pretty well cleaned every Spaniard
off their decks--Why are you putting your hands to your ears!"

"Go on," said Ruth withdrawing them.

"By this, of course, he had lost way and given the guarda-costa the wind
of him. But she couldn't reach the _Venus_ for twenty minutes and more,
because of the prizes lying helpless right in her way, and in half that
time Uncle Harry had filled sail again and was manoeuvring out of
danger. Bit by bit he worked around her for the wind'ard berth, got it,
bore down again and hammered her for close upon three hours. She
fought, he says, like a rat in a sink, and when at last she pulled down
her colours the two prizes had patched up somehow and were well off for
Havana after the third, that had showed no fight from the beginning.
Quick as lightning he gets his prisoners on board, heads off on the new
chase, and by sundown has taken the prizes all three--the third one a
timber-ship, full of mahogany . . . That wasn't the end of his luck,
either; for the captain of the guarda-costa turned out to be a
blackguard that two years ago took a British captain prisoner and cut
off his ears, which accounts for his fighting so hard. 'Didn't want to
meet me if he could help it,' writes Uncle Harry, and says the man
wouldn't haul down the flag till his crew had tied him up with ropes."

"What happened to him?"

"Uncle Harry shipped him off to England. This was from Carolina, where
he sailed in with all the four vessels in convoy. And now, guess!
He has refitted there, and is sailing around for Boston, and papa has
promised to ask him to take me for a cruise, to see if he can make a
sailor of me!"

"But that won't be for years."

"Oh yes, it will. You can join the Navy at any age. They ship you on
as a cabin-boy, or sometimes as the Captain's servant; and papa says
that for the first cruise Uncle Harry's wife will look after me."

"But"--Ruth opened beautiful eyes of astonishment. "Your Uncle Harry is
not married? Why, more than once you have told me that you would never
take a wife when you grew up, but be like your uncle and live only for
sailing a ship and fighting."

"He is, though. It happened at Carolina, whilst the _Venus_ was
refitting; and I believe her father is Governor there, or something of
the sort, but I didn't read that part of the letter very carefully.
There was a lot of silly talk in it, quite different from the fighting.
I remember, though, he said he was coming aro