By Conduct and Courage

ears. Putting all other things aside, it was a life of adventure, and adventure is always tempting to boys. It really did not seem to him tha

oped that he would find [pg 33]time enough on board ship to continue his work,

came round i

mind to go with you if

now, I have learnt a good deal, and if the first cruise lasts for five years I have no doubt that at the end of it I s

f course I feel it all the more now that you have saved my life. I am quite sure you will get on in the world, Will, and sha'n't grudge you your success a bit, however high you rise, for I know how hard you have worked, and how well you deserve it. Besides, even if I had had the pains bestowed upon me, and had worked ever so hard myself, I should never have been a bit like you. Yo

up his mind to ship on board one of the king's vessels, and that hi

looked Tom

ght it an honour to be shipped on board a man-of-war, now most of them seem to me mollycoddled, and we have difficulty in getting enough boys for the ships. You see, we are not allowed to press boys, but only able-bodied men; so the youngsters can laugh in our faces. Most of the crimps get one or two of them to watch the sailors as the boys

d said that it had been decided among a number of the fishermen that no great harm should be done to Will when they

he will be here by eleven o'clock. If you will write a li

less two minutes b

for the moors, taking good care to keep the house in a line between him and me. My, what a mad rage he will be in when I don't come back, and he goes up and finds that I have disappeared! I stopped a minute to take a clean shirt and my Sunday clothes. I expect, when he sees I am not in the cottage, he will look round, and he

eading up to the station. The sub-officer received him at the t

boys?" he asked as

wish to enter

naways, I

ggling was very wrong, he openly announced his intention of having nothing more to do with it. This has had the effect of making the ignorant villagers think that he must have taken bribes from us to keep us informed of what was going on. In consequence he has suffered severe persecution and has been sent to Coventry. After the fight we had with them the other day they appear to think that

officer said. "I suppose y

ll said, suppr

it more,

s,

well behaved, you will get o

rute of an uncle who is always knocking him ab

gent. I will test them at once, and then take them off with me in the cutter and hand them over to the tender at Whitby. Now send four men and catch

struck inland, and, making a detour, came down behind them. The fishermen did not take the alarm until it was too late. They started

g to join you in your attempts to cheat the revenue? I might send you off to a magistrate for trial, in which case you woul

in spite of the men's s

e flag-post and give t

y laid the lash on heavily, and the execrations that followed the first few bl

ur village, and tell your friends that I wish I had had every man concerned in the matter before me. If I had I would have dealt out the same punishment

king him for his kindness in the past, and asking him to send his clothes to him by the bearer. An hour and a half later they embarked in the

," the lieutenant said. "I think they are go

y a bed of roses, you will find, at first, but if you can always keep your temper and return a civil answer to a question you will

t we are better than most of our own age. At any rate we won't be licked easily, even if they are a bit bigger and stronger

pick up the hands from the various receiving-ships, and as often as not she goes back with a hundred. And a rum lot you will think them. There are jail-birds who have had the offer of release on condition that they enter the navy; there are farm-labourers who don't know one end of a boat from the other; there are drunkards who have been sold by the crimps when their money has run out; but, Lord bless you,

ttle, and were specially attracted to Will on account of the persecution he had suffered by refus

e [pg 40]fellow saves another's life, and that fellow runs away and ships in order to be near his friend, you may

by. Both boys had done their best to acquire knowledge, and had learn

e upon you ever since you came on board, and I have seen that you have been trying hard to learn, and have always been ready to giv

smoothly enough when you once join your ship. You had better hand over your kits to me to keep for you, otherwise there won't be much left at the end of the first night; and if you like I will let you stow yo

n accustomed to sleep at night in the bottom of an open boat, so i

es. We get more boys down in the

eye on them, and prevent anyone from bullying them. I know that you are a pressed man, and that we have no right to expect anything of you u

nd see that no one meddles with them. I know what I had to go through when I fi

will leave them n

aid as he sat down on the table and looked at the bo

ars of it, though of course we were

e a fisherman's boy

lf in me and got me to work

st voyage in a ship of war. Hitherto I have always escaped being pressed when I was ashore, but now they have caught me I don't mind having a try at it. [pg 42]I believe, from all I hear, that the

were playing cards, others lying about half-asleep. Two or three who were fortunate enough to be possessed of tobacco were smoking. In all there w

r you to sleep," he sai

wn has given us permission to

there, much better than you would down here. I will go up on deck and

pe was good enough to speak to the office

u make him

of his troubles with the s

lage in that way. You must have known what the consequence would be, and it is not ever

that I had any choice when I on

e. Lord bless you! I have come home from abroad when there was not one of the passengers and crew who did not have a bit of something hidden about him or his luggage-brandy, 'baccy, Fr

not right,"

tles came out as stout matrons, owing to the yards and yards of laces and silk they had wound round them. All sorts of odd places were choke-full of tobacco; there were cases that looked like baggage, but really had a tin lining, which was full of brandy. It was a rare game for those who got through

h good brandy. You see, young 'un, though everyone knows that it is against the law, no one thinks it a crime. It is a game you play; if you lose you pay handsomely, but if you win you get off scot-free. I think the lady who told you it was wrong did you a very bad service, for i

t my leg badly. I am only just beginning to use it a bit now. The pain was so great that I did not know what I was doing; I rolled off the rock into the water. My knee was so bad that I could not swim, and the rock was too high for me to crawl out. I had been there for some time, and was beginning to get weak, when Will came along on the top of the cliff and saw me. He shouted to me to hold on till he could get down to me. Then he ran half a mile to a place where he was able t

glad to do it myself. Stick to him, lad, as long as he will let you. I fancy, from the

have a chance of returning him the service he has done me. He knows

ood wife. In fact, I don't know if it is not a bit better. Ah, here comes the boatswain with a bit of sail-cloth, so you had better lie down at once

was a great thing, but that of their sailor friend was better. They hoped that he would be told off to the ship in which they went, for they felt sure that he would

retty well what sort of men they are. I am not surprised that the pressed men should try to get away, but I have no pity for the drunken fellows who joined when they had sp

t in the towns men will spend every penny they have, g

as rowed to the new arrival as soon as the anchor was dropped. A quarter of an hour later he returned, and it became known that the new hands were to be taken to Portsmouth. The next morning two boats rowed alongside. Will could not but admire the nea

ly useful. Beyond having to carry an occasional message from one or other of the midshipmen, or boatswain, their duties were of the lightest kind. They helped at the distribution of the messes, the washing of the decks, the paring of the potatoes for din

now a lot all at once,

ell to learn as much as I can while I have time on my hands. I expect I shal

l over them? You will be taught all that in due time. There is plenty to learn on deck, and when you know all that,

ll be time to think of tha

oke into a ro

son why in time you should not get to be captain of the fore-top or coxs

rry laugh. "At any rate it will be time to think

of the port. Frigates and men-of-war lay off Portsmouth and out at Spithead; boats of various sizes rowed between them, or to and from the shore. Never had they imagined such a scene; the enormous bulk of the men-of-war struck them with wonder.

o boys by the lieutenant of the Antelope, and he in turn related the story to one of the chief officers of the dockyard. It happen

few specially strong and active men for her; her commander is a ver

g, when the new hands were mustered and told off to different [pg 49]ships, they were delighted when they found

be in the same ship with you," Will exc

pleasant for us to be together. But now you must go and get your kit-bags ready at once; we are sure to be s

ge ascended to the deck of the cutter, and after a chat with the captain called out the l

de. "This pretty nearly makes up our complement; the press gang ar

an said. "I am never comfortable, after beginning to

long task, and we have to be so careful with the powder. There is the captain on deck; he is looking out, no doubt, to see the new hands. I am glad the

with a keen scrutiny over them. A slight smil

o make first-rate topmen. I should say half of them have been to sea before, and the others will soon be knocked into shape. The

course he drew upon himself the enmity of the whole village. The coast-guard stopped a landing, and two or three of the fishermen were killed. The hostility against the lad, which was entirely unfounded, rose in consequence of this to such a pitch th

y about the other boy?" the cap

hiefly to be near his companion

]said. "You could pick him out as a fisher boy anywhere, and pict

, and I should say a good deal

h trouble as some of those young scamps, run-away apprentices and so on,

vel, where the crew were just going to begin dinner.

d. "I warn you, if you don't make things comfort

t find it as easy as you think. I may warn you at once that we are friends and will st

f the others thought they were going to rule the roost when th

d. "We have met bullies of your sort before. Now, as dinner is going on, we

ook-house and draw rations. No doubt th

cured a cooked ration of meat and potatoes. T

up," he said, "and stow them awa

lest of the party, "you need not wash up t

he mess by turn," Will said quietly; "we l

blustered. "You will have to learn that I am senior of the mess, and will have to do

ng, and I hope that the other boys will no more give in to that sort of thing than Stevens or myself. I have yet to learn

you will go down to the lower deck

gle-handed I could fight a great hulking fellow like you, but my friend and I are quite wi

t heart a coward, and felt considerable doubt whether these two boys would not prov

enever you like to fix a time we shall

h your long words? Are yo

ave learnt enough, at any rate, to kno

t that he saw that some of the other boys were tittering and nudging each other. But he resolved that, though it might