what he felt sure was a setting down for
some reason or another.

"As you will, gentlemen," said the resident firmly, and he then placed
his elbows on the table and joined his fingers, while the light from the
lamp shone full upon his forehead.

"Mr Ensign Long--Mr Midshipman Roberts," he began. "He might have
placed me first," thought Bob. "I wish someone would catch those
wretched moths."

"You have been out on an expedition to-day?"

He waited for an answer, and as Tom Long had been placed first, Bob
waited, too; but as his companion did not speak, Bob exclaimed quickly--

"Yes, sir, snipe shooting;" and as the resident bowed his head, Bob
added, "two brace."

"Confound you--you young dogs!" cried Captain Horton, "and you brought a
brace of something else. I beg your pardon, Mr Linton; go on."

Mr Linton bowed, while Bob uttered a barely audible whistle, and
glanced at his companion.

"Then it's about those two girls," he thought.

"It seems, young gentlemen," continued the resident, "that while you
were out, you met two young Malay girls?"

"Yes, sir."

"Who had run away from their master?"

"From their owner, as he seemed to consider himself, sir," said Bob,
who, to use his own words, felt as if all the fat was in the fire now,
and blazed up accordingly. "You see, sir," he said quickly, "we were
watching for something that we saw in the reeds, close to the boggy
ground, you know, and Tom here thought it was pig, but I thought it
might be a deer. So we stood quite still till we heard sounds in the
distance, when out jumped two dark creatures, and I was going to fire,
when we saw that they were girls."

"And they ran up to us," said Tom Long.

"Like winking," said Bob, "and threw themselves on their knees, and
clung to our legs, and wouldn't let go. Then up came half-a-dozen of
the niggers--"

"I think, Mr Roberts, we will call people by their right names," said
the resident, quietly; "suppose we say Malays."

"Yes, sir, Malays; and laid hold of the girls to drag them away. They
screamed out, and that roused us, and we sent the nig--Malays staggering
back. For you see, sir, as Englishmen--"

"English what--Mr Roberts?" said Captain Horton.

"Men, sir. I'm a midshipman, sir," said Bob, sharply; and the captain
grunted out something that sounded like "impudent young puppy!" but he
did not look angry.

"Go on, Mr Roberts," said the resident.

"Well, sir, being English--boys--big boys,