“It’s all right, sir; I deserved it,” said the captain bluffly, “and I hope now he didn’t hear. Poor beggar! It is his nature to. Now, gentlemen, what do you say to coming and having a look over your cabin and berths? All being well, they’ll be your quarters for many a long month to come.”
“By all means,” they cried, and started for the brig at once.
Chapter Four.
Aboard the “Jason.”
“Sits like a duck, don’t she, gentlemen?” said the captain proudly, as they approached the riverside. “I don’t say but what you may find faster boats, but I do say you won’t find a better-built or better-proportioned brig afloat. Look at her.”
The captain had good cause to be proud of his vessel, and he showed his pride by having her in particularly trim order, while his crew of a dozen men were smart, good-looking young fellows, as trim as their vessel, and very different from the ordinary run of merchant seamen, being quite the stamp of the smart, active, healthy-looking Jacks of Her Majesty’s Fleet.
Everything was smartly done, beginning with the manning and rowing ashore of the captain’s boat, while as the little party ran alongside and stepped on deck the crew were gathered together ready to salute the brothers with a cheer.
“Why, captain,” said Sir Humphrey, after a sharp glance of satisfaction around him, “you surprise me. The ‘Jason’ looks more like a yacht than a merchant brig.”