d the tar to glisten in little beads all along beneath the
ropes and about the seams of the deck, and they stayed late at night in
the brilliant moonlight, till I used to think that our voyage was going
to be one long time of pleasure; for every one--no, not every one--
seemed to be happy and cheerful, and I made no end of friends. I had
plenty to do, but even in their strictest moments the officers were
pleasant to me, and I thought, thanks to the breaking in I had had with
my father on his yacht, going to sea in a big clipper ship one of the
most delightful of lives.

But there was some bitter in it. Walters and I never grew to be warm
friends, though I did my best. He did not get on with the officers
either, but used to seize every opportunity to get away and talk to some
of the sailors, particularly with the Frenchman Jarette, who was in
trouble with the captain just after our starting, but who, thanks to the
severe treatment he had received, now proved to be one of the smartest
of the crew.

He spoke English as well as I did, but if ever I drew near when Walters
had gone to lean over the bulwarks and talk to him, I could hear that it
was in French--bad French, spoken very slowly on Walters' part, and he
used to have to make Jarette say what he had to say two or three times
over before he could quite make it out.

"No business of mine," I thought. "I might do the same and practise up
my French," which needed it badly enough, for I had pretty well
forgotten all I had learned.

Things were not quite happy either on deck. I did not thoroughly
understand why, and attributed it to Mr Denning's ill-temper,
consequent upon his being unwell, for he was haughty and distant with
Mr Frewen whenever he tried to be friendly, and I used to set it down
to his having had so much to do with doctors that he quite hated them;
but there seemed to be no reason why he should snub Mr Preddle so
whenever the big stout fellow approached him and his sister and tried to
enter into conversation.

Mr Preddle used to complain to me about it when I went with him to see
to the aerating and giving fresh water to the fish, which needed a great
deal of attention, and in spite of all our care would insist in turning
wrong side up, to paddle about slowly and helplessly for a while, and
then make a vigorous effort and swim naturally.

But the next minute they were back down and white up, and so they would
go on till they were too weak to mov