s night's adventure, who was half sitting, half lying, upon the
lower deck of the great ship, close to the open port-hole, through which
the morning light shone upon his face as he went on eating a biscuit,
through the edge of which his keen pearly-white teeth passed like those
of a mouse.

It was light enough close to the boy, but all inward was very gloomy,
and every here and there a lanthorn was burning dimly, although it was
morning.

There was plenty of noise and bustle going on about the deck where the
lanthorns burned, and the trampling of feet, and shouts that sounded
like orders came now and then; but the principal sound just there by the
port-hole through which the light came was the _crunch, crunch, crunch_
of the biscuit.

At last Jack Jeens spoke.

"It caps me," he said. "Seems wonderful. Here you are, just aboard
ship for the first time, and 'stead o' being badly and sick, eating away
like a reg'lar biscuit nibbler."

"I was so hungry," said the little fellow, with a bright smile.

"Eat away, then," said Jack; "but I say, arn't you frightened?"

"Not now," said the boy. "I was when those sailors came and woke me
up."

"Course you would be," said Jack. "Why, it scared me. But arn't you
frightened now?"

The boy shook his head and took another bite at the hard biscuit.

"Why arn't you frightened?" said Jack, after a good long stare at the
biscuit-nibbler, as he called his companion.

"Because you're here," said the boy.

"Yes, I'm here, o' course," said Jack, staring hard as if puzzled. "I'm
a-sitting close to yer; but that don't make no difference because I'm a
pressed man."

"You'll take care of me and see that no one hurts me," said the boy,
confidently.

"Oh, o' course," said Jack, scratching his head. "That is, while I'm
here, but what's going to become of you when I'm gone?"

"Gone?" said the boy, sharply, as he left off eating. "You're not going
away to leave me, are you?"

"Well, no," said Jack, grimly. "It's you who are going away to leave
me."

"That I sha'n't," cried the boy, quickly. "I'll never go away from you.
I like you."

"That's right," said Jack Jeens, grinning with satisfaction; "and of
course I like you too, youngster. But they'll be setting you ashore
soon, so that you can go back to your folk."

The boy shook his head.

"What do you mean by that?" said the sailor, sharply. "Lookye here, you
never told me what your name was, nor where you come fro