ling, and his mouth
wide open: lifting his hands over his head, and pausing as if for
breath, exclaimed with a solemn, sepulchral voice, "By all the devils in
hell he's com again!"

"Who?" exclaimed several voices at once.

"Snarleyyow," replied Smallbones, mournfully.

"Yes--mein Gott!" exclaimed Corporal Van Spitter, attempting to rise on
his legs.

"Whew!" whistled Jemmy Ducks--but nobody else uttered a sound; they all
looked at one another, some with compressed lips, others with mouths
open. At last one shook his head--then another. The corporal rose on
his feet and shook himself like an elephant.

"Dat tog is de tyfel's imp, and dat's de end on it," said he, with alarm
still painted on his countenance.

"And is he really on board again?" inquired Coble, doubtingly.

"As sartin as I stands on this here forecastle--a-kissing and slobbering
the lieutenant for all the world like a Christian," replied Smallbones,
despondingly.

"Then he flare fire on me wid his one eye," said the corporal.

"Warn't even wet," continued Smallbones.

Here there was another summons for Corporal Van Spitter.

"Mein Gott, I will not go," exclaimed the corporal.

"Yes, yes, go, corporal," replied Smallbones; "it's the best way to face
the devil."

"Damn the devil!--and that's not swearing," exclaimed Short--such a long
sentence out of his mouth was added to the marvels of the night--some
even shrugged up their shoulders at that, as if it also were
supernatural.

"I always say so," said Jansen, "I always say so--no tog, no tog, after
all."

"No, no," replied Coble, shaking his head.

Corporal Van Spitter was again summoned, but the corporal was restive as
a rhinoceros.

"Corporal," said Smallbones, who, since the glass of grog, was his
sincere ally, and had quite forgotten and forgiven his treatment, "go
down and see if you can't worm the truth out of him."

"Ay, do, do!" exclaimed the rest.

"Smallbones--Smallbones--wanted aft," was the next summons.

"And here I go," exclaimed Smallbones. "I defy the devil and all his
works--as we said on Sunday at the workhouse."

"That lad's a prime bit of stuff," observed Spurey, "I will say that."

"Yes," replied Short.

In a few seconds Smallbones came hastily up the ladder.

"Corporal, you must go to the cabin directly. He is in a devil of a
rage--asked me why you wouldn't come--told him that you had seen
something dreadful--didn't know what. Tell him you saw the de