"Well, ’twas on Plymouth Hoe. Theer was I, takin’ a spell ashore, and cruisin’ about: ah! I had a good figurehead in them gay young days. Daze me if Lord Admiral Rodney didn’ run athwart my course, convoying two spankin’ fine craft in the shape of females. The sight took the wind out o’ my sails, I assure ’ee, and I fell becalmed full in the fairway, as ye med say. ’Get out o’ my way, you cross-eyed son of a sea-cook,’ says the Lord Admiral, and the two handsome females laughed like waves dancin’ in the sun. ’Twas a wonderful honour for a great man-o’-war like Lord Admiral Rodney to speak to a humble and lowly feller like me." "’Twas a gashly scornful name to call ’ee, I b’lieve," said Pennycomequick, the village wet-blanket. "Ah! but you should ha’ heerd what he called the swabbers aboard," replied Penwarden, lighting another pipe. The result of the assayer’s tests was more satisfactory than the most sanguine had dared to anticipate. The ore was particularly rich in metal, and the lode appeared to extend through the lower part of the Beal seaward. A careful examination of the ground explained the reason why the discovery had not been made earlier. Between the old mine and the new lode extended several yards of granite, by what is known in geology as a "fault." When the assayer declared that in all probability the tin-bearing stratum stretched for thousands of yards under the sea, the question to be debated was whether the Squire should sell the land, or attempt to work it himself. There was little doubt as to what his decision would be. His long-vanished ideas of restoring the fortunes of his family returned with double force, and it scarcely needed the persuasiveness of Mr. Carlyon and Dick to fix his determination. The ground having been thoroughly surveyed, his new lawyer in Truro had no difficulty in negotiating a loan which furnished him with enough capital to start working. Plant was soon on the spot, miners were engaged, and within a few months the yield was sufficient to pay the interest on the loan, a portion of the capital sum, and a contribution towards the increased expenditure at the Towers. Now that the tide had turned towards prosperity, the Squire put in hand the repairs long needed there, and Mrs. Trevanion decided to retain Cook and Maidy Susan in her employment. The question of Dick’s future came up. Mr. Carlyon urged that he should continue his studies and go to Oxford; but Dick’s inclination was for a more strenuously active life. He worked for a time as a common miner in order to learn the details of the trade, visited other mines to widen his knowledge, and ultimately became his father’s manager, in which capacity he showed a genius for organisation and the control of men.