a very long-headed man to explain it," replied the mate.
"Griffin has been at the old trick again."

"What is the old trick, Mr. Mate?" demanded Cornwood, rather
offensively.

"If you are a sailor, you will call me by my name," replied Washburn,
with dignity.

"Excuse me, Mr. Washburn; but I am somewhat interested in one of the
parties to this row," added Cornwood, as he glanced at me. "I meant no
offence, but I was a little excited by the circumstances. I brought
this man on board, and I am anxious to have him do his duty
faithfully," answered Cornwood, with what seemed to me to be affected
humility, for his eye still flashed, and he was evidently struggling to
be calm. "Will you be kind enough to tell me, Mr. Washburn, what the
old trick was?"

"Eavesdropping; listening to conversation not intended for him, which
was going on in the captain's room," replied the mate, rather warmly.

"It is very strange to me, for I have known the boy for years, and I
never heard any of his employers find fault with him before," added
Cornwood. "I don't believe there is a better behaved boy in the State
than Griffin Leeds. Excuse me for saying so much, which I should not
have said if I had not brought the boy on board and recommended him to
you."

I had no fault to find with his statement, as long as it was
respectful. By this time Ben had got his wind again, and appeared to be
ready to explain the reason for the conflict which had created such a
sensation on board. All hands were on deck, gathered around the
combatants. I was satisfied from the beginning that Ben had not begun
the fight, for this was the first time I had ever known him to resort
to violence, except when he had been ordered to do so by the mate in
two instances, both of them being the expulsion from the vessel of
Captain Boomsby.

"Well, how was it, Mr. Bowman?" I asked, calling him by his last name
with a handle to it, as I always did in the presence of the ship's
company.

"A few minutes before I came upon the hurricane-deck, sir, I thought
there was something like motion forward of the foremast. I stood up,
but I could not see anything or anybody. But I could not get it out of
my head that something was going on there. I spoke to Mr. Brickland
about it, and he told me to go up and see what it was."

"Where was Mr. Brickland at that time?" demanded Cornwood.

"Mr. Bowman is answering my question, Mr. Cornwood, and you will not
interfere," I interposed,