; I
haven't lost a man from a boat these five years."

"You must have some secret, then, worth knowing; for even the admirals
sometimes lose their barge-men. I dare say, now, yours are all married
chaps, that hold on to their wives as so many sheet-anchors; they say
that is often a good expedient."

"Not at all, sir. I did try that, till I found that half the fellows
would run to get rid of their wives. The Portsmouth and Plymouth
marriages don't always bring large estates with them, sir, and the
bridegrooms like to cut adrift at the end of the honeymoon. Don't you
remember when we were in the Blenheim together, sir, we lost eleven of
the launch's crew at one time; and nine of them turned out to be
vagabonds, sir, that deserted their weeping wives and suffering
families at home!"

"Now you mention it, I do remember something of the sort; draw a chair,
Clinch, and take a glass of grog. Tim, put a bottle of Jamaica before
Mr. Clinch, I have heard it said that you are married yourself, my
gallant master's mate?"

"Lord, Captain Cuffe, that's one of the young gentlemen's stories! If a
body believed all they say, the Christian religion would soon get
athwart-hawse, and mankind be all adrift in their morals," answered
Clinch, smacking his lips, after a very grateful draught. "We've a
regular set of high-flyers aboard this ship, at this blessed minute,
Captain Cuffe, sir, and Mr. Winchester has his hands full of them. I
often wonder at his patience, sir."

"We were young once ourselves, Clinch, and ought to be indulgent to the
follies of youth. But what sort of a berth did you find last night upon
the rocks yonder?"

"Why, sir, as good as one can expect out of Old England. I fell in with
an elderly woman calling herself Giuntotardi--which is regular built
Italian, isn't it, sir?"

"That it is--but, you speak the language, I believe, Clinch?"

"Why, sir, I've been drifting about the world so long, that I speak a
little of everything, finding it convenient when I stand in need of
victuals and drink. The old lady on the hill and I overhauled a famous
yarn between us, sir. It seems she has a niece and a brother at Naples,
who ought to have been back night before last; and she was in lots of
tribulation about them, wanting to know if our ship had seen anything of
the rovers."

"By George, Clinch, you were on the soundings there, had you but known
it! Our prisoner has been in that part of the world, and we might get
som