A PICNIC UNDER DIFFICULTIES.

They need not have been alarmed.

Indeed, had she but given herself time for reflection, Nellie must have known this without any further a.s.surance than the faithful Rover's bark, which would have been of quite a different tone had any stranger or suspicious person invaded the spot he was left to guard.

In such case, the good dog would have growled in the most unmistakable manner, besides giving warning of there being danger ahead by a different intonation of his expressive voice.

He did not growl now, however, although he who had invaded the sacred picnic ground where their provender was so lavishly displayed was, in one sense, a stranger, being not one of the original members of the festive party who had set out from "The Moorings."

The reason for this was that the new-comer, really, was not a real "stranger" in the sense of the word. The intruder was, in fact, h.e.l.lyer, the coastguardsman, whom Rover had seen only so recently as that very morning, when of course master doggie had accompanied Bob to the beach for his bathe; and so, naturally, there was every reason for his receiving h.e.l.lyer in a friendly manner. Hence, his bark, alarming though it might have sounded at the first go off to Nell and her aunt, was found now to have been a bark of recognition and joy and not one of warning.

Mrs Gilmour felt such a sensation of relief at the sight of h.e.l.lyer that her feelings prevented her from speaking. As she told Nell afterwards, she "couldn't have uttered a word to save her life"; and there she remained, "staring at the poor man," to use her own expression, and one that savoured thoroughly of her country, "as if he were a stuck pig!"

h.e.l.lyer, however, did not remain dumb.

"Beg pardon, mum," said he respectfully, doffing his sailor hat and touching his forehead with his forefinger in nautical salute; "but, 'ave you seen the Cap'en anywheres about here, mum?"

"You mean Captain Dresser, I suppose?" replied Mrs Gilmour, recovering her loss of speech at the sound of his voice, at least so it seemed; the good lady answering the coastguardsman's question in her usual way, by asking him another!--"Eh, what, my man?"

"Yes, mum. I've a message for him from our commander, mum; and they told me at the house as how he were over at Seaview, so, mum, I comes across by the next boat."

"Well, he isn't very far-off, h.e.l.lyer," said Mrs Gilmour smiling; "I didn't recognise you at first, sure, I was in such a terrible fright on hearing the dog bark, least somebody was making off with our luncheon.

I'm really glad it's only you."

"And I'm glad, too, mum."

"So glad you're glad I'm glad!" whispered Nellie to her aunt, quoting something she had seen in an old volume of _Punch_, and going into fits of laughter. "Eh, auntie?"

"Hush, my dear," said Mrs Gilmour reprovingly, but obliged to laugh too in spite of herself, although she tried to hide it for fear h.e.l.lyer would think they were making fun of him; and she turned to him to say, "We expect the Captain, h.e.l.lyer, every minute. Why, here he is!"

There he was, most decidedly; and he soon made his presence known.

"Hullo, you good people!" he shouted, while yet some little distance off, as he made his way down the slope followed by Bob and d.i.c.k, "I hope you've got something for us to eat, for we're all as hungry as hunters."

"Come on," answered Mrs Gilmour, "everything is ready, and Nell and I are only waiting for you loiterers to begin."

"Loiterers, indeed!" retorted the Captain good-humouredly, as he hobbled along with some difficulty by the aid of his stick down the uneven path, "you would loiter too if you had my poor legs to walk with! Never mind, though, here we are at last; and, I tell you what, ma'am, that table- cloth there and the good things you've got on it is the prettiest sight I've seen to-day."

"What!" exclaimed Mrs Gilmour. "Prettier than the Roman villa?"

"Hang the Roman villa! I beg your pardon, ma'am, but the word slipped out unawares."

After this apology for his somewhat strong expression, the old sailor was proceeding to give the reason for his condemnation of the archaeological remains he and the boys had been to see, when he noticed h.e.l.lyer standing by in an att.i.tude of attention.

"Why, man," he cried, "what brings you here?"

"I've got a letter for you, sir," replied h.e.l.lyer, handing an envelope over to him, and saluting him in the same way as he had done Mrs Gilmour just before. "Here it is, sir!"

"Humph!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed Captain. Dresser, opening the missive and running his eyes over the contents. "Here's some good news for you, Master Bob."

"Oh?" said the latter expectantly. "Good news, Captain?"

"Yes," went on the old sailor, "my friend, Commander Sponson, of the Coastguard, writes to me to say that one of the new ironclads is going out of harbour next week on her trial trip; and, if you like, you shall have a chance of seeing what sort of vessel a modern ship of war is."

"Oh thank you, Captain Dresser, that will be jolly!" said Bob, his face colouring up with pleasure. "But, will she fire her guns and all?"

"Certainly," answered the other, "big guns, little guns, torpedo-tubes, and the whole of her armoury! Besides, my boy, you'll be able to see her machinery at work, as she will try her speed on the measured mile; and then you can ask one of the engineers all those puzzling questions you bothered my old brains with when we were on board the steamer this morning."

"That will be jolly," repeated Bob; "and--"

"There, there," cried the Captain, interrupting him, "I won't say another word now, I'm much too famished to talk. Mrs Gilmour, what have you got for a poor hungry creature to eat, eh, ma'am?"

"Anything you like," she responded with a smile. "Pray sit down and begin."

"I will," said he, seating himself with alacrity; and turning to the coastguardsman, he added-- "I suppose, h.e.l.lyer, you could pick a bit too, eh?"

"Yes, sir, saving your presence. But, only after you and the ladies, sir," was h.e.l.lyer's respectful reply; and then, with all the training of an experienced servant, knowledge he had gained in the exercise of his manifold duties during several years' service as the Captain's c.o.xswain, he proceeded to a.s.sist d.i.c.k in waiting, with an "If you'll allow me, sir."

"Some bread, please," called out the Captain presently. "Any your side, h.e.l.lyer?"

h.e.l.lyer and d.i.c.k both looked about the table, seeking in vain for the required article.

"I can't see none, sit," said the ex-c.o.xswain deprecatingly, giving up the quest after a bit in despair. He seemed, from the way in which he spoke, as if he thought it was his fault that the bread was missing.

"There ain't any this side, sir."

d.i.c.k's search too was equally fruitless.

"Dear me!" exclaimed Mrs Gilmour, all anxiety. "Look in the hamper again. Sure, we must have forgotten to take it out."

But there also, alas! no bread was to be found.

The Captain could not help laughing at Mrs Gilmour's face of dismay; while Nellie clapped her hands in high glee.

"Oh, auntie," she cried, "I thought you said just now when we were spreading the cloth that nothing had been forgotten, and how good Sarah was to think of everything. Oh, auntie!"

"Oh, auntie!" chorussed Bob, joining in the general laugh. "Fancy forgetting the bread!"

"Aye, to leave out the staff of life, of all things!" put in the Captain, having his say. "I hope 'the good Sarah' has not remimbered to forgit anything more importint, sure!"

"I won't have you mimicking me," expostulated Mrs Gilmour, although she took their joking in very good part. "Sure, mistakes will happen sometimes, and there are biscuits if you can't have bread."

"All right, all right," said the Captain soothingly, "I dare say we'll get along very well as we are. Don't worry any more about the matter, ma'am. We've got your excellent piecrust, at any rate, and that's quite good enough for me."

He chuckled still, though, for some time; and he chuckled more presently, when something else, quite as important as the bread, was discovered also to be missing.

The discovery came about in this wise. Before sitting down with the others, Bob had rigged up in gipsy fashion, on three forked sticks, a little bra.s.s kettle, which he had specially asked his aunt to have put with the other picnic things, in order to carry out thoroughly the idea of "camping out" as he had read about it in books; and, besides slinging the kettle artistically in the way described, he also filled it with water from a stone jar which they had brought with them, as a precaution in the event of their not being able to get any of drinkable quality where they intended making a halt, Mrs Gilmour expressing some little repugnance to his taking any out of the brook, although they had been glad enough previously to use it for washing their scratched faces. She said it had too many dead leaves and live creatures in it for her taste.

Under the filled kettle, too, Bob had lit a fire, for which Nell and d.i.c.k collected the sticks; and, long before luncheon was done, this was blazing up quite briskly, and the kettle singing away at a fine rate.