impatient,
made a thrust at him, and then, springing out, gained the side and
rushed up the rigging after his captain. Biddle, who was standing close
by, gazed earnestly at them and took the wheel.

"You won't hurt old Biddle, I know," he said, trying to speak
confidently.

"Of course not," said Miss Evans emphatically.

"Tar don't hurt," explained Miss Williams.

"It's good for you," said the third lady positively. "One--two------"

"It's no good," said the mate as Ephraim came suddenly into the rigging;
"you'll have to give in.

"I'm---- if I will," said the infuriated skipper.

Then an idea occurred to him, and puckering his face shrewdly he began
to descend.

"All right," he said shortly, as Miss Evans advanced to receive him.
"I'll go back."

He took the wheel; the schooner came round before the wind, and the
willing crew, letting the sheets go, hauled them in again on the port
side.

"And now, my lads," said the skipper with a benevolent smile, "just
clear that mess up off the decks, and you may as well pitch them mops
overboard. They'll never be any good again."

He spoke carelessly, albeit his voice trembled a little, but his heart
sank within him as Miss Evans, with a horrible contortion of her pretty
face, intended for a wink, waved them back.

"You stay where you are," she said imperiously, "we'll throw them
overboard--when we've done with them. What did you say, Captain?"

The skipper was about to repeat it with great readiness when Miss Evans
raised her trusty mop. The words died away on his lips, and after a
hopeless glance from his mate to the crew and from the crew to the
rigging, he accepted his defeat, and in grim silence took them home
again.

PICKLED HERRING

There was a sudden uproar on deck, and angry shouts accompanied by an
incessant barking; the master of the brig _Arethusa_ stopped with his
knife midway to his mouth, and exchanging glances with the mate, put it
down and rose to his feet.

"They're chevying that poor animal again," he said hotly. "It's
scandalous."

"Rupert can take care of himself," said the mate calmly, continuing
his meal. "I expect, if the truth's known, it's him's been doin' the
chevying."

"You're as bad as the rest of 'em," said the skipper angrily, as a large
brown retriever came bounding into the cabin. "Poor old Rube! what have
they been doin' to you?"

The dog, with a satisfied air, sat down panting by his chair, listening
quietly to