to have
reported, since you came on watch?"

"No, sir," replied the man. "And as to--"

"That will do," I interrupted. "Now, pull yourself together and
listen."

We both set ourselves intently to listen, but before half a dozen
seconds had passed I heard loud voices--those of Monroe and the boy,
and, almost immediately afterward, that of Mrs Vansittart--the parson's
in remonstrance, the boy's in loud and angry protest, and that of the
lady in anxious enquiry. It seemed as though Monroe had somehow
mismanaged his rather delicate task, for as I started to go aft again I
heard the lad shout, "I _will_ go on deck if I feel like it, and you,
Monroe, aren't going to stop me. And as for the Britisher, do you think
I care what he says?" But here Mrs Vansittart cut in with an
injunction to Julius to hold his tongue, following it up with an enquiry
as to what all the fuss was about. I felt that it was time I took a
hand; so, cautioning Maguire to keep a bright look-out and listen for
all he was worth, I sprang down the forecastle ladder on my way aft.
And as I did so I ran into a couple of men who had just crept out from
beneath the launch, evidently curious to learn what the disturbance was
about.

Halting for a moment, I ordered the two men to rouse the watch quietly,
and stand by for an "All hands" call, and then continued on my way aft,
meeting the trio just by the foot of the poop ladder. Mrs Vansittart
was evidently in something of a temper, for, as I joined the party, she
turned sharply and demanded:

"Is that Mr Leigh?"

"It is, madam," I replied. "Hush, Julius!" I continued, for the boy
also had turned angrily upon me. "Pray stop your outcry, for Heaven's
sake! Silence is of vital importance to us all at this moment, for we
may be on the very verge of a crisis. Mr Monroe and I are both of
opinion that we very recently heard certain sounds that--"

"I know all about that," interrupted Mrs Vansittart; "Mr Monroe has
already explained that to me. What I want to know now is by what right
you presumed to instruct him to lock the door of the drawing-room, and
so prevent me from coming out on deck?"

"Yes," added the boy, in that high-pitched, clamorous voice of his,
which would carry so far over the water on such a night, "and what right
have you to order me to be locked in my cabin? Who are you, I should
like to know--"

"Craft on the port quarter--two of 'em--three--four--a whole fleet of
small cr