well, your Lordship; I will have the party notified. Mr. Scott," said
the captain, opening the door into the pilot-house, "inform all the company
that we go on shore in half an hour; and you will go with them. Mr.
Boulong, lower the gangway, and have the barge ready."

"Perhaps you have arranged a programme yourself already," suggested the new
host of the party.

"I have considered the matter. I proposed to see Bombay, and perhaps run
down to Poona. Then go to Surat in the steamer, and visit Baroda, and
proceed by the ship to Kurrachee. From there I thought I should send the
Guardian-Mother round to Calcutta in charge of Mr. Boulong, while we
travelled to Lahore, Delhi, Cawnpore, Lucknow, Allahabad, Benares, and
Calcutta by railway. From there we will go to Madras and Ceylon by the
steamer," said the commander, who seemed to have arranged the whole trip.

"Excellent, Captain Ringgold!" exclaimed the viscount. "I can hardly better
that."

He made some suggestions; but this route was substantially adopted.

CHAPTER XVI

A MULTITUDE OF NATIVE SERVANTS

The barge was ready as soon as it was needed, and lay at the platform of
the gangway, with the crew in their white uniforms, quite as smart as
man-of-war's-men. The coolie boatmen who were seeking a job to put the
passengers on shore were disappointed. The clothing of the guests had been
taken in hand by Sparks and Sordy, the cabin stewards, dried, cleaned, and
pressed. They wore them now, and had returned the borrowed garments.

The party were impatient to see the strange sights on shore; and they were
ready at the gangway when the viscount, to whom the commander had abandoned
the direction of the company, gave the word. The ladies were assisted to
their places, and the "Big Four" went into the fore-sheets. Bargate, the
old man-of-war's-man, was the cockswain, and his lordship gave the word to
him to give way.

"Pull to the Apollo Bunder, if you please, my man," said he.

"Which, your honor?" asked Bargate blankly.

"I mean the bit of a basin you see nearly abreast of the ship," the new
leader explained, pointing out the locality.

The cockswain shoved off the stern of the boat, the oars dropped into the
water, and the men gave way. It was a pull of but a few minutes, and the
barge shot into the basin, and came to a convenient landing-place. On the
shore they found Mr. Windham, one of the chief of