sy, though thar be a sight of blood, and it'll
soon git closed up agin!"

"Thanks for your kind services," said Mr Meldrum. "I would have been
down before, but was too busy on deck."

"I know," replied the other, nodding his head--"helping the captain out
of the muss, eh? That wer an allfired smash, though! Done much hurt?"

"Yes," said Mr Meldrum guardedly, with a glance at the girls; "but the
mischief's over now for the present, though."

"I see, I see," whispered Mr Lathrope; "I don't need nary nother
explanation, mister. I hev shed my eye-teeth, I hev, and thar's no use
in skearin' folks. That madam the Meejur, now, has been going on tree-
men-jus, an' it has ben as much as your gal could kinder dew to get her
to quiet down. Jee-rusalem! but she wer goin' to have the cap'en up on
court-martial, an' the steward tarred and feathered, an' the Lord knows
what! Then, too, ther wer that b'y of hern, squalling like a frog in a
fit, the durned young imp, I'd lief have skinned him! If it hadn't been
for your gal, they'd have raised thunder aboard, they would: you oughter
be kinder proud, mister, to hev sich a sensible young woman fur yer
darter! She warn't a bit skeart when the shock came; but braced herself
up as cool as a cowcumber, and thar she's ben, keeping them noisy folks
quiet, and tendin' her little siss like a Christian!"

"Indeed I am proud of her," said Mr Meldrum, gazing at Kate fondly;
"but you say nothing about yourself. You've been making yourself of use
too."

"Snakes and alligators, mister, I ain't worth a corn-chuck alongside of
your gal! In course, I wer a bit flabbergasted when we collided just
now--with one of them hammocks of ice, I guess, hey!"

"Yes," said Mr Meldrum, "we ran against an iceberg, and a pretty big
one too."

"I thought so," continued the other. "But you knows me by this time. I
never gets upsot by no matter what happens, so I jest fixes on one of
them life-belts I always has handy whenever I travels on them high-
pressure steamboats we hev on the Mississippi--whar you run the chance
of getting busted up regular every trip--and thar I turned out of my
cabin slick for anything, so I wer able to help miss, har, in shaking
down that dreadful old screech-owl yander, and plaster up little missy
arterwards."

"How's your arm now?" asked Mr Meldrum kindly.

"Oh, the durned thing's all right, only a bit stiff. Madam gave it a
squoze jist now when I histed her off the f