g like him, only not so stout. He seems to have been very
good-tempered except when people wanted to capture him; and was always
ready to forgive that horrid woman who tried to betray him to his
enemies. Well, everything is very nice--much nicer than I expected--and
I feel sure that we shall enjoy the voyage very much."

CHAPTER III

THE VOYAGE.

In addition to those already named, the _Flying Scud_ carried some
twenty other cabin passengers. She took no emigrants forward, as she was
full of cargo, and was not, moreover, going direct to New Zealand.
There were therefore only three or four young men in addition to the
Grimstones forward. The fine weather that had favoured the start
accompanied them down the channel and across the bay. Life went on
quietly on board. It was early in May when they started; and the
evenings were still too chilly to permit of any sojourn on deck after
sunset. Each day, however, the weather grew warmer, and by the time the
vessel was off the coast of Portugal the evenings were warm and balmy.

"This is not at all what I expected," Marion Renshaw said, as she sat in
a deck-chair, to Mr. Atherton, who was leaning against the bulwark
smoking a cigar. "I thought we were going to have storms, and that every
one was going to be sea-sick. That is what it is like in all the books I
have read; and I am sure that I have not felt the least bit ill from the
time we started."

"You have had everything in your favour. There has been just enough
breeze to take us along at a fair rate with all our light canvas set,
and yet not enough to cause more than a ripple on the sea. The ship has
been as steady as if in port; but you must not flatter yourself this is
going to last all the time. I think we shall have a change before long.
The glass has fallen a little, and the wind has shifted its quarter two
or three times during the day. The sky, too, does not look so settled as
it has done. I think we shall have a blow before long."

"What! A storm, Mr. Atherton?"

"No, I don't say that; but wind enough to get up a bit of sea, and to
make landsmen feel very uncomfortable."

"But I suppose we should not be ill now even if it were rough, after
being a week at sea?"

"I do not think you would be likely to be ill so long as you might have
been had you encountered a gale directly we got out of the river, but I
think that if it comes on rough all those addicted to sea-sickness are
likely to suffer more or