"Mr. Rawlinson," he said, "this is the son of my old friend, Captain
Holland. He is going out with his mother. I wish you would keep your
eye upon him, and let him join the midshipmen in their studies with
you, in the morning. Possibly he may enter the Service, and it will be
a great advantage to him to have got up navigation, a bit, before he
does so. At any rate, it will occupy his mind and keep him out of
mischief. A lad of his age would be like a fish out of water, among
the passengers on the quarterdeck."
"Ay, ay, sir. I will do what I can for him."
And he hurried away.
Dick saw that, for the present, there was nothing to be done but to
look on, and it was not until the next morning, when the Madras was
making her way south, outside the Goodwins, that the second officer
spoke to him.
"Ah, there you are, lad! I have been too busy to think of you, and it
will be another day or two before we settle down to regular work.
However, I will introduce you to one or two of the midshipmen, and
they will make you free of the ship."
Dick was, indeed, already beginning to feel at home. The long table,
full from end to end, had presented such a contrast to his quiet
dinner with his mother, that, as he sat down beside her and looked
round, he thought he should never get to speak to anyone throughout
the voyage.
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