y, you won't find it
worth grinning at, that's sartin, for he's as nasty as he's spiteful,
and every man Jack of us hates him like pizen, and wishes he were out of
the ship. The skipper, I knows, wouldn't have him aboard if he could
have his own way, but he's some connection of the owners, and he can't
help himself."

"All right, Jorrocks, I'll try and steer clear of him," I said, trying
to look grave, for I saw the old sailor was in earnest, and only
speaking for my good. "I will endeavour to do my duty, and then he
won't have any occasion to find fault with me."

"Ah, but you'll have to do more than that; for, like most of them uppish
chaps, if you don't truckle under to him and purtend as how he's the
Lord Mayor, he's safe to be down on you."

"I'm not going to crawl under any man's feet, first mate or no first
mate!" I said, proudly. "Why, I'm a first-class apprentice, and the
captain has rated me as third officer in the ship's books."

"Now, Mister Leigh, don't you go on for being bumptious, now, my lad!"
replied Jorrocks, laughing heartily at my drawing myself up on my
dignity. "A third officer or `third mate,' as we calls him, has a dog's
berth aboard a ship if he doesn't lend his hand to anything and button
to the first mate! You needn't go for to really humble yourself afore
that Macdougall; I only meant you to purtend like as how you thinks him
a regular top-sawyer, and then you'll sail along without a chance of a
squall--Mr Ohlsen, the second mate, in charge o' your watch, is an
easy-going chap, and you'll get on well enough with him."

"All right," I said in response, as if agreeing with his advice; but I
formed my own resolution as to how I would treat the Scotsman should he
try to bully me unjustly.

He would find no cringe in me, I vowed!

The rest of my shipmates, Jorrocks then went on to tell me, were a very
jolly set of fellows, forming as good a crew as he'd ever sailed with--
fit for anything, and all able seamen "of the proper sort."

Haxell, the carpenter, he said, was a quiet, steady-going, solemn sort
of man, with no nonsense about him, who kept himself to himself; while
Sails, the sail-maker, whom I have omitted mentioning in his proper
place as one of the officers ranking after the boatswain, was a cheery
chap, who could sing a good song on Saturday night in the fo'c's'le;
but, the life of the crew, Jorrocks said, was Pat Doolan, the cook, an
Irishman, as his name would imply. H