The purser observed that he had a suit of clothes belonging to one of the midshipmen killed in the action with the French frigate, which would, he thought, exactly fit Mr Rayner.
Bill felt very curious at hearing himself so spoken of.
The purser said that he would debit him with them at a moderate price.
The captain approving of this proposal, Bill, in the course of a few minutes, found himself dressed in a midshipman’s uniform. He could scarcely believe his senses. It seemed to him as if by the power of an enchanter’s wand he had been changed into some one else.
The first lieutenant then desired him to accompany him, and leading the way down to the berth, in which a number of the young gentlemen were assembled for dinner, he stopped at the door.
“I wish, young gentlemen, to present a new messmate to you,” he said, looking in. “Mr William Rayner! He has gained his position by exhibiting those qualities which I am sure you all admire, and you will, I have no doubt, treat him as a friend.”
The members of the mess who were present rose and cordially put out their hands towards Bill, whom the first lieutenant, taking by the aim, drew into the berth.
Mr Saltwell then returned on deck.
Bill naturally felt very bashful, but his new messmates did their best to set him at ease, and no one alluded to his former position. They spoke only of the late action, and begged him to give a description of the way in which he had saved Mr Saltwell’s life, a vague account of which they had heard.
Bill complied, modestly, not saying more about himself than was necessary. What he said gained him the applause of his new messmates, and raised him greatly in their estimation; he therefore found himself far more at his ease than he had expected would be possible; no one by word or deed showing that they recollected that he had been just before a ship’s boy, but all treated him as an equal.