precision.

"Will anybody have a drop?" asked the owner, waving the bottle to and
fro.

As he spoke a grimy paw shot out from behind him, and, before he quite
realised the situation, the cook had accepted the invitation, and was
hurriedly making the most of it.

"Not you," growled the skipper, snatching the bottle from him; "I didn't
mean you. Well, my lads, if you won't have it neat you shall have it
watered."

Before anybody could guess his intention he walked to the water-cask,
and, removing the cover, poured in the rum. In the midst of a profound
silence he emptied the three bottles, and then, with a triumphant smile,
turned and confronted his astonished crew.

"What's in that cask, Dick?" he asked quietly.

"Rum and water," groaned Dick; "but that ain't fair play, sir. We've
kep' to our part o' the agreement, sir, an' you ought to ha' kep' to
yours."

"So I have," was the quick reply; "so I have, an' I still keep to it.
Don't you see this, my lads; when you start playing antics with me
you're playing a fool's game, an' you're bound to come a cropper. Some
men would ha' waited longer afore they spiled their game, but I think
you've suffered enough. Now there's a lump of beef and some taters on,
an' you'd better go and make a good square meal, an' next time you
want to alter the religion of people as knows better than you do, think
twice."

"We don't want no beef, sir; biskit'll do for us," said Dick firmly.

"All right, please yourselves," said the skipper; "but mind, no
hanky-panky, no coming for drink when my back's turned; this cask'll be
watched; but if you do alter your mind about the beef you can tell the
cook to get it for you any time you like."

He threw the bottles overboard, and, ignoring the groaning and
head-shaking of the men, walked away, listening with avidity to
the respectful tributes to his genius tendered by the mate and
cook--flattery so delicate and so genuine withal that he opened another
bottle.

"There's just one thing," said the mate presently; "won't the rum affect
the cooking a good deal?"

"I never thought o' that," admitted the skipper; "still, we musn't
expect to have everything our own way."

"No, no," said the mate blankly, admiring the other's choice of
pronouns.

Up to Friday afternoon the skipper went about with a smile of kindly
satisfaction on his face; but in the evening it weakened somewhat, and
by Saturday morning it had vanished altogether, and was replac