to say you will be supremely
astonished at the effect you will produce, and if--"

"Mr Clewline wishes to see you on deck _at once_, please, Mr Markham,"
said a marine, popping his head in at the door.

"Oh! all right," returned Markham. "I'll be up in a minute or two.
It's a great nuisance, but I assure you, my dear Chester, that poor, old
Clewline is positively at sea, unless he has me constantly at his right
hand to--"

"Mr Clewline said, if you didn't come at once, Mr Markham, I was to
just fetch ye," said the marine, introducing his head once more.

"Very well, lead on, fellow, I follow," ejaculated he of Gath in a voice
expressive of deep disgust, and he forthwith disappeared up the steep
ladder, followed by a hearty peal of laughter from us, his late
audience.

"What a fellow it is!" exclaimed Harvey presently. "I am very glad to
see that you understand him, Chester. Otherwise, I am afraid he would
have got you into no end of scrapes. Not that he _means_ any harm, far
from it. He is one of the best-natured fellows alive, but he is so
wedded to practical joking that I believe nothing will ever break him of
it. He keeps the whole ship alive, as you will have seen by this time;
but he is always in disgrace, and during the last cruise may be said to
have taken up his permanent abode at the mast-head: I daresay he is
there now."

It was even so, for when I went aft to the cabin, in compliance with the
captain's invitation, a glance aloft revealed him comfortably perched on
the crosstrees, from which commanding position he reminded me
pantomimically of the potent charm to be found in a comic song.

The dinner-party, that evening, consisted of Captain Brisac, Mr
Sennitt, old Bolus the doctor, and myself. The table was liberally
furnished, the wine good, and the party in excellent spirits, as was
natural after securing a prize so speedily. Moreover, Captain Brisac
was a thorough gentleman, and knew exactly how to make his guests feel
at ease, which is not always the case where the superior is also the
host. The conversation turned pretty frequently, as might be expected,
on technical matters, but there were frequent divergences in the shape
of laughter-provoking anecdotes, in which the doctor shone forth
conspicuously.

It was not, however, until after the cloth had been removed that the
skipper made any reference to the occurrences of the previous day.
Then, addressing himself to me, he said, "Let me