Strange to say, the old sailor never once recollected his customary diversion throughout the evening!

CHAPTER NINE.

A RIVAL COLLECTOR.

Nothing could have been better than the appearances of wind and weather next morning--that long-wished-for "to-morrow," which had at last come, in spite of the Captain's perpetual procrastination.

The bright sun was glowing in a clear blue sky overhead, that was unflecked by a single cloud, while a fresh breeze blowing from the westwards to prevent the air from becoming stagnant; and the barometer, at "set Fair," made all prophets of evil, if such there were about, keep their lips tightly closed and say nothing to damp the spirits of the expectant voyagers.

"Hullo, Nell!" shouted Bob, drumming on the bal.u.s.trade of the staircase outside his bedroom to attract her attention and rouse her up. "Are you awake yet?"

Nellie's answer to this question was a "staggerer" to Master Bob, as he termed it in his choice phraseology.

She appeared in the pa.s.sage that pa.s.sed her door fully dressed.

"I got up when Sarah rose, and have been ready to go downstairs for the last hour," she said calmly, with a conscious pride. "You'd better look sharp with your dressing, Bob, for it is past six o'clock. Unless you start off soon to the beach, too, for your bathe, you'll never be back in time for breakfast, which is going to be earlier this morning so that we may catch the steamer comfortably."

"My good gracious!" exclaimed Bob, jamming his right foot into his left boot in his hurry and wasting a minute or more in wriggling it out again. "I thought I was ever so early, and up before any one!"

"Ah, me dear," cried out Mrs Gilmour from below; "you'll have to catch a weasel asleep, sure, before you can hope, sir, to get ahead of us in this house. I called Sarah long ere either of you were stirring!"

This was a climax; and so, without making any reply to aunt Polly's pertinent statement of fact, save a stifled laugh at the expense of Miss Nell, who had prided herself on having, as she thought, got the start of them all, Bob expediting his dressing in the most summary fashion, hurried off as speedily as possible across the common for his matutinal dip.

He was accompanied, as a matter of course, by Rover, who was ready and waiting for him on the terrace outside, barking and bounding about like a demented dog who had parted company with his usual stock of common- sense.

"Down, Rover!" cried Bob, when the faithful fellow, in the exuberance of his joy on seeing his young master come out of the house, leaped up and licked his face, preventing him from closing the door properly as he was about to do. "Behave yourself, sir!"

Rover, however, thought there were different ways of "behaving himself,"

the chief in his estimation being to show his affection to those who were kind to him, whom he loved with all the intensity of his great canine heart; and so, ranking obedience to orders as only second to this potent law of his life, he frisked and jumped and playfully tousled Bob until he finally made him start at a swinging trot for the beach, the frolicsome retriever galloping in advance one moment, the next stopping in his mad career onward to give out a loud bark and wag his tail in encouragement to his master to try and catch him up, if he could!

Bob bent his steps towards the coastguard-station on the eastern side of the sea-wall, near the new pier, which was the regular meeting-place for him and d.i.c.k every morning for their bathe; and here, punctually at "six Bells," or seven o'clock, he found on the present occasion his fellow- swimmer along with the Captain.

The latter, he could hear as he approached, was having an animated discussion with h.e.l.lyer, the chief boatman, on the subject of torpedoes, which h.e.l.lyer believed in, but which the Captain utterly pooh-poohed, saying that in his opinion they were of little, if any, use in naval warfare.

He was laying down the law with great unction when Bob came up to them.

"Don't tell me," he cried, "of your 'whitehead' going twenty knots an hour and exploding its charge of gun-cotton under a ship's bottom; for, where and what would those on board the ship be doing all the time-- standing still, I suppose, to be shot at and doing nothing in their own defence?"

"Aye, that's true, sir," said h.e.l.lyer; "but--"

"Remember, too," continued the Captain, "the torpedo, even of the most improved type, can only keep up this speed of twenty knots for a distance of five hundred yards, within which range the boat discharging it would have to approach before sending it off at the vessel attacked, which of course would be fool enough to let it come to such close quarters without riddling it? Oh, yes, you tell that to the marines!"

h.e.l.lyer laughed.

"You carry too many guns for me, sir," said he good-humouredly. "I can't stand up against you, Captain, once you tackle me fairly!"

"Too strong, eh?" rejoined the Captain, triumphant at getting the better of his opponent. "Of course I am! Your argument, h.e.l.lyer, won't hold water. Besides, should one of those spiteful little inventions succeed in getting near an ironclad without being seen and sunk, the torpedo nets of the ship would prevent the infernal machine, as these new- fashioned fallals were called in the old days, from exploding against her hull. I, for my part, would be quite content to stand the brunt of a torpedo attack on board a ship fitted with protecting nets and quick- firing guns. By Jove, I'd guarantee that Jack Dresser wouldn't be the one that was licked!"

"I'd bet that same, sir," agreed h.e.l.lyer heartily, but seeing Bob he added, "Ah, here's the young ge'man I fished out of the sea t'other night. He doesn't look any the worse for being nigh drownded. He warn'

hurt, sir, much, were he?"

"Not he," said the Captain. "He's learnt to swim, though, since then, and the other boy, too; so, if they choose to tumble in again off the ramparts and get into deep water, there won't be so much bother in hauling them out; eh, Bob?"

"No, Captain," replied Bob, who was busy undressing; and, within a few moments he had plunged into the sea, and was swimming out with a brave firm stroke in a way that fully justified the Captain's praise of his natatory powers, shouting out at intervals his customary war- cry--"Jolly!"

Nor was d.i.c.k far behind, although perhaps not quite so plucky in venturing beyond his depth, now that he had no especial motive as on that memorable evening already alluded to by h.e.l.lyer the coastguardsman, for running the risk; while, as for Rover, he fairly revelled in the water, paddling round and round Bob and d.i.c.k, thereby executing a series of concentric circles never dreamt of by the Egyptian mathematician whose problems have been the torment of the boys of all ages.

The sea was so warm and pleasant that they stopped in such an unconscionable time as to necessitate the Captain's hailing them three times to come out before they obeyed the order, and even then did so lothfully, making the old sailor sing out to them the more imperatively--

"Come out, come out of that, you young rascals!" he cried, shaking his stick menacingly. "If you are not out and dressed in five minutes, by Jove I'll start without you; for, I can't keep the ladies waiting. By Jove, I will!"

This threat had the desired result of quickening the boys' movements; d.i.c.k, if the slowest in the water, being the sharper of the two in getting into his clothes. Rover was even speedier still, having only to give himself one good shake, administering in the action a shower-bath of drops to the Captain, when, there he was all ready, with a smart new curly black coat, glistening from his dip, as if he had just been to the hairdresser's and had a brush up for the occasion!

On the way back to Mrs Gilmour's house to breakfast, the Captain and d.i.c.k being specially invited this morning, so that they might leave together immediately afterwards for the steamer without losing any time, the boys had great fun with Rover and the towels.

These the retriever was always in the habit of carrying home, though Bob would not let him have them at once, right out, to take in his mouth as he left the beach.

He would first show them to Rover, with a "Look here, good dog!"

Then Bob would put the bundle of towels in a hole in the shingle, or under some big boulder, which did not improve them, by the way; Rover observing everything his young master did with the keenest attention, barking the while, and with every hair of his mane bristling with excitement.

After thus hiding the towels, if it could be called hiding where every detail of the operation was watched by the dog, Bob would, as he did on the present occasion, set out on his return across the common; Master Rover prancing in front of him, and anxiously keeping his speaking brown eyes fixed on his face, awaiting the order which he knew to be impending for him to go back and fetch the bundle left behind.

It was always a struggle for Bob to keep his countenance steady, the slightest suspicion of a smile being interpreted by Rover as an intimation that he was at liberty to "go and fetch," without a word being uttered; and, this morning, the struggle was intensified by the presence of the Captain, who was in a joking mood, and tried all he could to draw off Rover's attention from Bob.

However, in spite of these difficulties, the latter succeeded in repressing any signs of emotion in his face until they got to the landmark in the middle of the common, when, opening his mouth at last, Bob said, almost in a whisper, the magic words, "Go and fetch!"

Low as was the tone in which the command was given, Rover heard it; and then, in an instant, off he flew, like an arrow from the bow, with his bushy tail stretched out straight behind, bottle-brush fashion, making him resemble a dark-coloured fox in the distance, with the hounds in full cry after him.

The last they saw of him was the end of his tufted tail disappearing over the sea-wall at the place where Bob had secreted the towels, so on they went in the expectation of Rover presently overtaking the party with the towels, which he seldom failed to do before the roadway skirting the other side of the common was reached, the retriever being generally very rapid in his movements.

On this occasion, however, the Captain with the boys not only got as, far as the terrace, but arrived at the gate of Mrs Gilmour's house, without there being any appearance of Rover's return.

He and the towels were alike "conspicuous by their absence."

What could have happened?

Listening attentively, they could hear presently the sound of a dog barking in the direction of the sea, and to Bob's mind, at least, there was no doubt that the bark was the bark of Rover.

"He cannot get the towels from under the stone," cried Bob, turning back. "It is either that, or somebody has stolen them, or something. I must go and see what's the matter."

"We'll all come," said the Captain. "I should like to see the affair out."

So saying, he wheeled round too, and with d.i.c.k started off in pursuit of Bob, who, going at the run, was already some distance ahead, on his return journey to the beach.

The Captain stepped out well, however, and he and d.i.c.k got up just in time to settle a little dispute, in which Bob, Rover, and an ugly- looking man, very like a gipsy and evidently a tramp, were the parties interested.

The man had one end of the bundle of towels grasped in both his hands, while Rover was holding on like grim death to the other; the dog growling, and tugging away so violently between each growl, that the tramp had hard work to keep hold of his prize.