110 MY FIRST VOYAGE. 



changes having occurred, and Captain Stewart, a friend of onr skipper* 

 being posted to her. Two or three days after having got our cargo 

 completed, the two captains met in the street. " Well, Turner, said 

 Captain Stewart, I have some good news for you. We sail the day 

 after to-morrow. You will have to go with us to Cork and wait there 

 for convoy to Hull." " If I do, the devil cork me." ''What's that you 

 say," exclaimed Stewart rather astonished ; "you had better not let Sir 

 Thomas hear you say so." " I shall though," and away posted the 

 skipper to tell the captains of five other vessels, three of them bound 

 like ourselves for Hull, the other two for London. The Hull men 

 agreed to follow the example set by the Sisters. The Londoners 

 would not take the responsibility, but would obey orders. 



The next day the captains had to go one by one to Sir Thomas 

 to receive sailing orders, and in his turn, enter Captain Turner. 

 " Well, Mr. Turner, you are for Hull I believe." 



" Yes, Sir Thomas." 



"You will have to go to Cork, and wait for convoy thence to Hull." 



" If I do, the devil cork me." 



" What's that you say ?" 



" If I do, the devil cork me." 



" What do you mean ?" 



** I mean that I shall just go with the convoy so far as the convoy 

 goes my road, and then shall up with my helm and take the nearest 

 course for Hull, where I shall anive by the time the convoy gets to 

 Cork. If I went to Cork, I should probably have to wait there a 

 month for convoy, and perhaps be three weeks on the voyage thence 

 to Hull." 



" If you do so, you will be responsible to the underwriters." 



" I do'nt care for that ; and there are three more Hull men of my 

 mind. We intend to keep together, and consider ourselves more than 

 a match for any thing French under a frigate." 



Sir Thomas got similar answers from the other captains, and the 

 next day we sailed. 



We soon perceived how much the Sisters had benefitted by the 

 cleaning she had undergone. There was not a merchantman in the 

 fleet could beat her. After a prosperous voyage, unmarked by any 

 incident worth naming, we approached the shores of Old England, and 

 reached the longitude where our path diverged from that of the con- 



