rd," answered the chief,
angrily.

"Accidentally, you mean."

"Pelham, if you intend to be a traitor, say so."

"I! My dear fellow, I don't mean anything of the kind. I am as true as
the pole star."

"Have you spoken to the captain about our affairs?"

"Not a word."

"Have you tried him by the signs?"

"I have, and he made no sign," laughed Pelham, who was not much
enamoured of the cabalistic clap-trap of the Chain.

"Then, of course, he is not a member."

"He must be; he voted," replied Pelham, maliciously.

"How many more times will you say that?"

"Perhaps fifty; perhaps a hundred," answered the fourth lieutenant,
coolly. "I shall say it until you are willing to acknowledge the trick
you put upon me."

"What trick?"

"O, I know all about it! Didn't you tell Kendall, the captain, and seven
or eight others, how to play 'Don't know Beans'?"

"If I did, it was to cheat them when they wanted to know what the beans
meant."

"You saw that the fellows threw away the beans, instead of voting for
you with them, and you invented your game to make the thing come out
right. No matter, Shuffles; I am bound by the compact we made, but I
shall persist in regarding Gordon, Kendall Foster, and others as
members. As you made them vote, you are responsible for them. That's
all."

"Don't let us quarrel about it, my dear fellow," said Shuffles, in soft,
insinuating tones.

"By no means."

"We will have a new election," suggested the chief.

"If we should, I'm afraid all the fellows would want to play 'Don't know
Beans.'"

"You shall conduct it any way you please."

"If I did, you would say I cheated you. I agreed to abide by the
election, and I shall do so. The fact is, Shuffles, you and I are too
smart to play in the same game. I shall stick to the bond. When you
order me to do anything, I shall do it," replied Pelham as he turned on
his heel and walked off.

He retreated into the after cabin, where Shuffles could not follow him.
At the cabin table, studying his French lesson, sat Paul Kendall.

CHAPTER XIX.

MAN OVERBOARD!

"Do you know how to play 'Don't know Beans'?" asked Pelham, as he seated
himself by the side of the second lieutenant.

"Yes; I know how to play it, but it's a stupid game. Shuffles told me
how."

"Did he, indeed?"

"There was some fun in it the first time I tried it; but the second time
was enough to satisfy me. I don't think there is any sense in it."

"Of course t