stening to them as they gurgled musically under our keel.

"There's Neil!" cried Charlie, as we passed the coastguards' boathouse,
"spying at us through the telescope."

"Let him spy," laughed Hall; "I dare say he'd like to be coming too.
It's slow work for those fellows, always hanging about doing nothing."

"What's he waving about?" inquired I from the bows, for we could see
that the sailor had put down his glass, and was apparently trying to
catch our attention by his gesticulations.

Hall looked attentively for a moment, and then said--

"Oh, I see, he's pointing up at the flagstaff to show us the wind's in
the north-east. I suppose he thinks no one knows that but himself."

"Let's see," said Hutton, "we are going north-west, aren't we?"

"Yes, so we shall be able to make use of the wind both ways, with a
little tacking."

"He's shouting something now," said Charlie, with his eyes still on
Neil.

"Oh, he's an old woman," said Hall, laughing; "he's always wanting to
tell you this and that, as if no one knew anything about sailing but
himself." And he took off his hat and waved it ceremoniously to the old
sailor, who continued shouting and beckoning all the while, though
without avail, for the only words that came to us across the water were
"fresh" and "afternoon," and we were not much enlightened by them.

"I'm afraid he's fresh in the morning," laughed Hutton.

A short sail brought us to the bar mouth, over which, as the tide was in
and the sea quiet, we passed without difficulty, although Hall had bade
us have the oars ready in case of emergency, should it be necessary to
lower our sail in crossing. But of this there was no need, and in a
minute we were at last in the bay, and fairly at sea.

"Do you see Parkhurst over the trees there, you fellows?" cried Charlie,
pointing behind us. "I never saw the place from the bay before."

"Nor I," I answered; "it looks better here than from any other side."

We were all proud of the old school-house, and fully impressed with its
superiority over any other building of the kind in the kingdom.

The view in the bay was extremely beautiful, Shargle Head stood out
opposite us, distinct and grand, towering up from the water, and
sweeping back to join the moorland hills behind. On our left, close
beside the bar mouth, rose Raven Cliff, where we so often had been wont
to lie and look out on this very bay; and one by one we recognised the
familiar spots from our