t, and he was very much puzzled
how to act. It would be flood-tide for two hours more, and then the
whole ebb would run before it was daylight. Corporal Van Spitter would
traverse the whole Zuyder Zee before they might find him. Unless he had
the fortune to be picked up by some small craft, he might perish with
cold and hunger. He could not sail without him; for what could he do
without Corporal Van Spitter, his protection, his factotum, his
distributer of provisions, &c. The loss was irreparable, and Mr
Vanslyperken, when he thought of the loss of the widow's favour and the
loss of his favourite, acknowledged with bitterness that his star was
not in the ascendant. After some reflection, Mr Vanslyperken thought
that as nothing could be gained by making the fact known, the wisest
thing that he could do was to go to bed and say nothing about it,
leaving the whole of the ulterior proceedings until the loss of the boat
should be reported to him in the morning. Having arranged this in his
mind, Mr Vanslyperken took two or three turns more, and then went down
and turned in.

Chapter XIV

In which some new characters appear on the stage, although the corporal
is not to be heard of.

The loss of the boat was reported by Obadiah Coble at daylight, and Mr
Vanslyperken immediately went on deck with his spy-glass to ascertain if
he could distinguish the corporal coming down with the last of the
ebb-tide but he was nowhere to be seen. Mr Vanslyperken went to the
mast-head and surveyed in every direction, but he could neither see
anything like the boat or Corporal Van Spitter. His anxiety betrayed to
the men that he was a party to the corporal's proceedings, and they
whispered among themselves. At last Mr Vanslyperken came down on deck,
and desired Corporal Van Spitter to be sent to him. Of course, it was
soon reported to him that Corporal Van Spitter was nowhere to be found,
and Mr Vanslyperken pretended to be much astonished. As the lieutenant
took it for granted that the boat had been swept out with the ebb, he
determined to get under weigh in pursuance of his orders, pick up the
corporal, if he could find him, and then proceed to Portsmouth, which
was the port of his destination. Smallbones attended his master, and was
so unusually active that the suspicious Mr Vanslyperken immediately
decided that he had had a finger in the business; but he took no notice,
resolving in his own mind that Smallbones should some day or