“Well, Mrs. Walsham, perhaps we may set the matter partly to rights.  I will speak to the squire, and I am sure he will write to his friend at the admiralty, and have an order sent out, at once, for Jim’s discharge.  At the same time, it would be better that he should not return here just at present.  His name may come out, at the trial of the smugglers, as being concerned in the affair, and it would be better that he should stay away, till that matter blows over.  At any rate, if I were you I should write to him, telling him that you know now that he has no taste for the medical profession, and that, should he see anything that he thinks will suit him in America, you would not wish him to come home immediately, if he has a fancy for staying out there; but that, if he chooses to return, you are sure that the squire will exert himself, to give him a start in any other profession he may choose.”

Mrs. Walsham agreed to carry out the suggestion and, that afternoon, the squire sent off a letter to his friend at the admiralty, and three letters were also posted to James himself.

The voyage of the Thetis was uneventful.  Her destination was Hampton, at the opening of Chesapeake Bay, where the troops on board would join the expedition under General Braddock, which was advancing up the Potomac.  When she arrived there, they found several ships of war under Commodore Keppel.  Braddock’s force had marched to Wills Creek, where a military post named Fort Cumberland had been formed.  The soldiers on board were at once disembarked, and marched up the banks of the Potomac to join the force at Fort Cumberland.  The sailors were employed in taking stores up the river in boats.

James Walsham had done his best, during the voyage, to acquire a knowledge of his duties.  His experience in the fishing boats was useful to him now, and he was soon able to do his work as an able-bodied seaman.  His good spirits and willingness rendered him a general favourite.  He was glad that he was not put in the same watch with Richard Horton, as, after their first meeting, the young lieutenant showed no signs of recognition.  He was not, James found, popular among the men.  He was exacting and overbearing with them, and some on board, who had served with him on his previous voyage, had many tales to his disadvantage.

A fortnight after the arrival of the Thetis at Hampton, orders were issued among the ships of war for thirty volunteers for Braddock’s expedition, of which the Thetis was to furnish ten.  So many sent in their names, that the first lieutenant had difficulty in choosing ten, who were looked upon with envy by the rest of the ship’s company; for there seemed little chance, at present, of fighting at sea, and the excitement of a march on shore, with adventures of all sorts, and encounters with the French and their Indian allies, seemed delightful to the tars.

Upon the following day a ship arrived from England and, an hour afterwards, an order was passed forward that the first lieutenant wanted James Walsham upon the quarterdeck.