caterers took the bill, and we saw them both looking over it
together, and pulling wonderfully long faces.

"What is the matter?" asked Delisle. "Anything wrong with the account?
Let us know the worst. It cannot be very bad, I hope."

"Only our excellent friend here has brought us in a charge of a hundred
dollars more than we expected to have to pay, or than we ought to pay,"
was the answer.

"Never mind; we'll contest it, and the fellow will have to go without
the money, I hope."

Monsieur Roquion understood the remark, for he grinned widely from ear
to ear.

"Go and get us a proper account, Master Yellow-face," said our chief
caterer. "This little bill of yours is too much by half."

I don't know if the worthy understood what was said, but he refused to
take back the account, and, after grinning at us a little longer, took
his departure.

We finished our dinner without much concern about Monsieur Roquion and
his bill; but we had unfortunately come to the end of our stock of wine
and tea, and a few other luxuries, and where to obtain them except from
Monsieur Roquion was a puzzle. The next morning we determined to try,
so we went to his shop to order what we wanted; but he instantly met us
with a hint that "_Le petit compte_ must first be settled."

We appealed to the commandant--a personage of whom I have not hitherto
spoken, because I had nothing to say in his favour, but very much to the
contrary. He replied that the demand was a just one. We suspected that
he was to come in for his share of the spoil. We at length got angry,
and said that we were cheated and would not pay. Thereat he grinned
broadly, and informed us that it was his duty to see justice done to
Monsieur Roquion, and that he should stop a portion of our allowances
till the debt was paid. We protested loudly against this decision; but
he only grinned the more, and with a bland smile informed us that might
made right, and that we might take what course we liked.

We could do nothing but submit; and the next pay-day we found that he
had determined to stop half our allowance. So we found ourselves
reduced to eighteen-pence a day, while the poor midshipmen had only
sixpence--a sum on which they could barely exist. We did our best to
help them out of our own pittance; but to all of us it was like falling
from affluence to penury. Misfortunes, it is said, never come alone.
Certainly at that time we experienced plenty of them. We were