word or two.

Ruby and Minnie, as we have said, were married. They lived in the
cottage with their mother, and managed to make it sufficiently large to
hold them all by banishing the captain into the scullery.

Do not suppose that this was done heartlessly, and without the captain's
consent. By no means. That worthy son of Neptune assisted at his own
banishment. In fact, he was himself the chief cause of it, for when a
consultation was held after the honeymoon, as to "what was to be done
now," he waved his hand, commanded silence, and delivered himself as
follows:--

"Now, shipmates all, give ear to me, an' don't ventur' to interrupt.
It's nat'ral an' proper, Ruby, that you an' Minnie and your mother
should wish to live together; as the old song says, `Birds of a feather
flock together,' an' the old song's right; and as the thing ought to be,
an' you all want it to be, so it _shall_ be. There's only one little
difficulty in the way, which is, that the ship's too small to hold us,
by reason of the after-cabin bein' occupied by an old seaman of the name
of Ogilvy. Now, then, not bein' pigs, the question is, what's to be
done? I will answer that question: the seaman of the name of Ogilvy
shall change his quarters."

Observing at this point that both Ruby and his bride opened their mouths
to speak, the captain held up a threatening finger, and sternly said,
"Silence!" Then he proceeded--

"I speak authoritatively on this point, havin' conversed with the seaman
Ogilvy, and diskivered his sentiments. That seaman intends to resign
the cabin to the young couple, and to hoist his flag for the futur' in
the fogs'l."

He pointed, in explanation, to the scullery; a small, dirty-looking
apartment off the kitchen, which was full of pots and pans and
miscellaneous articles of household, chiefly kitchen, furniture.

Ruby and Minnie laughed at this, and the widow looked perplexed, but
perfectly happy and at her ease, for she knew that whatever arrangement
the captain should make, it would be agreeable in the end to all
parties.

"The seaman Ogilvy and I," continued the captain, "have gone over the
fogs'l" (meaning the forecastle) "together, and we find that, by the use
of mops, buckets, water, and swabs, the place can be made clean. By the
use of paper, paint, and whitewash, it can be made respectable; and, by
the use of furniture, pictures, books, and 'baccy, it can be made
comfortable. Now, the question that I've