rivint their bein' onfrindly, sorr," pleaded
Tim, looking as much ashamed as his comical twinkling left eye would
permit. "I thought it'd save a lot av throuble arterwards, spakin' as
regards mesilf, sorr; fur I'm niver at paice onless I'm in a row, sure!"

"Ha, a nice way of making friends--pummelling each other to pieces and
upsetting my ship," retorted Captain Gillespie. But, as Tim Rooney made
no answer, thinking discretion the better part of valour in this
instance, and going up into the bows as if to look out forward, the
captain then addressed me: "Graham!"

"Yes, sir," said I, awaiting my sentence with some trepidation. "I'm
very sorry, sir, for what has happened, I--"

"There, I want no more jaw," he replied, hastily snapping me up before I
could say another word. "I saw all that occurred, though neither of you
thought I was looking. Weeks rushed at you, and you hit him; and then
this precious hot-headed bosun of mine made you `have it out,' as he
calls it, in `a friendly way,' the idiot, in his Irish bull fashion!
But, as I told you, I won't have any fighting here, either between boys
or men, and when I say a thing I mean a thing; so, to show I allow no
relaxation of discipline on board so long as I'm captain, Master Graham,
you'll be good enough to remain on deck to-night instead of going to
bed, and will keep the middle watch from `eight bells' to morning."

"Very good, sir," I replied, bowing politely, having already taken off
my cap on his speaking to me; and I then went back to our deck-house
cabin and had a lie down, as I felt pretty tired. Ching Wang, however,
came to rouse me up soon afterwards with a pannikin of hot coffee, his
way of showing his appreciation of my conduct in the fray, and I
subsequently went with Tim Rooney to see the starling--which made me
quite forget all about being tired and having to stop up all night, and
that Tom Jerrold had escaped any punishment for his presence at the
fight!

At eight o'clock, when it was quite dark, we passed Beachy Head, seeing
the light in the distance; and then, feeling hungry again, I went to the
steward in the cuddy and got something to eat, meeting there poor Weeks,
whom the captain had only just called down from his perch in the mizzen-
top, very cold and shivery from being so long up there in his wet
clothes in the night air.

He looked rather grimly at me, and from the light in the saloon I
noticed that he had a lovely pair of black e