"Hump! Well--er--not till Mr Vandean is better. You'd like to keep it a little longer, eh?" said the captain, turning to the young invalid. "Very much," cried Mark, as he thought of the quaint little old man he and Bob Howlett had bought. "Very well, you can for the present." "And now, gentlemen," interposed the doctor, "my patient requires rest and cool air. You are fidgeting him and making the place hot." "That means go. Well, Staples, we must give way, I suppose. The doctor is always above the admiral. Make haste and get well, Vandean. Good-bye." He shook hands warmly and turned to leave the cabin, the first lieutenant following his example, and turning to give the midshipman a friendly nod. "Hah!" said the doctor, as soon as they were alone; "they want to go too fast, and undo my work. I shall not have done with you yet awhile, Vandean, and you'll have to attend very strictly to my orders if I'm to make a man of you. Did you take my medicine?" "Yes, sir." "Sure?" Mark coloured. "Yes, sir, I told you." "Cock-a-doodle-doo!" cried the doctor. "Dear me, how bumptious we are, young fellow. There, I believe you, but that's more than I'd do for some of your tribe. There's Mr Bob Howlett, for instance. If he had to take a dose, I should not only stop till he had emptied the glass, but I should pinch his nose till I was sure he had swallowed it. There, I will not give you more than is good for you, my lad. You think I'm glad to get hold of a job, and will not leave it till I'm obliged; but don't you fall into an error about that, my dear sir. I'm too fond of ease." "I'm sure you will do the best you can for me," said Mark; "and I want to be grateful." "Ah! Then you're an exception, my lad." "How is Mr Russell, sir?" "Getting on, but obstinate; wants to be well all at once, and get to his duties. I must go and see him now. Mind and take your stuff regularly. Morning." The cabin was empty once more, save for the patient, who uttered a sigh of relief, and lay listening to the soft _pad_, _pad_ of the sailors' bare feet on the deck, and the voices of the officers giving their orders, all sounding pleasantly familiar as he lay back there feeling that he must be better from the interest he took in all that was going on, and the pleasant clearness of his head. "I wonder how long it will be before they have me on deck," he said to himself. CHAPTER ELEVEN. "SOUP" AND "TATERS." "Hooray!" cried Bob Howlett, about a week later, as he burst into the cabin. "What is it?" cried Mark, excitedly. "Why are they getting the anchor up?" "Don't know. Nobody knows but the skipper, but we're off somewhere, thank goodness, and you're to come on deck to-day, and old Russell too." "That is good news." "Yes, I shall have you all right now, in no time, getting the breeze away from this dismal shore. Here, I've told your lady's-maid-- "Hoozoar we're off to sea--he--he, Hoozoar we're off to sea."