"Oh, d--n you! Yes, I'll send some one to do all this. Yes, yes, Jack
Pringle will be the man, though Jack ain't a holiday, shore-going,
smooth-spoken swab, but as good a seaman as ever trod deck or handled a
boarding-pike." "Any friend of yours," said Varney, blandly, "will be received and
treated as such upon an errand of such consequence; and now our
conference has, I presume, concluded." "Yes, yes, I've done--d----e, no--yes--no. I will keel-haul you but I'll
know something of my neavy, Charles Holland." "Good day, Admiral Bell." As Varney spoke, he placed his hand upon the
bell which he had near him, to summon an attendant to conduct the
admiral out. The latter, who had said a vast deal more than he ever
intended, left the room in a great rage, protesting to himself that he
would amply avenge his nephew, Charles Holland. He proceeded homeward, considerably vexed and annoyed that he had been
treated with so much calmness, and all knowledge of his nephew denied. When he got back, he quarrelled heartily with Jack Pringle--made it
up--drank grog--quarrelled--made it up, and finished with grog
again--until he went to bed swearing he should like to fire a broadside
at the whole of the French army, and annihilate it at once. With this wish, he fell asleep. Early next morning, Henry Bannerworth sought Mr. Chillingworth, and
having found him, he said in a serious tone,--

"Mr. Chillingworth, I have rather a serious favour to ask you, and one
which you may hesitate in granting." "It must be very serious indeed," said Mr. Chillingworth, "that I should
hesitate to grant it to you; but pray inform me what it is that you deem
so serious?" "Sir Francis Varney and I must have a meeting," said Henry. "Have you really determined upon such a course?" said Mr. Chillingworth;
"you know the character of your adversary?" "That is all settled,--I have given a challenge, and he has accepted it;
so all other considerations verge themselves into one--and that is the
when, where, and how." "I see," said Mr. Chillingworth. "Well, since it cannot be helped on
your part, I will do what is requisite for you--do you wish anything to
be done or insisted on in particular in this affair." "Nothing with regard to Sir Francis Varney that I may not leave to your
discretion. I feel convinced that he is the assassin of Charles Holland,
whom he feared to fight in duel." "Then there remains but little else to do, but to arrange preliminaries,
I believe. Are you prepared on every other point?" "I am--you will see that I am the challenger, and that he must now
fight. What accident may turn up to save him, I fear not, but sure I am,
that he will endeavour to take every advantage that may arise, and so
escape the encounter." "And what do you imagine he will do now he has accepted your challenge?" said Mr. Chillingworth; "one would imagine he could not very well
escape." "No--but he accepted the challenge which Charles Holland sent him--a
duel was inevitable, and it seems to me to be a necessary consequence
that he disappeared from amongst us, for Mr. Holland would never have
shrunk from the encounter." "There can be no sort of suspicion about that," remarked Chillingworth;
"but allow me to advise you that you take care of yourself, and keep a
watchful eye upon every one--do not be seen out alone." "I fear not." "Nay, the gentleman who has disappeared was, I am sure, fearless enough;
but yet that has not saved him. I would not advise you to be fearful,
only watchful; you have now an event awaiting upon you, which it is well
you should go through with, unless circumstances should so turn out,
that it is needless; therefore I say, when you have the suspicions you
do entertain of this man's conduct, beware, be cautious, and vigilant." "I will do so--in the mean time, I trust myself confidently in your
hands--you know all that is necessary." "This affair is quite a secret from all of the family?" "Most certainly so, and will remain so--I shall be at the Hall." "And there I will see you--but be careful not to be drawn into any
adventure of any kind--it is best to be on the safe side under all
circumstances." "I will be especially careful, be assured, but farewell; see Sir Francis
Varney as early as you can, and let the meeting be as early as you can,
and thus diminish the chance of accident." "That I will attend to. Farewell for the present." Mr. Chillingworth immediately set about the conducting of the affair
thus confided to him; and that no time might be lost, he determined to
set out at once for Sir Francis Varney's residence. "Things with regard to this family seem to have gone on wild of late,"
thought Mr. Chillingworth; "this may bring affairs to a conclusion,
though I had much rather they had come to some other. My life for it,
there is a juggle or a mystery somewhere; I will do this, and then we
shall see what will come of it; if this Sir Francis Varney meets
him--and at this moment I can see no reason why he should not do so--it
will tend much to deprive him of the mystery about him; but if, on the
other hand, he refuse--but then that's all improbable, because he has
agreed to do so. I fear, however, that such a man as Varney is a
dreadful enemy to encounter--he is cool and unruffled--and that gives
him all the advantage in such affairs; but Henry's nerves are not bad,
though shaken by these untowards events; but time will show--I would it
were all over." With these thoughts and feelings strangely intermixed, Mr. Chillingworth
set forward for Sir Francis Varney's house. *       *       *       *       *

Admiral Bell slept soundly enough though, towards morning, he fell into
a strange dream, and thought he was yard arm and yard arm with a strange
fish--something of the mermaid species. "Well," exclaimed the admiral, after a customary benediction of his eyes
and limbs, "what's to come next? may I be spliced to a shark if I
understand what this is all about. I had some grog last night, but then
grog, d'y'see, is--is--a seaman's native element, as the newspapers say,
though I never read 'em now, it's such a plague." He lay quiet for a short time, considering in his own mind what was best
to be done, and what was the proper course to pursue, and why he should
dream. "Hilloa, hilloa, hil--loa! Jack a-hoy! a-hoy!" shouted the admiral, as a
sudden recollection of his challenge came across his memory; "Jack
Pringle a-hoy? d--n you, where are you?--you're never at hand when you
are wanted. Oh, you lubber,--a-hoy!" "A-hoy!" shouted a voice, as the door opened, and Jack thrust his head
in; "what cheer, messmate? what ship is this?" "Oh, you lubberly--"

The door was shut in a minute, and Jack Pringle disappeared. "Hilloa, Jack Pringle, you don't mean to say you'll desert your colours,
do you, you dumb dog?" "Who says I'll desert the ship as she's sea-worthy!" "Then why do you go away?" "Because I won't be called lubberly. I'm as good a man as ever swabbed a
deck, and don't care who says to the contrary.