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To this we modestly agreed, and hoped that the prisoners had arrived safely on board.

He grinned. “You may lay to that. We had to club half a dozen of them as soon as they were lifted aboard. When I say ‘we’ I ought to add that I was in my hammock and never heard a word of it, being a heavy sleeper. That,” said Mr. Strangways pensively, “is my one fault.”

We attempted to convey by our silence that Mr. Strangways’ single fault was a trifling, a venial one.

“It’ll hinder my prospects, all the same.” He nodded. “You mark my words.” He nodded again, and helped himself to a round of buttered toast. “But I’m told,” he went on, “there was an unholy racket. They couldn’t do much, having the jollies on both pair of paws; but a party in mother-o’-pearl buttons made a speech about the liberty of the subject, in a voice that carried pretty nearly to Gosport: and the first lieutenant, being an old woman, and afraid of the ship’s losing reputation while he was in charge, told them all to be good boys and he would speak to the Captain when he came aboard; and served them out three fingers of rum apiece, which the bo’sun took upon himself to hocus. By latest accounts, they’re sleeping it off and–I say, waiter, you might tell the cook to devil those kidneys.”

“But hasn’t Captain Suckling returned yet?” I ventured to ask.

“He hasn’t,” said Mr. Strangways. “The deuce knows where he is, and the first lieutenant, not being in the deuce’s confidence, is working himself into the deuce of a sweat. What’s worse, His Excellency hasn’t turned up yet, nor His Excellency’s suite: though a boat waited for ’em five solid hours yesterday. All that arrived was His Excellency’s valet and about a score of valises, and word that the great man would follow in a shore-boat. Which he hasn’t.”

From this light gossip Mr. Strangways turned and addressed himself to the devilled kidneys, remarking that in his Britannic Majesty’s service a man was hungry as a matter of course; which I afterwards and experimentally found to be true.

Well–not to protract the tale–an hour later we took boat with our belongings, under Mr. Strangways’ escort, and were pulled on a swift tide down to the ship. It so happened that the first and second lieutenants were standing together in converse on the break of the poop when we climbed on board and were led aft to report ourselves. The second lieutenant, Mr. Fraser (in whom we recognised our friend of the night before) stepped to the gangway and shook hands with a jolly smile. His superior offered us no such cheerful welcome, but stuck his hands behind him and scowled.

“H’m,” said he, “are these your two infants? They look as if they had been making a night of it.”

I could have answered (but did not) that we must be looking pasty-faced indeed if his gills had the advantage of us: for the man was plainly fretting himself to fiddle-strings with anxiety. He turned his back upon us and called forward for one of the master’s mates, to whom he gave orders to show us our hammocks. We saluted and took leave of him, and on our way below fell in with Strangways again, who haled us off to introduce us to the gun-room.

Of the gun-room and its horrors you’ll have formed–if lads still read their Marryat nowadays–your own conception; and I will only say that it probably bears the same relation to the Melpomene’s gun-room as chalk to cheese. The Melpomene’s gun-room was low–so low that Strangways seldom entered it but he contused himself–and it was also dark as the inside of a hat, and undeniably stuffy.

Yet to me, in my first flush of enthusiasm, it appeared eminently cosy: and the six midshipmen of the Melpomene–Walters, de Havilland, Strangways, Pole, Bateman, Countisford–six as good fellows as a man could wish to sail with. Youth, youth! They had their faults: but they were all my friends till the yellow fever carried off two at Port Royal; and two are alive yet and my friends to-day. I tell their six names over to-day like a string of beads, and (if the Lord will forgive a good Protestant) with a prayer for each.