nter, a big sour-faced man with a low brow, rough
black hair, and a surly spirit. Billy was supposed to be minding the
tiller, but, in the circumstances, the tiller was left to mind itself.
Zulu was the only active member on board, to judge from the clatter of
his pots and pans below.

"My usual luck," said the skipper a second time, in a deeper growl.

"Seems to me," said Gunter, in a growl that was even more deep and
discontented than that of the skipper, "that luck is always down on us."

"'Tis the same luck that the rest o' the fleet has got, anyhow,"
observed Joe Davidson, who was the most cheerful spirit in the smack;
but, indeed, all on board, with the exception of the skipper and Gunter,
were men of a hearty, honest, cheerful nature, more or less careless
about life and limb.

To the mate's remark the skipper said "humph," and Gunter said that he
was the unluckiest fellow that ever went to sea.

"You're always growling, Jack," said Ned Spivin, who was fond of
chaffing his mates; "they should have named you Grunter when they were
at it."

"I only wish the Coper was alon'side," said the skipper, "but she's
always out of the way when she's wanted. Who saw her last?"

"I did," said Luke Trevor, "just after we had crossed the Silver Pits;
and I wish we might never see her again."

"Why so, mate?" asked Gunter.

"Because she's the greatest curse that floats on the North Sea,"
returned Luke in a tone of indignation.

"Ah!--you hate her because you've jined the teetotallers," returned
Gunter with something of a sneer.

"No, mate, I don't hate her because I've jined the teetotallers, but
I've jined the teetotallers because I hate her."

"Pretty much the same thing, ain't it?"

"No more the same thing," retorted Luke, "than it is the same thing to
put the cart before the horse or the horse before the cart. It wasn't
total-abstainin' that made me hate the Coper, but it was hatred of the
Coper that made me take to total-abstainin'--don't you see?"

"Not he," said Billy Bright, who had joined the group; "Gunter never
sees nothing unless you stick it on to the end of his nose, an' even
then you've got to tear his eyes open an' force him to look."

Gunter seized a rope's-end and made a demonstration of an intention to
apply it, but Billy was too active; he leaped aside with a laugh, and
then, getting behind the mast, invited the man to come on "an' do his
wust."

Gunter laid down the rope's-end with a gr