me, matey," said Captain
Fazackerly, making a stand.

"See here," said Tweedie, "who's making out this disbursement sheet, you
or me?"

"You are," said the other.

"Very good then," said his friend; "now don't you interrupt. I
don't mind telling you, you must never use rubbish o' that sort in a
disbursement sheet. It looks bad for the firm. If any other owners saw
that in your old man's sheet he'd never hear the end of it, and he'd
never forgive you. That'll be--what did I say? Seven shillings. And now
we come to the voyage. Ye had a tug to give ye a pluck out to the bar?"

"No; we went out with a fair wind," said Captain Fazackerly, toying with
his pen.

"Ye lie; ye had a tug out to the bar," repeated Tweedie wearily. "Did ye
share the towing?"

"Why, no, I tell 'e--"

"That'll be three pounds then," said Tweedie. "If ye'd shared it it
would have been two pound ten. You should always study your owner in
these matters, cap'n. Now, what about bad weather? Any repairs to the
sails?"

"Ay, we had a lot o' damage," said Fazackerly, laying down his pen;
"it took us days to repair 'em. Cost us four pounds. We had to put into
Holyhead for shelter."

"Four pounds!" said Tweedie, his voice rising almost to a scream.

"Ay, all that," said Fazackerly very solemnly.

"Look here," said Tweedie in a choked voice. "Blown away fore lower
topsail, fore-staysail, and carried away lifts to staysail. To sailmaker
for above, eleven pounds eighteen shillings and ten-pence. Then ye say
ye put into Holyhead for shelter. Well, here in entering harbour we'll
say loss of port anchor and thirty fathoms of chain cable--"

"Man alive," said the overwrought skipper, hitting the table heavily
with his fist, "the old anchor's there for him to see."

"To divers for recovering same, and placing on deck, two pound ten,"
continued Tweedie, raising his voice. "Did you do any damage going into
dock at Limerick?"

"More than we've done for years," said Fazackerly, and shaking his head,
entered into voluminous details; "total, seven pounds."

"Seven pounds!" said the exasperated Tweedie. "Seven pounds for all
that, and your insurance don't begin till twenty-five pounds. Why,
damme, you ain't fit to be trusted out with a ship. I firmly b'lieve
if you lost her you'd send in a bill for a suit of clothes, and call it
square. Now take this down, and larn a business way o' doing things.
In entering dock, carried away starboard cathead and starte