the
suddenness of my good fortune.

The more I thought of the matter, the more I felt like trying elsewhere
for a berth; but the time flew so rapidly that I found myself on the way
to the ship before my misgivings took too strong hold of me.

As I turned down the principal thoroughfare, feeling in a more humorous
frame of mind at the many possibilities open to me, I heard a shout. The
sound came from a side street, and I looked to see what it meant.
Through the door of a saloon a man shot head-long as if fired from a
gun. He struck in the gutter and staggered to his feet, where he was
immediately surrounded by the crowd of men that had followed him. This
promised much in the way of diversion, and I stopped to see what hidden
force lurked behind the door of the saloon. As I did so, a short fellow
with a great bushy head emerged, struggling with half a dozen men who
bore down upon him and tried to surround and seize him. The little man's
face was red from exertion and liquor, but when I caught a glimpse of
his great squat nose and huge mouth I had no difficulty in recognizing
my acquaintance on the _Pirate_. He backed rapidly away from his
antagonists, swinging a pair of arms each of which seemed to be fully
half a fathom long while every instant he let out a yell that sounded
like the bellow of a mad bull. Suddenly he turned and made off down the
street at an astonishing pace for one with such short legs, still
letting out a yell at every jump.

The men who had set upon him hesitated an instant before they realized he
was getting away; then they started after him, shouting and swearing at a
great rate. He was up to me in an instant, and as he dashed by I narrowly
missed a clip from his hand, which he swung viciously at me as he passed.
I saw in a moment he couldn't escape at the rate he was moving, in spite
of his tremendous exertions, so I stepped aside to watch him as the crowd
rushed past in pursuit.

The little mate's legs were working like the flying pistons of a
locomotive, and his bush hair and beard were streaming aft in the breeze
as he neared the corner. Suddenly he stopped, turned about, and dashed
right into the foremost of the crowd, letting out a screech and swinging
his long arms.

"Git out th' way! Th' devil's broke loose an's comin' for ye," he
howled as he sent the foremost man to the pavement. "Don't stop me. I
ain't got no time to stop. Don't stop a little bumpkin buster what's
got business in b