d stay there till I call you
down. If it were not so late, I would send you on shore, and not receive
you on board again without the men. Up, sir, immediately."

I did not venture to explain, but up I went. It was very cold, blowing
hard from the S.E., with heavy squalls; I was so wet that the wind
appeared to blow through me, and it was now nearly dark. I reached the
cross-trees, and when I was seated there, I felt that I had done my
duty, and had not been fairly treated. During this time, the boat had
been hauled up alongside to clear, and a pretty clearance there was. All
the ducks and geese were dead, the eggs and crockery all broke, the
grocery almost all washed away; in short, as O'Brien observed, there was
"a very pretty general average." Mr Falcon was still very angry. "Who
are the men missing?" inquired he, of Swinburne, the coxswain, as he
came up the side.

"Williams and Sweetman, sir."

"Two of the smartest topmen, I am told. It really is too provoking;
there is not a midshipman in the ship I can trust. I must work all day,
and get no assistance. The service is really going to the devil now,
with the young men who are sent on board to be brought up as officers,
and who are above doing their duty. What made you so late, Swinburne?"

"Waiting for the marine officer, who went to Stonehouse to see his wife;
but Mr Simple would not wait any longer, as it was getting dark, and we
had so many drunken men in the boat."

"Mr Simple did right. I wish Mr Harrison would stay on shore with his
wife altogether--it's really trifling with the service. Pray, Mr
Swinburne, why had you not your eyes about you if Mr Simple was so
careless? How came you to allow these men to leave the boat?"

"The men were ordered up by the marine officer to bring down your
stores, sir, and they gave the steward the slip. It was no fault of Mr
Simple's, nor of mine either. We lay off at the wharf for two hours
before we started, or we should have lost more; for what can a poor lad
do, when he has charge of drunken men who _will not_ obey orders?" And
the coxswain looked up at the mast-head, as much as to say, Why is he
sent there? "I'll take my oath, sir," continued Swinburne, "that Mr
Simple never put his foot out of the boat, from the time that he went
over the side until he came on board, and that no young gentleman could
have done his duty more strictly."

Mr Falcon looked very angry at first at the coxswain speaking so freely,
but h