d I should like to show you one, sir," said the captain. "There's no
knowing what we may see if we cruise about. Well, I'll promise you
sea-snakes and whales and sharks. I can take you too where there are
plenty of crocodiles for you to practise at with a rifle. Good practice
too to rid the world of some of its dangerous beasts."

Jack shuddered, and wanted to say that he did not care to see anything
of the kind, but he did not speak, and just then the captain rose from
the table, drew up the blind, and looked out.

"There you are, sir," he said. "Come and look. The lads were ready
enough when I told them to light up to-night. Looks nice, don't she?"

Jack followed to the window, to see that it was a glorious night, with
the sky and sea spangled with gold, while out where he knew the yacht
lay, there shone forth with dazzling brilliancy what seemed to be a
silver star, and dotted about it, evidently in the rigging of the yacht,
were about thirty lanterns of various colours, but only seeming to be
like the modest beams of moons in attendance upon the pure white
dazzling silver star.

The boy gazed in silence, impressed by the beauty of the scene, as the
captain now quietly opened the window to admit the soft warm air from
off the sea, while faintly heard came the sound of music from some
passing boat.

"How beautiful!" said Sir John, who had come unheard behind them.

"Yes, sir," said the captain quietly, "with the simple beauty of home;
but you will have to see the grand sunrises and sunsets of tropic lands
to fully understand the full beauty of God's ever-changing ocean. But
even now, Mr Meadows, I think you can hardly say you don't like the
sea."

Jack made no reply, but drew a deep breath which sounded like a sigh.

"Well, Jack," said Sir John, when they were about to retire that night,
"what do you think of Captain Bradleigh?"

"I liked him better this evening, father," said the boy thoughtfully.
"He did not treat me as if I were a child, and he left off calling me
`young gentleman.'"

"Good-night, Meadows," said the doctor, a short time after; "I wish you
weren't going to spend so much money, but Jack has had his first dose of
medicine."

"Yes," said Sir John; "and it has begun to act."

CHAPTER EIGHT.

NED FEELS THE MOTION OF THE VESSEL.

All aboard after the preliminaries had been arranged in the most
satisfactory way, Sir John's arrangements made, and Jack, like a
dejected prisoner,