"What under the canopy have you been about this time, Louis?" asked the commander, as he seized both the hands of the young knight-errant, as he still insisted upon calling him. "But I am glad to see you safely back, and I hope no one has got hurt." Louis assured him that all were uninjured. CHAPTER XII THE SMUGGLERS MAKE A TRIP TO ALGECIRAS Captain Ringgold, when he realized that the owner of the Guardian-Mother had been engaged in another adventure, was absolutely delighted to see the young knight-errant return in safety, and he continued to press his two hands for a considerable time. He was certainly the young man's devoted friend, as much for his own sake as for that of his mother, to whom also he was so devoted that others had begun to talk a little in whispers. "I was sure that you would tumble into an adventure of some sort, Sir Louis," said the commander; "and you have made me a true prophet." "We have certainly had an adventure, Captain; but I am no more a knight-errant than my companions. We did not plunge into this affair as Don Quixote did into the windmill and the wine sacks; but the affair plunged into us, and we got entangled in it in spite of ourselves," protested Louis. "But I will venture to say that you were the leading spirit in the enterprise, whatever it was," persisted the captain. "I must deny even that soft impeachment. Sir George Scott Fencelowe did vastly more than I, or any other of the fellows, did to bring the adventure to a happy conclusion, like the last chapter of the novel. He is the hero of the occasion, though he always called me 'Captain Belgrave'; and if any fellow is to be lathered with praise, Sir Scott is the one." "I shall be my own judge of the merits of the actors in the comedy, for it does not yet appear to be a tragedy, after I have learned more about it," added Captain Ringgold. "I may add that Sir Felix McGavonty and Sir Morris Woolridge did their full and fair share of the acting in the comedy, as you call it, though I think the three smugglers who are prisoners in the cabin and pilot-house will be disposed to regard it as more like a tragedy. Probably the captain of the schooner in tow will be inclined to take that view of the occasion." "Three prisoners?" queried the commander. "That is the number on board of the little steamer; and the captain of the vessel astern may be included in the same category." "Are they men or boys?" "Men, of course, for small boys don't go out smuggling, as a rule." "Are they English?" "Four of them are Spaniards who don't speak a word of English, and one who seems to be a partner with the captain in the enterprise is a Scotchman by the name of Gray." "Is there anything to be done immediately, Sir Louis?"