e another: in fact, I daresay, very little; but in spirit we gave and
took fire. We were two ardent boys, and we meant well.

"Here's to the Service!" said I, holding up my glass.

"To the Service!" echoed Hartnoll; drained his, set it down, and looked
across at me with a flushed face.

"With quick promotion and a plenty of prize-money!" said a voice in the
doorway. It was that diabolical waiter again, entering to remove the
cloth: and for a moment I felt my ears redden. Recovering myself, I told
him pretty strongly not to intrude again upon the conversation of
gentlemen; but added that since he had presumed to take part in the toast,
he might fetch himself a tankard of beer and drink to it. Whereupon he
thanked me, begged my pardon for having taken the liberty, and immediately
took another, telling me that anyone having _his_ experience of young
gentlemen could see with half an eye that I was born to command.

"Tell you what," said I to Hartnoll when the waiter had left us,
"that fellow has given me a notion, with his talk about prize-money.
I don't half like owing you my share of that ten shillings, you know."

"I thought we were agreed not to mention it again," said Hartnoll, firing
up.

Said I, "But there's my view of it to be considered. Suppose now we put
it on to our first prize-money--whoever makes the first haul to pay the
whole ten shillings, and if we make it together, then each to pay five?"

"That won't do," said Hartnoll. "My head don't seem able to follow you
very clearly, but if we make our first haul together, the matter remains
where it is."

"Very well," I yielded. "Then I must get ahead of you, to get quits."

"You won't, though," said Hartnoll, pushing back his chair, and so
dismissing the subject.

Now the evening being young, I proposed that we should sally forth
together and view the town--in other words (though I avoided them) that we
should flaunt our uniforms in the streets of Portsmouth. Hartnoll
demurred: the boat (said he) might arrive in our absence. I rang for the
waiter again, and took counsel with him. The waiter began by answering
that the Blue Posts, though open day and night, would take it as a favour
if gentlemen patronising the house would make it convenient to knock-in
before midnight, and, if possible, retire to their rooms before that hour.
He understood our desire to see the town; "it was, in fact, the usual
thing, under the circumstances." If I would not