come back, and he goes up and finds that I have
disappeared! I stopped a minute to take a clean shirt and my Sunday
clothes. I expect, when he sees I am not in the cottage, he will look
round, and he will discover that they have gone from their pegs, and guess
that I have made a bolt of it. He won't guess, however, that I have come
here, but will think I have gone across the moors. He knows very well how
hard he has made my life; still, that won't console him for losing me,
just as I am getting really useful in the boat."

The lieutenant landed from his cutter at the foot of the path leading up
to the station. The sub-officer received him at the top, and after a few
words they walked up to the station together.

"Who are these two boys?" he asked as he came up to them.

"Two lads who wish to enter the navy, sir."

"Umph! runaways, I suppose?"

"Not exactly, sir. Both of them are fatherless. That one has received a
fair education from the daughter of the clergyman of the village, who took
a great fancy to him. He has for some years now been assisting in one of
the fishing-boats and, as he acknowledges, in the spying upon our men, as
practically everyone else in the village does. When, however, Miss Warden
told him that smuggling was very wrong, he openly announced his intention
of having nothing more to do with it. This has had the effect of making
the ignorant villagers think that he must have taken bribes from us to
keep us informed of what was going on. In consequence he has suffered
severe persecution and has been sent to Coventry. After the fight we had
with them the other day they appear to think that there could be no
further doubt of his being concerned in the matter, and four men set out
after him to take his life. He fled here as his nearest possible refuge,
and if you will look over there you will see two men on the watch for him.
He had made up his mind to ship as an apprentice on a merchantman, but I
have talked the matter over with him, and he has now decided to join a
man-of-war."

"A very good choice," the officer said. "I suppose you can read and write,
lad?"

"Yes, sir," Will said, suppressing a smile.

"Know a bit more, perhaps?"

"Yes, sir."

"Well, if you are civil and well behaved, you will get on. And who is the
other one?"

"He is Gilmore's special chum, sir. He has a brute of an uncle who is
always knocking him about, and he wants to go to sea with his friend."

"Well, they are tw