ent. We sat dourly together, as cheerless a quartette as
ever passed watch below. "Who wouldn't sell his farm and go to sea?"
asked Hansen, throwing off his damp jacket and boots and turning into
his bunk. "'A life on th' ocean wave,' eh? Egad! here's one who
wishes he had learned to drive a wagon!"

"And another," said Eccles. "That--or selling matches on th' highway!
... Come on, Kid! Get a move on ye and clear away! ... And mind ye
jamm the gear off in the locker. No more o' these tricks like ye did
in Channel--emptyin' half the bloomin' whack into th' scupper! You
jamm the gear off proper, or I'll lick ye!"

Young Munro, the 'peggy' of our watch, swallowed hard and set about his
bidding. His small features were pinched and drawn, and a ghastly
pallor showed that a second attack of sea-sickness was not far off. He
staggered over to the table and made a half-hearted attempt to put the
gear away,

"What's th' matter with ye?" said Eccles roughly. "Ye've been long
enough away from ye'r mammy t' be able t' keep ye'r feet. A fortnight
at sea, an' still comin' th' 'Gentle Annie'! You look sharp now, an'
don't----"

"Eccles!"

"Eh?"

"You let the Kid alone," said Hansen in a dreamy, half-sleepy tone.
"You let the Kid alone, or I'll twist your damn neck! Time enough for
you to start chinnin' when your elders are out o' sight. You shut up!"

"Oh, all right! Ye needn't get ratty. If you want t' pamper the
bloomin' Kid, it's none of my business, I s'pose.... All the same, you
took jolly good care I did _my_ 'peggy' last voyage! There was no
pamperin' that I remember!"

"Different!" said Hansen, still in the same sleepy tone. "Different!
You were always big enough an' ugly enough t' stand the racket. You
leave the Kid alone!"

Eccles turned away to his bunk and, seeking his pipe, struck match
after match in a vain attempt to light the damp tobacco. Now and then
the ship would falter in her swing--an ominous moment of silence and
steadiness--before the shock of a big sea sent her reeling again. The
crazy old half-deck rocked and groaned at the battery as the sea ran
aft, and a spurt of green water came from under the covering board.
Some of the sea-chests worked out of the lashings and rattled down to
leeward. Eccles and I triced them up, then stowed the supper gear in
the locker.

"A few more big 'uns like that," said I, "and this rotten old house 'll
go a-voyagin'! ... Wonder it has stoo