fleck's hand suddenly clapped over his mouth cut off the rest
of the sentence.

"Whist, you young imp," he said in a deep whisper; "keep that to
yourself, will you? You'll get knocked on the head if you talk that
way here."

He was evidently alarmed at the boy's rashness, and looked anxiously
around to see if the words had been overheard. As it chanced, the
sailor who had proposed to Terry to join the crew was passing at the
moment, and did catch his injudicious remark; but although he had
stopped to listen with pricked ears, he was somewhat in doubt as to the
boy's exact meaning, and would have liked to hear more. Captain
Afleck's prompt action, however, having disappointed him in this, he
moved on, but with a scowl on his face that boded ill for Terry should
he be found expressing Southern sympathy in a more decided manner.

Having read his youthful companion a lecture upon the necessity of
keeping his own counsel, Captain Afleck proceeded to lay out the course
of action he proposed to follow.

"We've got to stay by this ship for the present, Terry, that's clear.
But I don't mean to go into action with her if I can any way help
myself. So I'll just keep a sharp look-out for a chance to get ashore
as soon as we make Hampton Roads. There'll be sure to be some
shore-boats coming off to us, and I'll get a passage in one of them."

"And leave me here?" cried Terry, laying hold of his arm with both
hands, as though he thought he were about to go at once.

"No, you young rogue," responded the captain, taking him by the collar
and shaking him just for fun; "of course not. I won't go without you,
seein' that I'm mainly to blame for your being here."

Greatly relieved in his mind, and putting implicit faith in his big
friend's ability to get them both out of their present complications,
Terry, with the volatility of his race, dismissed all further concern
on that point from his mind, and stood ready for the next thing that
might turn up.

His was a happy nature in many ways. He liked the idea that
"sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." He was not given to
taking much thought for the morrow. To do this was one of the lessons
in life he had to learn. In the meantime he lived in the present hour,
getting the most out of it he knew how, and leaving the future to take
care of itself.

That night he had nothing better than a coil of rope for a bed and a
bit of tarpaulin for a coverlet; but he slept as sou