shall not forget your
gallant behaviour."

We accordingly retreated down the side, very much crestfallen and
disappointed indeed, and, jumping into the dinghy, returned to the
"Mouette," just as the captains' gigs from the various ships were coming
up alongside.

Seating ourselves upon the companion-slide, and dangling our legs
disconsolately down the companion, we abandoned ourselves to the most
gloomy reflections, watching meanwhile the boats as they dashed up
alongside the flag-ship, and cynically criticising the stroke and action
of the several crews; and I am afraid the skippers themselves did not
altogether escape our disparaging remarks.

We had been sitting thus for about a quarter of an hour, giving
unrestrained vent to our feelings of dissatisfaction, when Bob's
countenance suddenly brightened, and, turning to me, he exclaimed in an
animated tone of voice,--

"I say, Chester, what fools we are! Let's go aboard the old `Juno' and
wait until the skipper returns, and when he calls for volunteers we'll
be the first to step to the front. Old Hood," (it was in this
unpardonably disrespectful manner he alluded to the admiral) "has
forgotten all about us by this time, and so he will never think of
mentioning to the skipper our request, and I don't see why we haven't a
good chance yet. Do you?"

No sooner said than done. We knew that the chiefs would at that moment
be seated in the admiral's cabin, so, filling upon the cutter, we bore
away and ran down under the lee of the "Juno," whose deck we gained just
as the captains' gigs were shoving off from the "Victory's"
accommodation-ladder.

Ten minutes afterwards Captain Hood came up the side, and immediately
gave orders for all hands to come aft. He then, accompanied by Mr
Annesley, went up on the poop, and stood there, watching the eager and
expectant faces of the men as they clustered thickly in the waist on
both sides of the deck. The officers were all grouped together upon the
quarter-deck.

Waiting until all hands were present, the skipper stepped forward to the
head of the poop-ladder, and, waving his hand for silence, said,--

"My lads, I have just weturned from a conference with the admiwal, at
which every captain in the fleet was pwesent. And I am--ah--charged by
Lord Hood to expwess to you all--officers and men alike--his thanks for
your wecent exertions in waising the guns to the top of yonder wock.
The battewy thus--er--ah--placed in positi