t our coming in here. We should
never have thought anything about the cart, if it hadn't been for
Bob; and we didn't much like coming, only he pretty well made us,
and he arranged it all."

"That's all rot," Bob said. "We were just all in it together, sir,
and this is how it was."

And he told the whole story of what had taken place.

"Well, you couldn't have done better, if you had been officers in
His Majesty's service," the admiral said. "You have saved me the
loss of my two plate chests, of all the plate in this room--and
that couldn't be counted in money, for they were most of the things
given me, at different times, on service--and of 500 pounds I had
in that box upstairs--altogether, at least 2000 pounds in money
value. More than that, you prevented my being captured; and it
would have been a sorer blow, to me, than the loss of the money, if
those scoundrels had had their way, and had got off scot free.

"But you haven't told me, yet, how you happened to be going up the
hill, at half past three o'clock in the morning. What on earth were
you doing there? Surely your master does not allow you to ramble
about, in the middle of the night."

"Well, no, sir, that is the worst of it," Bob said. "You see, I had
arranged with one of the fishermen's boys, who has got a first-rate
dog, that we could meet him upon the Common, and do some rabbit
hunting. We slipped out from Tulloch's, and meant to have been back
before anyone was up. And now I expect we shall get it nicely,
because I suppose it must all come out."

The admiral laughed.

"You are four nice young scamps!" he said--for Wharton had rejoined
them, before Bob had finished the story--"but it is not for me to
blame you. It will certainly have to be told, lads, because you
will have to appear as witnesses at the trial of these fellows; but
I will go down myself, the first thing in the morning, and speak to
your master."

"Thank you, sir," Bob said. "It won't make any difference about the
thrashing; we are bound to get that. But we shan't mind that, we
are pretty well accustomed to it. Still, if you speak for us, I
expect we shall get off with that; otherwise I don't know what
Tulloch would have done, when he found out that we had been
slipping out at night."

"I expect it is not the first time you have done it?"

"Well, no, it is not, sir. We have been out two or three times,
with one of the fishermen, in his boat."

"I expect you are nice young pickle