mes as
how I may want it. There is no call for you to fly out, as if he'd
said as he'd poison me, if he'd the chance.

"Anyhow, you'll write to me regular, won't you, Bill?"

"That I will," the boy said. "Every time I gets back to port, I'll
write; and you'll write sometimes, won't you? And tell me how you
are, and how every one is, schoolmaster and all. They have all been
very kind to me, and I have nothing to say against any of them."

The next morning William Gale laid aside, for ever, his workhouse
dress; and put on a suit of rough blue cloth, fitted for his future
work. Then, bidding adieu to all his friends, he--with his five
fellow apprentices--started by rail, under charge of Sam Dickson,
for Yarmouth.

The journey itself was, to them, a most exciting event. They had,
in all their remembrance, never been a mile from the workhouse; and
the swift motion of the train, the changing scenery, the villages
and stations, were a source of immense interest. As they neared
Yarmouth their excitement increased, for now they were nearing the
sea; of which they had read so much, but could form so little idea.
They were disappointed, however, inasmuch as no glimpse was
obtained of it, as they crossed the flat country leading to the
town but, failing the sea, Yarmouth itself--the town which was
henceforth to be their headquarters--was in the highest degree
interesting.

Presently the train reached the station, and then Sam Dickson--who
had made many annual journeys to Yarmouth, on the same errand--at
once started off with them to the smack owners who had written to
the workhouse. These lived at Gorleston, a large village on the
south side of the river. Walking down from the station, the boys
caught a glimpse of the river, and were delighted at the sight of
the long line of smacks, and coasters, lying by the wharves
opposite.

Presently they left the road, and made their way down to the river
side. Their guardian had great difficulty in getting them along, so
interested were they in the smacks lying alongside. Presently they
stopped at a large wooden building, over which was the name of
"James Eastrey."

"Here we are," Sam Dickson said. "Now, stop quietly outside. I will
call three of you up, when I have spoken to Mr. Eastrey."

Presently the porter re-appeared at the door, and called three of
the boys in. William Gale was one of the number, James Eastrey
being the name of the owner to whom he had signed his indenture