and
to take the treasures which he robbeth from the poor heathen of the
West?"

"I know not about lawful, my son, but I see no warrant whatsoever
for it; and as for heathen, indeed, it appears to me that the
attacks upon him do touch, very closely, upon piracy upon the high
seas. However, as the country in general appeareth to approve of
it, and as it is said that the queen's most gracious majesty doth
gladly hear of the beating of the Spaniards, in those seas, it
becometh not me to question the rights of the case."

"At any rate, Father, you would not object when the time comes for
me to sail with Mr. Francis Drake?"

"No, my boy; thou hast never shown any aptitude whatever for
learning. Thou canst read and write, but beyond that thy knowledge
runneth not. Your mind seems to be set on the water, and when you
are not in it you are on it. Therefore it appears, to me, to be
flying in the face of Providence to try to keep you on shore. Had
your poor mother lived, it would have been a different thing. Her
mind was set upon your becoming a clerk; but there, one might as
well try to make a silk purse from the ear of a sow. But I tell you
again, count not too much upon this promise. It may be years before
Mr. Francis Drake may be in a position to keep it."

Had Ned Hearne watched for Captain Drake's second voyage, he would,
indeed, as his father had said, have waited long. Three days after
the conversation, however, a horseman from Plymouth rode into the
little village, and inquired for the house of Master Hearne. Being
directed thither, he rode up in haste to the gate.

"Here is a letter!" he cried, "for the son of the schoolmaster, who
goes by the name of the Otter."

"I am he," Ned cried. "What is it, and who can have written to me?"

"It is a letter from His Honor, the Worshipful Mr. Francis Drake."

Seizing the letter, Ned broke the seal, read a few lines, threw his
cap into the air with a shout of joy, and rushed in to his father.

"Father," he said, "Captain Drake has written to acquaint me that
one of the boys in his ship has been taken ill, and cannot go; and
that it has pleased him to appoint me to go in his place; and that
I am to be at Plymouth in three days, at the utmost, bringing with
me what gear I may require for the expedition."

The schoolmaster was a little taken aback at this sudden prospect
of departure, but he had always been wholly indulgent to his son,
and it was not in his nature to refu