us, though it was death to the fishes. But the
weir was contrived to obtain a regular food supply, and we thought of
nothing but catching the prisoners and transferring them to the basket.

Bob was pretty successful with the net, but he only caught the mullet.
The honour of capturing the eleven-pound salmon, for such it proved to
be, was reserved for Bigley and me, as I managed to drive the beautiful
silvery creature right up on to the stones, and there Bigley pounced
upon it, and bore it flapping and beating its tail to the basket.

As we worked, the remainder of the water sank away, leaving only a pool
of an inch or so deep, and from which Bob fished three small mullet, the
total caught being eleven, the largest five pounds, and the salmon
eleven, the same number of pounds as there were mullet.

We bore our capture up to the cottage in triumph, where old Jonas
presented me and Bob with a fine mullet a piece, the salmon and the rest
being despatched at once by Binnacle Bill to Ripplemouth for sale.

It was now getting so near tea-time that we set off for home, it being
understood that Bigley was to come with us as far as my home, where we
were all to have tea, after which he was to set off one way, and I was
to go the other; that is to say, walking part of the way home with Bob.

This I did; but when we set off I could not help feeling how much
pleasanter it would have been to have gone with Bigley, for I did not
anticipate any very pleasant walk. And I was right; for, whether it was
the new bread, or the strength of our milk and water, I don't know--all
I do know is, that Bob was as sour as he could be, and insisted upon my
carrying his mullet, because he said I should have nothing to carry
going home.

CHAPTER SEVEN.

I STARTLE MY FATHER.

My father was first up next morning, and had been out for an hour before
I went down the garden to join him, and found him walking the
quarter-deck.

You must not think by these words that he was on board a ship. Nothing
of the kind. He called by that name a flat place at the bottom of the
garden just at the edge of the cliff, where there was a low stone wall
built to keep anyone from falling over a couple of hundred feet
perpendicular to the rocks and beach below.

This was my father's favourite place, where he used to spend hours with
his spy-glass, and along the edge of the wall, all carefully mounted,
were six small brass cannon, which came out of a sloop tha