k too," said the captain, shaking
his head. "As it is, he's spared; he'll be able to teach you. There
ain't"--he lowered his voice, not wishing to make Simmons unduly
proud--"there ain't a smarter clerk in all Liverpool than wot he is."

"I'm glad to hear it," said the new master, regarding the old man with
raised eyebrows, as he extricated a plethoric-looking canvas bag from
his jacket pocket and dropped it with a musical crash on the chipped
office table. His eyebrows went still higher, as the old man unfastened
the string, and emptying the contents on to the table, knitted his
brows into reflective wrinkles, and began to debit the firm with all the
liabilities of a slow but tenacious memory.

"Oh, come," said the owner sharply, as the old man lovingly hooked out
the sum of five-and sixpence as a first instalment, "this won't do,
cap'n."

"Wot won't do, Mas'r Edward?" inquired the old man in surprise.

"Why, this way of doing business," said the other. "It's not
businesslike at all, you know."

"Well, it's the way me an' your pore old father has done it this last
thirty year," said the skipper, "an' I'm sure I've never knowingly
cheated him out of a ha'penny; and a better man o' business than your
father never breathed."

"Yes; well, I'm going to do things a bit differently," said the new
master. "You must give me a proper disbursement sheet, cap'n, if you
please."

"And what may that be?" inquired Captain Fazackerly, as with great
slowness he gathered up the money and replaced it in the bag; "I never
heard of it afore."

"Well, I haven't got time to teach you bookkeeping," said the other,
somewhat nettled at the old man's manner. "Can't you get some of your
brother captains to show you? Some deep-sea man would be sure to know."

"I'll see what I can do, sir," said the skipper slowly, as he turned
towards the door. "My word was always good enough for your father."

In a moody, indignant frame of mind he stuck his hands furiously in his
trousers' pockets, and passed heavily through the swing-doors. At other
times he had been wont to take a genial, if heavy interest in passing
events; but, in this instance, he plodded on, dwelling darkly upon
his grievance, until he reached, by the mere force of habit, a certain
favourite tavern. He pulled up sharply, and, as a mere matter of duty
and custom, and not because he wanted it, went in and ordered a glass of
gin.

He drank three, and was so hazy in his replies t