back towards the house,
with no mark of a sailor's clumsiness, but carrying his fine, tall
figure with a manly bearing, and still with the same sober, grave
expression on his face. I wondered if it was possible that Ransome's
stories could be true, and half disbelieved them; they fitted so ill
with the man's looks. But, indeed, he was neither so good as I supposed
him, nor quite so bad as Ransome did; for, in fact, he was two men, and
left the better one behind as soon as he set foot on board his vessel.

The next thing, I heard my uncle calling me, and found the pair in the
road together. It was the captain who addressed me, and that with an air
(very flattering to a young lad) of grave equality.

"Sir," said he, "Mr. Balfour tells me great things of you; and for my
own part, I like your looks. I wish I was for longer here, that we might
make the better friends; but we'll make the most of what we have. Ye
shall come on board my brig for half an hour, till the ebb sets, and
drink a bowl with me."

Now I longed to see the inside of a ship more than words can tell; but I
was not going to put myself in jeopardy, and I told him my uncle and I
had an appointment with a lawyer.

"Ay, ay," said he, "he passed me word of that. But, ye see, the boat'll
set ye ashore at the town pier, and that's but a penny stonecast from
Rankeillor's house." And here he suddenly leaned down and whispered in
my ear: "Take care of the old tod;[9] he means mischief. Come aboard
till I can get a word with ye." And then, passing his arm through mine,
he continued aloud, as he set off towards his boat: "But come, what can
I bring ye from the Carolinas? Any friend of Mr. Balfour's can command.
A roll of tobacco? Indian featherwork? A skin of a wild beast? a stone
pipe? the mocking-bird that mews for all the world like a cat? the
cardinal-bird that is as red as blood?--take your pick and say your
pleasure."

By this time we were at the boat-side, and he was handing me in. I did
not dream of hanging back; I thought (the poor fool!) that I had found a
good friend and helper, and I was rejoiced to see the ship. As soon as
we were all set in our places, the boat was thrust off from the pier and
began to move over the waters; and what with my pleasure in this new
movement, and my surprise at our low position, and the appearance of the
shores, and the growing bigness of the brig as we drew near to it, I
could hardly understand what the captain said, a