ay and I, with Pompey again for our pilot,
mounted to return to Kingston, we received a very warm and evidently
sincere invitation from the whole family to make their house our home
whenever opportunity would afford. We slept at our hotel that night,
and, bright and early next morning, made our way to Port Royal, where
almost the first object which met our view was our new ship, the _Foam_,
at anchor close under the stern of the flag-ship, with the hands on
board busy bending a new suit of canvas.

Directing our boatman to run alongside, a minute or two later saw us on
deck shaking hands with Mr Neil O'Flaherty, our new commander, who
proved to be a regular typical Irishman--genial, high-spirited, and full
to overflowing with fun and humour. We took to him in a moment; and I
think the favourable impression was mutual, for we never had the ghost
of an unpleasantness with him during the short but eventful period which
we served under him. We had been thoughtful enough to bring our chests
along with us in the boat, so that we could join at once, if need were;
these were accordingly hoisted up over the side, and the boatman
dismissed; after which, at O'Flaherty's invitation, we descended to the
cabin to cement our new friendship over a glass of wine, and to have a
chat about the cruise upon which we were about to enter, leaving the
boatswain to superintend the operations on deck. The admiral, it
seemed, had only given our new skipper a very general set of
instructions, leaving him to arrange all details as to the armament and
manning of the schooner after a conference with us, as we were supposed
to be the persons best posted on the question of these requirements.
The whole of the morning was devoted to a full and particular recital on
our part of everything which had transpired from the moment of our
boarding the _Pinta_ until that of our leaving her; after which we
formed ourselves into a committee to discuss the outfit of the craft;
and we now learned, somewhat to our chagrin, that Carera and his boat's
crew, having duly turned up at Port Royal, had made such representations
to the admiral as had induced that distinguished officer to release them
and the felucca forthwith, upon the understanding that they were to
return at once to La Guayra, and were not to attempt to communicate,
either directly or indirectly, with Merlani or any of the other pirate
gangs on the Cuban coast which it was proposed that we should attack