return; and if
you went home in a larger vessel, if you did not escape them altogether,
they would probably bring less discomfort in their train than they will
here."

"What would you advise me to do?" she asked, looking ruefully up into my
face.

"Well," I replied, "since you ask me, my advice is this. If we fall in
with a comfortable ship, bound to England, or to any port whence you can
trans-ship for England, go in her; if the ship is _not_ comfortable, and
it comes to a choice of inconveniences, you can be guided by your own
judgment, but do not leave us until you are sure of gaining some
advantage by the change."

So it was settled. That same afternoon, as I was lying down on the
lockers in our little cabin aft, I overheard the following conversation
on deck, between Bob and Ella.

"Bob," said Ella (she soon dropped the Mr in his case, but it was still
"Mr Collingwood" to me)--"Bob, are we likely to meet any ships very
soon, do you think?"

"Ships!" echoed Bob, in consternation; "no, missie, I hopes not. You
surely ain't tired of the little _Lily_ yet, are ye?"

"No, indeed," replied Ella; "and I hope you are not tired of _me_. Tell
me, Bob, am I very much trouble here, or very much in the way?"

"_Trouble! in the way_!!" repeated Bob; "Well, I'm--"--then a strong
inspiration between the teeth, as though to draw back the forcible
expression quivering on his lips--"but there, it's because you don't
know what you're sayin' of, that you talks that a-way. What put that
notion into your pretty little head?"

"Harry--Mr Collingwood, I mean--seems anxious that I should go home in
some other vessel," Ella replied, dolefully.

"Well, now, that's news, that is," answered Bob. "Since when has he
taken that idee into his head?"

"We were talking about it this morning," said Ella; "and he said it
would be more dangerous for me to go home in the _Water Lily_ than in a
large ship. _Is_ the _Water Lily_ dangerous, Bob?"

"Dangerous!" exclaimed Bob, in a tone of angry scorn. "Was she
dangerous in that blow off the Horn, when a big ship capsized and went
down with all hands, close alongside of us? Was she dangerous when we
had that bit of a brush with the pirates? If she hadn't been the little
beauty that she is, she'd ha' gone down in the gale and a'terwards ha'
been made a prize of by the cut-throats." (Bob, in his angry
vindication of the cutter's character, was wholly oblivious of the
"bull" he had perp