men are nowhere to be found. Lieutenant Spry was not a favourite either
with his superiors or with those below him. The midshipmen especially
disliked him, and he seemed to have a decided antipathy to them.

To return to the midshipmen's berth: Jack Rogers continued to bolt his
beef, Alick to fancy that he was reading, and Adair to try and sing,
when, in spite of his courage, nature, or rather the _tumblification_ of
the ship, triumphed;--springing over the table, he rushed up the
hatchway towards the nearest port on the upper deck. Now, as it
happened, Lieutenant Spry was with uneasy steps endeavouring to take his
constitutional walk along the deck at that moment, and Paddy, not seeing
him, ran with his head directly against the lower button of the marine
officer's waistcoat, whereon the seasick midshipman found his ears
pinched, and received a shower of no very refined epithets. Poor
Terence, who, essentially the gentleman, would not have retorted if he
could, was able only to ejaculate, "Beg pardon, sir!" when the usual
result of seasickness followed, to the no small disfigurement of the
marine's white trousers. The enraged officer, on this, thundered down
invectives on poor Paddy's head, and finished off in a most
un-officer-like way by kicking him down the hatchway from whence he had
just emerged. Adair returned crestfallen and miserable, brooding over
the injury and insults he had received. There could have been no doubt
that a formal complaint made to the captain would have brought down a
severe reprimand on the head of the marine officer, but the idea of
making a complaint never crossed the imagination of the midshipman.
Paddy, however, told his story to his companions, and even Murray agreed
that Mr Spry had merited punishment. They eagerly discussed the
subject--all the midshipmen had been insulted in the person of Adair,
and it was not long before a bright idea was elicited from among them.
On board the ship, belonging to the men, was a large monkey, whom they
called Quirk, a very tame and sagacious animal, who had a peculiar
aptitude for learning any trick which any person had perseverance enough
to teach him. "He'd know more nor any of the ship's boys if it weren't
for his tail," the men used to remark after the performance of one of
his clever tricks.

"Capital!" exclaimed Jack, forgetting all about his seasickness and
clapping his hands with delight when the idea which had been brought
forth w