it and sipping my glass of grog, than
standing up to be shot at, as I had to do all the morning, when Hanks,
whose watch it had been on deck, came below. His eye immediately fell
on my tumbler of grog, which was, I own, stiffer than usual; and without
saying a word, he emptied half the contents into another, and drinking
them off, filled my glass with water. I dared not remonstrate, for I
had been transgressing his orders in taking more than the quantity he
allowed me.

"Neil, my child," he used to say, "drink is a bad thing; and it grows
upon a fellow. If you were to take your full allowance now, by the time
you grow up you would be a drunkard, so for your sake I shall swallow
your grog; besides, you know, what is bad for a little chap like you, is
good for an old worn-out follow like me, who wants something to keep his
soul alive in his body."

I did not exactly understand his reasoning; but as, notwithstanding his
peculiarities, I was fond of my old messmate, I was well content to
yield him up part of my allowance, for the sake of keeping him alive.

"Well, Hanks, are we gaining on the chase?" I asked.

"No, boy; but our ill-luck has gained upon us," he replied. "The wind
has taken it into its head to veer round to the south-west, and given
the rascally lugger an advantage she doesn't deserve. Boy, bring me
dinner."

The boy who acted as steward brought him in his portion of beef, which
had been saved, and I followed Growl, whose watch it was on deck. The
sea had got up considerably, and the cutter was heeling over to the
rapidly increasing breeze. An exclamation from Growl made me look
anxiously ahead for the lugger.

"Where is she?" he asked of the quartermaster, who had charge of the
deck.

"Just slipped into that bank of clouds gathering in the southward, sir,"
was the answer.

"Can any of you see her," he inquired of the people on deck.

"No, sir, no; not a sign of her," said several voices.

"Then we shan't see her again this cruise," he exclaimed.

No more we did. We followed her, notwithstanding, for some hours, when
darkness approaching and the wind increasing, we were obliged to bear up
and run into Weymouth, where we anchored at a late hour in the night.
The next day we buried our two shipmates, and a surgeon came off to
attend to the wounded ones, whom he took on shore with him. A gale got
up, which lasted three days, during which time we remained at anchor,
ready, as soon as it sh