ere he sat
chattering, screaming, and trembling, as if the sergeant's cane had
been within an inch of his hide.

"What ails you, my dear Mr. St. James?" said the captain of the top,
playfully addressing the monkey. "What are you afraid of? Nobody is
going to hurt you; we are all sailors and friends here, man. Not a
marine within hail of you!"

At this stage of the colloquy the sly rogue having mustered all his
energies, fairly grasped the grog-kid in his arms, and, making a clean
spring from the deck, placed himself, at the first bound, beyond the
reach of the horror-stricken seaman. This exploit was not so adroitly
performed as it might have been if Jacko had been less agitated, and
one-half of the delicious nectar in the sailor's cup was jerked out.

"You bloody thundering rascal of a monkey!" bellowed the astounded
topman; "let go the kid, or I'll shy this knife at your head!"

The threat was no sooner uttered than executed; for the sailor,
without waiting to see the effect of his summons, threw the knife; and
had not his saintship ducked his head, there would have been an end of
monkey tricks for that cruise. As the glittering steel passed before
the wicked scamp's eyes, the flash deprived him of all recollection of
the mischief in hand: with a loud yell he leaped on the booms, and in
his terror let the prize slip from his grasp. It fell on the cooming
of the hatchway, hung for one instant, and then dashed right down into
the fore-cockpit, to the infinite astonishment of the boatswain's
yeoman, a thirsty soul, and familiar with drink in all its shapes, but
who declared he never before had tried grog in a shower-bath.

Up started the enraged party of seamen on their feet. "All hands catch
monkey!" was the cry; and in ten seconds the whole crew, including the
cook with his ladle, and his mate with the tormentors in his hand,
were seen scrambling on deck. Jacko scampered like lightning up the
main-stay, and reached the top before any of the men, who had mounted
the rigging, were half-a-dozen ratlines above the hammocks. The
officers rushed to the quarter-deck, naturally fancying from the
bustling sounds that a man was overboard; but they were soon
undeceived by the shouts of laughter which resounded from every part
of the ship, low and aloft.

For a few moments Jacko sat on the main-cap, chattering at such a rate
that, had it been dark, one of the men said, you could have seen the
sparks of fire from his teeth.