October 24th.—How Tom and I have laughed over that plucky Miss Chandos! I am not sure that the fellow deserves to be called "Miss" either, for he is plucky right through, I know—the sort of fellow that would walk up to a cannon's mouth without flinching if he was a soldier and it was his duty. What a splendid sailor he would make! I could fancy him steering his ship right under the enemy's guns if it was necessary, but never yielding an inch or knowing when he was beaten. He's beaten me at pea-shooting, and made me feel ashamed of myself. I wonder what Miss Chandos is going to be—a parson, I should think; and he means to do his life-work thoroughly, and is beginning now, as I am in keeping this log.
It seems queer that we shall all be men very soon—some sailors, some soldiers, some lawyers, and some tied to a merchant's desk, which is mother's highest ambition for me. She talks grandly sometimes about merchant princes, and how uncle will give me a share in his business; but I always try to get out of the way, for I mean to run away to sea when the time comes, and I hate to be a hypocrite.
October 30th.—Another row. I knew it would come if they turned us out of our workshop; but the best of the fun is, they don't know who has been up to this mischief, though Tom and I are both suspected, I believe. For a wonder, though, I had no hand in this, I only wish I had. Tom managed cleverly, too, to turn all the farm-yard out as he did—pigs and cows, ducks and hens; and didn't they enjoy their hour's feast in the garden! I fancy I see the governor now as he came rushing out in time to see the last of his dahlias disappear, and then the whooping and helter-skelter charge of the servants, with the governor at the head of the fray. This will be something to laugh over many a night when the wind is blowing great guns, and we are pitching and tossing so that it is impossible to read or write up the ship's log, which we shall have to keep then. The picture of to-day's fun will rise up before us long after everybody else has forgotten it. Plucky Tom! I wish I had had a share of the fun in setting the animals at liberty. I don't dare ask how he did it all yet, for the fuss is at its height, and everybody is being questioned. Of course, suspicions go for nothing, and nobody really saw who did it, and so Tom is not likely to be found out unless he splits himself, which is not very probable, unless somebody else is charged with it, and then of course he would make a clean breast of it.
CHAPTER II.
DISENCHANTMENT.
November 1st.—Chandos has got himself into a scrape, and nobody seems to know what it is about. I have asked several of the fellows, but they only shake their heads and tell me I know more about it than they do. I am sure I do not; but as Chandos shares my room they think I must be in his secrets, I suppose. I cannot help wondering what it is—something that has got the governor's back up awfully, I can see. Chandos has been locked up all day in the punishment-room, and nobody seems to know whether he will be let out to-night. I wish I was sure he was not coming, and I would try to get Tom in here, and we'd have some fun for once. I wonder what the young lady has been up to.
November 14th.—I have not written up my log for a fortnight, and now I have only a miserable tale to tell. At first I thought I'd give up the log, as Tom will never be my lieutenant now to laugh over it; but I'll keep on with it a bit longer. I thought we should often laugh over Tom's setting the farm-yard at liberty as he did, but somehow it seems to have been a dreadful trouble to everybody; but no one can feel just as I do about it, for it has taken my old chum away from me, and we can never be again what we have been. What did they want to make such a fuss about it for, and punish Miss Chandos? The governor must have been as blind as a mole to think Chandos had anything to do with it. It was ever so long before I found out the tops and bottoms of the business; but at last I found one of the juniors could tell something, and I got him by himself and threatened to break every bone in his skin if he didn't shell out all he knew, and then it came out that he had seen Chandos close to the farm-yard just before the animals were turned out, and the miserable little muff had gone with that tale to the governor as soon as the row began.
"But you know it wasn't Chandos," I said, thinking he must have seen Tom too.
"Wasn't it?" said the youngster.
I gave him a shake, and ran off to Chandos, who was just going into the cricket-field. "What's this row about you and the farm-yard, Miss Chandos?" I said.