ll have
ye to know that, sir. Nor did I come on deck, sir, at the peril of my
life almost, to be made a jeer block of, though I'm only the chief
engineer of the ship and you're the ca'p'en."

He spoke with so stately an air that I confess I felt sorry I had given
away to any merriment at his expense, while the others grew serious in a
moment; and as for Atkins, his whilom grinning face seemed now to be
carved out of some species of wood of a particularly hard and fibrous
nature.

"Now, don't get angry, Stokes, old fellow," cried the skipper shoving
out his fist and gripping that of the chief in the very nick of time,
for the vessel gave a lurch just then and, still "standing on his
dignity," as the poor old chap was, without holding on to anything, he
would have been precipitated over the rail to the deck below, but for
the skipper's friendly aid. "Don't be angry with me, old chum. I'm
sorry I laughed; but you and I have been shipmates too long together for
us to fall out now. Why, what the devil has got over you, Stokes?
You've never been so huffy since I first sailed with you, and I should
have thought you one of the last in the world to take offence at a
little bit of harmless chaff."

"Well, well, Cap'en Applegarth, let it bide, let it bide," replied the
old chief, coming round at once, his rage calming down as quickly as it
had risen. "I don't mind your laughing at me if you have a mind too. I
daresay it all seemed very funny to you, my being anxious about my
engines, but I'm hanged if I can see the fun myself."

"But it was funny, Stokes; deuced funny, I tell you, `ho-ho-ho!'"
rejoined the skipper, bursting out into a regular roar again at the
recollection of the scene, his jolly laugh causing even the cause of it
to smile against his will. "However, there's an end of it, gudgeon pin
and all. Now, about that stoke-hold of yours. It's flooded, you say?"

"Aye; there's eighteen inches of water there now, right up to the
footplates," said the engineer with a grave air. "The bilge-pumps won't
act, and all my staff of stokers are so busy keeping up the steam that I
can't spare a man to see to clearing out the suctions, though if the
water rises any higher, it will soon be up to the furnace bars and put
out the fires."

"Humph, that's serious," answered the skipper meditatively. "I'll see
what I can do to help you. I say, Fosset?"

"Aye, aye, sir! Want me?"

"Yes," replied the skipper. "Mr Stokes