d; "for on board the Dutch ship--although, of course, I was only
rated as a boy--I used to do man's work, aloft."

Other people would have been deceived, as well as the captain. Hard
work and exposure to the air had done much to age the boy. He had
been tall and slight for his age when he left the workhouse and,
while he had not ceased growing in height, he had widened out
considerably and, had he asserted himself to be eighteen years of
age, few would have questioned the statement.

The Sea Belle for some time kept south, touching at some of the
islands where a trade was done with the Papuans; then her head was
turned north and, after an eventful voyage, she reached Calcutta,
where the captain had been ordered to fill up with cotton, or
grain, for England. The captain at once landed, and proceeded to
the office of the agent of the firm who owned the Sea Belle. He was
shown into that gentleman's private room where, at the time, two
gentlemen were seated, chatting. The agent was personally
acquainted with the captain, and asked him to sit down and smoke a
cigar.

"This is Captain Mayhew, of the Sea Belle," he said to his friends.
"He has been trading, for the last three months, down among the
islands.

"These gentlemen, Captain Mayhew, are Major Harrison and Captain
Edwards, who have just arrived from China, with their regiment, in
the Euphrates.

"Has your voyage been a pleasant one, captain?"

"Pleasant enough, sir, on the whole; but we were attacked by the
Malay pirates, and I should certainly not be here to tell the tale,
at present, had it not been for the quickness and shrewdness of a
lad, who had been shipwrecked on the coast."

"How is that, Mayhew? Tell us all about it."

Captain Mayhew related the whole story of the fight with the
pirates; saying that, unquestionably, had it not been for Will's
pointing out the passage through the reef, in the first place, and
his idea of burying a submarine mine, in the second, the Sea Belle
would have fallen into the hands of the pirates.

"But where did the boy spring from? How on earth came he to be
there?"

Captain Mayhew then related the story of William Gale's adventures,
as he had them from his own lips.

"He must be a cool and plucky young fellow, indeed," Major Harrison
exclaimed. "I should like to see him.

"What style and type is he, captain? A rough sort of chap?"

"By no means," the captain answered. "He is surprisingly well
mannered. Had I met