standing close to
the helmsman at the wheel, addressed me.

"Hallo, Master Tom," said he, "got your sea-legs again?"

"Yes, captain," I replied, "I'm all right now, thank you."

"Beginning to feel peckish, eh?"

"Not very," said I, for I was qualmish still, although the fresh air had
considerably revived me even in the short time since I had come out of
the close cabin.

"Ah, but you must eat, though, my boy," observed Captain Miles kindly,
giving me a kindly pat on the back. "An empty stomach is the worst
thing in the world to voyage on. Why, you haven't hardly eaten a bite
since the other evening when that poor cow knocked our dinner all into
the middle of next week! Never mind, though, breakfast will be ready at
eight bells, and we'll see whether we can't get some lining upon your
ribs, my little skillygalee."

"I have already asked Jake to get me a cup of coffee, sir," I said in
reply to this; but, before the captain could answer me again, we both
had our attention drawn to the deck below. There seemed to be some sort
of commotion going on in the cook's galley away forward, for all the men
had their faces turned in that direction, and they were laughing as if
at some good joke.

"Waist ahoy, there!" shouted out Captain Miles, going to the edge of the
break of the poop and looking down. "What's the row forward?"

"Hanged if I know, sir," answered Davis somewhat surlily, adding more
gruffly still to the hands around him, "Here, you lazy lubbers, lay
along to your work, or I'll give you something else to grin about!"

"You need not haze the men like that for nothing," said the captain
sharply, muttering something under his breath about "setting a beggar on
horseback, and he'll ride to the--"

However, his further words were cut short by a loud shout of laughter
from the men all together, as if with one accord; and then the commotion
in the cook's galley increased, for I could now distinguish the sound of
some violent altercation, voices being raised in anger, mingled with the
noise of shuffling feet and the crash of crockery-ware.

"By Jingo, they're going it!" exclaimed Moggridge, who stood in the
waist immediately below us. "They'll be like the Kilkenny cats, and
leave only their tails behind!"

"What's the matter?" again asked Captain Miles. "Anybody fighting, eh?"

"Yes, sir," said the boatswain, "the two niggers. They've been at it in
the caboose ever since we began to wash down decks."

"