"This is all very sweet," thought Kep, though the fact was that he was sailing under false colours, for the policeman's "young gentleman," really meant "junior officer," although it ought to have struck him as strange that even a naval cadet, if appointed, should be marching through the dockyard in mufti. And this incident, trifling though it appears, pleased Kep. It proved that he looked a little gentleman, and not a second-class boy, nor shop-keeper's apprentice out for a day.
But everybody was not quite so polite to our little hero, for during his peregrination he happened to stumble against a red-faced pompous looking old officer, and made bold to salute.
This officer was in uniform and stopped to eye Kep for a moment.
"Hillo! young fellow, who are you, and what are you doing here?"
"Here is sixpence for you," he said. "I rather like a cheeky boy. Yonder is a gate, they'll let you out and they shouldn't have let you in. Go and buy buns."
Poor Kep reddened to the roots of the hair. He took the coin, though it seemed to burn his fingers and marched on towards the gate.
A bo's'n'smate accosted him next. "What ho! younk, whither away? What's your tally?"
"I'm only just a little boy going to buy buns," said Kep, and they parted.
The first thing he did, when he emerged, was to give that sixpence to a small gutter-snipe girl. She examined it wonderingly.
"Yes, quite, go and buy buns for yourself."
"Well, you be a softy, anyhow," she cried and darted off, shrieking with delight. And, next moment, Kep ran right up against Jack himself.
"Come to bring you back home, sonny," said the kindly fellow. "Make sure, you know, that you don't fall into mischief."
About two hours after this, Kep might have been seen in the tap-room of the _Blue Ensign_ piping to a lot of jolly young sailors, as he stood on the top of a table. A position, which I must admit was a trifle _infra dignitate_--beneath the dignity--of Keppel Drummond, only son of a lord of a manor. But Kep enjoyed it and so did the blue-jackets.
Well, Kep had supper with the landlady, Katie and Jack, in the cosy bar parlour, quite a private party, be assured, and a very merry one as well. This happened after ten o'clock, when the house was shut up for the night.