d perchance his elder brother Hubert, awaited his coming. For
a moment he paused, gazing lovingly at the lights, then, striding on
again, he quickly reached the end of the wharf and, hurrying down the
ferry steps, sprang into a boat which he found lying alongside.

"So you'm back again all safe, Mr Garge, sir," exclaimed the occupant
of the boat as he threw out an oar to bear the craft off from the wharf
wall, while young Saint Leger seated himself in the stern sheets. "I
been here waitin' for 'e for the last hour or more. The mistress seed
the ship a comin' in, and knowed her, and her says to me--`Tom, the
_Bonaventure_ be whoam again. Now, you go down and take the boat and go
across to the wharf, for Master Garge 'll be in a hurry to come over,
and maybe the wherry won't be there just when he's ready to come; so you
go over and wait for un.' And here I be. Welcome home again, sir."

"Thanks, Tom," answered Saint Leger, "I did not recognise you for the
moment. And how is my mother?"

"She's just about as well as can be reasonably expected, sir,
considerin' the way that she's been worritin' about you and Mr
Hubert--'specially 'bout you, sir, since the news of the King of Spain's
embargo have been made known," answered the man Tom, who was in fact the
gardener and general handy man at The Nest, as Mrs Saint Leger's
cottage was named.

"Poor dear soul," murmured George; "she will fret herself to death over
Hu and me, before all's done, I am afraid. So Captain Hawkins has not
yet returned, Tom?"

"Not yet a bain't, sir. But he've only been gone a matter o' fifteen
months; and 'tis only a year since mun sailed from the Guinea coast for
the Indies, so 'tis a bit early yet to be expectin' mun back. When he
and Franky Drake du get over there a spoilin' the Egyptians, as one
might say, there be no knowin' how long they'll stay there. I don't
look to see 'em back till they'm able to come wi' their ships loaded wi'
Spanish gould; and it'll take a mort o' time to vind six shiploads o'
gould," returned Tom.

"And has no news of the expedition been received since its arrival on
the Spanish Main?" asked George.

"Not as I've heard of, sir," answered Tom. "The last news of 'em was
that they'd sailed from the Guinea coast some time about the end of
January; and how that comed I don't know. But I expect 'tis true,
because Madam got it from Madam Hawkins, who comed over expressly to
tell her."

"Ah, well, I suppose