"Ah! Doctor," he said, "how are you? When did you get out again from England?"
"Only three or four days since, Captain Clive. I did not recognize you, at first. I am glad to see you again."
"Yes, I have cast my slough," Captain Clive said, laughing, "and have, thank God, exchanged my pen for a sword, for good."
"You were able to fight, though, as a civilian," Doctor Rae said, laughing.
"Yes, we had some tough fighting behind the ramparts of Saint David's, and in the trenches before Pondicherry; but we shall have sharper work, still before us, or I am mistaken."
"What! Are they going to attack us here?" Doctor Rae exclaimed.
"Oh no, just the other way," Captain Clive said. "We are going to carry the war into their quarters. It is a secret yet, and must not go farther."
And he included the two writers in his look.
"These are two fresh comers, Captain Clive. They came out in the same ship with me. This is Mr. Marryat, this Mr. Peters. They are both brave young gentlemen, and had an opportunity of proving it on the way out, for we were twice engaged; the first time with privateers; the second, a very sharp affair, with pirates. That ship lying off there is a pirate we captured."
"Aha!" Captain Clive said, looking keenly at the lads. "Well, young gentlemen, and how do you like what you have seen of your life here?"