to us country boys, that we all enjoyed
ourselves very much--except Tom Myers and his brother George. They
didn't look happy.

CHAPTER II.

GOING BACK WITH THE PILOT.

We were pretty near the Narrows when I thought it was about time to let
the captain, or one of the officers, know that there were some people on
board who didn't intend to take the whole trip. I had read in the
newspapers that committees and friends who went part way with
distinguished people generally left them in the lower bay.

But I was saved the trouble of looking for an officer, for one of them,
the purser, came along, collecting tickets. I didn't give him a chance
to ask Scott or any of the other fellows for something that they didn't
have, but went right up to him and told him how the matter stood.

"I must see the captain about this," he said, and off he went.

"He didn't look very friendly," said Scott, and I had to admit that he
didn't.

In a few moments the captain came walking rapidly up to us. He was a
tall man, dressed in blue, with side-whiskers, and an oil-cloth cap.
The purser came up behind him.

"What's all this?" said the captain. "Are you not passengers, you boys?"
He did not look very friendly, either, as he asked this question.

[Illustration: THE VESSEL IS OFF.]

"Two of us are," I said, "but four of us were carried off
accidentally."

"Accident? Fiddlesticks!" exclaimed the captain. "Didn't you know the
vessel was starting? Hadn't you time to get off? Didn't you hear the
gong? Everybody else heard it. Are you all deaf?"

This was a good deal to answer at once, so I just said that I didn't
remember hearing any gong. Tom Myers and his brother George, however,
spoke up, and said that they had heard a gong, they thought, but did not
know what it was for.

"Why didn't you ask, then?" said the captain, who was getting worse in
his humor. I had a good mind to tell him that it would take up a good
deal of the crew's time if Tom Myers and his brother George asked about
everything they didn't understand on board this ship, but I thought I
had better not. I have no doubt the gong sounded when we were having our
row in the state-room, and were not likely to pay attention to it even
if we did hear it.

"And why, in the name of common sense," the captain went on, "didn't you
come and report, the instant you found the vessel had started? Did you
think we were fast to the pier all this time?"

Then Scott thought he mi