te-room for himself, but only uses it to sleep in--if the
devil ever does sleep--and spends all his time among the other diggers
in the fore-cabin."

"I know him," said Fraser with a smile. "Just listen now--he is taking a
rise out of the poor steward."

The fore-cabin steward, a fat, podgy, little man, was speaking; beside
him was Cockney Smith, who kept giving him sympathetic punches in the
back to go on.

"I won't 'ave it, even if yer are a cabbing passinger. Wot do yer
come into the fore-cabbing for, upsettin' me an' my men, and a-usin'
langwidge when I can't open four dozen bottles of beer at onct. I never
seed such a crowd! I'm alius willin' to oblige any man wot is thirsty,
and wot wants a drink; but I aint a-goin' to attend on yer like a
slave when I 'as cleanin' to do. So there, big as yer are, yer 'ave
it--straight."

"'Ear, 'ear," said Cockney Smith, who was thoroughly enjoying himself.
"Who's a-goin' to be bullied by any cove because he is a cabbing
passinger?" and he gave Blake an almost imperceptible wink.

Blake outspread his huge hands and rolled up his eyes, in sorrowful
indignation. "Me little mahn, I can see that ye and the steward mane to
parsecute me, and make me loife a mishery--an' me doin' no harm at all,
at all. Sure, I'll not stand it anny more. It's to the captain I'll go,
and complain av ye both. He's a MacAlister, he is, an' I'll call on him
to purtect me from your violent conduct--me sufferin' from a wake heart,
an' liable to fall dead on yez at anny moment, when yez luk at me like
that, wid that ferocioushness in yez eyes. Sure, an' me own father
dhropped dead off the car he was drivin' whin an ould maid from Belfast
gave him two sovereigns in mistake for two shillin's for takin' her from
Dawson Street to St Stephen's Green. It was short-sighted she was, but
it made me the poor orphan I am this minute."

Amidst much laughter, the irate steward went off, and left the field to
his antagonist, and then Douglas Fraser left the bridge, made his way
forward, and clapping the Irishman on the shoulder, said:

"At your old tricks again, Larry."

Blake stared at him for a moment, and then gave a shout of delight as he
seized Fraser's hand, and in a few seconds other diggers also recognised
and crowded about him.

"An' how's the wee girl?" was Blake's first question.

"Come and see for yourself," and Fraser led the way to the saloon, where
they found Kate. She was delighted to see the big