as just sufficient
sail for them to advance against the tide; while in front of them the
Good Intent, shaking out sail after sail, stood boldly down the river.

* * * * *

"This was the way of it," said Sam, as he stood before the grim Tucker
at six o'clock the next morning, surrounded by his mates. "He came into
the 'Town o' Berwick,' where we was, as nice a spoken little chap as
ever you'd wish to see. He said he'd been a-looking at the GOOD INTENT,
and he thought it was the prettiest little craft 'e ever seed, and the
exact image of one his dear brother, which was a missionary, 'ad, and
he'd like to stand a drink to every man of her crew. Of course, we all
said we was the crew direckly, an' all I can remember after that is
two coppers an' a little boy trying to giv' me the frog's march, an'
somebody chucking pails o' water over me. It's crool 'ard losing a
race, what we didn't know nothink about, in this way; but it warn't
our fault?-it warn't, indeed. It's my belief that the little man was a
missionary of some sort hisself, and wanted to convert us, an' that was
his way of starting on the job. It's all very well for the mate to have
highstirriks; but it's quite true, every word of it, an' if you go an'
ask at the pub they'll tell you the same."

MATED

The schooner Falcon was ready for sea. The last bale of general cargo
had just been shipped, and a few hairy, unkempt seamen were busy putting
on the hatches under the able profanity of the mate.

"All clear?" inquired the master, a short, ruddy-faced man of about
thirty-five. "Cast off there!"

"Ain't you going to wait for the passengers, then?" inquired the mate.

"No, no," replied the skipper, whose features were working with
excitement. "They won't come now, I'm sure they won't. We'll lose the
tide if we don't look sharp."

He turned aside to give an order just as a buxom young woman,
accompanied by a loutish boy, a band-box, and several other bundles,
came hurrying on to the jetty.

"Well, here we are, Cap'n Evans," said the girl, springing lightly on to
the deck. "I thought we should never get here; the cabman didn't seem to
know the way; but I knew you wouldn't go without us."

"Here you are," said the skipper, with attempted cheerfulness, as he
gave the girl his right hand, while his left strayed vaguely in the
direction of the boy's ear, which was coldly withheld from him. "Go down
below, and the mate'll show you your c