opped up the glass, reached in, and began turning over the
prickly leaves, laying bare the rather curly little specimens of the
cool, pleasant fruit; but there was no sign of the big, well-grown
vegetable.

"Was I mistaken?" mused the lad. "No, there was one, and there's the
remains of the stalk, showing where the cucumber has been cut. What a
shame!" he muttered. "I'll tell him of that too. Uncle would be angry
if he knew."

Aleck closed the frame again and began to look round.

"What a shame!" he said, again. "Nice sort of a gardener to have--lazy,
a smuggler, and little better than a thief. I'll just give him
something to think about when I find him. Oh, there he is!"

For just then the boy looked up, to see the old gardener standing on the
highest part of the sheltering cliff, his back to him, and shading his
eyes as he looked out to sea.

"Ahoy! What are you doing there?" shouted Aleck.

The man started and looked down.

"Ships--men-o'-war--going behind the point," shouted the gardener.

Men-of-war going into Rockabie harbour! That news was sufficient to
upset all Aleck's arrangements. He forgot all about the lesson he was
going to give the gardener, and rushed indoors, to hurry upstairs and
rap sharply at his uncle's study, and, getting no answer he threw open
the door to cross the room and seize the glass from where it hung by its
sling. Then, dashing out again, he ran downstairs, crossed the garden,
mounted the cliff zigzag path, and was soon after focussing the glass
upon the men-of-war, which proved to be only a good-sized sloop followed
by a trim-looking white-sailed cutter, both vessels with plenty of
canvas spread, and gliding steadily over the smooth sunlit sea.

"Oh, I wish I'd known sooner!" groaned the lad, for he had hardly fixed
the leading vessel before her bows began to disappear behind the point,
and before ten minutes had elapsed the cutter was out of sight as well.

"I don't know that I should much care about going to sea," muttered
Aleck, closing the glass, "but the ships do look so beautiful with their
sails set, gliding along. What a pity! What a pity! I do wish I had
known sooner."

"What are they going to do there?" thought the boy, as he closed the
glass and walked back to the cottage, where upon going upstairs to
replace the glass he found his uncle in from his morning walk and about
to settle down for a few hours' work.

"Well, Aleck, boy," he said; "been scann