "I doubt that I am capable of any higher style of
+architecture, but I think I can accomplish that."
+
+"At first it occurred to me that we might build one," answered Dick;
+"but I now think that it would occupy too much of our time, as it must
+be a very different style of structure to our turtle-pen.  This fellow
+would soon knock down any building, unless very strongly put up.  I
+should be sorry to see your lordship engaged in such work."
+
+"`Your lordship,' you should say, `is not capable of so stupendous an
+undertaking,'" remarked Lord Reginald, laughing.  "But I say, Hargrave,
+you are forgetting our compact.  Call me `Reginald' or `Oswald,' which
+you please."
+
+"I beg pardon," said Dick; "but if this fellow cannot be taught to
+behave himself, the sooner we turn him into bacon the better, and we can
+keep his companion in the pit until we want him to undergo the same
+process."
+
+As the boat was now really begun, their work could be carried on without
+interruption.  Dick, the next day, took another excursion in search of
+the coffee berries he had seen, as well as of any other vegetable
+productions of the island.  After searching for some time at the further
+end of the island, he discovered the pods he had before seen, which were
+now completely ripe.  Examining them carefully, he was convinced that
+they were coffee berries.  He accordingly collected as many as he could
+put in the sack he had brought, thankful that they would afford a useful
+and agreeable beverage to his companion.  A short time afterwards, he
+came upon a wilderness of canes, which he had before mistaken for
+bamboo, and on tasting them, he was convinced that they were sugarcanes,
+probably the remains of a plantation, long ago deserted.  He cut a
+bundle, hoping that he and Lord Reginald might design some plan for
+extracting the juice and turning it into sugar.  He was about to set off
+with his burden--a pretty heavy one--when to his astonishment, and no
+small dismay, he felt the ground shake beneath his feet.  This unusual
+circumstance was followed almost immediately afterwards by a deep hollow
+sound, and on looking up, he saw, in the direction of the cave dense
+masses of smoke issuing forth, followed by lurid flames, while several
+streams of lava began to flow down the hill.  As the lava, however, took
+a course towards the sea, in an opposite direction to where he was
+standing, he watched for some moments the eruption, instead, as some
+people might have done, throwing down his load and running away from the
+neighbourhood.  Satisfied, at length, that it was not increasing, he
+turned his steps homewards.  He found Lord Reginald, who had felt the
+earthquake, and had been watching the volcano in activity, very anxious
+about him.
+
+"I am thankful to see you back, Hargrave," he said.  "Though no harm has
+happened, one thing is certain, that it will be wise in us to try and
+get our boat finished as soon as possible, so that, should the hill have
+another blow up, we may make our escape."
+
+"I hope that matters will not come to such a pitch as to drive us off
+the island," answered Dick; "but if you are well enough to-morrow, we
+will begin work in earnest."
+
+"I am well enough to begin it at once," was the answer.  "What have you
+got there?"
+
+Dick showed the contents of his sack.
+
+"Coffee berries, to a certainty," said Lord Reginald, tasting one of
+them.  "All we have now to do is to roast and grind them.  I am capable
+of doing that, at all events, and now let me taste one of those canes?
+Sugar, no doubt of it.  Why, if that burning mountain doesn't drive us
+away, we may live on here in luxury for months to come."
+
+"I shall be glad enough to remain, and never was so happy in my life,"
+answered Dick, who spoke from his heart.  "I am very glad to hear it,
+Hargrave.  I may say the same for myself, and I really think that I
+shall be sorry when the life we are now leading comes to an end."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FIFTEEN.
+
+PROGRESS IN BOAT-BUILDING--HOT POKERS--SYSTEM IN WORKING--FIXING ON THE
+KEEL--DICK AND HIS PIGS--FINISHING THE BOAT--THE ONLY REGRET--PREPARING
+FOR THE TRIAL TRIP--THE LAUNCH--ONCE MORE AFLOAT--ASPECT OF THE ISLAND--
+THE VOLCANO--CLEANING DECKS--A STRANGE SAIL--RUNNING FOR THE
+BAY--"WHAT'S TO BE DONE?"--THE BOAT RECALLED--A STORM--A FEARFUL NIGHT.
+
+The two Crusoes, now no longer rivals, worked vigorously away at their
+boat.  Every day Lord Reginald gained strength, and was able the more
+effectually to help Dick, who, however, never spared himself.  With the
+young lord's assistance, he sawed off the large pieces at the end
+intended for the bows, which he afterwards shaped with his axe and
+plane.  From the stern, much less had to be taken off.  Here the axe did
+nearly all the work.  Having then planed all round the sides and bows,
+the log presented the appearance on the upper part of a well-formed
+canoe.  The workmen had now to turn her over, and to commence shaping
+the lower part.  Having stripped off the bark, which he could not before
+get at, Dick, again using his level, planed it evenly, and then
+carefully marked out the part to which the keel was to be fixed.  With
+his adze he shaped both sides, using the forms he had previously
+prepared.  In some parts there was very little wood to take off, though
+he had to cut away considerable at the bows and stern.  Lord Reginald
+found that as yet there was comparatively little for him to do, as, from
+want of experience, he could not for some time use either the adze or
+the axe.
+
+At length, the whole of the outside of the canoe was shaped, and Dick
+and his companion surveyed it with no little satisfaction.
+
+"We must now turn her on her keel again, and begin digging her out,"
+observed Dick.  "It will cost us no little trouble, I suspect.  We may
+begin with the axe, but it won't do to use that as we get on, for fear
+of making a hole through the side or bottom.  We must then employ the
+gouge, and I have sharpened up all the large ones I found in the
+carpenter's chest."
+
+"I have heard of a mode of digging out canoes by means of hot stones or
+hot irons.  We have irons enough for the purpose, and by lighting a fire
+near at hand, might keep them constantly hot," said Lord Reginald.
+
+"I should be afraid of burning through the wood, or causing it to split,
+unless we use the irons only in the centre.  We might try that, and see
+how it answers," replied Dick.
+
+Several stanchions and other bars of iron, which had been extracted from
+the wreck, were accordingly fitted with handles, and they soon had half
+a dozen "hot pokers," as Lord Reginald called them, heating in a fire
+close to the canoe.  Dick, however, was of opinion that they made far
+more progress with the adze, but as Lord Reginald could not use it in an
+efficient way, Dick proposed that his companion should work away at one
+end with the hot pokers, while he plied his adze at the other.  He chose
+the stern, and using the adze vigorously, chopped away the wood under
+his feet, sending out large chips at every stroke, while Lord Reginald
+ran backwards and forwards with his hot pokers; but though he made a
+great deal of smoke, he found that he burnt away only a small quantity
+of wood with each instrument.  Though there was no doubt that he would
+succeed in the end, he had to confess that Dick's method was the most
+rapid.
+
+"Still," he observed, "every little helps, and I'll go on burning away
+at my end, while you continue chopping at yours."
+
+This plan was agreed to, and they were both well satisfied with the
+progress made during a single day.  It took them, however, not one day,
+but several, before the canoe was cleanly dug out.  The last part of the
+process was much slower than the first, from the necessity there was to
+be careful lest they should dig their gouges through the sides.  As
+these became thinner and thinner, Dick would frequently stop and run his
+brad-awl through to ascertain their thickness more exactly, taking care
+to stop the hole afterwards.
+
+As may be supposed, they constantly kept an eye on the volcano, which
+occasionally threw up flames and smoke, but gave no indications of
+preparing for a more serious eruption.  Still, the two Crusoes agreed
+that it would be wise in them to get their craft ready for sea, in case
+of being compelled to put off from the island.
+
+It was a day of rejoicing when they had at length completed the hull,
+and as they looked all round her they felt satisfied that she was of
+equal thickness at the sides, except the bow and stern, which were of
+course thicker.  They had now again to turn her over to fix the keel,
+which was already prepared.
+
+While Dick had been engaged in finishing off the inside with his gouge,
+Lord Reginald had searched all the timber thrown on shore, for bolts and
+nuts.  About a dozen were found, with which the keel was fixed on, and
+bolted inside in a way which gave it great strength, so that it could
+not be torn off, even should a rock be struck.  Having sheered up the
+canoe, she now stood on an even keel, and Dick and his companion walked
+to a little distance to admire their handiwork, and both agreed that she
+was as perfect as could be.
+
+"Yes, and we owe her perfection to your judgment, Hargrave.  For by
+myself, I should never have thought of building such a craft," said Lord
+Reginald.  "She will be more perfect, however, when we get the bulwarks
+and deck on her, the thwarts fitted, and the masts stepped and the sails
+set, and we stand away from the island."
+
+"I am in no hurry to go," said Dick.  "If I had not felt it was my duty
+to work and get her done, in case an outbreak of the volcano should
+place your life in danger, I don't think I should have worked so hard."
+
+"But yours is of equal value," said Lord Reginald.
+
+"Pray don't say that; except my father and mother and my blind sister--
+who have probably long since thought me dead--I have no one to care for
+me, and you have numerous relations and friends; besides which, I hope
+you will some day have the opportunity of serving our king and country,
+and becoming one of England's admirals."
+
+"Come, come, Hargrave, you are breaking through our agreement, and
+professing to be of less value than I am.  Your friends care for you, as
+much as mine do for me, and more so probably, if the truth was known,
+and as to my becoming an admiral, you have as great a chance as I have."
+
+"I am sorry to have to differ from you," said Dick, laughing in spite of
+himself.  "However, we will get the craft ready and make a trial trip in
+her, and then it may be wiser to stay here until we are driven off the
+island, or some friendly ship comes in sight.  Some day or other an
+English vessel must pass this way, or the _Wolf_ herself may come to
+look for us."
+
+"Very little chance of that, or she would have come long ago," answered
+Lord Reginald.  "However, I agree with you that it will be better to
+live on here as long as we have plenty of provisions, and trust to be
+taken off by friends, than have to cruise about in an unknown sea
+without a chart, with the chance of being picked up by Frenchmen, or of
+running into an enemy's port."
+
+Lord Reginald had now almost completely recovered his strength, and was
+able to help Dick in a variety of ways.  They were both up at daylight
+every morning, their first visits being to their turtle-pen, and pig-sty
+as they called the pit where the porker was confined.  The first pig
+caught, Dick had been compelled to kill, from its savage disposition,
+while the one in the pit had become perfectly tame and grunted with
+pleasure, whenever he approached with food.  Had it not been for his
+wish to finish the boat, he would at once have built a sty for it, but
+he waited until the craft was completed.
+
+Neptune would lie in the shade, an attentive observer of all their
+operations, and at times would come and look up in his master's face, as
+if asking whether he could not be of some assistance.  Lord Reginald at
+last taught him to carry about the tools, and when Dick wanted one, he
+had only to point to it, and the dog would bring it up to him
+immediately.  It took some time to put on the bulwarks, as ribs had to
+be fitted to give them sufficient strength.  Perseverance conquered all
+difficulties, and at last the hull was raised two feet all round,
+somewhat higher at the bows, over which a deck was fitted nearly six
+feet in length.  Over the after part, a deck four feet long was formed,
+with water-ways six inches wide down the sides.  The three masts were
+quickly made.  There were plenty of spars for the purpose, as well as
+for the yards; three oars, and a pair of paddles, which might be useful
+to pull the boat round when going about.  In the evening they worked
+away, making the three lugsails, the topsail, and a small fore-staysail.
+On the top of the gunwale, four spars were fixed to serve as
+outriggers, supporting at either end two long flat boards, which they
+hoped would effectually prevent their boat from capsizing.  An English
+flag had been washed ashore, which, although somewhat torn, after its
+dimensions had been reduced, would serve very well for the purpose
+required.
+
+Dick had a surprise for Lord Reginald.  He had been anxious about the
+possibility of their boat leaking, through cracks which might open as
+the wood dried.  Among the stores he had collected was a cask of pitch,
+which he now rolled out.  He had to exert his ingenuity in forming a tar
+brush for putting it on.  This he manufactured out of cocoanut fibre.
+An iron kettle, which had been too large for ordinary use, served for
+heating it.  They found that they had more than sufficient to pay over
+the whole outside, as well as the inner part of the bows and stern and
+the parts where the bolts fixing on the keel came through.  The decks,
+which were covered over with canvas, were also thickly pitched so as to
+prevent any leaks.  The craft was now completed.  Having set all their
+sails to see how she looked, the flag was hoisted with three cheers, and
+they were now ready for whatever might occur.  The same rollers which
+had served to bring the log to the neighbourhood of the hut, now enabled
+them by dint of hard labour and the due application of handspikes, to
+move their craft down to the beach just above high water.  It was close
+to the spot where Dick had drawn the carpenter's chest on shore, and the
+same tackle he had then rigged would serve to haul her up again after
+they had made their experimental trip.  This they resolved to do the
+next morning.  Dick proposed that they should lay down moorings, where
+she could remain afloat.  The bay was sheltered except from a southerly
+wind, and should it come on to blow from that quarter they must either
+run round to the other side of the island or haul her up again.
+
+It was nearly dark by the time they had got their craft down to the
+beach, and with hearts grateful to Heaven that they had thus far been
+able to carry out their design, they returned to their hut.  As may be
+supposed, they spent their evening in discussing their arrangements.
+They had still no small amount of work to accomplish, provisions to
+prepare for their voyage, and the means of carrying water, which was not
+the least of the difficulties they had to overcome.
+
+Neither, however, was anxious to leave the island.  Dick was perfectly
+happy in the life he was leading, and dreaded, should he ever go on
+board a man-of-war again, notwithstanding the hints thrown out by Lord
+Reginald, that he should be separated from one for whom he had acquired
+so deep an affection, and should be exposed to the same rough treatment
+he had before had to endure.  Lord Reginald was unwilling, in so frail a
+bark, to run the risk of navigating those dangerous seas without a chart
+for his guidance, and was fully impressed with the belief that ere long
+some British man-of-war would be sent to search for them, or that they
+might get on board some English merchantman.  Notwithstanding this, he
+was prepared, should it become necessary, to undertake the voyage, and
+either to steer to the south of Java, or to run through one of the
+numerous passages between the islands to the east of that island, and so
+to reach Batavia.  His belief was that the _Marie_ had been wrecked on
+an island to the south of Floris or Sumbawa, at no great distance
+probably from Timor.
+
+So interested had they been in discussing these subjects, that it was
+later than usual before they turned in.  Dick, who from having been the
+chief architect, was far more anxious than his companion to try their
+new craft, was the first to awake.  Quickly dressing, he ran down to the
+beach to have a look at the craft, and see that she was all right.
+
+In a short time the tide would be high, and as the beach was steep, she
+might, resting on the rollers, be quickly launched, having the tackle
+ready to check her if necessary.
+
+The wind was along shore, so that they might at once make sail, and
+either stand out to sea or run round the coast, and get a better view of
+it than they had hitherto done.  The weather, too, was as fine as it had
+been for some time past.  As far as Dick could judge, there was every
+prospect of its continuing favourable.  He hurried back to light a fire,
+and prepare breakfast.
+
+Neptune, who had followed him, when he saw the cooking operations had
+made some progress, gave several loud barks, which awoke Lord Reginald.
+
+"You should have called me, Hargrave!" he said.  "I should have liked to
+have assisted in making preparations for our trip."
+
+"As we may be kept out some hours, I was anxious that you should have as
+long a sleep as possible," answered Dick.
+
+"Thank you; but I am as strong as ever now, and feel ready for any
+amount of fatigue," said the young lord.  "By-the-by, as you talk of the
+possibility of our being out several hours, it will be prudent to take
+some provender on board.  Even if we are so much employed as not to care
+for eating, Nep, at all events, will have nothing to do, and will be
+glad of some food."
+
+"I thought of that," answered Dick, "and I have filled half a dozen
+cocoanut shells with water, and proposed taking some smoked venison and
+pork, with some flour cakes and a basketful of fruit.  If you think we
+may require more provisions, we may tumble one of the turtles into the
+bottom of the boat; it will serve as ballast, and not be the worse for
+the trip."
+
+"Why, we shall have sufficient provisions to last until we reach
+Batavia," said Lord Reginald, laughing.  "However, it's as well to be
+prepared.  By-the-by, you were speaking of ballast, the craft will
+require more than the turtle, and our provisions, even for a short
+trip."
+
+"I thought of that, too," said Dick, "and I have made a number of canvas
+bags, which we can fill with sand and take on board the boat after she
+is afloat."
+
+As soon as they had finished a hearty breakfast, carrying down their
+stores, they put them on board, and at once set to work to launch the
+boat.  It was an anxious time, as it is to every ship-builder when he
+sees a vessel on a new construction, about to float on the element which
+is to be her future home.  The tackle was hooked on, and the end secured
+on board.  Several pieces of rock, of a size which they could lift on
+board, had been got ready, afterwards to be bound together, so as to
+form moorings of a sufficient weight to hold the boat.  These had been
+left down on the beach close to the water, so that it would not take
+long to lift them in.  Lord Reginald went on board to ease off the
+tackle, while Dick, with a handspike, gave the necessary impetus to the
+craft.  She glided down the beach, gaining speed as she advanced, until
+with a splash her bows entered the water.  Dick gave a few more heaves
+to encourage her, and in another minute she was almost afloat.  He
+shoved at her stern with all his might.  Then leaping on board he got
+out an oar and urged her on until she was in deep water.  He had
+fastened a rope to a stone, which on being thrown overboard kept her
+head seaward, when she was hauled back again sufficiently near the beach
+to enable them to lift their ballast-bags and mooring-stones on board.
+The former having been properly stowed, the latter, according to their
+arrangement, were bound tightly together, and the tackle being cast off,
+they paddled her into the bay, far enough from the shore to enable her
+to ride in safety.  The moorings were then let drop, and the tackle so
+arranged that the boat could be hauled towards the beach without the
+necessity of their first going on board.
+
+With justifiable pride they surveyed their handiwork.  "Now let's get
+under way!" cried Lord Reginald.  "She floats well on the water, and is
+higher out of it than I expected."
+
+As the wind was light, all the canvas was hoisted.  The sails filled,
+and being sheeted home, the little craft stood away from the land.
+
+"She behaves beautifully!  You ought to have been a ship-builder, and
+you would soon have become famous.  Indeed, I am sure that you would
+succeed in whatever you undertook," exclaimed Lord Reginald.
+
+"You flatter me too much," answered Dick.  "I picked up a knowledge of
+carpentering when I was a boy, and necessity is said to be the mother of
+invention, so, soon after we were wrecked, I began to consider how a
+craft could be built.  I have had her planned out in my head for many a
+day.  In what direction shall we sail?"
+
+"We will beat up to the westward, as the island extends furthest in that
+direction," answered Lord Reginald.  "We will then run round it, and by
+making a long tack out to sea, we shall weather the eastern point and
+stand back again into this bay.  Should the wind not drop, we shall do
+it in four or five hours, though of course it is impossible to say how
+long we shall be detained.  However, we will trust to having a good
+breeze, and at all events getting back before night.  If we are kept
+out, the worst that can happen will be to lose our sleep.  We must keep
+a vigilant watch, and on no account lose sight of the island."
+
+To this Dick, of course, agreed; indeed, he would not have dreamed, now
+that he was once afloat, of disputing any suggestion of one whom he
+looked upon as his commanding officer.
+
+"There is one thing you have forgotten, Hargrave."
+
+"What is it, my lord?" asked Dick.
+
+"You forget our compact, Hargrave.  It must last until I dissolve it,
+and that will not be while you and I are together," answered Lord
+Reginald.  "However, as I was going to observe, we have forgotten to
+give this craft a name.  She deserves a pretty one.  Have you thought
+about the matter?"
+
+"No," replied Dick.
+
+"Well, then, I confess that I have; but I want you to name her," said
+Lord Reginald.
+
+"If I may be pardoned for proposing such a name, I should say call her
+the _Lady Julia_," answered Dick, after a few moments' consideration.
+
+"Lady Julia, I have no doubt, would be flattered," said Lord Reginald,
+with perfect gravity, "and I should be very happy to call our craft
+after her; but I think, as you are the architect, and not only the
+architect but chief constructor, that she should be called after your
+sister.  In my opinion the _Janet_ is a very pretty name."
+
+"I would rather that you settled the point," answered Dick, "and if you
+think fit to call her the _Janet_, I shall be perfectly pleased."
+
+"The _Janet_ she shall be, then," answered Lord Reginald; and from
+thenceforth their craft was called the _Janet_ by the two Crusoes.
+
+After standing on for some distance, Lord Reginald proposed that they
+should go about.  This required no little skill and activity.  It was
+necessary to haul down a foresail and mainsail.  This they did, Dick
+leaping from one to the other, and shifting the yards over, ready to
+hoist again, the staysail bringing her round, but as, from her length,
+she was a long time about it, Dick found it necessary to get out one of
+the paddles, a few strokes with which were of great service.
+
+Lord Reginald managed the mizzen, while Dick rehoisted the foresail and
+mainsail.  The rudder, it should have been said, was fitted with long
+yoke-lines, which, being led well forward, made the operation of
+steering more easy than it would otherwise have been.
+
+"I suspect that in a heavy sea we shall find that the _Janet_ doesn't
+come about as well as we should wish," observed Lord Reginald.
+
+"We shall improve by practice," said Dick, "and you forget that in a
+heavy sea we shall not be carrying our mainsail, and may be even without
+the foresail, so that we shall only have the fore-staysail and mizzen to
+manage, and we may expect to be favoured with calm weather.  She goes to
+windward, at all events."
+
+Still, Lord Reginald, like many other naval officers, was not much
+accustomed to sailing boats, and was less satisfied with the sea
+qualities of their craft than he could have wished.
+
+Dick's trips on board the _Nancy_ had taught him how a lugger should be
+managed, but she had, he confessed, a more numerous crew than that of
+the _Janet_.  However, he hoped by activity to make up for that
+deficiency.
+
+As the _Janet_ glided rapidly over the smooth surface of the ocean, he
+naturally felt proud of her.  On hearing the eastern end they came in
+view of the side of the volcano sloping up almost from the water.  Here
+and there, just above the beach, a few scathed trees were seen, but the
+rest of it was covered with lava which had rolled down from the summit,
+filling up all the hollows, and extending some distance, layer above
+layer, into the water.
+
+It was satisfactory to see that this was the direction which the lava
+had hitherto taken, but they also perceived that it might at any time
+rush down the opposite side of the hill, and destroy the animals and
+rich vegetation existing in the two remaining fertile valleys.  Dick was
+employed in looking out ahead for any reefs or other dangers which might
+exist off the island, when Lord Reginald exclaimed--
+
+"Look there, Hargrave!  Look there!  You see the volcano is in an angry
+mood."
+
+As he spoke, a low dull sound was heard coming from the shore, and from
+the top of the volcano rose a dense black mass, which extended itself
+like an umbrella.  Directly afterwards down came a shower of ashes,
+covering every part of the boat, while the coast itself was completely
+shut out from view, except where a lurid glare could be seen on the
+summit of the hill, and from the streams of lava descending the sides.
+Masses of rock and other dense substances were also thrown up, and their
+splashes could be heard as they fell into the water, though they
+themselves were invisible.
+
+Lord Reginald steered to the northward, in order that they might as soon
+as possible get away from the dangerous neighbourhood, but it was some
+time before they were free of the ashes and once more had the bright sun
+shining down upon them.
+
+They looked anxiously towards the island, and were thankful to observe
+that a large portion to the eastward was bright and fair, showing that
+it had not suffered materially from the eruption.  It might, however,
+only be the commencement of a still more serious outbreak, and they were
+thankful that they had their vessel ready, in case it should become
+necessary to escape for their lives.  As they opened up the eastern side
+of the hill, they saw the trees which had hitherto escaped, burning
+furiously, surrounded by the hot lava.  They had too much reason to fear
+that the conflagration might extend still further, and destroy the whole
+of the remaining vegetation, though it was possible that the stream
+would stop its progress, and that the part of the island on which they
+had been living might be spared.  Dick now set to work to get rid of the
+ashes which covered the boat.  It was no easy task.  He had only a piece
+of board to serve as a shovel, and a handful of oakum.  He cleared the
+decks and water-ways and thwarts, but he found it impossible to get them
+out of the bottom of the boat.
+
+"Never mind," said Lord Reginald, "it will serve instead of a coat of
+paint."
+
+"She will look very like a coal barge," answered Dick, who was vain of
+the hitherto clean appearance of their craft.
+
+The wind continued very light, and it was some time before they reached
+the eastern end of the island, which they calculated was at the utmost
+ten miles long and five or six broad.  They looked out narrowly for any
+small harbour into which they might run, should the wind come from the
+southward, and blow into their bay.
+
+With the risk of another eruption of the volcano, it was important to be
+able to start at a moment's notice.  Should the wind blow into the bay,
+it might be impossible to launch the _Janet_.  At the very eastern end
+they came off an opening with a reef running out to a considerable
+distance on the southern side.  It had the appearance of just the sort
+of harbour they required, but as Dick had not visited it, he could not
+tell whether there would be space sufficient for the _Janet_ to swing
+clear of the rocks.  They had been examining it narrowly, and Lord
+Reginald proposed that they should row in the boat, to ascertain its
+capabilities, when Dick turning round for an instant to the south-east,
+exclaimed--
+
+"A sail, a sail!"
+
+Lord Reginald sprang to his feet, and looking in the same direction,
+observed, "She's a large ship, too, and standing this way.  What if she
+should prove to be the _Wolf_?"
+
+Dick made no answer.  He almost hoped that she would not prove to be
+their ship.  The time he had enjoyed so much would come to an end, and
+he must henceforth associate with those in whose society he could no
+longer take pleasure.
+
+Lord Reginald, not for a moment doubting that Dick was as pleased as he
+was, altered the _Janet's_ course in the direction of the stranger.
+They had brought a telescope, a remarkably good one for its size.  He
+turned it towards the approaching ship.
+
+"From the cut of her sails, I doubt whether she's the _Wolf_, after
+all," observed Lord Reginald, "even if she's English," he added.  "No,
+that she's not.  She's hoisted her colours.  If my eyes don't deceive
+me, that's the French flag.  Here, Hargrave, see what you can make out."
+
+Dick took a steady look.  "That's the French flag, no doubt about the
+matter," he answered; "if you look again you will be certain of the
+fact."
+
+"I was nearly certain of it before," answered Lord Reginald, "and as I
+have no fancy to be taken on board a Frenchman, we will haul our wind,
+and get back to our bay.  We should fetch it with one tack, and by
+unstepping our masts very probably the boat will not be seen, or our hut
+either, unless the Frenchmen narrowly examine the island."
+
+"With all my heart," said Dick, greatly relieved, as he hoped to get
+into the bay before the Frenchmen had discovered the _Janet_.
+
+She, it will be remembered, was low down in the water, so that the
+look-out aloft on board the stranger might not have seen her from the
+distance they were off.  The wind freshened, and the little craft made
+good way.
+
+"The sooner we are on shore the better.  I don't like the look of the
+weather to the westward," observed Lord Reginald.
+
+The sky in that direction had a lurid appearance, betokening a strong
+wind, produced possibly by the eruption.  Dick was of the same opinion,
+and felt more than ever anxious to get on shore.
+
+"We shall fetch into the bay now," observed Lord Reginald.
+
+The little craft behaved admirably, and by careful management was put
+about without the aid of an oar.  She now hauled up for the bay.
+
+"We shall fetch the moorings, if the wind holds as it now does; but we
+must lower the mainsail if it increases much," said Lord Reginald.
+
+Dick kept the halliards in his hands.  For some time she stood up to her
+canvas, when a strong blast striking her, she heeled over until her lee
+outrigger was under water.
+
+"Lower away!" cried Lord Reginald, and in an instant the mainsail was
+taken off her.  "We shall probably have to take in the foresail, too,"
+he observed.
+
+Dick stood by, ready to lower it.  Before many minutes were over it had
+also to be taken in, and the fore-staysail and mizzen were as much
+canvas as she could carry.
+
+The ship had by this time come almost off the island; the whole hull
+down to the water could be seen.  Lord Reginald had, however, too much
+to do in attending to the _Janet_, to look after her; he had now to pick
+up his moorings.  Dick had manufactured a strong boat-hook, and was
+standing at the bows, ready to get hold of the buoy.
+
+"There it is, sir," he exclaimed; "if you luff up now, we shall get hold
+of it."
+
+Lord Reginald put down the helm, and Dick at the same moment hauling
+down the fore-staysail, and the lugger shooting up, he got hold of the
+buoy, and soon had the cable secured.  The question was now, whether
+they should haul the boat up on the beach or leave her afloat.  She was
+less likely to be seen hauled up, and a few branches would completely
+conceal her.  They decided to haul her up, and by bringing the cable
+aft, with a warp attached to it, her bows approached sufficiently near
+to enable Dick to leap out and get hold of the tackle.  This being
+secured to her bows, the stern warp was slackened off, and rollers being
+placed under her keel, both exerting all their strength, they hauled her
+up the beach.  The masts were unstepped, and a few boughs, which were
+quickly cut, were stuck into the sand on either side of her, to hide her
+from view.
+
+Lord Reginald had now time more narrowly to watch the proceedings of the
+ship.  Having come directly off the bay she hove to.  "She has lowered a
+boat," he exclaimed.  "The Frenchmen must have seen the lugger after
+all, and are coming in to ascertain what has become of her.  We must
+decide how to act.  If we hide our selves, they may in wantonness
+destroy our hut and our boat.  What do you propose we should do,
+Hargrave?"
+
+"I should rather hear what you think best.  I'm sure I shall be ready to
+agree with you," answered Dick.
+
+"No, no; I would rather hear what you think best," said Lord Reginald.
+
+"Then I would stay where we are, and explain that we have been
+shipwrecked, and would prefer remaining on the island to leaving it."
+
+"To tell you the truth, I am afraid, Hargrave, that they'll not give us
+the choice; but still, I agree with you that is the best plan to try
+them.  They may possibly allow us to remain, and not injure our
+property; but I own I very much fear that they will carry us off, for
+the sake of exchanging us for any of their countrymen who may have
+fallen into the hands of the English."
+
+During this conversation they remained concealed in the bushes, watching
+the progress of the boat.  The anticipation of being detained on board a
+French ship of war, and afterwards, perhaps, shut up in prison, was not
+a pleasant thought.  That such would be their fate, neither Dick nor
+Lord Reginald had any doubt.  They saw that the boat was a large one,
+and the gleam of musket barrels showed that she carried armed men.
+
+All this time the wind had been increasing, and the weather looked worse
+and worse.  Presently a flash issued from the side of the ship, and a
+loud report reached their ears.
+
+"That's a signal for the recall of the boat," observed Lord Reginald.
+
+The officer in command, now that he was so close in, appeared unwilling
+to obey it, but another gun was fired to show that the captain was in
+earnest in the matter, and the boat being put round, the crew, bending
+their backs to the oars, pulled away towards their ship.
+
+They had no time to lose, for the threatened gale was fast approaching.
+A third gun was fired to hasten them; the wind, however, came from the
+north-west, which was in their favour, while Lord Reginald and Dick were
+thankful that there was little risk of the _Janet's_ suffering.  They,
+however, as a precautionary measure, by rigging an additional tackle,
+got her higher up the beach.  They also secured her by stays at either
+side, fixed to pegs run deeply into the sand, for they well knew the
+effects of a hurricane in those seas.
+
+They had good reason to be thankful that they had got on shore before it
+came on.  Dick looked towards the volcano.  The eruption had, however,
+subsided, and the rain, which now came down in torrents, had apparently
+extinguished the fire which they had so much dreaded.  What had become
+of the ship they could not tell, as she had completely disappeared in
+the watery veil which intervened between her and the land.  They could
+only hope that the boat had got alongside, and that her crew had been
+taken on board.  Dick had built his hut so strongly that it withstood
+the furious blast raging round, which shook it every now and then,
+threatening to tear it up from the foundation, while the roof creaked
+and clattered as if about to be carried off.  The night was a more
+fearful one than any they had passed since that of their shipwreck; but
+how different were their feelings!  The two inhabitants were then at
+deadly enmity; now they were bound together by the nearest ties of
+friendship, and each was anxious to serve the other.  The thunder
+roared, the lightning flashed, and the rain continued to come down in
+liquid sheets.
+
+"We have reason to be thankful for this," said Lord Reginald, "for had
+not the rain come on, the whole island might possibly, by this time,
+have been covered with flame, and we should not have had a spot on which
+to rest our feet with safety."
+
+Their chief anxiety was about their boat.  Though the ocean might not
+reach her, she might be blown away, or the tree to which she was secured
+might be torn up by its roots, and crush her; if so, should another
+eruption of the volcano occur, their condition would be truly dreadful.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER SIXTEEN.
+
+CONTINUATION OF THE GALE--A SHIPWRECK--TO THE RESCUE--DICK SAVES LORD
+REGINALD'S LIFE--NEARLY DROWNED--IN THE CAVE--INCREASED NUMBERS--CAUSE
+FOR ALARM--THE RETURN TO THE HUT--THINGS THROWN ON SHORE--PREPARATIONS
+FOR QUITTING THE ISLAND--INCREASED STORES NECESSARY--COMMOTION OF THE
+ISLAND--A HASTY EMBARKATION--VOYAGE OF THE JANET--THE PIRATE FLEET--A
+CHASE--ALONGSIDE THE WOLF--GOING ON BOARD--DICK MADE AN OFFICER--MR
+BITTS GIVES GOOD ADVICE--THE RETURN TO ENGLAND--AN UNLOOKED-FOR MEETING
+AT ELVERSTON HALL--HOME--BEN RUDALL'S WIFE--CONCLUSION.
+
+The gale raged through the livelong night.  The roaring of the breakers
+on the shore, the howling of the wind amidst the rocks and trees, kept
+the two Crusoes awake for many hours.  They heartily hoped that the wind
+might not change and drive the ship they had seen in the evening on the
+island, to share the fate of the _Marie_.
+
+Sleep at last overtook them.  They were awakened at length by a
+tremendous crash.  They both leapt out of bed, and hurried on their
+clothes.  The hut, shaken violently by the force of the wind, seemed
+every moment as if about to be carried away.  It was with difficulty
+that they could force open the door to ascertain what had occurred.  It
+was already broad daylight.  Several tall trees near them had fallen.
+They looked anxiously in the direction of the boat.  The tree to which
+she was secured stood firm, and the additional ropes, which they had
+wisely used, had kept her in her position.  The wind had shifted, and
+the sea was rolling into the bay, and dashing up almost close to her
+stern.  Their next glance was at the volcano--that was still in a state
+of eruption, sending up smoke and flame, but if any ashes or stones were
+cast forth they were forced by the wind to the other side of the island.
+The young men earnestly prayed that they might not be sent in the
+direction of the hut, for while the storm raged their boat would be
+useless, as they could not venture off in her.  Their next look was
+seaward in search of the ship.  She was nowhere visible; indeed, the
+thick masses of spray thrown up high into the air shrouded all objects
+at a distance.
+
+"Can she have gone on shore at the other end of the island?" exclaimed
+Lord Reginald.  "If so we may still be in time to save some of her
+people."
+
+Dick agreed with him, though fearing that, should the ship have struck
+on the rocky coast, all hands must have perished.
+
+"If we save any of them, they may be glad of food," said Lord Reginald,
+and putting up such provisions as they had cooked, they hurried off,
+each armed with a long stick, followed by Neptune, who, although he
+seemed to have an instinctive dread of approaching the burning mountain,
+was yet willing to follow his master.  Instead, however, of bounding on
+before, as was his usual custom, he kept close at Lord Reginald's heels.
+They took the most direct route along the broad valley, intending then
+to turn to the left down the narrow valley which led to the bay near
+which the _Marie_ had been lost.
+
+For some time they were protected by the high ground on the southern
+side of the broad valley, but on opening the smaller one they met the
+full force of the gale, and it was with difficulty that they could make
+progress against it.  The tall trees twisted and bent, and quantities of
+nuts came tumbling down, which they often had difficulty in avoiding.
+To the right was the burning mountain, towards which they cast many an
+anxious glance, for at any moment it might send forth a shower of stones
+and ashes, which might overwhelm them.  As they reached the sea-shore,
+near the cave, they saw that their worst anticipations had been
+fulfilled.  At the further end of the reef lay the wreck of a fine ship.
+The larger portion had been torn away by the fury of the seas.  The
+masts, bowsprit, and upper works had all gone.  Not a human being could
+be discovered on board, while the foam-covered masses of water which
+raged around her must have carried off any who might have attempted to
+reach the shore.  The waves, surging through the bay, rolled high up on
+the beach, rendering it dangerous even to approach them.  Masses of
+timber and plank, of casks and cases, everywhere covered the space
+between the wreck and the beach.
+
+"There's not a living man to be seen.  I fear all must have perished!"
+exclaimed Lord Reginald.
+
+"I am afraid that you are right," answered Dick.  "No, no.  I see two
+clinging to a spar in the middle of the bay.  One, at all events, is
+alive.  He must have caught sight of us, for he waved his hand.  If the
+spar is driven in here we may save him."
+
+Together they hastened down to the edge of the water.  Lord Reginald, in
+his eagerness, dashed forward, when a sea, rolling in, took him off his
+legs.  In another instant he would have been carried away, had not Dick,
+at the risk of his own life, dashed forward and grasped him, struggling
+back with the greatest difficulty.  Scarcely had they regained their
+feet, when the spar came so close that Neptune, making a spring, caught
+a rope which was hanging to it, and dragged it up towards them.  Lord
+Reginald seized it and held on, while Dick prevented the spar from being
+rolled over on the two men clinging to it, for their strength was almost
+too far gone to enable them to help themselves.  Dick, getting out his
+knife, first liberated one of the men, and assisted him up the beach out
+of the reach of the water.  He then hurried down to render the same
+service to the other.
+
+"Thank you, my friends!" said the man first rescued.  "You have saved my
+life when I had well-nigh given up all hope."
+
+The other was too far gone to utter a word.
+
+"What! are you an Englishman?" inquired Lord Reginald, on hearing the
+first speak.
+
+"Yes, but my companion is a Frenchman, and yonder wreck is that of a
+French ship, on board which I was a prisoner."
+
+"Whether French or English, this poor fellow wants looking after,"
+observed Lord Reginald.  "Come, lend a hand, Hargrave, and we will carry
+him into the cave; it is the most sheltered spot hereabouts.  Can you
+walk, my friend?" he asked of the Englishman.
+
+"I'll try, sir," was the answer.
+
+While Lord Reginald and Dick carried up the Frenchman to the cave, the
+other man crawled, rather than walked after them, unwilling longer than
+possible to remain exposed to the force of the fierce wind.  On reaching
+the cave they found a pile of sticks which Lord Reginald had formerly
+collected.  Dick having a flint and steel with him, they soon made up a
+blazing fire.
+
+Their first care was then to strip the Frenchman and chafe his limbs and
+chest.  Under such treatment he soon revived.  Though both the
+shipwrecked men were severely bruised, none of their limbs were broken.
+
+The Englishman, whose appearance was that of a mate of a merchantman,
+said that his name was Robson, that he had been captured three weeks
+before by the French ship--a large privateer--and that his companion was
+one of her crew.  He had been somewhat roughly dealt with on board, but
+that the man saved with him was the only one who had treated him kindly.
+As neither had eaten anything since the previous day, they were very
+thankful for the provisions their rescuers had brought, and leaving the
+two men to finish their meal and recover their strength, Lord Reginald
+and Dick again set out to search for any other persons who might be
+thrown on shore.
+
+On leaving the cave they found that the gale had already begun to abate.
+They thus made their way with greater ease than they had expected along
+the beach, which was strewn with pieces of wreck.  They met with several
+dead bodies, but not a single living being could they discover, either
+on shore or floating on the pieces of limber still tossing about.
+
+They were returning along the beach to the cave, when they saw the two
+men they had left there running towards them, their countenances, as
+they approached, exhibiting the greatest alarm.
+
+"There's something dreadful going to occur, sir," exclaimed Robson.  "We
+were just about to lie down, when we heard the most fearful rumbling
+noise, and the rocks about us trembled as if they would come down on our
+heads.  Let us get away from this place as fast as we can, or we shall
+have been only saved from drowning to suffer a worse death."
+
+The dashing of the seas on the beach had prevented Lord Reginald and
+Dick from feeling the commotion which had so frightened the strangers,
+but Neptune showed that he was as anxious as they were to escape.
+
+"You are right, my friend," said Lord Reginald, looking up at the
+mountain.  "We have a disagreeable neighbour up there, and it will be
+wise to get as far away from him as we can.  Whatever happens, we may
+hope to be safe at the other end of the island."
+
+As no time was to be lost, they returned along the valley by the way
+they had come, glancing back every now and then to ascertain the state
+of the volcano.  It was still throwing up volumes of smoke and flame,
+but no stones or ashes fell where they were.  At any moment, however,
+should the wind change, they might be carried in their direction.  The
+two strangers were much alarmed, and had their strength been greater
+would have hurried on faster.  Lord Reginald kindly took Robson's arm to
+help him along, while Dick supported the Frenchman.  Robson was much
+relieved on hearing that his preservers had a boat to carry them away
+from the island.
+
+"I only hope, sir, that the mountain won't get worse until the weather
+moderates, and we are able to put to sea," he observed.
+
+"We are pretty well accustomed to it now," said Lord Reginald, "and I
+hope that we shall run into no real danger.  We shall be glad, I own, to
+get off, if we can find our way to Batavia or any other place in the
+hands of the British."
+
+"I have been cruising in these seas for some years, and though the
+Frenchmen didn't let us know whereabouts we were, if I could once get
+sight of Bali or Lombok, or for that matter any of the islands to the
+eastward of Java, I should soon find my way," answered Robson.
+
+"One thing is certain, that we must steer to the northward to get into
+the Java sea, and as we have a compass we shall have no difficulty in
+doing that," said Lord Reginald.
+
+"Then, sir, I hope you'll put off without delay.  I don't like the looks
+of that mountain blazing away there," exclaimed Robson, casting an
+alarmed glance over his shoulder.
+
+"We will not stay longer than is necessary," said Lord Reginald.  "We
+are thankful that we did not sail yesterday, or our craft would have
+been lost to a certainty."
+
+The mate, before entering the hut, was anxious to see the boat, and Lord
+Reginald and Dick, with some little pride, led the strangers up to her.
+The mate opened his eyes.
+
+"You are right, sir, in being thankful that you were not at sea last
+night," he observed.  "She may do very well in smooth water, but in a
+sea way she would prove a curious craft to manage."
+
+Dick felt somewhat indignant at this remark, though Lord Reginald only
+laughed.
+
+"I agree with you, my friend; but we have to choose between being
+smothered or burned by the volcano, or making a voyage in her, and I
+prefer the latter alternative."  On entering the hut, the mate, having
+complimented Dick on its comfortable appearance, assured him that he
+considered the boat a wonderful structure, and such as he himself would
+never have thought of building.
+
+Pierre Didot, the Frenchman, was equally complimentary.
+
+The two shipwrecked men were thankful to lie down and go to sleep, while
+Lord Reginald and Dick went along the shore to try and pick up anything
+of value which might be cast on the beach.  They were rewarded by
+discovering another cask of flour and an officer's chest, which among
+other things contained a chart of those seas.  Had they known their true
+position, this would have been of great value, but as they were unable
+to ascertain this, the chart would be of little service, till they
+reached some land which the mate might recognise.
+
+They possessed, it is true, some nautical instruments, but as they had
+no chronometer and no almanac, Lord Reginald had been unable to work out
+his observations correctly, though he had instructed Dick in their use.
+
+The chest also contained a flask of gunpowder and a pistol.  Some way
+further along the beach they picked up three muskets, which had been
+jammed into the rack in which they had been fixed, and the whole
+together had been washed ashore.
+
+"They are too much injured to be of use, I fear," observed Lord
+Reginald.
+
+"Perhaps we can manage to put them straight; at all events we will try,"
+answered Dick.
+
+Several other articles, however, were found, two of them being empty
+water-casks, which were likely to be of more use than anything else.
+They returned to the hut, well laden with their treasures.  They found
+the two new-comers sitting up, having just awakened, much refreshed by
+their sleep.
+
+As soon as Pierre heard of the muskets, he said that he had belonged to
+the armourer's crew, and was certain that he could repair them.
+
+Dick having prepared dinner, as soon as it was discussed the whole party
+set off to bring in the stores.
+
+"I say, that mate of yours works like a good one," observed Robson to
+Dick.  "If I ever get the command of a craft, I should like to have you
+and him with me."
+
+"Thank you," said Dick, laughing.  "I'll tell him what you say; I am
+sure that he'll be pleased to hear it."
+
+As they had a long way to go, it was late before they had brought in all
+the articles collected.  There were more than sufficient completely to
+fill Dick's store.
+
+The next morning, Pierre set to work on the firearms, and was busily
+employed the whole day, singing merrily while at work, as if he had
+entirely forgotten the loss of his companions.  The rest of the party
+were engaged in filling the water-casks, as well as a large number of
+cocoanut shells.  They also collected a quantity of fresh nuts, and all
+the fruit and vegetables likely to keep during the voyage.  Robson,
+however, was in no hurry to put off; the sea, indeed, continued too
+heavy to enable them to launch the boat.  He examined her over and over
+again, evidently unwilling, except compelled to do so, to make a voyage
+in her.  He suggested strengthening the outriggers, by carrying ropes
+from the two ends under her bottom.  He also advised that she should be
+covered in more completely with canvas, which being laced down the
+centre, spaces only being left here and there for her crew, would
+prevent her filling should a sea break on board.
+
+The first use Lord Reginald made of one of the muskets, when completed,
+was to kill four deer and a couple of hogs.  These Dick dried and
+salted, that they might have sufficient provisions for their increased
+numbers.  He formed also two additional oars, that, should they meet
+with calms, they might be able to pull, or enter an unknown harbour,
+with less risk of running on a rock or reef.
+
+Many months had passed away.  To Dick they had been the happiest in his
+life.  Though ready enough to trust the _Janet_, he was in no hurry to
+leave the island.  Lord Reginald, perhaps, was the most anxious to
+leave; still he did not shut his eyes to the danger of a voyage in so
+frail a craft.  Everything had been got ready for a start, when one
+morning the party in the hut were awakened by a more violent upheaving
+of the earth beneath them than they had yet experienced.  On rushing out
+of doors, they saw the whole island moved in a fearful manner, tall
+trees waving to and fro, and masses of rock falling into the valleys
+below.
+
+"To the boat, to the boat!" cried Lord Reginald.  "My friends, there is
+not a moment to be lost.  Should the volcano not burst forth, the sea
+may recede and leave our craft far inland.  The first thing we have to
+do is to get her afloat."
+
+They hurried to the boat, and the tackles being got ready and the
+rollers placed under her keel, they commenced launching her.  With four
+hands this was a more easy operation than when undertaken only by two.
+
+Scarcely had the after part reached the water than the fearful rumbling
+noises increased, and the volcano begun to spout forth its contents, in
+a far more terrific manner than had hitherto been witnessed, while the
+atmosphere grew lurid with flame.  Streams of lava were also seen
+descending on every side of the hill.
+
+The crew of the _Janet_ worked with redoubled vigour, and by hauling on
+the rope attached to the moorings, she was quickly got afloat.  While
+her stern still touched the beach, all hands were engaged in lifting on
+board the cargo, which, owing to Lord Reginald's forethought, had
+previously been arranged, water, fuel, and provisions, and besides other
+stores, several of the most useful of the carpenter's tools.  Pierre had
+ingeniously contrived a cooking stove, which was placed just abaft the
+foremast.  As the boat was loaded, she was hauled off from the beach.
+All the party were on board, with the exception of Lord Reginald, who,
+followed by Neptune, ran back to the hut, to ascertain that nothing of
+consequence was left behind.  He discovered that the compass had been
+forgotten.  He was just taking it up, and was looking round to see if
+there was anything else, when Nep, giving a peculiar bark, pulled his
+trousers, and he heard Dick's voice frantically calling upon him to
+return.  He hurried out, and made towards the boat.  As he did so, he
+saw that the volcano was in a state of violent eruption.  He did not
+stop to take a second look, but climbing up over the quarter, and
+hauling up Neptune after him, he shouted to Dick to haul off.  The
+_Janet_ was quickly run out to her moorings.  The wind was from the
+westward.  The warp being hauled in, sail was made, and Robson and
+Pierre, getting out the oars, pulled with all their might.  They had
+good cause for doing so.  A vast umbrella-shaped cloud hung over the
+mountain, extending on every side, and already ashes had begun to fall
+into the water close astern, while as they got further off, they could
+see huge stones, sufficient to have sunk the boat, falling into the bay
+where they had lately floated.  The breeze freshened; still that
+threatening cloud grew larger and larger, the sun, which had risen,
+appearing like a huge globe of fire through it.  They would have been
+thankful for a gale of wind to carry them to a safe distance.  Lord
+Reginald got out another oar aft, and Dick one forward.
+
+The young lord considered that it would be safer to keep the boat's head
+to the eastward, and then haul up to the northward, the course they
+intended to steer.  As they watched the island through the dense cloud
+by which it was surrounded, it appeared one mass of flame; while the
+volcano itself, with the hills beneath it, appeared melting away.
+
+"It's only to be hoped that they may sink to the bottom, and not break
+up any more stout ships!" cried Robson.  "However, as I have gained my
+liberty, I have no cause to complain."
+
+The wind freshened, and the _Janet_ under all sail making good way, by
+nightfall the burning island appeared like a bonfire, far over the
+larboard quarter.  As it was necessary to keep a bright look-out, Lord
+Reginald and Pierre took one watch, Robson and Dick the other.
+
+"Well, I never did think she would go along in this style," observed
+Robson, looking over the side, and noting the way the _Janet_ moved
+through the water.
+
+Among the articles picked up had been a half-minute glass, and a long
+line having been fitted, her speed could be ascertained.  With the wind
+on her quarter she was found to be making seven knots an hour, which was
+considered by all to be wonderfully good going.
+
+For two days the _Janet_ stood on without any land appearing in sight.
+At length, on the evening of the third day, an indistinct outline was
+discovered right ahead.  A calm came on, and all night she lay without
+advancing on her course.  Although Dick and the other men offered to get
+out the oars, Lord Reginald would not permit them to exert themselves,
+knowing that they might require their strength for an emergency.
+
+As the sun rose a breeze sprang up, and again they were skimming along
+over the smooth sea, at the rate of five knots an hour.  At length, the
+land became more and more distinct.  It was of considerable height, but
+the mate acknowledged that he could not tell what it was.  At last he
+declared it to be the island of Sumbawa, and by steering to the west an
+opening was discovered.  As no one knew the character of the
+inhabitants, it was agreed that it would be wiser not to land, and the
+little craft keeping in mid-channel, was not likely to be observed from
+either shore.
+
+For some hours they were becalmed, and it was not until nearly daylight
+that they approached the entrance of the straits.  Running on all day
+with a fair breeze, before nightfall they had entered the Java sea.
+Here, however, the chart showed islands innumerable, and dangers of all
+sorts.  During the night, to avoid the risk of running on them, the
+_Janet_ was kept under easy sail.  For several days they sailed on,
+steering to the north-west, Lord Reginald determining not to touch at
+any place until Batavia was reached, unless compelled to do so from want
+of water or fresh provisions.  They were in the longitude of Madura, a
+large island lying off the north coast of Java, when a numerous fleet of
+small vessels was seen in the north-east, standing towards them.  Robson
+having taken a look at the strangers through his glass, cried out that
+they were piratical craft, which infested Borneo and the neighbouring
+coasts, and were wont to show no mercy to any falling into their hands.
+
+"We must try and keep ahead of them, then," answered Lord Reginald, "and
+if they come up with us, fight to the last.  With these three muskets
+and a pistol, we can do a little, and must make the best use we can of
+our boat-hook and oars."
+
+"The best thing we can do with our oars is to keep ahead of them,"
+answered the mate.  "They are big craft, and would run this lugger down
+without ceremony."
+
+"And we will keep ahead of them," was the answer.  "We will get out the
+oars, and try and make the _Janet_ walk along."
+
+In spite, however, of the strenuous efforts made by the _Janet's_ crew,
+it was too evident that the pirates, if such they were, were overhauling
+her, having a stronger breeze than she had got to send them through the
+water.  A small island appeared on the starboard bow.  The mate
+suggested that by landing there, they might escape into the interior,
+and save their lives.
+
+"Or be murdered by its inhabitants," said Lord Reginald, laughing.  "We
+will trust to our own little craft.  We shall get the breeze before
+long, and we will then see if we cannot distance our pursuers."
+
+There appeared, however, too much probability that his hopes would prove
+vain.  The pirate fleet, of thirty vessels or more, each manned by some
+fifty or sixty cut-throats, was approaching nearer and nearer.  Lord
+Reginald having had the muskets handed to him, loaded them carefully,
+and placed them by his side.
+
+"We will keep pulling to the last, and when they come within
+musket-shot, I'll pick off some of the fellows in the leading vessel.
+That will make them fancy we are better armed than we are, and they may
+not think it worth while to attempt capturing us."
+
+They were at this time passing to the southward of the island before
+mentioned.  The breeze freshened, and the _Janet_ made better way than
+she had hitherto been doing.  However, the pirates had already got
+almost within musket-shot, but Lord Reginald was unwilling to throw a
+charge away.  At length, turning round and seeing that the leading
+pirate was within range, he fired.  He quickly took up the next musket,
+and as he did so, he called to Dick to come aft and reload them.  By the
+time the third musket was fired, Dick had loaded the first.  A dozen
+shots had been fired, though it was difficult to ascertain the effect
+produced.  By this time the _Janet_ had opened out the west end of the
+island, when Dick, looking up, just as he was handing a musket to Lord
+Reginald, exclaimed--
+
+"A sail, a sail! and a man-of-war, too, standing down towards us, under
+every stitch of canvas she can carry."
+
+"She'll be up to us in twenty minutes more, and all we need do is to
+keep ahead of our pursuers," answered Lord Reginald, taking a glance at
+her, before firing the musket he had received from Dick.  That glance,
+however, was sufficient to convince him that she was the _Wolf_.
+
+He was again about to fire, when the pirate craft were seen in a state
+of confusion, putting about.  As fast as they could, lowering their
+sails and getting out their oars, they pulled away for their lives in
+the wind's eye.  They had an advantage by keeping closer in shore than
+the frigate could venture; besides which, the wind was light, and thus
+gave them a better chance of escape.  They had, however, been seen from
+the frigate, which stood on after them, and at first appeared as if
+about to pass the _Janet_.  In a few minutes, however, the British
+ensign was seen flying from the lugger's mainyard; at the same time it
+was perceived that the frigate would have little chance of overtaking
+the pirate proas.
+
+Lord Reginald stood up and waved his hat, while all hands shouted at the
+top of their voices.
+
+"They've made us out.  She's about to heave to, sir.  Hurrah! hurrah!"
+shouted Dick.
+
+The frigate, coming up with the wind, hove her maintop-sail aback.  The
+lugger stood on for a short time, then hauling her wind, ran up under
+the _Wolf's_ lee.
+
+"What craft is that?" asked a voice from the frigate's gangway.
+
+"The private yacht _Janet_, bound from we don't know exactly where, for
+Batavia, or for any British man-of-war we can fall in with, especially
+the _Wolf_," answered Lord Reginald.
+
+"You've fallen in with the very frigate you're in search of," answered
+Mr Curling, the first lieutenant, who had before spoken.  "Come
+alongside, and let's hear more about you."
+
+"That's more than we can do with these outriggers," said Lord Reginald.
+"Lower a boat, and we will step into her."
+
+This was speedily done, and Lord Reginald, in another minute, was
+ascending the sides of the frigate.
+
+Dick hesitated about going on board.  The moment he had been dreading
+had arrived; he must now be separated by an immeasurable distance from
+the man he had learned to love and respect.
+
+Lord Reginald received a warm welcome from Captain Moubray and his
+brother officers.  Great, indeed, was their astonishment at seeing him.
+It was fully believed that either the _Marie_ had been captured, or that
+she had been lost in the hurricane which came on soon after the convoy
+reached Batavia.
+
+"And now we must either drop your craft astern or hoist her up, for we
+must continue the chase of yonder piratical fleet," said the captain.
+
+"I doubt very much whether we shall be able to tow her without the risk
+of tearing out her bows," said Lord Reginald, "it will be safer to hoist
+her up, though to do so we must first unship her outriggers.  Her
+builder is on board, and as soon as he has completed his task I should
+wish to introduce him to you, as he is a young man of talent to whom I
+am most deeply indebted."
+
+"I shall be happy to make his acquaintance," answered the captain, not
+dreaming of whom Lord Reginald spoke.
+
+The carpenter, with three or four hands, under Dick's superintendence,
+quickly unshipped the outriggers, and all wondered, when they saw how
+narrow and frail she looked, that she should have come without accident
+so great a distance.
+
+As she touched the deck out jumped Neptune, leaping and barking with
+delight at seeing his old shipmates, who patted his head and stroked him
+as he rushed in and out among them.  The boat being hoisted in, and the
+mainyard being braced round, the frigate was steered as close as the
+wind would allow in the direction taken by the pirate fleet.
+
+Dick, who had not as yet been recognised by any of his old shipmates,
+busied himself in stowing away the _Janet's_ masts and sails, until Lord
+Reginald, coming along the deck, took him by the arm and led him aft to
+the captain.
+
+"Now let me introduce my friend, Mr Richard Hargrave.  I can especially
+recommend him to you, sir, as a young man of sterling worth, possessed
+of talents of no ordinary kind, and he has twice saved my life."
+
+The captain, to Dick's great surprise, shook him cordially by the hand.
+"I shall be happy, Lord Reginald, to do my best to serve him," he said,
+not recognising Dick as one of his crew.
+
+"The greatest favour you can do me would be to place him on the
+quarter-deck, and I can answer for it that he will prove an ornament to
+the service," answered Lord Reginald.
+
+Perhaps no one was more astonished than was Mr Curling, who remembered
+Dick, though the others did not, and also the ill feeling shown towards
+him by Lord Reginald, but he kept his counsel, waiting to hear the
+captain's reply.
+
+"He is rather old to enter the service, but as I am glad to do anything
+you wish, and to reward him for saving your life, I cannot refuse your
+request," answered the captain; "and as we have several vacancies which
+I can fill up, I will appoint Mr Hargrave as one of the midshipmen of
+this ship."
+
+Lord Reginald expressed his gratitude to the captain, and, shaking Dick
+by the hand, heartily congratulated him on his promotion.  "I ought to
+have said, sir, that he has served on board this ship, and I think the
+officers who observed him will acknowledge that he always did his duty."
+
+"I can answer for that," said the first lieutenant.  "I am truly glad to
+find that I was not mistaken in the opinion I long ago formed of him."
+
+"Now, my dear Hargrave," said Lord Reginald, "I must introduce you to
+the other midshipmen.  They will all be eager to hear an account of our
+adventures on the island, and I am sure you need have no fear as to the
+way they will receive you."
+
+Before, however, Lord Reginald took him into the berth he got him rigged
+out in a uniform supplied by the purser, which, with other articles of
+clothing belonging to Voules, made up his outfit.
+
+The midshipmen received Dick in a friendly manner, no allusion being
+made to his former rating.  He took the first opportunity of paying a
+visit to the cabin of Mr Bitts the boatswain.
+
+"I thought I knew you when you came on board, but was not certain enough
+to go up and speak to you," said Mr Bitts.  "And now, Mr Hargrave,
+pray understand that though I did use my rattan now and then pretty
+sharply, I did it for your good, but as I had then a sincere wish to
+make a first-rate sailor of you, so I shall consider it a favour, if you
+ever want instruction in seamanship, if you'll come and ask me, and I
+shall be proud of affording it.  There's many a wrinkle I can give you
+which the quarterdeck officers might not think of.  Some day, and I hope
+it will not be long hence, you'll be my superior in the service, and it
+will be my boast to be able to say, `I taught him; I knew he'd turn out
+an honour to the navy.'"
+
+Dick thanked Mr Bitts, and promised faithfully to take advantage of his
+offer.
+
+In the mean time, the frigate under all sail had been chasing the
+pirates.  Though she went much faster through the water than they did,
+she had to make frequent tacks to keep them in sight.  They were still a
+long way ahead of her when darkness came on, and in the morning no sign
+of them could be seen.
+
+After spending some time fruitlessly looking about for them, and after
+visiting several of the Dutch settlements lately taken possession of by
+England, the _Wolf_ returned to Batavia, where the _Janet_ was landed,
+and Dick, had he been so disposed, might have exhibited her as a
+curiosity in naval architecture.  Here also Robson and Pierre went on
+shore, the former to obtain a berth as mate of an English merchantman,
+the latter to return at liberty to his native country on the first
+opportunity.  From Batavia the _Wolf_ sailed for Madras, then, after
+cruising for some time in the Indian seas, and capturing several prizes,
+she was at length ordered home.  She had made during the time she was on
+the East Indian station a considerable amount of prize-money, and though
+a midshipman's share is not very large compared to that of the captain,
+Dick's was not only sufficient to obtain a good outfit, but he had
+besides a well-filled purse in his pocket.
+
+"I want you to make me your banker," said Lord Reginald, as they were
+one day walking the deck together, and talking of home, "and that you
+may make such presents to your father and mother and blind sister as you
+choose, you must draw on me for your future requirements.  I will ask my
+father to get you on board the next ship to which I am appointed, and I
+hope that by the time I am made a commander you will have become a
+lieutenant, and that we shall still serve together."
+
+Lord Reginald was somewhat surprised, though Dick thanked him heartily,
+when he declined the first part of his offer.
+
+"My wants are not likely to be great, and I hope that the cash I now
+have and such prize-money as we may gain in future, will be ample to
+supply them," he added.
+
+"Well, well," said Lord Reginald, fully appreciating Dick's feelings on
+the subject, "you are very unlike poor Voules, who did not scruple to
+borrow what he had no intention to repay; but we will not talk of his
+faults, poor fellow!  I understand him now better than I did, but I have
+more reason to blame myself for having been toadied by such a man, than
+to find fault with him for paying court to me."
+
+The _Wolf_ reached Portsmouth after a somewhat long voyage, and going
+into harbour, was at once paid off.
+
+Lord Reginald invited Dick to accompany him to Elverston.  "Don't say
+who you are, and they'll suppose that I have got another Voules in tow,"
+he said, laughing.
+
+Dick thought it would appear ungrateful not to accept the invitation.
+
+Lord Reginald was received as one from the dead, as the news of his
+disappearance had reached home, and nothing had been heard of him since.
+After his mother and sisters had somewhat recovered from the agitation
+into which they had been thrown by his reappearance, and he had received
+the congratulations of his father and his elder brothers, Viscount
+Elverston and Lord John, he took Dick by the arm and introduced him as
+his friend and late shipmate, without mentioning his name.  The whole
+party then entered the drawing-room.  There were several persons,
+including three young ladies, engaged in various feminine occupations.
+One of them, a bright-eyed blooming girl, Dick thought resembled greatly
+in features his sister Janet.  He was describing to Lady Julia, who, now
+married, was staying with her husband in the house, their adventures on
+the island, when, turning round, he saw the last-mentioned young lady
+trembling violently, and gazing earnestly at him.
+
+"Oh, my brother, my dear brother!" she exclaimed, suddenly rising and
+throwing herself into his arms, quite forgetting the company present.
+"Have you really come back?  I know you, Dick, though I never saw your
+face before.  I know you by your voice and your likeness to our father."
+
+Dick, giving vent to his feelings in a way midshipmen are not wont to
+do, pressed her to his heart.
+
+"You are quite right, Miss Hargrave, it is your brother Richard, and my
+dearest and best friend," said Lord Reginald, coming forward.
+
+Matters were soon explained, and Dick received the heartfelt thanks of
+the marquis and Lady Elverston as the preserver of their son, and
+compliments innumerable flowed in upon him from all the company present.
+
+As soon as he could he seated himself near Janet, who told him of the
+welfare of their father and mother, and how she had been restored to
+sight by the removal of the cataract from her eyes by a skilful oculist
+to whom Lady Elverston had taken her.
+
+Dick and Janet set off the next day for their father's farm.  Dick's
+stay on shore, however, consisted but of a few weeks, some of which were
+spent at Elverston in company with Lord Reginald.  He paid poor Susan
+Rudall and her children a visit, when he performed the painful duty of
+giving them an account of Ben's death.  Lord Reginald, however, cheered
+her up somewhat, by assuring her that she should not come to want, a
+promise which he faithfully fulfilled, the marquis making her an
+allowance, while Lady Elverston obtained employment for her in the
+neighbourhood.
+
+At length, Lord Reginald and Dick joined a fine frigate, to which the
+former had been appointed as second lieutenant.
+
+The marquis as speedily as possible obtained Dick's promotion.  Both he
+and Lord Reginald rose to the top of their profession, and few more
+gallant officers have served their country than Admirals Lord Reginald
+Oswald and Richard Hargrave.
+
+THE END.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Rival Crusoes, by W.H.G. Kingston
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