My friend Commander C. N. Robinson tells me that Sir Richard Grenville's disregard of Admiral Howard's instructions was, strictly speaking, a breach of discipline. Whether or not this was the case need not here be discussed. All that we need remember just now is that Sir Richard was one of the bravest of the many brave men of his splendid time, and that, undismayed by the almost certain prospect of defeat, he led a forlorn hope, plunged into the glorious fray, and fought to the death with a boldness which has never been excelled in all the course of our naval history. Grenville was not a great admiral as Drake and Nelson were great, and this most memorable action upon which his fame must always rest was not an example of the supremest heroism, simply because his success or failure involved no high or very noble principle. But the worst that can be said of his daring exploit is that it was the Balaclava charge of the Spanish war; at its best it was an example, and a very grand example, of that British pluck and intrepidity which have ever been the distinguishing characteristics of our fighting countrymen; and I shall be glad if, in writing this story, I help in some measure to instil into my young readers a fuller pride in the navy which has secured for England her supremacy upon the seas. ROBERT LEIGHTON. CONTENTS. Chap. Page I. Timothy Trollope, 11 II. The Young Heir of Modbury, 25 III. The Man with the Scarred Cheek, 39 IV. At the Sign of the Pestle and Mortar, 52 V. Rapiers to the Rescue, 65 VI. Table-talk at Modbury Manor, 84 VII. The Instinct of a Brute Dog, 102 VIII. The Old Buccaneer, 118 IX. Concerning a Stolen Letter, 138 X. A Rapier and a Riding Whip, 157 XI. The Affray on Polperro Beach, 175 XII. Baron Champernoun, 195 XIII. Outward Bound, 205 XIV. A Chain of Penance, 223 XV. In Search of the Plate Fleet, 232 XVI. The Green Light upon the Sea, 248 XVII. Sir Richard Grenville, 257 XVIII. Drusilla's Letter, 264 XIX. A Splendid Disobedience, 276 XX. The Last Fight of the "Revenge", 290 XXI. Prisoners and Captives, 311 XXII. The Great Cyclone, 321 XXIII. The Writing in the Book, 328