soup. But as to fun, Frank, it depends on what you call fun, I
expect--"

"Let us go ashore," interrupted Nick, "and we shall be safe to find out
lots of fun for ourselves. It would be jolly fun, in itself, to be
walking on hard ground again, instead of these everlasting planks. I
suppose, as these islands belong to the Portuguese, and we've no quarrel
with them, the skipper will go ashore, and allow the passengers to do so
too?"

"He'll go ashore, no doubt," said a voice close at hand; "but he won't
let you go, I'll answer for that."

The boys turned quickly round, and were not particularly pleased to see
the first lieutenant, Mr Grey, who had come aft, to give some orders,
and had overheard the last part of their conversation. Mr Grey was no
favourite of theirs. He was not downright uncivil to the boys, but he
was fond of snubbing them whenever an occasion offered itself. It was
generally believed also that a good deal of the captain's harshness was
due to the first lieutenant's suggestions.

"You'd better leave the captain to answer for himself," remarked Frank,
his cheek flushing with anger. "I don't see how you can know what he
means to do."

"Perhaps you mayn't see it, and yet I may," returned Mr Grey calmly.

"Why shouldn't he let us go ashore, as he did at Madeira?" asked Warley.
"Nothing went wrong there."

"I beg your pardon," replied the lieutenant; "things did go wrong there,
and he was very much displeased."

"Displeased," repeated Warley, "displeased with us? What do you mean,
Mr Grey?"

"I mean that you are not to go ashore," returned the other curtly, and
walking forward as he spoke.

Ernest's cheek grew almost as crimson as Frank's had done. The apparent
insinuation that he had misconducted himself while on his parole of good
behaviour, was one of the things he could least endure. Mr Lavie laid
his hand on the boy's arm.

"Hush, Ernest!" he said, checking an angry exclamation to which he was
about to give vent. "Most likely Mr Grey is not serious. Anyway, if
the captain does forbid your going ashore, you may be assured he has
good reasons--"

"What reasons can he have?" interposed Gilbert; "we are no more likely
to get into trouble here than at Madeira, and who has a right to say we
did anything wrong there?"

"The first lieutenant _didn't_ say so," observed the surgeon. "I think
there is some mistake. I'll make inquiries about the matter before we
enter the harbour."