"Why, I was taking my trick at the wheel, your honour," cried Tom Fillot, in tones of protest.

"So you was, messmet," growled Dance; "so you was. There, your honour,"

he continued, turning to the captain, "you see how dark it were."

"Try again, sir," said the captain, sternly.

"d.i.c.k Bannock," said Dance.

"Which I were o' dooty in my watch, mate," cried the man.

"Ay, so you was, messmet. No, your honour, it were too dark. P'r'aps,"

he added, cunningly, "one o' the blacks knows."

Here there was a murmur.

"Silence!" cried the captain, sternly. "I'm afraid I shall have to recall this as a mark against you, Dance, when the time comes for promotion. It is very plain, sir, that you do know, and will not speak.

Hark here, my lads, I am going to pa.s.s this over. I cannot punish two ignorant, half-savage men for resenting a cruel attack upon them--cruel and cowardly. Go below now, and show me in the future that you have too much common sense to play such boys' tricks again. Let the two blacks step out."

Efforts were made to induce the two Africans to advance, but without avail.

"Now, are those men coming aft?" said the captain, sternly; but there was only a buzzing sound below, and something extremely like a scuffle.

"Beg pardon, sir; they don't understand," said Bob Howlett. "They'd come up if I spoke to 'em."

"Then go down and send them aft--or no," said the captain, impatiently.

"I want them to understand that they are pardoned, but that there must be no violence again. There, that's enough, Mr Staples. Pipe the men below."

"And that's an end of it," whispered Bob Howlett, as soon as the captain was out of hearing. "I say, Van, wasn't old Joe Dance a trump?"

CHAPTER THIRTEEN.

THE ENEMY ONCE MORE.

"All this time sailing here and there," said Mark one day, "and not done a bit of good."

"Do you hear that, Mr Whitney?" cried Bob. "There's grat.i.tude, when it has been just as if we were under orders to keep at sea so as to get him and Mr Russell well again; and look at 'em now. Why, it has quite cured 'em both."

"And their doctor has done nothing, Mr Bob Howlett?"

"Oh, I didn't mean that, sir, exactly," said that gentleman, colouring a little. "Of course you have done them a lot of good, sir, and--"

"There, you are only floundering about, young gentleman, and making worse of it," said the doctor, gruffly.

"Wait a bit; you will be laid by the heels one of these days, and then you will sing a very different song. But you are a wonderful deal better, Vandean, and I congratulate you. I shall not have to ask for you to be sent home."

"Oh yes, I'm much better, sir," cried Mark.

"Well, don't talk as if you were afraid I was going to order you pills and draught. I've done with you, but you had better be careful Mr Russell can go on without me now. As for Mr Howlett here--well, we'll wait for that."

He gave Bob a curious look and strolled away, leaving that gentleman with his face screwed up in a way which made Mark burst out laughing.

"Oh yes, it's all very well for you to grin," grumbled Bob; "you're out of the wood. He don't like me, and you see if he doesn't serve me out first chance he gets."

"Then you should have been more careful about what you said."

"Well, I was. I do believe he'd like to have me down in his cabin to cut up for experiment, and to practise physic on. Ugh! the old wretch!"

he continued, with a shudder.

"Hallo! what's the matter now?" he added, as the man up aloft shouted "Sail ho!" and gla.s.ses were rapidly brought to bear upon a point miles away down south, where a few palm trees were dimly-seen through the hot haze.

"What do you make of her, Mr Russell?" said the captain to the young officer, who had gone aloft.

"Barque, sir. Small. Heavily-rigged. She's going right in. There must be either a bay there, or a large river."

"No mention of any bay or harbour there," said the captain. "Looks bad--or good," he added. "What else can you make out?"

"Nothing, sir. The trees hide her now completely."

"Slaver, then, without a doubt. Now, gentlemen, she has gone in without seeing us, and it will be our fault if she gets away. We must have no mistake this time."

"Hurray!" whispered Bob to his companion. "Prize-money at last."

"Chickens," said Mark.

"What do you mean?"

"Don't count 'em till they're hatched."

"Get out, croaker!"

Just then the two blacks came along the deck, looking very smart in their white sailor trousers, and not a little proud of their straw hats.

Each man brightened up and displayed his teeth, as he saw the midshipmen, muttering something incomprehensible in reply to Bob's "How do, Soup? How are you, Taters?" and pa.s.sing on.

"I say," said Mark, "it's too bad to nickname the poor fellows like that."

"Not a bit of it. What's in a name? They answer to 'em right enough, and the men like 'em."

"Yes, of course they do. Whoever heard of a sailor who didn't like a bit of fun of that kind?"

"Oh, then you call it fun?"

"Yes--ill-natured fun."

"Bother! Here's the skipper. Let's seem to be doing something, or we shall be lectured."

But Captain Maitland was too eager about the sailing of his ship, and paid no heed to the midshipmen's idleness, only thinking as he was of getting round the land in front, and overhauling the stranger, who was now quite out of sight beyond the point, and it took two hours to get within sight again. But they found that, instead of there being a river, the coast turned sharply to the east, and the barque, in place of being close to them, was sailing steadily away east and south, and farther from them than ever.