hat the voyage might be much longer than usual, had
sent on board four dozen of champagne; some of which he thought
might be useful at the table, if the Rajah of Johore came on board
with a number of his chiefs, or if the ship was visited by Dutch
officials.

The Dutch interpreter was to mess with the petty officers. The
Malay preferred to prepare his victuals for himself.

The wind was light, and the brig drifted quietly down the river
and, when evening came on, anchored as, on account of the sandbanks
and the lightness of the wind, Fairclough had thought it
unadvisable to continue his voyage at night. As soon as the sails
had been taken in, the two officers went down to the cabin, where
dinner was ready for them.

It was a pleasant one, for the two naval men were in high spirits
over this change from their ordinary routine, and the prospect of
sailing on a strange voyage. Abdool, as usual, had placed himself
behind his master's chair, but Harry said:

"I sha'n't want you to wait on me during the voyage, Abdool; the
captain's steward will do that."

After the meal was over, cheroots lighted, and a decanter of port
placed on the table, Fairclough asked Harry for the story he had
promised him; and the latter accordingly gave them a sketch of his
life and adventures.

"I no longer wonder, Lindsay, at your having attained the rank of
captain so young. That old nurse of yours must have been a trump,
indeed; but certainly it is wonderful that you should have lived,
first as a peasant and then at the Peishwa's court, so long without
anyone having had a suspicion that you were an Englishman. Fancy
your meddling in politics, being regarded as a friend of the
Peishwa and this minister of his, and being the means of getting
the latter out of prison, and so perhaps averting a war between the
Mahrattas and Bombay! That was a ticklish business, too, at
Nagpore; and you were lucky in coming so well out of it.

"But after all, I think the most wonderful part is that a boy of
sixteen should have been a shikaree, and killed no end of tigers,
leopards, and bears and, after that, have risen so soon to the rank
of captain in the Company's service. Why, you have seen and done
more than most men double your age!"

"Yes, I have had great luck, and it is all owing to my old nurse
having taken such pains; first to enable me to pass as a Mahratta,
and in the next place to teach me the English language and English
ways.

"Well, the