savoury, judging by its smell.

Here Jacques proceeded to rub the bodies of the boys alternately with a
piece of flannel dipped in spirit, which he first held in front of the
stove to warm; Maitre Antoine, meanwhile, attending to the navigation of
the lugger and guarding lest she should run upon the Casquettes, or get
led astray out of her course by Alderney Race, a current of these
regions which, like the Saint Malo stream, is not to be played with when
the wind's on shore!

Not content with merely rubbing them down with the spirit, Jacques
presently varied his external application of some brandy, a remedy with
him for most complaints to which flesh is heir, by administering to each
boy in turn a few drops internally of the spirit, forcing it dexterously
between their lips as soon as respiration was restored and they began to
breathe with some regularity; Bob, however, progressing much more
rapidly than Dick, whose pulse obstinately remained feeble and barely
perceptible, while the author of all the mischief was nearly all right.

Bob opened his eyes almost as soon as he tasted the brandy.

"Where am I?" he stammered out, gazing round the little fo'c's'le of the
lugger in wonder. "Where am I?"

CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT.

JIM CRADDOCK.

"Ah, le petit bon homme vit encore!" cried Antoine, hearing the voice
and bending over from his seat on the after-thwart, being anxious as to
the condition of the patients to whom Jacques was ministering. "Donnez
lui encore d'eau de vie, mon ami!"

Jacques thereupon repeated the dose of brandy to Bob, who closed his
eyes again and leant back, the spirit and the sound of the strange
language, with the queer surroundings that had met his gaze on looking
round the fo'c's'le of the lugger, making him believe he was still in a
dream.

"Where am I?" he presently repeated, rousing up again. "Where am I?"

"In France," replied Jacques in English as good as his own, smiling as
he spoke. "At least, you're aboard a French vessel; and, that's as good
as being in France!"

"But, you are English," replied Bob freely. "You are English, eh?"

"Yes, I'm English," answered the other. "But, you had better not talk
now. Wait till after you've taken some nice soup which I've got cooking
here that will put new strength into you, and then we'll tell each other
all about ourselves."

He then left Bob to attend to Dick, whom it took considerably longer to
bring round; although by administ