l, I'll tell you what I knows about him."

He settled himself against the mast, gave a final polish to his hook with
holystone, and using the hook every now and then to punctuate his
narrative, began.

"Let me see, 'twas a matter o' three years ago. I was bo'sun on the
Swallow, a spanker she was, chartered by the Company, London to Calcutta.
There was none of the doldrums that trip, dodged 'em fair an' square; a
topsail breeze to the Cape, and then the fust of the monsoon to the
Hugli. We lay maybe a couple of months at Calcutta, when what should I do
but take aboard a full dose of the cramp, just as the Swallow was in a
manner of speakin' on the wing. Not but what it sarved me right, for what
business had I at my time of life to be wastin' shore leave by poppin' at
little dicky birds in the dirty slimy jheels, as they call 'em, round
about Calcutta!

"Well, I was put ashore, as was on'y natural, and 'twas a marvel I pulled
through--for it en't many as take the cramp in Bengal and live to tell
it. The Company, I'll say that for 'em, was very kind; I had the best o'
nussin' and vittles; but when I found my legs again there I was, as one
might say, high and dry, for there was no Company's ship ready to sail.
So I got leave to sign on a country ship, bound for Canton; and we
dropped down the Hugli with enough opium on board to buy up the lord
mayor and a baker's dozen of aldermen.

"Nearly half a mile astern was three small country ships, such as might
creep round the coast to Chittagong, dodgin' the pirates o' the
Sandarbands if they was lucky, and gettin' their weazands slit if they
wasn't. They drew less water than us, and was generally handier in the
river, which is uncommon full of shoals and sandbanks; but for all that I
remember they was still maybe half a mile astern when we dropped
anchor--anchors, I should say--for the night, some way below Diamond
Harbor. But to us white men the way o' these Moors is always a bag o'
mystery, and as seamen they en't anyway of much account. Well, it might
be about seven bells, and my watch below, when I was woke by a most
tremenjous bangin' and hullabaloo. We tumbles up mighty sharp, and well
we did, for there was one of these country fellows board and board with
us, and another foulin' our hawser. Their grapnels came whizzin' aboard;
but the first lot couldn't take a hold nohow, and she dropped downstream.
That gave us a chance to be ready for the other. She got a gr