o
high above us for anyone to be thrown out, and on a board nailed beyond
our reach was the legend, "Order must and _will_ be preserved." But that
boarding-house was very exciting; my last excitement In it was tripping
up a man, treading on his wrist and taking away a razor with which he
meant to cut throats. In Hull we never went further than a good common
"scrap," though they happened fairly often.

Times were not very brisk in Hull just then. At anyrate, we did not find
them so. We had a "runner" at the Home, who was supposed to help us find
a ship, but certainly did not. He was a very curious person to look at.
He weighed eighteen stone and was a perfect giant of strength, with legs
like columns and a neck about twenty inches round. I never found out
what his nationality was. He looked like a Russian, but denied that he
was one. It was said that he once fought six men in the lane and downed
them all in sheer desperation. As a matter of fact, he was rather
cowardly, I think, and easily put on, though if he had really got mad
something would have had to give. We did not rely on him but looked for
ships ourselves in a very casual way. Most of us pretended to look for
them and loafed about the neighbouring slums. When sailormen are thrown
on their own resources they are pretty helpless creatures. The man who
is a lion on a topsail yard in a gale is too often like a wet cat in a
backyard when he is ashore. I was lazy enough myself, but as it happened
it was I who got something to do for Ginger, for the New Brunswicker and
myself.

I had not been living in the highly-desirable neighbourhood of Salthouse
Lane for a week before I found myself without a stiver. The rest were in
the same condition. Every three days or so I borrowed a penny from the
boss and got a shave in order to keep up my spirits. Three days' beard
is almost as depressing as three days' starvation, and the little shop
at the corner, which renewed my self-respect for a penny, seemed to me a
most admirable institution. As for drinks, we had none--we were sober
sailors indeed. The sun might get over the fore-yard and go down over
the cro'-jack but we never touched liquor. Nevertheless we had fights to
relieve the monotony of the situation. The Nova Scotian and I took to
being hostile. We disbelieved each other's lies. So one day while we
were in the smoking-room he said something which was not at all polite.
I could not knock him down with a chair because th