ut, there was no one to be seen either on top of the deck-house or in
the long-boat, although the squealing still continued.

"D'ye hear me there, forrud?" shouted Captain Gillespie again in a voice
of thunder, having now worked himself up into one of his tornado-like
rages. "Leave those pigs alone, I tell ye!"

"Sure, sorr, there's nobody there," said Tim Rooney, who was on the
main-deck below, just under the break of the poop. "There's divil a
sowl botherin' the blissid pigs, sorr, as ye can say for y'rsilf. Faix,
they're ownly contrary a bit, sorr, an' p'raps onaisy in their moind!"

"Nonsense, man!" cried Captain Gillespie stamping his foot. "It is some
of those mutinous rascals carrying on their games, I--I know! Just
look, will ye, bosun?"

"There ar'n't a sowl thare, I tell ye, sorr," protested Tim, rather a
bit vexed at his word being doubted, as he turned to go forward where
the row was still going on. "Ain't I jist come from there, sorr, an'
can't I say now wid me own eyes there ain't nobody not nigh the long-
boat nor the pigs neither--bad cess to 'em!"

He muttered the last words below his breath, and getting up into the
main-rigging he climbed half-way up the shrouds, so as to be able to
drop from thence on to the deck-house, this being his quickest mode of
reaching the roof of that structure; and from thence, as he knew, he
would of course be able to see right into the long-boat as well as
inspect its four-footed tenants.

"There's not a sowl in the boat or near it, sorr, at all, at all, cap'en
dear, barrin' the pigs sure, as I towld ye," he repeated on getting so
far; and he was just proceeding to lower himself down to the top of the
deck-house by a loose rope that was hanging from aloft, when he swung
himself back into the rigging in alarm as a dark body jumped out of the
long-boat right across his face, uttering the terrified ejaculation,
"Murther in Irish! Howly Moses, what is that?"

It was one of the pigs, which, giving vent to a most diabolical yell,
appeared to leap from the long-boat deliberately over the port side of
the ship into the sea, sinking immediately with a stifled grunt,
alongside.

Then more weird squeaking was heard, and a second pig imitated his
comrade's example, jumping also from the boat overboard--just as if they
were playing the game of "follow my leader" which we often indulged in
when sky-larking in the second dog-watch!

This was no sky-larking, however, for