e
cabin, and great was the disgust which each felt that _he_ had been
passed over in favour of so unimportant a personage as myself. It was
quite true that no one of them could claim to possess more than the
merest rudimentary knowledge of French, yet each was prepared with what
he considered an amply sufficient reason why he should have been
specially selected for the service.

Mr Midshipman Raleigh maintained that the duty was his by right, in
virtue of his seniority; and as to his ignorance of French, that was a
mere trifle which he was quite satisfied would never have proved the
slightest impediment to his success.

Little Percy Neville--a blue-eyed, golden-haired lad whom not even a
blind man could well have mistaken for anything else than pure Anglo-
Saxon--flattered himself that "the cut of his jib" was so eminently
French as to deceive even the most practised eye; while as to language,
he could say _bonjour or bon soir_, and bow with the air of a born
Parisian. These accomplishments were, he considered, amply sufficient
to ensure his perfect safety while travelling, and to enable him
triumphantly to accomplish his mission--if need were--in the full light
of day, and under the very eyes of unsuspecting thousands.

Mr Robert Summers was of opinion that that was all very well, and
_might_ do; but if _he_ had been entrusted with the duty, his first step
would have been to proceed straight to Ajaccio, and there disburse some
of the French coin in the acquisition of an organ and monkey, together
with a full suit of picturesque Italian rags, all of which he knew would
be easily procurable; and provided with these, he would have felt
prepared to face with the most unruffled nonchalance the severest
scrutiny of a whole regiment of French detectives--the acuteness of the
mere soldiery he considered would have proved simply beneath his
contempt.

Each of the other "young gentlemen" was equally ready to suggest an
infallible scheme for baffling the vigilance of the enemy; and if the
conversation had no other value, it at least served to amuse me while
making my preparations for the expedition.

The money was mostly paper, and my first act was to carefully secrete it
among the lining of the suit of "long togs" which I had decided to bend
for my cruise ashore. I then packed a small leather bag with a shirt or
two, selecting such as--I say it with shame--I had been too lazy to
mark, a pair of socks, a brush and comb,