Republicanasweretheirmanners，therewasnopractical，atleastnodangerous，lackofdiscipline。Wickswastheonlysailoronboard，therewasnonetocriticise；andbesides，hewassoeasy-going，andsomerry-minded，thatnonecouldbeartodisappointhim。Carthewdidhisbest，partlyfortheloveofdoingit，partlyforloveofthecaptain；Amaluwasawillingdrudge，andevenHemsteadandHaddenturnedtouponoccasionwithawill。Tommy’sdepartmentwasthetradeandtraderoom；hewouldworkdownintheholdorovertheshelvesofthecabin，tilltheSydneydandywasunrecognizable；comeupatlast，drawabucketofsea-water，bathe，change，andliedownondeckoverabigsheafofSydney_Heralds_and_DeadBirds_，orperhapswithavolumeofBuckle’s_HistoryofCivilisation_，thestandardworkselectedforthatcruise。Inthelattercase，asmilewentroundtheship，forBucklealmostinvariablylaidhisstudentout，andwhenTomawokeagainhewasalmostalwaysinthehumourforbrownsherry。Theconnectionwassowellestablishedthat“aglassofBuckle“or“abottleofcivilisation“becamecurrentpleasantriesonboardtheCurrencyLass。
Hemstead’sprovincewasthatoftherepairs，andhehadhishandsfull。Nothingonboardbutwasdecayedinaproportion；
thelampsleaked；sodidthedecks；door-knobscameoffinthehand，mouldingspartedcompanywiththepanels，thepumpdeclinedtosuck，andthedefectivebathroomcameneartoswamptheship。Wicksinsistedthatallthenailswerelongagoconsumed，andthatshewasonlygluedtogetherbytherust。“Youshouldn’tmakemelaughsomuch，Tommy。”hewouldsay。“I’mafraidI’llshakethesternpostoutofher。”And，asHemsteadwenttoandfrowithhistoolbasketonanendlessroundoftinkering，Wickslostnoopportunityofchaffinghimuponhisduties。“Ifyou’dturntoatsailoringorwashingpaintorsomethinguseful，now。”hewouldsay，“Icouldseethefunofit。Buttobemendingthingsthathaven’tnoinsidestothemappearstometheheightoffoolishness。”Anddoubtlessthesecontinualpleasantrieshelpedtoreassurethelandsmen，whowenttoandfrounmoved，undercircumstancesthatmighthavedauntedNelson。
Theweatherwasfromtheoutsetsplendid，andthewindfairandsteady。Theshipsailedlikeawitch。“ThisCurrencyLassisapowerfuloldgirl，andhasmorecomplaintsthanIwouldcaretoputanameon。”thecaptainwouldsay，asheprickedthechart；“butshecouldshowherbloomingheelstoanythingofhersizeintheWesternPacific。”Towashdecks，relievethewheel，dotheday’sworkafterdinneronthesmoking-roomtable，andtakeinkitesatnight，——suchwastheeasyroutineoftheirlife。Intheevening——aboveall，ifTommyhadproducedsomeofhiscivilisation——yarnsandmusicweretherule。AmaluhadasweetHawaiianvoice；andHemstead，agreathanduponthebanjo，accompaniedhisownquaveringtenorwitheffect。
Therewasasenseinwhichthelittlemancouldsing。Itwasgreattohearhimdeliver_MyBoyTammie_inAustrylian；andthewordssomeoftheworstoftheruffianMacneil’swerehailedinhisversionwithinextinguishablemirth。
Wherehyeyebeena’dye？
hewouldask，andanswerhimself：——
I’vebeenbyburnandflowerybrye，Meadowgreenan’mountaingrye，Courtin’o’thisyoungthing，Justcomefryehermammie。
Itwastheacceptedjestforallhandstogreettheconclusionofthissongwiththesimultaneouscry：“Myword！”thuswingingthearrowofridiculewithafeatherfromthesinger’swing。Buthehadhisrevengewith_Home，SweetHome，_and_WhereismyWanderingBoyTo-night？_——dittiesintowhichhethrewthemostintolerablepathos。Itappearedhehadnohome，norhadeverhadone，noryetanyvestigeofafamily，exceptatruculentuncle，abakerinNewcastle，N。S。W。Hisdomesticsentimentwasthereforewhollyintheair，andexpressedanunrealisedideal。Orperhaps，ofallhisexperiences，thisoftheCurrencyLass，withitskindly，playful，andtolerantsociety，approacheditthemostnearly。
ItisperhapsbecauseIknowthesequel，butIcanneverthinkuponthisvoyagewithoutaprofoundsenseofpityandmystery；
oftheshiponcethewhimofarichblackguardfaringwithherbatteredfineriesanduponherhomelyerrand，acrosstheplainsofocean，andpastthegorgeoussceneryofdawnandsunset；
andtheship’scompany，sostrangelyassembled，soBritishlychuckle-headed，fillingtheirdayswithchaffinplaceofconversation；nohumanbookonboardwiththemexceptHadden’sBuckle，andnotacreaturefiteithertoreadortounderstandit；andtheonemarkofanycivilisedinterest，beingwhenCarthewfilledinhissparehourswiththepencilandthebrush：thewholeunconsciouscrewofthempostinginthemeanwhiletowardssotragicadisaster。
Twenty-eightdaysoutofSydney，onChristmaseve，theyfetcheduptotheentranceofthelagoon，andpliedallthatnightoutside，keepingtheirpositionbythelightsoffishersonthereefandtheoutlinesofthepalmsagainstthecloudysky。Withthebreakofday，theschoonerwashoveto，andthesignalforapilotshown。Butitwasplainherlightsmusthavebeenobservedinthedarknessbythenativefishermen，andwordcarriedtothesettlement，foraboatwasalreadyunderweigh。
Shecametowardsthemacrossthelagoonunderagreatpressofsail，lyingdangerouslydown，sothatattimes，intheheavierpuffs，theythoughtshewouldturnturtle；coveredthedistanceinfinestyle，luffedupsmartlyalongside，andemittedahaggardlookingwhitemaninpyjamas。
“Good-mornin’，Cap’n。”saidhe，whenhehadmadegoodhisentrance。“IwastakingyouforaFijiman-of-war，whatwithyourflushdecksandthemspars。Well，gen’lemenall，here’swishingyouaMerryChristmasandaHappyNewYear。”headded，andlurchedagainstastay。
“Why，you’reneverthepilot？”exclaimedWicks，studyinghimwithaprofounddisfavour。“You’venevertakenashipin——don’ttellme！”
“Well，IshouldguessIhave。”returnedthepilot。“I’mCaptainDobbs，Iam；andwhenItakecharge，thecaptainofthatshipcangobelowandshave。”
“But，manalive！you’redrunk，man！”criedthecaptain。
“Drunk！”repeatedDobbs。“Youcan’thaveseenmuchlifeifyoucallmedrunk。I’monlyjustbeginning。Comenight，I
won’tsay；IguessI’llbeproperlyfullbythen。ButnowI’mthesoberestmaninallBigMuggin。”
“Itwon’tdo。”retortedWicks。“NotforJoseph，sir。Ican’thaveyoupilingupmyschooner。”
“Allright。”saidDobbs，“layandrotwhereyouare，ortakeandgoinandpileherupforyourselflikethecaptainoftheLeslie。
That’sbusiness，Iguess；grudgedmetwentydollars’pilotage，andlosttwentythousandintradeandabrandnewschooner；
rippedthekeelrightoffofher，andshewentdownintheinsideoffourminutes，andliesintwentyfathom，tradeandall。”
“What’sallthis？”criedWicks。“Trade？WhatvesselwasthisLeslie，anyhow？”
“ConsignedtoCohenandCo。，from’Frisco。”returnedthepilot，“andbadlywanted。There’sabarqueinsidefillingupforHamburg——youseehersparsoverthere；andthere’stwomoreshipsdue，allthewayfromGermany，oneintwomonths，theysay，andoneinthree；CohenandCo。’sagentthat’sMr。
Topeliushastakenandlaindownwiththejaundiceonthestrengthofit。Iguessmostpeoplewould，inhisshoes；notrade，nocopra，andtwentyhundredtonofshippingdue。Ifyou’veanycopraonboard，cap’n，here’syourchance。Topeliuswillbuy，golddown，andgivethreecents。It’sallfoundmoneytohim，thewayitis，whateverhepaysforit。Andthat’swhatcomeofgoingbackonthepilot。”
“Excusemeonemoment，CaptainDobbs。Iwishtospeakwithmymate。”saidthecaptain，whosefacehadbeguntoshineandhiseyestosparkle。
“Pleaseyourself。”repliedthepilot。“Youcouldn’tthinkofofferingamananip，couldyou？justtobracehimup。Thiskindofthinglooksdamnedinhospitable，andgivesaschoonerabadname。”
“I’lltalkaboutthataftertheanchor’sdown。”returnedWicks，andhedrewCarthewforward。“Isay。”hewhispered，“here’safortune。”
“Howmuchdoyoucallthat？”askedCarthew。
“Ican’tputafigureonityet——Idaren’t！”saidthecaptain。“Wemightcruisetwentyyearsandnotfindthematchofit。Andsupposeanothershipcameinto-night？Everything’spossible！
AndthedifficultyisthisDobbs。He’sasdrunkasamarine。
Howcanwetrusthim？Weain’tinsured——worseluck！”
“Supposeyoutookhimaloftandgothimtopointoutthechannel？”suggestedCarthew。“Ifhetalliedatallwiththechart，anddidn’tfalloutoftherigging，perhapswemightriskit。”
“Well，all’sriskhere。”returnedthecaptain。“Takethewheelyourself，andstandby。Mind，ifthere’stwoorders，followmine，nothis。Setthecookfor’ardwiththeheads’ls，andthetwoothersatthemainsheet，andseetheydon’tsitonit。”Withthathecalledthepilot；theyswarmedaloftintheforerigging，andpresentlyaftertherewasbawleddownthewelcomeordertoeasesheetsandfillaway。
Ataquarterbeforenineo’clockonChristmasmorningtheanchorwasletgo。
ThefirstcruiseoftheCurrencyLasshadthusendedinastrokeoffortunealmostbeyondhope。Shehadbroughttwothousandpounds’worthoftrade，straightasahomingpigeon，totheplacewhereitwasmostrequired。AndCaptainWicksor，rather，CaptainKirkupshowedhimselfthemantomakethebestofhisadvantage。ForhardupontwodayshewalkedaverandahwithTopelius，forhardupontwodayshispartnerswatchedfromtheneighbouringpublichousethefieldofbattle；
andthelampswerenotyetlightedontheeveningofthesecondbeforetheenemysurrendered。WickscameacrosstotheSansSouci，asthesaloonwascalled，hisfacenighblack，hiseyesalmostclosedandallbloodshot，andyetbrightaslightedmatches。
“Comeouthere，boys。”hesaid；andwhentheyweresomewayoffamongthepalms，“Iholdtwenty-four。”headdedinavoicescarcelyrecognizable，anddoubtlessreferringtothevenerablegameofcribbage。
“Whatdoyoumean？”askedTommy。
“I’vesoldthetrade。”answeredWicks；“or，rather，I’vesoldonlysomeofit，forI’vekeptbackallthemessbeefandhalftheflourandbiscuit；and，byGod，we’restillprovisionedforfourmonths！ByGod，it’sasgoodasstolen！”
“Myword！”criedHemstead。
“Butwhathaveyousolditfor？”gaspedCarthew，thecaptain’salmostinsaneexcitementshakinghisnerve。
“Letmetellitmyownway。”criedWicks，looseninghisneck。
“Letmegetatitgradual，orI’llexplode。I’venotonlysoldit，boys，I’vewrungoutacharteronmyowntermsto’Friscoandback；onmyownterms。Imadeapointofit。IfooledhimfirstbymakingbelieveIwantedcopra，whichofcourseIknewhewouldn’thearof——couldn’t，infact；andwheneverheshowedfight，Itrottedoutthecopra，andthatmandived！Iwouldtakenothingbutcopra，yousee；andsoI’vegotthebloominglotinspecie——allbuttwoshortbillson’Frisco。Andthesum？Well，thiswholeadventure，includingtwothousandpoundsofcredit，costustwothousandsevenhundredandsomeodd。That’sallpaidback；inthirtydays’cruisewe’vepaidfortheschoonerandthetrade。Heardeveranymanthematchofthat？Andit’snotall！Forbesidesthat。”saidthecaptain，hammeringhiswords，“we’vegotThirteenBloomingHundredPoundsofprofittodivide。IbledhiminfourThou。！”hecried，inavoicethatbrokelikeaschoolboy’s。
Foramomentthepartnerslookedupontheirchiefwithstupefaction，increduloussurprisetheironlyfeeling。Tommywasthefirsttograsptheconsequences。
“Here。”hesaid，inahard，businesstone。“Comebacktothatsaloon。I’vegottogetdrunk。”
“Youmustpleaseexcuseme，boys。”saidthecaptain，earnestly。
“Idaren’ttastenothing。IfIwastodrinkoneglassofbeer，it’smybeliefI’dhavetheapoplexy。Thelastscrimmage，andthebloomingtriumph，prettynighhanddoneme。”