ett of the Antelope had
called at the office, and Bob had been introduced to him by Mr.
Bale. He was a hearty and energetic looking man, of some
five-and-thirty years of age.

"I shall want you to go to Cadiz for me, next trip, Captain
Lockett," Mr. Bale said. "I am having an unusually large cargo
prepared for me--enough, I fancy, to fill up your brig."

"All the better, sir," the sailor said. "There is nothing like
having only one shipper--it saves time and trouble; but I should
advise you to insure it for its full value, for the channel swarms
with French privateers, at present; and the fellows are building
them bigger, and mounting heavier guns than they used to do.

"I am mounting a long eighteen as a swivel gun, this voyage, in
addition to those I carried before. But even with that, there are
some of these French craft might prove very awkward customers, if
they fell in with us. You see, their craft are crowded with men,
and generally carry at least twice as many hands as ours. It is
just the same with their fishing boats. It takes about three
Frenchmen to do the work of an Englishman."

"Well, don't get caught, this time, Captain Lockett. I don't want
my nephew to learn to speak French, instead of Spanish, for there
is very little trade to be done in that quarter, at present; and
what there is is all carried on by what I may call 'irregular'
channels."

"I fancy there is a great deal of French wine comes into this
country still, sir, in spite of the two nations being at war. It
suits both governments to wink at the trade. We want French wine,
and they want English money."

"That's so, Captain Lockett; but at any rate, we can't send English
buyers out there, and must take what they choose to send."

On Saturday morning Bob said goodbye to his uncle, with an amount
of feeling and regret he would have considered impossible, four
months previously. Mr. Medlin accompanied him to Southampton, and
the journey was a very lively one.

"Goodbye, Bob," the clerk said, as they shook hands on the deck of
the Antelope. "You will be a man, when I see you again--that is, if
you don't come home, for a bit, before going to the people at Cadiz
and Oporto. You will be coming into the firm, then; and will be Mr.
Robert, always."

"Not if we go out fishing expeditions together," Bob said, and
laughed.

"Ah! Well, perhaps that will be an exception.

"Well, goodbye; a pleasant voyage to you, and don't get into more
scrap