d on his counter, he would count over the pistols and
cutlasses, like an old housekeeper telling over her silver forks and
spoons in a pantry before retiring for the night. And often, with a
sort of dark lantern in his hand, he might be seen poking into his
furthest vaults and cellars, and counting over his great coils of
ropes, as if they were all jolly puncheons of old Port and Madeira.

By reason of his incessant watchfulness and unaccountable bachelor
oddities, it was very difficult for him to retain in his employment the
various sailors who, from time to time, were billeted with him to do
the duty of subalterns. In particular, he was always desirous of having
at least one steady, faultless young man, of a literary taste, to keep
an eye to his account-books, and swab out the armoury every morning. It
was an odious business this, to be immured all day in such a bottomless
hole, among tarry old ropes and villainous guns and pistols. It was
with peculiar dread that I one day noticed the goggle-eyes of _Old
Revolver_, as they called him, fastened upon me with a fatal glance of
good-will and approbation. He had somehow heard of my being a very
learned person, who could both read and write with extraordinary
facility; and moreover that I was a rather reserved youth, who kept his
modest, unassuming merits in the background. But though, from the keen
sense of my situation as a man-of-war's-man all this about my keeping
myself in the _back_ ground was true enough, yet I had no idea of
hiding my diffident merits _under_ ground. I became alarmed at the old
Yeoman's goggling glances, lest he should drag me down into tarry
perdition in his hideous store-rooms. But this fate was providentially
averted, owing to mysterious causes which I never could fathom.

CHAPTER XXXI.

THE GUNNER UNDER HATCHES.

Among such a crowd of marked characters as were to be met with on board
our frigate, many of whom moved in mysterious circles beneath the
lowermost deck, and at long intervals flitted into sight like
apparitions, and disappeared again for whole weeks together, there were
some who inordinately excited my curiosity, and whose names, callings,
and precise abodes I industriously sought out, in order to learn
something satisfactory concerning them.

While engaged in these inquiries, often fruitless, or but partially
gratified, I could not but regret that there was no public printed
Directory for the Neversink, such as they have