pressions aboard
the old frigate."

"Awk-ward, Mr Gurr, awkward."

"Yes, sir; of course."

"You do not understand the drift of my remarks."

"'Fraid not, sir," said the master, smiling; "understand drift of the
tide much better."

"Mr Gurr!"

"Yes, sir."

"I was trying to teach you to pronounce the king's English correctly,
and you turn it off with a ribald remark."

"Beg pardon, sir. 'Nother o' my frigate bad habits."

"It is a great privilege, Mr Gurr, to be one of those who speak the
English tongue, so do not abuse it. Say awk-ward in future, not
awk'ard."

"Certainly, sir, I'll try," said the master; and then to himself,
"Starboard, larboard, for'ard, back'ard, awk'ard. Why, what does he
mean?"

By this time the little lieutenant was scanning the cliffs again, and
the master took off his hat and wiped his forehead.

"Talk about thistles and stinging nettles," he muttered, "why there's no
bearing him to-day, and all on account of a scamp of a middy such as
there's a hundred times too many on in the R'yal Navy. Dunno though;
bit cocky and nose in air when he's in full uniform, and don't know
which is head and which is his heels, but he aren't such a very bad sort
o' boy. Well, what's the matter with you?"

Dirty Dick screwed up his mouth as if to speak, but only stared.

"Don't turn yourself into a figurehead of an old wreck sir. What do you
want?"

"Leave to go ashore, sir."

"Well, you're going soon as the skipper orders."

"I mean all alone by myself, sir."

"What for? There aren't a public-house for ten miles."

"Didn't mean that."

"Then what did you mean? Speak out, and don't do the double shuffle all
over my clean deck."

"No, sir."

"Hopping about like a cat on hot bricks. Now, then, why do you want to
go ashore?"

"Try and find Mr Raystoke, sir. Beginning to feel scarred about him."

"What's that?" said the lieutenant, who had come back from abaft
unheard. "Scared about whom?"

"Beg pardon, didn't mean nowt, sir," said the sailor touching his
forelock.

"Yes, you did, sir. Now look here," cried the lieutenant, shaking his
glass at the man, "don't you try to deceive me. You meant that you were
getting uneasy about Mr Raystoke's prolonged absence."

"Yes sir, that's it," said Dick eagerly.

"Then how dare you have the effrontery to tell me that you did not mean
`nowt' as you have the confounded north country insolence to call it?
For two pins, sir,--women's