t afraid one bit, nor of any honest
fighting, such as you are used to. But oh, my dear Charles, the very
bravest man can do nothing against base treachery."

"To dream of such things shows a bad imagination," Carroway answered,
sternly; but seeing his wife's eyes fill with tears, he took her hand
gently, and begged her pardon, and promised to be very careful, "I am
the last man to be rash," he said, "after getting so many more kicks
than coppers. I never had a fellow under my command who would lift
a finger to harm me. And you must remember, my darling Tilly, that I
command Englishmen, not Lascars."

With this she was forced to be content, to the best of her ability; and
Geraldine ran bouncing in from school to fill her father's pipe for him;
so that by the time John Cadman came, his commander had almost forgotten
the wrath created by the failure of the morning. But unluckily Cadman
had not forgotten the words and the look he received before his
comrades.

"Here I am, Sir, to give an account of myself," he said, in an insolent
tone, having taken much liquor to brace him for the meeting. "Is it your
pleasure to say out what you mean?"

"Yes, but not here. You will follow me to the station." The lieutenant
took his favorite staff, and set forth, while his wife, from the little
window, watched him with a very anxious gaze. She saw her husband stride
in front with the long rough gait she knew so well, and the swing of his
arms which always showed that his temper was not in its best condition;
and behind him Cadman slouched along, with his shoulders up and his red
hands clinched. And the poor wife sadly went back to work, for her life
was a truly anxious one.

The station, as it was rather grandly called, was a hut, about the size
of a four-post bed, upon the low cliff, undermined by the sea, and
even then threatened to be swept away. Here was a tall flag-staff for
signals, and a place for a beacon-light when needed, and a bench with
a rest for a spy-glass. In the hut itself were signal flags, and a few
spare muskets, and a keg of bullets, with maps and codes hung round the
wall, and flint and tinder, and a good many pipes, and odds and ends on
ledges. Carroway was very proud of this place, and kept the key strictly
in his own pocket, and very seldom allowed a man to pass through
the narrow doorway. But he liked to sit inside, and see them looking
desirous to come in.

"Stand there, Cadman," he said, as soon as he had