The ball had passed through my leg, so that the surgeon had little to
do to me. Bramble's finger was amputated, and in a few minutes we were
all right, and Sir James came down again.

"I should say, stay on board till you are able to get about again; but
the ship will be paid off to-morrow, so I had better send you up to
Chatham directly. You are entitled to salvage if ever men were, for you
have earned it gloriously; and I will take care that you are done
justice to. I must go now and report the vessel and particulars to the
admiral, and the first lieutenant will send you to Chatham in one of the
cutters. You'll be in good hands, Tom, for you will have two nurses."

We were taken up to Chatham to the hotel, where we found Lady O'Connor
and Virginia very much surprised, as may be imagined, at our being
brought there wounded. However, we were neither of us ill enough to go
to bed, and had a sitting-room next to theirs.

This recapture made a great deal of noise. At first the agent for the
prize wrote down a handsome letter to us, complimenting us upon our
behavior and stating that he was authorized to present us each with five
hundred pounds for our conduct. But Sir James O'Connor answered the
letter, informing him that we claimed, and would have, our one-eighth,
as entitled to by law, and that he would see us righted. Mr. Wilson,
whom we employed as our legal adviser, immediately gave the prize agent
notice of an action in the Court of Admiralty, and, finding we were so
powerfully backed, and that he could not help himself, he offered forty
thousand pounds, which was one-eighth, valuing the cargo at three
hundred and twenty thousand pounds. The cargo proved to be worth more
than four hundred thousand pounds, but Mr. Wilson advised us to close
with the offer, as it was better than litigating the question; so we
assented to it, and the money was paid over.

In a fortnight we were both ready to travel again. Sir James O'Connor
had remained a week longer than he intended to have done at Chatham on
our account. We now took leave of them, and having presented Virginia
with five thousand pounds, which I had directed Mr. Wilson to settle
upon her, we parted, the O'Connors and Virginia for Leamington, and
Bramble and I for Deal.

CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

Being the last Chapter, the Reader may pretty well guess the
Contents of it.

"Tom, do you know that I very often find myself looking about me, and
asking m