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Bob obeyed, grinning, and the skipper, taking the wheel from Sam, senthim for the others.

"Did you ever know me break my word, Dick?" he inquired abruptly, asthey shuffled up.

"Never," said Dick.

"Cap’n Bowers’ word is better than another man’s oath," asseverated Joe.

"Well," said Captain Bowers, with a wink at the mate, "I’m going to giveyou chaps a little self-denial week all to yourselves. If you all liveon biscuit and water till we get to port, and don’t touch nothing else,I’ll jine you and become a Salvationist. "

"Biscuit and water," said Dick doubtfully, scratching a beard strongenough to scratch back.

"It wouldn’t be right to play with our constitooshuns in that way, sir,"objected Joe, shaking his head.

"There you are," said Bowers, turning to the mate with a wave of hishand. "They’re precious anxious about me so long as it’s confined tojawing, and dropping tracts into my tea, but when it comes to a littlehardship on their part, see how they back out of it. "

"We ain’t backing out of it," said Dick cautiously; "but s’pose we do,how are we to be certain as you’ll jine us?"

"You ‘ve got my word for it," said the other, "an’ the mate an’ cookwitness it. "

"O’ course, you jine the Army for good, sir," said Dick, still doubtfully.

"O’ course. "

"Then it’s a bargain, sir," said Dick, beaming; "ain’t it, chaps?"

"Ay, ay," said the others, but not beaming quite so much. "Oh, what ajoyful day this is!" said the old man. "A Salvation crew an’ a Salvationcap’n! We’ll have the cook next, bad as he is. "

"You’ll have biskit an’ water," said the cook icily, as they moved off,"an’ nothing else, I’ll take care. "

"They must be uncommon fond o’ me," said the skipper meditatively.

"Uncommon fond o’ having their own way," growled the mate. "Nice thingyou’ve let yourself in for. "

"I know what I ‘m about," was the confident reply.

"You ain’t going to let them idiots fast for a week an’ then break yourword?" said the mate in surprise.

"Certainly not," said the other wrathfully; "I’d sooner jine three armies than do that, and you know it. "

"They’ll keep to the grub, don’t you fear," said the mate. "I can’t understand how you are going to manage it. "

"That’s where the brains come in," retorted the skipper, somewhat arrogantly.

"Fust time I’ve heard of ’em," murmured the mate softly; "but I s’poseyou’ve been using pint pots too. "

The skipper glared at him scornfully, but, being unprovided with a retort, forbore to reply, and going below again mixed himself a stiff glass of grog, and drank success to his scheme.

Three days passed, and the men stood firm, and, realising that they wereslowly undermining the skipper’s convictions, made no effort to carryhim by direct assault. The mate made no attempt to conceal his opinionof his superior’s peril, and in gloomy terms strove to put the fullhorror of his position before him.

"What your missis’ll say the first time she sees you prancing up an’down the road tapping a tambourine, I can’t think," said he.

"I shan’t have no tambourine," said Captain Bowers cheerfully.

"It’ll also be your painful dooty to stand outside your father-in-law’spub and try and persuade customers not to go in," continued Bob. "Nicething that for a quiet family!"

The skipper smiled knowingly, and, rolling a cigar in his mouth, leanedback in his seat and cocked his eye at the skylight.

"Don’t you worry, my lad," said he; "don’t you worry. I’m in this job,an’ I’m coming out on top. When men forget what’s due to their betters,and preach to ’em, they’ve got to be taught what’s what. If the windkeeps fair we ought to be home by Sunday night or Monday morning. "