been
turning over their cock-and-bull story, which finds credence
here, and cannot fit it with the probabilities. Yet they seem
William's men. I find that the horse on which one of them
returned is not the same as that upon which he rode away; nor
does their narrative account for this. But the main point is
that you are safe. By the way, I hope you have kept your son at
your side; for I have now received the information about which I
dropped you some hints. It appears that he inherits from a
great-uncle (one Silvanus Tellworthy) certain American estates,
of which you and a Captain Runacles, of Harwich, are the legal
administrators. I fancy this has been kept from you; and, if so,
a descent upon Harwich may be used to furnish you with a
provision for your old age. Still, there is a present danger
that you may be declared a traitor, and your goods confiscate,
which would spoil all. This (since naught has been proved
against you, and the aim of your journey not known) you may avert
by keeping your eyes open at Dunquerque, and writing a report of
it to Wm. Such a report, aptly drawn, may not only check
Portland, but justify me, as knowing your intent from the start,
and that it was a move for Wm's, good.--M.

On reading this Captain Salt cursed several times; and paced the deck
in meditation for a whole afternoon. Then an idea struck him.

During the week that followed he made excellent progress in the
affections of the officers of _L'Heureuse_. He had a face full of
_bonhomie_, an engaging knack of seeming to flatter his companions
while he merely listened to their talk, a fund of anecdote, and
(as we know) a voice for singing that conciliated all who had an ear
for music. All these advantages he used. For the next few days the
officers came late to bed, and Tristram and his companions could
allay the irritation of their skins as they listed. Night after
night shouts of laughter came from the Commodore's room: and with the
savour of delicate meats there now reached them the notes of a tenor
voice that moved many of the most abandoned to tears.

The end was that the officers admitted him to their counsels, which
may have been the reason that the galleys, that until now had taken
but the shortest cruises, began to risk more daring expeditions, and
once or twice adventured within a league of the English coast.
But no occasion was