We have had a narrow squeak of it. We got through the storm pretty well,
but we had a bad time of it afterwards, and we owe it entirely to young
O'Connor that we are not, all of us, in a prison at Brest at present."

"You don't say so! Wait a moment, I will call his father here; he will be
glad to hear that the young scamp has behaved well. I may as well call
them all up; they will like to hear the story."

Turning to the group of officers who were standing on the quarter-deck a
short distance away, waiting to hear the news when the major had given his
report, he said: "You may as well come now and hear Major Harrison's
story; it will save his telling it twice. You will be glad to hear,
O'Connor, that Terence has been distinguishing himself in some way, though
I know not yet in what; the major says that if it had not been for him the
whole wing of the regiment would have now been in a French prison."

"Terence was always good at getting out of scrapes, Colonel, though I
don't say he was not equally good in getting into them; but I am glad to
hear that this time he has done something useful."

The major then gave a full account of their adventure with the privateers,
and of the subsequent escape from the French frigate.

"Faith, O'Connor," the colonel said, warmly, holding out his hand to him,
"I congratulate you most heartily, which is more than I ever thought to do
on Terence's account. I had some misgivings when I recommended him for a
commission, but I may congratulate myself as well as you that I did so. I
was sure the lad had plenty in him, but I was afraid that it was more
likely to come out the wrong way than the right; and now it turns out that
he has saved half the regiment, for there is no doubt from what Harrison