t down;
"it's well for that feller wi' the long trumpet that the brass was so
thin and his head so hard, for my blood was up, bein' taken by surprise,
you see, an' I didn't measure my blows. Hows'ever, `it's all well that
ends well,' as I once heard a play-actor say."

"But it's not ended yet," said Gildart with decision.

"How so, lad?"

"You've got to pay up your bet."

Haco's brow became a little clouded. The bet had been taken more than
half in joke, for he was not given to betting in earnest; but he was too
proud to admit this on finding that Gildart took it in earnest.

"You'll not want it for a short while, I daresay?" he asked.

"Captain Barepoles--"

"Skipper, lad, I don't like to be cap'ned."

"Well, Skipper Barepoles," said the middy with much solemnity, "I always
pay my debts of honour on the spot, and I expect gentlemen who bet with
me to do the same."

Haco grinned. "But I an't a gentleman," said he, "an' I don't set up
for one."

"Still, as a man of honour you must feel bound--"

"No, lad, not as a man of honour," interrupted the skipper, "but as a
British seaman I'll hold the debt due; only, not bein' in the habit o'
carrying the Bank of England in my weskit-pocket, you see, I must ask
you to wait till to-morrow mornin'."

Haco said this with a slightly disappointed look, for he thought the
middy rather sharp, and had formed a better opinion of him than his
conduct on this occasion seemed to bear out.

"Now, skipper, I'll tell you what it is. I am not fond of betting, and
this bet of mine was taken in jest; in fact my usual bet is ten thousand
pounds, sometimes a million! Nevertheless, you have admitted the debt
as due, and although I do not mean to claim payment in the usual way, I
don't intend to forego my rights altogether. I'll only ask you to do me
a favour."

"What may it be, lad?"

"Will you grant it?"

"Well, that depends--"

"No, it doesn't; say Yes, or I'll claim the ten pounds."

"Well, yes, if it's right and proper for me to do it. Now, what d'ye
want?"

"Humph! Well then," said Gildart, "I want you to let your daughter
Susan get spliced to Dan Horsey."

Haco frowned, and said, "Unpossible."

"Come now, don't be hard on them, skipper; Dan is a good fellow and a
first-rate groom."

"He's an Irish blackguard," said Haco, "and not worth a pinch of his
namesake."

"You're quite mistaken," said Gildart, who went on to speak so highly of
the groom, that Haco