and talked away eagerly of their past adventures and future
prospects.

"I am glad to find, Jack, that you are so certain of your promotion,"
said Adair; "I wish that I could think the same of my own prospects.
Lord Derrynane will do the best he can for me; but when he paid his last
visit at the Admiralty, the First Lord told him that, though I was a
remarkably promising young officer, he had so many promising young
officers deserving of promotion that he should fill the service with
commanders if he was to attend to the requests of all his friends. I
can only hope for the chance of doing something which must compel their
Lordships to promote me."

"I hope you may, Terence, with all my heart," exclaimed Jack; "and if
not, we must get Admiral Triton to advocate your cause. I shouldn't
feel comfortable getting my step unless you, who deserve it quite as
much, obtained yours also."

As soon as Adair returned on shore, he found that Jos Green and the rest
of the party had been arranging to invite the commander and officers of
the _Romp_ to a banquet on the island; and a note, couched in the usual
formal style, was immediately despatched, a favourable answer being
returned.

"But, as to provender--what have we got, Green?" asked Adair.

"Some of it isn't yet caught, to be sure," answered Green; "but we've
sent the men out with the seine, and we shall have an ample supply,
though there may be no great variety."

Shortly before the dinner-time arrived, a sail was seen standing up from
the southward, and was soon pronounced to be the corvette. The proposed
banquet was therefore postponed till her arrival; an additional haul of
the seine was made, and a further supply of fish secured. The breeze
was fresh, and, as she was under all sail, the _Opal_ soon came to an
anchor, and Murray and his officers at once accepted the invitation sent
off to them. He had naturally become very anxious at discovering no
traces of the midshipmen, and was proportionately thankful when he found
that they were safe.

Thus the three old shipmates, after an absence of upwards of two years,
once again met. At the appointed hour, the invited guests from the two
men-of-war arrived on shore. Jos Green had undertaken to superintend
the arrangements. All hands who could be spared from their culinary
duties, rigged out in their cleanest, were marshalled to serve as a
guard of honour. He had formed also a band, and though regular musical
ins