w just as the big fellow came
up. The man shouted to my shipmate to get out o' the way, but the noise
in the street prevented him from hearing. Before I could turn to touch
the cook's arm, the fellow uttered an oath and ran the end of the plank
against his head. Poor Sling was down in an instant. Before I well
knew what I was about, I hit the porter between the eyes and down he
went with a clatter, and the plank above him. In a moment three
policemen had me by the collar. I tried to explain, but they wouldn't
listen. As I was being hurried away to the lock-up, it flashed across
me that I should not only lose my tea and your pleasant society this
evening, but be prevented from sailing to-morrow, so I gave a sudden
twist, tripped up the man on my left, overturned the one on my right,
and bolted."

"They ran well, the rascals, and shouted like maniacs, but I got the
start of 'em, dived down one street, up another, into a by-lane, over a
back-garden wall, in at the back-door of a house and out at the front,
took a round of two or three miles, and came in here from the west; and
whatever other objections there may be to the whole proceeding, I cannot
say that it has spoiled my appetite."

"And so, sir," said Captain Dunning, "you call this your `misfortune?'"

"Surely, captain," said Glynn, putting down his cup and looking up in
some surprise--"surely, you cannot blame me for punishing the rascal who
behaved so brutally, without the slightest provocation, to my shipmate!"

"Hear, hear!" cried Rokens involuntarily.

"I do blame you, lad," replied the captain seriously. "In the first
place, you had no right to take the law into your own hands. In the
second place, your knocking down the man did no good whatever to your
shipmate; and in the third place, you've got yourself and me and the
ship into a very unsatisfactory scrape."

Rokens' face, which had hitherto expressed approval of Glynn's conduct,
began to elongate as the captain went on in this strain; and the youth's
recklessness of manner altogether disappeared as inquired, "How so,
captain? I have escaped, as you see; and poor Sling, of course, was not
to blame, so he'll be all safe aboard, and well, I hope, by this time."

"There you're mistaken, boy. They will have secured Sling and made him
tell the name of his ship, and also the name of his pugnacious comrade."

"And do you think he'd be so mean as to tell?" asked Glynn indignantly.

"You forget th