ad built the
winning boat with his own hands. (Very luckily for him, at the last
moment Captain Hocken had judged it beneath the dignity of a Regatta
President to compete; and Captain Hunken, missing his rival at the
starting-line, had likewise withdrawn from the contest.)

"Certainly," agreed the Hon. Secretary. "Two guineas. Hi, there, aft!
Where's Mr Willett?"

Other voices carried back the call, and presently the Treasurer, Mr
Willett--a pursey little man with enormous side-whiskers,--came hurrying
forward from the after-companion, where he had been engaged in hearing a
protest from an excited disputant--a competitor in the 16-foot class--
who had in fact come in last, even on his handicap, but with a clear
notion in his own mind, and an array of arguments to convince others,
that he was entitled to the prize. Such misunderstandings were frequent
enough at Passage Regatta, and mainly because .Mr Willett, whom nobody
cared to cashier--he had been Treasurer for so many years,--had as a
rule imbibed so much beer in the course of the forenoon that any one
argument appeared to him as cogent as any other. He seemed, in fact, to
delight in hearing a case from every point of view; and by consequence
it could be securely predicted of any given race in Passage Regatta that
"You had never lost till you'd won."

Now, on Cai's secret recommendation the Committee had engaged the boy
Palmerston--who was quick at sums--to stand by Mr Willett during the
forenoon and count out the cash for him. The Treasurer (it was argued)
would be suspicious of help from a grown man; whereas he could order a
boy about, and even cuff his head on emergency. So Palmerston, seated
by the after-companion, had spent a great part of the morning in
listening to disputes, and counting out money as soon as the disputes
were settled. Nor was objection taken--as it might have been at more
genteel fixtures--to a part of the prize being produced from
Palmerston's mouth, in which he had a knack of storing petty cash, for
convenience of access--and for safety too, to-day, since he had
discovered a hole in one of his pockets.

Mr Willett then, rising and cutting short an altercation between two
late competitors in the 16-foot race, came hurrying forward with
Palmerston, ever loyal, in his wake. For the boy, without blaming
anyone, anxious only to fulfil a responsibility that weighed on him, was
aware that Mr Willett--whether considered as a man or as a