e shall never quite agree on it, I expect," the boy
said; "but for all that, I do mean to serve for a few years in a
man-of-war. I expect that we may have a chance of seeing some
fighting in the West Indies. There are, they say, several French
cruisers in that direction, and although we shall have a considerable
convoy the Frenchmen generally have the legs of our ships. I believe
that some of the vessels of the convoy are taking out troops, and that
we are going to have a slap at some of the French islands. Has there
been any news here since I went?"

"Nothing beyond a few rows with the smugglers. The revenue officers
have a busy time here. There's no such place for smuggling on the
coast as between Portsmouth and Chichester. These creeks are just the
places for smugglers, and there's so much traffic in the Channel that
a solitary lugger does not attract the attention of the coastguard as
it does where the sea's more empty. However, I don't trouble myself
one way or the other about it. I may know a good deal of the
smuggling, or I may not, but it's no business of mine. If it were my
duty to lend a hand to the coast-guard, I should do it; but as it
isn't, I have no ill-will to the smugglers, and am content enough to
get my spirits cheap."

"But, dad, surely it's your duty to prevent the king being cheated?"
Harry said with a smile.

"If the king himself were going to touch the money," the old sailor
said sturdily, "I would lend a hand to see that he got it, but there's
no saying where this money would have gone. Besides, if the spirits
hadn't been run, they would not have been brought over here at all,
so after all the revenue is none the worse for the smuggling."

The boy laughed. "You can cheat yourself, dad, when you like, but you
know as well as I do that smuggling's dishonest, and that those who
smuggle cheat the revenue."

"Ah, well!" the sailor said, "it may be so, but I don't clearly see
that it's my duty to give information in the matter. If I did feel as
it were going to be my duty, I should let all my neighbors know it,
and take mighty good care that they didn't say anything within earshot
of me, that I might feel called on to repeat. And now, let's go up to
the cottage and see the old woman."

"I looked in there for a moment," Harry said, "as I passed. Mother
looks as hale and hearty as she did when I left, and so do you, dad."

"Yes, we have nothing to complain of," the old man said. "I have been
so