Dolly was exceedingly filled with confusion.

"I--didn't--give you leave!" she managed to say, abashed as she was.

"No," said Sandie, laughing. "And yet I think you did, Dolly. I am glad
to see your dimples again! Come here and sit down. I think I see the
way out of our difficulties."

"You have been quick in finding it," said Dolly, as he placed her on
the bank.

"Habit," said Sandie. "Sailors _must_ see their way and make their
decisions quickly, if at all. At least, that is oftentimes the case.
This is one of the cases."

"Can you depend on decisions formed so suddenly?"--Dolly was driven by
some unaccountable instinct of shyness to lead off from the subject in
hand, nearly as it concerned her. And besides, she was too flushed and
abashed to deal coolly with any subject.

"_Must_ depend on them," said Sandie, laughing a little at her pretty
confusion. "As I told you, there is often no other to be had. And a
sailor cannot afford to change his course; he must see to it that he is
right at first. Vacillation would be almost worse than anything."

"At that rate, sailors must get a very downright way with them."

"Perhaps. Are you afraid of it?"

"No," said Dolly demurely. "Are you a good sailor?"

Mr. Shubrick laughed out "Do you doubt it?"

"No, not at all," said Dolly, laughing a little herself. "Only you can
do so many things--drawing, and speaking so many languages,--I wanted
to know if you were good at that too."

"That is one of the necessities of my position, Dolly. A man who cannot
sail a ship had better not try to command her."

"I wish you would tell me one thing," said Dolly wistfully.

"I will tell you anything."

"I wish you would tell me how you got your promotion. When I saw you
first, you were a midshipman on board the 'Achilles.' Christina told me
you had distinguished yourself in the war. How was it?"

Mr. Shubrick gave her a glance of surprise at first, at this very
irrelevant propounding of questions; then a gleam came out of his blue
eyes, which were not in the least like Mr. St. Leger's blue eyes; but
he answered quite gravely.

"You have a right to know, if anybody in the world has; and yet I
cannot tell you, Dolly. I did nothing more than hundreds of others;
nothing but my duty. Only it happens, that if a man is always doing his
duty, now and then there comes a time that draws attention to him, and
brings what he does into prominence; and he gets advancement perhaps;
but it d