red a voice from the quarter-deck.
`Hold on!' cried I, rushing frantically through the crowd. `Hold on!
hold on!' repeated some of the bystanders, while the men at the ropes
delayed for a minute. This threw the captain into a frightful rage; for
some of his friends had come down to see him off, and having his orders
contradicted so flatly was too much for him. However, the delay was
sufficient. I took a race and a good leap; the ropes were cast off; the
steam-tug gave a puff, and we started. Suddenly the captain walks up to
me: `Where did you come from, you scamp, and what do you want here?'

"`Please, sir,' said I, touching my cap, `I'm your new 'prentice come
aboard.'

"`New 'prentice!' said he, stamping; `I've got no new 'prentice. My
boys are all aboard already. This is a trick, you young blackguard!
You've run away, you have!' And the captain stamped about the deck and
swore dreadfully; for, you see, the thought of having to stop the ship
and lower a boat and lose half-an-hour, all for the sake of sending a
small boy ashore, seemed to make him very angry. Besides, it was
blowin' fresh outside the harbour, so that to have let the steamer
alongside to put me into it was no easy job. Just as we were passing
the pier-head, where several boats were rowing into the harbour, the
captain came up to me.

"`You've run away, you blackguard!' he said, giving me a box on the ear.

"`No, I haven't!' said I angrily, for the box was by no means a light
one.

"`Hark'ee, boy, can you swim?'

"`Yes,' said I.

"`Then do it!' and seizing me by my trousers and the nape of my neck, he
tossed me over the side into the sea. The fellows in the boats at the
end of the pier backed their oars on seeing this; but observing that I
could swim, they allowed me to make the best of my way to the
pier-head.--So you see, Ralph, that I really did swim my first homeward
voyage."

Jack laughed, and patted Peterkin on the shoulder.

"But tell us about the candle-nut tree," said I. "You were talking
about it."

"Very true," said Jack; "but I fear I can remember little about it. I
believe the nut is about the size of a walnut; and I think that the
leaves are white, but I am not sure."

"Eh! ha! hum!" exclaimed Peterkin; "I saw a tree answering to that
description this very day."

"Did you?" cried Jack. "Is it far from this?"

"No, not half-a-mile."

"Then lead me to it," said Jack, seizing his axe.

In a few minutes we wer