taken down to Dartmouth one day, following Edward,
who had gone on in advance with the last of the luggage.

He was waiting in the station when the train came in, looking as eager
and excited as a boy, and as full of delight as his young master was
depressed. Captain Bradleigh was there too, and one of the yacht's
cutters hanging on at the pier, ready for rowing the party on board the
_Silver Star_.

"The luggage, Edward?" said Sir John.

"All aboard, Sir John, and things ready in the cabins," said the man.

"Then see that our portmanteaus are placed in the boat."

"All in, Sir John. I set the porters to get 'em from the van."

"Come along then, Jack, let's take our plunge."

Jack gave a wild look round, his eyes full of despair, but he said
nothing, only felt that he was bidding good-bye to home, land, ease, and
comfort for ever, and followed his father to the boat.

Two hours after they were standing out to sea, with Jack, Sir John, and
the doctor watching the receding shore, the two latter feeling some
slight degree of compunction at the last; but Edward was below
inspecting the cabins once more, and as soon as he had done this, in
spite of the yacht beginning to heel over so that the cabin floor was a
good deal higher on one side than the other, he folded his arms,
frowned, set his teeth, and began the first steps of a hornpipe, but
before he had gone far a lurch sent him head-first toward the port
bulkhead. Here he saved himself by thrusting out his hands, turned, and
began again.

"Very well, uphill if you like," he cried, and he danced from port
toward starboard. But this time his legs seemed to have turned wild,
and he staggered to right.

"Wo-ho! heave-ho! you lubbers!" he cried, and giving a lurch to right,
but with desperate energy he saved himself from a fall, and tried to
begin again.

"Now then," he cried, "from the beginning! Wo-ho! No, I mean yo-ho!"
he muttered. "Why, it's like trying to dance on horseback. Here goes
again. Tiddly-um-tum-tum! Tiddle-liddle-iddle iddle-liddle
iddle-rum-tum!"--"_Bang_."

Edward crashed against one of the little state-room doors, cannoned off,
and came down sitting on the cabin floor.

"Oh, that's it, is it?" cried the man. "Well, if you're going to dance
it, I'll wait till you've done."

"Anything the matter?" said a voice, and the steward came in.

"Nothing particular," said Sir John's man, "unless it's the yacht gone
mad."

"Oh, this is