"Is she a fast boat?" "Fast!" echoed Philip, indignant at the imputation; "she's the fastest steam-yacht afloat. Wait till she clears the Channel, then you'll see what a clean pair of heels she can show." "The quicker the better. I don't want to arrive at Tlatonac and find Dolores missing." "You won't find a hair of her head touched. You shall marry her, Jack, and inherit the harlequin opal, and go and be priest to Huitzilopochtli, if you like. Now have a glass of wine." Tim, who was always handy when liquor was about, had already filled the glasses and solemnly handed them to his friends. "To the health," said Tim, standing up huge and burly, "of the future Mrs. Duval." The toast was drunk with acclamation. CHAPTER III. "THE BOHEMIAN." Come, lads, and send the capstan round, Oh, Rio! Rio! Our good old barkey's outward bound, Oh, Rio! Rio! So, shipmates, all look sharp and spry, To Poll and Nancy say good-bye, And tell them, if they pipe their eye, We're bound for Rio Grande. The old man drank his grog and swore, Oh, Rio! Rio! He'd stay no longer slack ashore, Oh, Rio! Rio! "Come, tumble up, my lads," sez he, "An' weigh the anchor speedily, In twenty days the Cross we'll see, We're bound for Rio Grande." "What do you think of her?" asked Philip, with justifiable pride. "She's as near perfection as can be," replied Jack, enthusiastically; "no two opinions about that, old fellow." _The Bohemian_ was a superbly modelled craft, and well deserved their admiration as she lay in Yarmouth Harbour, Isle of Wight. Schooner rigged fore and aft, she was close on two hundred tons yacht measurement, and one of the smartest vessels of her kind in British waters. Putting aside her speed when the screw was spinning, she was renowned for her sailing capabilities. With all sails set, and a fair wind, she could smoke through the water at the rate of fifteen knots an hour. Thanks to her owner's wandering proclivities, she was well known in every civilised port, and a good many savage anchorages had also seen her graceful form glide into their smooth waters.