"Orpen of the Achates."
"——under the charge of Midshipman Orpen of H.M.S. Achates."
"But there wasn't any attack, was there, sir?"
"Not as I know of; but it sounds better, and we'll leave it at that," laughed the Sub-lieutenant.
He kept on peering into the darkness; he seemed a little anxious, taking advantage of the frequent glares from the field-guns to look very closely through his glasses.
"There's something going on down there—I'm blest if I know what! You have a look," and he handed the glasses to the midshipman. The Orphan peered through them, waited for the sudden coming of a glare, thought he saw figures moving, and said so.
"So do I; but I can't make out whether they are our fellows or not."
"Where are our men?" the Orphan asked.
"More to the left, along the beach—there's no cover just in front of the bows down there. You see those dark shadows under the bows; they're the lighters your chaps fixed up. The Turks have some maxims in one of the bastions of that old castle; they're the guns which did all the mischief this morning. We've been trying to knock 'em out all day, but can't seem to get hold of 'em."
"Was it very bad this morning?"