e expects the naval salute when you first come on
board--greeny!"

I began to feel alarmed, and begged him to explain.

"Why, you see, after touching your hat, you should have touched him
lightly with your forefinger in his waistcoat, so, and asked, 'How's
his nibs?'--you see?"

"How's his nibs?" I repeated.

"Exactly. He would have drawn back a little, and then you should have
repeated the salute remarking, 'How's his royal nibs?' asking
cautiously after his wife and family, and requesting to be introduced
to the gunner's daughter."

"The gunner's daughter?"

"The same; you know she takes care of us young gentlemen; now don't
forget, Pillsy!"

When we were called down to the deck I thought it a good chance to
profit by this instruction. I approached Captain Boltrope and repeated
the salute without conscientiously omitting a single detail. He
remained for a moment, livid and speechless. At length he gasped out:--

"Boatswain's mate?"

"If you please, sir," I asked, tremulously, "I should like to be
introduced to the gunner's daughter!"

"O, very good, sir!" screamed Captain Boltrope, rubbing his hands and
absolutely capering about the deck with rage. "O d--n you! Of course
you shall! O ho! the gunner's daughter! O, h--ll! this is too much!
Boatswain's mate!" Before I well knew where I was, I was seized, borne
to an eight-pounder, tied upon it and flogged!

CHAPTER IV.

As we sat together in the cockpit, picking the weevils out of our
biscuit, Briggs consoled me for my late mishap, adding that the "naval
salute," as a custom, seemed just then to be honored more in the BREACH
than the observance. I joined in the hilarity occasioned by the
witticism, and in a few moments we were all friends. Presently Swizzle
turned to me:--

"We have been just planning how to confiscate a keg of claret, which
Nips, the purser, keeps under his bunk. The old nipcheese lies there
drunk half the day, and there's no getting at it."

"Let's get beneath the state-room and bore through the deck, and so tap
it," said Lankey.

The proposition was received with a shout of applause. A long
half-inch auger and bit was procured from Chips, the carpenter's mate,
and Swizzle, after a careful examination of the timbers beneath the
ward-room, commenced operations. The auger at last disappeared, when
suddenly there was a slight disturbance on the deck above. Swizzle
withdrew the auger hurriedly; from its point a few b