n board the
_Eolus_, and having instead to come back with us to return home; but
Captain Adair's letter was peremptory, and, as the newspapers say, I
hope that he will hear of something to his advantage. Gerald would have
been better pleased had his uncle let him know why he was sent for."

"He has no great cause to complain, seeing that the climate of China is
none of the most delectable, and he would have run the risk of being
shot into the bargain," observed Archie. "I wish that I had the chance
of going home, and finding myself the possessor of a tidy fortune with a
title."

"But then there's the honour and glory, and the fun, and the pig-tails
to be captured, and the loot, and the chance of serving in a naval
brigade and seeing some work on shore, just as the _Shannon's_ people
did in India, with a fair prospect of promotion at the end of it."

"If a body happens not to be shot, ye ken," observed Archie, who, though
every bit as eager as Tom for the sort of work he described, took a
pleasure in differing in opinion from him whenever he could.

"We will not, however, bother poor Desmond about the subject until he is
well again," said Tom. "I really believe that he fell sick through
vexation, though he was happy enough to be with us once more."

"He is much better to-day," remarked Archie, "and I hope by to-morrow
that the doctor will let him come on deck again, although he may not be
fit for duty for a day or two more."

Mr Mildmay, the first lieutenant, who was officer of the watch, paced
the deck, spyglass in hand, now and then going on to the bridge and
sweeping the horizon with his glass, while he frequently called to the
look-outs on the forecastle and fore-yardarm to keep their eyes open.
Jos Green, the master, was also continually there, or else consulting
the chart in his cabin, for that part of the ocean was comparatively
little known, and cruel reefs might exist, not marked down.

"The first lieutenant and the master seem very fidgety," remarked Tom.

"So would we be, I suspect, if the responsibility of navigating the ship
rested with us," answered Archie. "After all, no one suffers by being
sufficiently careful; that's the rule my cousin gave me when I first
came to sea."

"And a very good rule it is, too, no doubt about that," observed Tom.
"My brother Jack is as careful of his ship, and everything connected
with her, as an old lady is of her best silk gown on a Sunday morning,
though any o