imic campaign lasted, in chasing and capturing the ships of
the `enemy,' our cruiser being a very fast vessel and easily able to
overhaul most of their craft hand over hand.

It was good fun too--almost like real fighting; and we got so eager at
the game, that, on one occasion when we put into Plymouth Sound and
found one of the ships belonging to the other side there, our fellows
nearly had a row with the men belonging to her.

This shows how very thoroughly we entered into the sport.

It was the end of August when we came back from the Manoeuvres; and by
the time we had paid off the cruiser, which, with the other ships
specially commissioned for the purpose, was relegated to the reserve
basin until she should be wanted to relieve some other vessel abroad,
more than another month had elapsed before our rejoining the guardship.

But no sooner had we done this than we had to make another move.

The Training Squadron was under refit for its winter cruise, and a
number of boys being required to fill up the complements of the ships
composing it, one fine morning, just when Mick and myself began to feel
at home again on board the old _Asia_, we were paraded on deck with a
number of others and `told off' to join the _Active_.

She was the commodore's ship of the squadron, and the very one we had
longed to be appointed to, her commander being a smart seaman well known
in the service, and a friend of father's old friend Captain Mordaunt.

The latter, as luck would have it, had come to see us the previous
Sunday, when I happened to be home and had promised me to put in a good
word for me in the event of my being appointed to the ship.

By a strange coincidence, Mick and I had been that very day talking of
this while we were engaged cleaning some rusty rifles on the main-deck,
which job one of the petty officers had put us at, from his seeing my
chum and me star-gazing about, with nothing to do.

"Be jabers!" said Mick, sighting his rifle and pretending to take aim at
the swab as he went off after imposing this extra task on us, though he
waited until the officious gentleman's back was turned, as may be taken
for granted, "Oi wud loike to spot thet chap roight in the bull's-eye,
bad cess to him! Och, but wait till we're aboord the _Active_, Tom,
an', sure, we'll hev no more of straight-backed jokers loike him to dale
with!"

"Don't count your chickens before they're hatched, Mick," said I.
"We're not appointed to her y