ur hands in this
way--it's more than I can bear. And to have to make our appearance on
board the frigate without our vessel, and to report the loss of poor
Perigal and the others, is even worse."

I did my best to rouse up McAllister, and to make him see matters in a
more cheerful light, but it was no easy matter. He was ever dwelling on
the fact that the prize had been placed under his charge, and that he
had lost her. I was sometimes almost afraid that, if not watched at
night, he would be jumping overboard, so gloomy did he become. Bambrick
entertained the same idea also, I suspected, and I was glad to see that
he watched him narrowly. We also did our best to amuse him, and I got
the men to sing songs and spin yarns from morning till night. Only one
story told by Ned Bambrick seemed to afford him much amusement.

"You must know, sir, when I was paid off during the last peace, I joined
a South Sea whaler. You've heard tell of Botany Bay. Well, that's
nowhere, or that's to say, it is not the place where they send
prisoners. But there's a fine harbour near it, which they call Port
Jackson, and up it there's a town which they call the Camp, but which
has now got the name of Sydney. It's what they call a colony, that's to
say, a good number of people of all sorts, besides convicts, goes out
there, and they've a governor set over them, who rules the land just
like any king. He's a right, real sort of a governor, to my mind, for
he makes the laws and sees that they are obeyed, too. He won't stand no
nonsense, and though he doesn't wear a wig and gown, like the judges at
home, he sits in a court, and tries all them who doesn't do what they
ought. He hears both parties, and, when they've done, he sings out,
`Haul in the slack of your jaw-tackle, and belay all that,' and then he
goes for to say what each party must do, and he won't hear a word more
from either of them. Well, as I was a saying, I joined a South Sea
whaler. I can't say as how I had a pleasant time aboard, but it was
better than others had. Our captain was one of them chaps as always
does what they choose, and he pretty often chose to do what was very
bad. He had a quarrel with the doctor of the ship, who was a very
decent, well-behaved young man, and not wanting in spirit. Their
disputes went on from bad to worse, so what does he do one day, but call
four or five hands aft, fellows always ready to do any dirty work for a
glass of grog, and get