care for the ship.

The students entered ardently into their studies, and Fernando tried to
forget everything about the mayor's ball save the beautiful face of
Morgianna Lane. She was the only sweet picture in that wild dream, and
he would not have forgotten her for the world. Time wore slowly on. A
week had passed, and all the papers in the country were nagging the
captain about going to his vessel in a winding sheet. A wag wrote some
verses which must have been galling to the pride of the haughty Briton.

At last it leaked out that two students had played the trick on Captain
Conkerall. A newspaper reporter came to see Fernando, who gave him a
truthful history of the affair.

"You've played the divil now," said Terrence, when he read the interview
in the next issue of the _Baltimore Sun_.

"Why?"

"Never moind, Fernando, I'll not desert ye, and if my one comes to ye
about satisfaction, or inything of the kind, and asks you to mintion
your frind, sind thim to Terrence Malone, and he will make the
arrangements, that's all."

Fernando had no more idea what he meant than if he had addressed him in
Hindoo, and he gave the matter little or no further thought. He was in
his room poring over his books the second day after the interview, when
there came a rap at his door.

"Come in!" he cried in his broad, western fashion.