me I know he would never have said it,
had he had the least idea it would ever reach your ears; it was only a
little bit of fun on his part--an attempt, in fact, to impose upon me."

"Out with it, Mr Chester," exclaimed the doctor, his eyes fairly
dancing with fun; "I'll be sworn he has been in some way taking your
name in vain, sir," he continued, turning to the captain.

"I think it more than likely, but it is quite impossible to feel
offended with the lad, he is always so utterly devoid of anything like
evil intention."

Seeing that my narrative would not be likely to do any harm, I thereupon
proceeded to tell my story, which proved productive of a great deal of
laughter. At its conclusion the skipper said, "Pour yourself out
another glass of wine, Mr Chester, and then, I suppose, I must excuse
you. Mr Sennitt will not easily forgive me, if I prevent you from
keeping your proper watch."

On reaching the deck I found that the wind had hauled round to about
W.N.W., bringing with it a raw and dismal fog, which speedily saturated
with moisture everything with which it came in contact. As the night
wore on, it became more and more dense, and by midnight it had become so
thick that it was impossible to see from one end of the ship to the
other, and Captain Brisac gave orders for the "Scourge" to be hove-to.
The vessel was accordingly brought to the wind on the starboard tack,
with her head pointing in the direction of the French coast, and the
watch, with the exception of half-a-dozen of the smartest hands, who
were placed on the lookout, were allowed to dispose themselves about the
deck in the most sheltered spots they could find.

The fog lasted all through the first watch, and when I went on deck at
midnight to take my turn of duty, it was thicker than ever. The vapour
came sweeping down upon the ship in great opaque masses, some of which
were so dense that it was barely possible to distinguish objects on the
opposite side of the deck, while the lower yards were only visible from
the deck at very rare periods. The few men moving about loomed more
like gigantic shadows than human beings, and the binnacle lamps (the
only lights visible) emitted a feeble and ghostly glimmer which hardly
sufficed to render visible the features of the man who stood by the
wheel. No lights of any kind were exhibited on board the "Scourge,"
Captain Brisac preferring to trust to a good lookout, and the
precautions adopted by other ve