e difference between us. At any
rate I am quite prepared to see you rise, and I shall be well content if
you will always allow me to remain your friend."

Will gratified the sub-officer later by telling him that he had made up
his mind to ship on board one of the king's vessels, and that his friend
and chum, Tom Stevens, had made up his mind to go with him.

The coxswain looked Tom up and down.

"You have the makings of a fine strong man," he said, "and ought to turn
out a good sailor. The training you have had in the fishing-boats will be
all in your favour. Well, I will let you know when the lieutenant makes
his rounds. I am sure there will be no difficulty in shipping you. Boys
ain't what they were when I was young. Then we thought it an honour to be
shipped on board a man-of-war, now most of them seem to me mollycoddled,
and we have difficulty in getting enough boys for the ships. You see, we
are not allowed to press boys, but only able-bodied men; so the youngsters
can laugh in our faces. Most of the crimps get one or two of them to watch
the sailors as the boys of the village watch our men, and give notice when
they are going to make a raid. I don't think, therefore, that there is any
fear of your being refused, especially when I say that one of you has got
into great trouble from refusing to aid in throwing us off the scent when
a lugger is due. If for no other reason he owes you a debt for that."

Three days passed. Will still remained at the coast-guard station, and men
still hovered near. Tom came over once and said that it had been decided
among a number of the fishermen that no great harm should be done to Will
when they got him, but that he should be thrashed within an inch of his
life. On the third day the coxswain said to Will:

"I have a message this morning from the lieutenant, that he will be here
by eleven o'clock. If you will write a line to your friend I will send it
over by one of the men."

Tom arrived breathless two minutes before the officer.

"My eye, I have had a run of it," he said. "The man brought me the letter
just as I was going to start in the boat with my uncle. I pretended to
have left something behind me and ran back to the cottage, he swearing
after me all the way for my stupidity. I ran into the house, and then got
out of the window behind, and started for the moors, taking good care to
keep the house in a line between him and me. My, what a mad rage he will
be in when I don't