ears ago, you
know."

"I was afraid that he had gone straight down, mother. Nobody on board
the brig heard any cry or shout for help. He must have been injured in
the collision."

"I must write to-day to Mr. Penfold. He has written to me several
times, and has been most kind. He has all along said that he believed
you would turn up one of these days, for as the weather was fine and
the sea fairly calm when you were run down, the probabilities in favor
of your being picked up were great, especially as you were such a good
swimmer. I am sure he will be delighted to hear of your return."

"I hope he will not be wanting me to go straight off down there
again," Ralph said ruefully. "I was only back with you one day,
mother, after my visit to them, and now I have been five months away
it will be very hard if I am to be dragged off again."

"I am sure Mr. Penfold will not be so unreasonable as to want to take
you away from me," Mrs. Conway said.

"And am I to go back to school again, mother?"

"Not now, certainly, Ralph. The holidays will be beginning in a
fortnight again; beside, you know, we were talking anyhow of your
leaving at the end of this half year."

"That's right, mother. It's high time I was doing something for
myself. Beside, after doing a man's work for the last five months I
shouldn't like to settle down to lessons again."

"Well, we must think about it, Ralph, You know I consented greatly
against my will to your choosing the army for your profession, and I
am not going to draw back from that. You are just sixteen now, and
although that is rather young I believe that a good many lads do get
their commissions somewhere about that age. In one of his letters Mr.
Penfold said that as soon as you came back he would take the matter in
hand, and though I have good interest in other quarters and could
probably manage it, Mr. Penfold has a great deal more than I have, and
as he has expressed his willingness to arrange it I shall be grateful
to him for doing so."

"That will be first rate, mother," Ralph said in delight. "I thought
in another year I might get my commission; but of course it would be
ever so much better to get it a year earlier."

For the next few days Ralph was a hero among his boy friends, and had
to tell his story so often that at last he told his mother that if it
wasn't for leaving her so soon he should be quite ready to go off
again for another visit to Mr. Penfold.

"You won't be call