in
shoals, of the position of which we knew absolutely nothing. The
mischief, however, had been done, and nothing now remained but to make
the best of it; with which reflection we made our way below to dinner in
obedience to the steward's summons.

As we entered the cabin Sanderson, the surgeon, emerged on tiptoe from
O'Flaherty's state-room, and requested us, in a whisper, to make as
little noise as possible, as the lieutenant, under the influence of a
soothing draught, had just dropped off to sleep.

"I want to keep him as quiet as possible," continued Sanderson, "for if
he is disturbed or excited I am afraid I shall have a deal of trouble
with him. What I am principally afraid of in his case--as in yours,
Lascelles--is an access of fever, which, with its resulting
restlessness, may retard the healing of the wound, or even bring on
mortification."

"And what about the others?" I asked, "are any of their injuries
severe?"

"No; chiefly lacerations, painful enough, but not serious," was the
reply. "Those rascals must have fired nothing but langridge, or
canister."

"Ay," said Courtenay; "and had they fired a little earlier, and so
allowed the charges to scatter more, they would have made a clean sweep
of our decks. As it was the charges took effect almost like solid shot,
as may be seen by the marks in the planking and bulwarks where they
struck."

"Ah, well! it's a good job it was no worse," remarked Sanderson. "It
has had one good result, in that it has let some of the wild Irish blood
out of O'Flaherty, and has taught us the lesson, let us hope, to be a
trifle more cautious in future. And, by the by, in the meantime, whilst
he is on his beam-ends, which of you youngsters is going to be skipper?"

"Oh, Lascelles, of course," answered Courtenay quickly. "We joined the
service together, you know; but he is a few months my senior in point of
age. Moreover, he is ever so much the better navigator of the two;
indeed I am ashamed to say I am so shaky in my navigation that I should
really be almost afraid to take sole charge of a ship. I _might_ manage
all right, but I am not absolutely sure of myself, and that is an
awfully unpleasant feeling to have, let me tell you, when you are
occupying a position of responsibility."

The land-breeze, meanwhile, had sprung up, and was by this time blowing
pretty strongly; so, as I was a trifle anxious about the raft with the
guns alongside, we hurried our meal to a