y, "what's all this? Who has been getting that boy drunk?"

Seth perceived that any attempt to disguise the truth would be futile,
except so far as it might be possible by ingenious subtleties to shield
his companions. The alarm, be believed, must have reached them by this
time, and have scattered the group at the whiskey barrel; so he answered
boldly,--

"The fact, sir, is jest this. We've been about half crazy for water, as
you know, for the past week or two; and men'll do almost any thing for
relief, under such circumstances. It got rumored around, somehow, that
there was plenty of water in the vessel, and the boys went to hunting
for't, and stumbled on the quartermaster's stores, and tapped a few
casks, I believe, mostly sirup, but one turned out to be whiskey. Dry as
we be, it's no more'n nat'ral 't we should drink a drop, under the
circumstances."

"Who tapped the casks?"

"That's more'n I know. I didn't see it done," said Seth.

"Who drank?"

"I drinked a little, for one; jest enough to know 't wan't water.

"And how many of you are drunk?" demanded Captain Edney.

"I a'n't, for one. But I believe Manly is a little how-come ye-so. I'll
say this for him, though: he had nothing to do with tapping the casks,
and he didn't seem to know what it was the boys gin him. He was dry; it
tasted sweet, and he drinked, nat'rally."

"Who gave him the whiskey?"

"I didn't notice, particularly," said Seth.

His accomplices were summoned, the quartermaster was notified, and the
affair was still further investigated. All confessed to having tasted the
liquor, but nobody knew who tapped the casks, or who had given the
whiskey to Frank, and all had the same plausible excuse for their
offence--intolerable thirst. It was impossible, where all were leagued
together, and all seemed equally culpable, to single out the ringleaders
for punishment, and it was not desirable to punish all. After a while,
therefore, the men were dismissed with a reprimand, and the subject
postponed indefinitely. That very afternoon forty barrels of water came
on board, and the men had no longer a pretext for tapping casks in the
hold; and a few days later was the battle, in which they wiped out by
their bravery all memory of past transgressions.

And Frank? The muss, as the boys called it, was over before his senses
recovered from their infinite bewilderment. He lay stupefied in his bunk,
which went whirling round and round with him, sinking down