quence of her continued evasions of the treaty she had made with
us, and it was expected that a strong naval force would soon gather to
bring her to reason. In the meantime the ships on the station had a
busy time of it, chasing the enemy's junks when they ventured to show
themselves beyond the reach of the guns of their forts, and occasionally
having a brush with the piratical boats which took advantage of the
general confusion to plunder friend as well as foe.

The Perseus had that afternoon chased two government junks up a creek.
The sun had already set when they took refuge there, and the captain did
not care to send his boats after them in the dark, as many of the creeks
ran up for miles into the flat country; and as they not unfrequently
had many arms or branches, the boats might, in the dark, miss the junk
altogether. Orders were issued that four boats should be ready for
starting at daybreak the next morning. The Perseus anchored off the
mouth of the creek, and two boats were ordered to row backwards and
forwards off its mouth all night to insure that the enemy did not slip
out in the darkness.

Jack Fothergill, the senior midshipman, was commanding the gig, and two
of the other midshipmen were going in the pinnace and launch, commanded
respectively by the first lieutenant and the master. The three other
midshipmen of the Perseus were loud in their lamentations that they were
not to take share in the fun.

"You can't all go, you know," Fothergill said, "and it's no use making a
row about it; the captain has been very good to let three of us go."

"It's all very well for you, Jack," Percy Adcock, the youngest of the
lads, replied, "because you are one of those chosen; and it is not so
hard for Simmons and Linthorpe, because they went the other day in the
boat that chased those junks under shelter of the guns of their battery,
but I haven't had a chance for ever so long."

"What fun was there in chasing the junks?" Simmons said. "We never got
near the brutes till they were close to their battery, and then just as
the first shot came singing from their guns, and we thought that we were
going to have some excitement, the first lieutenant sung out 'Easy all,'
and there was nothing for it but to turn round and to row for the ship,
and a nice hot row it was--two hours and a half in a broiling sun. Of
course I am not blaming Oliphant, for the captain's orders were strict
that we were not to try to cut the junks out