Nor did the master's mate content himself with merely giving me this sound advice; for, sitting down by my side, he overhauled my figures and, being an expert mathematician, soon put me in the right road to arriving at a solution of my difficulties. Really, he explained the various steps necessary in order to work out the reckoning in such a simple way that I understood it thoroughly; learning more in this one lesson from Mr Stormcock than I had done, I think, during the three months that I had studied navigation while on board the training-ship _Illustrious_. I learnt even yet more. That was, not to judge by appearances and form hasty conclusions as to the character of my messmates; as, up to the moment of his coming thus to my aid, I had always considered Mr Stormcock an ill-tempered and soured man--whereas I now saw he was at bottom a good-natured fellow and one ready enough to help another when opportunity offered! It was a lesson which, like the one he had just taught me in navigation, I never forgot. Towards sunset that afternoon, when we were entering the Bay of Biscay, the lookout man on the foretopsail yard hailed the deck. "Sail in sight, sir!" he sang out loudly. "She's on our port bow, sir." "All right," answered the officer of the watch, Mr Jellaby, who was up on the poop and I below on the quarter-deck at the time; and then, turning to the yeoman of signals, he cried, "Signalman, a vessel's in sight on our port bow, go and look at her and see what she is." "Ay, ay, sir," replied the seaman, putting his telescope to his eye; when, scanning in the direction pointed out to him, he soon made out the ship. "She appears like a strange man-of-war, sir." "Very well," said Mr Jellaby. "Watch her till you can make her out perfectly." In another minute or two, the signalman made the result of his second scrutiny known. "She's a French man-of-war and is making for Brest, I think, sir." "Ah!" exclaimed "Joe," having a look at her, too, with his binocular. "Hoist the ensign!" This was done; but, the stranger made no sign, until, gradually approaching each other all the while, she was about three miles off, when she displayed the gallant tricolour flag of France. "Signalman," sang out Mr Jellaby on seeing this, "Dip the colours!" Our ensign was thereupon raised and lowered from the peak three times in succession, according to the usual nautical etiquette observed on such occasions, the other ship returning the compliment in like fashion; and we were just passing each other, she crossing our bows and sailing away right before the wind on our starboard beam, when, all of a sudden, she brought up, backing her maintopsail and firing a gun at the same time to attract our attention. "By Jove, she wants to speak us; something must be up!" said the commander who had come on deck in the meanwhile. "Go below, Vernon, and tell the cap'en at once." CHAPTER SIXTEEN. "MAN OVERBOARD!"