“But I had no business to have been caught in the bay,” sighed Adair. “My prospects in the service are ruined, and I shall never get another ship.”
“Never fear,” answered Jack; “we shall have perhaps a war before long, and, depend upon it, you will not be overlooked when ships are fitting out. Officers of dash and determination will be wanted, and you possess the required qualities.”
The packet from England had come in the day before they arrived at the Cape, and Jack found a letter from Admiral Triton. “We shall have some of the old work again before long, my boy, depend upon that,” he wrote. “I have it from the best authority that the Russians have made up their minds to quarrel with the Turks, and take possession of Constantinople. They have been for some time past badgering them about the Holy Places, and insisting that their co-religionists are ill-treated by the Moslems,—not that they really care about the matter,—and that is sufficient to convince anyone who has got his weather-eye open that they only want a pretext for war, decent or indecent. The news has just arrived, though it has not yet been made public, that we should be suspicious of the designs of Louis Napoleon, who has so wonderfully been transmogrified into an emperor—though for my part, I believe that no ruler of France has ever been more friendly disposed towards us, and the Russians will find that they are mistaken in wishing to set us by the ears. That Prince Menzikoff, their ambassador to the Porte, has presented the ultimatum of the Russian Government, which means war, for the Turks are certain not to knock under; and we and the French would not let them, if they thought of doing so. The Russians intend to invade Turkey with all possible despatch; indeed, they have an army all ready to throw across the frontier. Menzikoff will be away from Constantinople in the course of a day or two, and then the business will begin. Our Government intends to send a fleet through the Dardanelles without delay, and as the Russians have no small number of ships in the Black Sea, we may hope to have a brush with them. I wish you were here, Jack, to take a part in whatever goes on; and I am glad to find that your ship is ordered home, so that there is a chance of your being in time; you will not let the grass grow under your feet; and as you can steam through the calm latitudes, we may hope to see you here before long. I never liked steamers, but they have their advantages, there’s no doubt about that. In the meantime, I’ll use all the influence I possess to get you a craft you’ll like; and as I fancy that more work is to be done in a steam-vessel than in a sailing-ship, I’ll try and get one for you.”
The admiral’s letter contained a good deal more in his usual style of chit-chat; Mrs Murray had gone to stay with her friend Lucy at Halliburton Hall, though he expected both of them back again, and hoped that they would be with him when Jack arrived. Jack showed the letter to Terence, who sighed when he read it.
“What’s the matter?” asked Jack.
“I’m only thinking that an unlucky dog like myself, who has lost his ship, has very little chance of getting another,” said Adair; “and that the bright hopes I entertained of soon getting my post-rank must be abandoned for ever.”
Jack, of course, did his best to console him. “Come along,” he said; “there’s a grand ball to-night at the governor’s, and we’re asked; we’ll take the youngsters—it is a good thing to let them enjoy a little society, and will help to polish them up before they return home.”
Adair was unwilling to appear in public, but he yielded to Jack’s wishes. The three midshipmen were of course delighted, and busily employed themselves, with the aid of their marines, in burnishing up their long unused uniforms; so that when they entered the ballroom they presented a very respectable appearance following in the wake of their commanders.
Adair soon recovered his spirits, and Jack laughed as he watched him whirling round and round in the valse, or prancing away in the galop with true Hibernian vehemence. The midshipmen had entered into a compact to introduce each other to their partners. They did not fail to admire the blue eyes, light hair, and fair complexions of the Dutch damsels.
“Never saw so many pretty girls under one roof in my life!” exclaimed Tom; “I’m over head and ears in love with every one of them.”