ve Gilmore, sir. I feel that I can trust him
thoroughly."

"I think you have made a good choice. I cannot spare you more than thirty
men. You will go straight to Malta, hand over your prize to the agent
there, and either wait till we return, or come back again if there should
be any means of doing so."

Will was delighted when he heard that he was to go with Forster. "Will you
pick the crew?" he asked his friend.

"No, but I could arrange without difficulty for anyone you specially
wished."

"I should like very much to have my friend Tom Stevens and the sailor
named Dimchurch; they are both good hands in their way, and were very
friendly with me before I got promoted."

"All right! there will no difficulty about that; we shall want a boy to
act as our servant, and one able seaman is as good as another. I have
noticed Dimchurch; he is a fine active hand, and I will appoint him
boatswain."

Great was the pride of Will as the prize crew rowed from the _Furious_ to
the Moorish galley of which he was to be second in command, but he could
not help bursting out laughing as he went down with Forster into the
cabin.

"What are you laughing at?" Forster asked.

"I was having a bit of a laugh at the thought of the change that has come
over my position. Not that I am conceited about it, but it all seems so
strange that I should be here and second in command."

"No doubt it does," laughed Forster, "but you will soon get accustomed to
it. It is almost as strange for me, for it is the first time that I have
been in command. I have brought a chart on board with me. Our course is
north-north-east, and the distance is between two and three hundred miles.
In any decent part of the world we should do it in a couple of days, but
with these baffling winds we may take a week or more. Well, I don't much
care how long we are; it will be a luxury to be one's own master for a
bit."

The first step was to divide the crew into two watches.

"I am entitled not to keep a watch," Forster said, "but I shall certainly
waive the privilege. We will take a watch each."

Tom Stevens was appointed cabin servant, and one of the men was made cook;
nine of the others were told off to each watch.

"I wish she hadn't all those prisoners on board," Forster said. "They will
be a constant source of anxiety. There are over fifty of them, and as
hang-dog scoundrels as one would wish to see. We shall have to keep a
sharp look-out on them, to make sure