rtresses of Lucknow, and
when in the humour they had plenty of tales of stirring incident to
relate.

Jack was a favourite with the coast-guardsmen, for he possessed the
virtue rare in boys of being able to sit still; and as his favourite
place was the slip in front of the boat-house, and he would sit there
cutting out toy boats by the hour, he generally came in for a good deal
of talk with the men who happened to be on duty. This afternoon,
however, the men were busy burnishing up their arms and getting
everything into apple-pie order, as the inspecting officer was to come
on his rounds the next morning; so Jack after a time strolled along the
path between the railway and the track, Lily prattling by his side and
stopping to gather wild convolvulus and grasses. The sea was out now,
and the mud stretched away, glistening red and brown in the sunlight.
Beyond in the Ray lay a long line of bawleys, while a score or more
nearer at hand lay heeled over on the mud as they had been left by the
receding tide.

To a stranger the black hulks would have looked exactly like each other;
but the Leigh men could tell every boat afloat or ashore, even without
looking at the number painted on her bulwarks, just as a shepherd can
pick out one sheep from a flock.

"It is time to go back, Lily," Jack said at last. "Mother said we were
to be in at six, and it cannot be far off that now. There is the
Yarmouth steamer going up. It is about her time."

"How do you know it is the Yarmouth steamer, Jack?"

"Oh, I don't know. I know her by her look. I know pretty near all of
them--the Yarmouth, the Scotch, and the Dutch boats."

"They all look to me alike."

"Ah! that is because they are a long way oft, Lily. There is a lot of
difference between them when you are close. We know them all, and which
whistles if we are in the way, and which will give way for us, and which
will come right on without minding whether they run us down or not. The
colliers are the worst for that; they just go straight on, and expect
you to get out of the way, and don't mind a rap about the rule of the
road or anything else. I should like to see half a dozen of those
captains hanged."

"I do not think it is right to say that, Jack."

"Well, I should like to see them get five dozen lashes anyhow," Jack
said, "well laid on by some of our fishermen. They would give it 'em
heartily, and it would do them a world of good, and save many a life
afterwards. It is too