and young gentlemen who had
tilted against them their feet. Lieutenant Jennings and Terence had
scraped clear without losing their seats, but nearly all the rest had
been unhorsed. Commander Babbicome was the only one who had suffered
damage, and he had received a bloody nose by a blow from his horse's
head, but he was infinitely the most irate. "It is a disgrace to the
service that such things should be allowed," he exclaimed. "Captain
Hemming, I shall demand a court-martial on your officers, or an ample
apology. Mine know how to respect their commander." At that moment his
eye fell on his own purser and surgeon, with two or three others who
were trying to get by close to the wall on either side. "Ah! I see;
they shall hear more about it, they may depend on that!"

"Lieutenant Adair will be ready to make you an ample apology, I can
answer for that, and you know that naval officers are not always the
best of horsemen, of which we have just had an example," said Captain
Hemming, who, though annoyed at what had happened, wished to soothe the
feelings of the angry commander.

The Portuguese officers ascertaining that the bishop was unhurt took
their own overthrow very coolly. "It's the way of those young English
naval officers," they observed, with a shrug of the shoulders.
"Paciencia!"

With bows and further apologies the two parties separated; the one to
partake of the banquet prepared for them, the other to make the best of
their way into the town.

"Uncle Terence, you bate me, I'll acknowledge, but if it hadn't been for
the fat bishop I'd have won," exclaimed Gerald, as they met Adair not
very comfortable in his mind, coming back to look for them.

"We shall all get into a precious row, ye young spalpeen, in consequence
of your freak," answered Adair. "Why didn't you pull up at once when I
told you?"

"Pull up was it ye say, Uncle Terence?" cried the irrepressible young
Irish boy. "Faith now, that's a good joke. Didn't I pull till I
thought my arms would be after coming off, but my baste pulled a mighty
dale harder."

"Really that nephew of mine will be getting into serious difficulties if
he does not learn to restrain the exuberance of his spirits," said
Terence quite seriously to Jack, as they rode on together. "When I was
a youngster I never went as far as he does."

"As to that, we are apt to forget what we were, and what we did, in the
days of our boyhood," answered Jack, laughing heartily.