come along o' me and
I'll find you one in the forksle."

After a momentary hesitation Mark accepted the offer, and the sailor
pointed out a suitable corner, according to his ideas.

"He'll be pretty close to my berth, and I can give an eye to him."

The offer was friendly, and Bruff seemed disposed to accept the sailor's
advances to some extent, suffering himself to be patted and his ears
pulled; but when the friendliness took the form of a pull at his tail he
began to make thunder somewhere in his chest, and turned so sharply
round that by an involuntary action Billy. Widgeon popped his hands in
his pockets.

All the same when Bruff was told to lie down in there he flatly refused,
and followed his master aft once more, the little sailor having run
before them in answer to the mate's shout; and Mark saw him directly
afterward hauling away at a rope with some more so as to raise the
main-yard, which was not quite to the mate's satisfaction.

"What a disagreeable brute!" thought Mark as the mate seemed to spend
his time in shouting here, finding fault there, and everywhere making
himself disagreeable, while the captain looked on once or twice and then
got out of the way as fast as he could, and appeared to be generally of
no account whatever.

CHAPTER FOUR.

HOW THERE WAS AN UNWELCOME PASSENGER.

"Here, Mark, my boy," said the captain; "come here and I'll show you
your cabin."

The lad was standing watching half a dozen men who were reefing a square
sail high up on the mainmast, and the process gave him a peculiar
sensation of moisture in the hands and chill in the back, for the men
were standing upon a rope looped beneath the yard, and apparently
holding on by resting the top button of their trousers upon this
horizontal spar, their hands being fully occupied with hauling in and
folding up the new stiff canvas of the sail.

"I say, father," he said, "isn't that dangerous?"

"What, my lad?"

"The work those men are doing."

"What, up aloft? H'm, yes, no! They're so used to it that it has
ceased to be dangerous, my boy. Use is second nature. It would be
dangerous for you or me."

Mark followed, and the captain showed him his cabin.

"You're a lucky one," he said. "There's a place all to yourself. Are
you going to stay aboard?"

"Yes, father. I've sent my bag, and mother is going to meet me here
this evening."

"That's right. Now I must be off to see the owners. Keep out of the
way as w