joyous gathering on board the old _Venus_, to which queer
home Uncle Toby had returned. All our friends were there and Jack was
able to announce a joyous surprise. He had been able to secure, through
Captain Simms' influence, the command of a fine new sailing ship for
Captain Dennis. She was a full-rigged bark, plying between New York and
Mediterranean ports.

Tears stood in the veteran captain's eyes, as he thanked Jack, and Helen
cried openly.

"Oh, Jack, I--I'd like to hug you!" she exclaimed, whereupon everybody
laughed, and the emotional strain was over.

After a while, Captain Dennis began to tell of some of his adventures.
Not only had he gone through many experiences on the sea, but also on
land, and especially during the great Civil War.

"One time," said Captain Dennis, "while on a foraging expedition, our
men were surprised, and before I knew what had happened I was a
prisoner. I was taken to an old building and put in the upper story of
it.

"Of course, I wanted to escape. So, after a while, I began to try my
luck with the rope tied around my wrists. To my joy I found that I could
move them. Half an hour later my wrists were free.

"I peered out of the window. It was a very dark night, and the guard set
around the building was close and vigilant. I felt that my chances to
escape were very small.

"Still, I determined to try. After listening many hours, I thought I
learned the exact position of the sentries. The spaces between them were
very short, but it would be quite possible, I thought, to pass by them
noiselessly and without being perceived. I may as well state that the
watch would have been even more strict had not the Confederates regarded
the struggle as virtually at an end, and were, therefore, less careful
as to their prisoners than they would otherwise have been.

"I prepared for escape by tearing up the sheet on the bed, and knotting
the strips into a rope. I opened the window, threw out this rope, and
slipped down to the ground. So far I was safe.

"It was dark and foggy, and very difficult to see two feet in advance. I
soon found that my observations as to the places of the sentries had
been useless. Still, in the darkness and thickness of the night, I
thought that the chance of detection was small.

"Creeping quietly and noiselessly along, I could hear the constant
challenges of the sentries around me. These, excited by the unusual
darkness of the night, were unusually vigilant.