MAP ILLUSTRATING THE OPERATIONS AGAINST THE PIRATES
CHAPTER I
The Luck of Midshipman Glover
Ordered Abroad. Hurrah!
Midshipman Glover explains how Luck came to him
It all started absolutely unexpectedly whilst we were on leave and staying with Mellins in the country.
When I say "we", I mean Tommy Toddles and myself. His real name was Foote, but nobody ever called him anything but "Toddles", and I do believe that he would almost have forgotten what his real name actually was if it had not been engraved on the brass plate on the lid of his sea chest, and if he had not been obliged to have it marked very plainly on his washing.
We had passed out of the Britannia a fortnight before—passed out as full-blown midshipmen, too, which was all due to luck—and were both staying with Christie at his pater's place in Somerset.
It was Christie whom we called Mellins, because he was so tremendously fat; and though he did not mind us doing so in the least, it was rather awkward whilst we were staying in his house, for we could hardly help calling his pater "Colonel Mellins".