ted during the day,
but they were too far off to make it worth while, Jack considered, to go
out of his course to speak them.

The midshipmen employed themselves in a variety of ways. Tom had, of
course, brought Spider, who assisted them to idle away many a spare
hour.

Tom and Desmond one day amused themselves by making a target of a piece
of canvas. It was painted in circles of different colours, with a
yellow bull's-eye in the usual fashion. This was suspended by a line at
the end of a spar, rigged from the fore yardarm, on about a level with
the bulwarks, and well answered the purpose intended. With half-a-dozen
ship's pistols they began blazing away, sometimes hitting the mark,
though as often, it must be confessed, missing it. Tom proved himself
decidedly the best shot. Desmond declared that his pistol somehow or
other shot crooked whenever he failed to hit the target. They thus
passed away many an hour in calm weather, and Jack considered that the
powder was well expended, as it taught them how to handle their weapons.

McTavish and the purser in the meantime got out lines and hooks baited
simply with pieces of canvas, the former wishing to obtain some dolphins
for examination, which had been seen darting through the water on either
side of the brig.

"Hurrah!" exclaimed McTavish, "I have got hold of a big fellow at last.
Lend a hand to haul him in, Norris." In another minute a good-sized
fish was hauled on deck.

"Do you call that a dolphin?" said Tom. "I thought a dolphin was a
fellow with a big head and large fins, of all the colours of the
rainbow."

"It is undoubtedly a dolphin," answered McTavish. "If you haul it out
of the shade of the bulwarks, you will see that it is of cerulean hue.
There, it won't retain that colour long; it's changing already. Now it
is purple, and before long, as its life ebbs, it will become black. But
hurrah! I have another bite."

Three other dolphins were hauled up in quick succession, and taken
forward to be anatomised by the surgeon.

Several spectators watched the operation. "Hallo!" cried McTavish, as
he cut open one of the fish. "This fellow has swallowed something very
hard;" and to the astonishment of all, he pulled out two bullets. In
another were found three, and inside a third a similar number. There
could be no doubt that they had swallowed the bullets which fell into
the water from the midshipmen's pistols. The fact proved the rapidity
wit