g."

"Then I shall be ready in a minute," Bob said, running below; and
it was not much more before he reappeared, with a small handbag.

"I shall see you again tomorrow, Mr. Probert. I shall be here about
our luggage;" and he took his place in the boat beside the others,
who had already descended the ladder.

"And you have had a pleasant voyage, Bob?" Captain O'Halloran
asked.

"Very jolly, Gerald; first rate. Captain Lockett was as kind as
could be; and the first mate was very good, too, though I did not
think he would be, when I first saw him; and Joe Lockett, the
second mate, is a capital fellow."

"But how was it that you did not take that French privateer, Bob?
With a fellow like you on board--the capturer of a gang of
burglars, and all that sort of thing--I should have thought that,
instead of running away, you would have gone straight at her; that
you would have thrown yourself on her deck at the head of the
boarders, would have beaten the Frenchmen below, killed their
captain in single combat, and hauled down their flag."

"There is no saying what I might have done," Bob laughed, "if it
had come to boarding; but as it was, I did not feel the least wish
for a closer acquaintance with the privateer. It was too close to
be pleasant, as it was--a good deal too close. It is a pity you
were not there, to have set me an example."

"I am going to do that now, Bob, and I hope you will profit by it.

"Now then, you jump out first, and give Carrie your hand. That is
it."

And, having settled with the boatman, Captain O'Halloran followed
the others' steps. It was a busy scene. Three ships were
discharging their cargoes, and the wharf was covered with boxes and
bales, piles of shot and shell, guns, and cases of ammunition.
Fatigue parties of artillery and infantry men were piling the
goods, or stowing them in handcarts. Goods were being slung down
from the ships, and were swinging in the air, or run down to the
cry of "Look below!"

"Mind how you go, Carrie," Captain O'Halloran said, "or you will be
getting what brains you have knocked out."

"If that is all the danger, Gerald," she laughed, "you are safe,
anyhow.

"Now, Bob, do look out!" she broke off as, while glancing round, he
tripped over a hawser and fell. "Are you hurt?"

"Never mind him, Carrie--look out for yourself. A boy never gets
hurt.

"Now, keep your eyes about you, Bob. You can come and look at all
this, any day."

At last they got to