rying out, and Captain Spence was cherishing an inward
hope that a fine easterly breeze which had been blowing for some days
would carry him well down channel and then chop round from the southward
in good time to baffle his old friend during the passage of the _Flying
Cloud_ through the Downs. A somewhat curious and amusing characteristic
of the friendly rivalry between the skippers was that, whilst each
implicitly believed in his own ship, he affected a faith in the superior
qualities of the other, and framed his remarks accordingly. So when the
little farewell chat and the parting bottle of wine had come to an end,
and Captain Spence rose to go, he held out his hand with:

"Well, good-bye, Blyth, and a pleasant passage to you. You will catch
us somewhere in the neighbourhood of the Line, I expect, if not before;
and, should the weather be fine, I hope you will come on board and dine
with me, and make the acquaintance of my passengers, who, I assure you,
seem to be very capital people."

"Thank you very much," was the response; "but you know very well that
this poor little ship has no chance whatever with such a spanking craft
as the _Southern Cross_. Look how deep we are in the water; and we
don't even know our proper trim. Then, too, the glass seems inclined to
drop a little, which probably means that the wind is going to haul round
from the southward, which, with the twenty-four hours' start you will
have, will carry you down channel nicely enough, whilst we shall be hung
up in the Downs. So that, altogether, I consider you ought to reach
Melbourne about eight days, at least, ahead of us, which will give you
ample time to tell them that we are coming."

And so, with mutual protestations of disbelief in each other's
prognostications, the rival skippers laughingly shook hands and parted.

On the following morning the two ships hauled out of dock, the _Southern
Cross_ leading, and proceeded down the river in tow, the one anchoring
off Gravesend to take her passengers on board, whilst the other went
alongside the wharf at Tilbury Fort. The ammunition was all ready for
shipment, as it happened; and, securely packed in copper-lined cases,
was that same afternoon carefully stowed on top of all in the after
hatchway, whence, if necessary, it could be easily and quickly removed
and launched overboard in case of an outbreak of fire. The _Southern
Cross_, meanwhile, with her tug hanging on to her, had only paused lo