or poor Green, and,
like the fable of the frogs, what is sport to you is death to others.
The poor lad will be turned out of the service, and lose his chance of
being a post captain; so you must allow me to explain the matter so that
it gets to the ears of the first lieutenant as soon as possible."

"Well," replied I, "do as you like, Bob; if any one's to be turned out
of the service for such nonsense, it ought to be me, and not Green, poor
snob."

"No fear of your being turned out; the first lieutenant won't like you
the worse, and the other officers will like you better especially as I
shall say that it is by your wish that I explain all to get Mr Green
out of the scrape. I'll go to the surgeon and tell him--but, Master
Keene, don't you call such matters _nonsense_, or you'll find yourself
mistaken one of these days. I never saw such disrespect on a
quarter-deck in all my life--worse than mutiny a thousand times." Here
Bob Cross burst out into a fit of laughter, as he recalled Green's
extended fingers to his memory, and then he turned away and went down
below to speak to the surgeon.

As soon as Cross had quitted the deck, I could not restrain my curiosity
as to the situation of my friend Green; I therefore went down the ladder
to the half-deck, and there, on the starboard side between the guns, I
perceived the poor fellow, with his legs in irons, his hands firmly
clasped together, looking so woeful and woe-begone, every now and then
raising his eyes up to the beam of the upper deck, as if he would appeal
to heaven, that I scarcely could refrain from laughing. I went up to
him and said:--

"Why, Green, how is all this?--what has happened?"

"Happened?" said the poor fellow; "happened? see what has happened; here
I am."

"Did you make the freemason's signs?" replied I.

"Didn't I? Yes--I did: Oh, what will become of me?"

"You could not have made them right; you must have forgotten them."

"I'm sure I made them as you told me; I'm quite sure of that."

"Then perhaps I did not recollect them exactly myself: however, be of
good heart; I will have the whole matter explained to the first
lieutenant."

"Pray do; only get me out of this. I don't want the glass back."

"I'll have it done directly," replied I.

As I went away, Bob Cross came up, and said I was wanted by the first
lieutenant in the gun-room. "Don't be afraid," said he: "they've been
laughing at it already, and the first lieutenant is it a