yton-Philipps, who was standing near, and knew the little sailor's
views, looked for an outbreak. But Kettle held himself in, and still
spoke to the man civilly.

"That's good English you talk," he said. "Do all your crowd understand
the language?"

"No," said the fellow, readily enough, "that man does not, nor does him,
nor him."

"Right--oh!" said Kettle. "Then, as those three man can't kick up a
bobbery at the other end, they've just got to stay here and help work
this vessel home. And as for the rest of you filthy, stinking,
scale-covered cousins of apes, over the side you go before you're put.
Thought you were going to steal my lawful salvage, did you, you
crawling, yellow-faced--ah!"

The hot-tempered Portuguese was not a man to stand this tirade (as
Kettle anticipated) unmoved. His fingers made a vengeful snatch toward
the knife in his belt, but Kettle was ready for this, and caught it
first and flung it overboard. Then with a clever heave he picked up the
man and sent him after the knife.

He tripped up one of the Portuguese who couldn't speak English, dragged
him to the cabin companion, and toppled him down the ladder.
Dayton-Philipps (surprised at himself for abetting such lawlessness)
captured a second in like fashion, and the English fireman and
coal-trimmer picked up the third and dropped him down an open hatchway
on to the grain in the hold beneath.

But there were six of the fishermen left upon the deck, and these did
not look upon the proceedings unmoved. They had been slow to act at
first, but when the initial surprise was over, they were blazing with
rage and eager to do murder. The Italian and the Sierra Leone nigger ran
out of their way on to the forecastle head, and they came on,
vainglorious in numbers, and armed with their deadly knives. But the two
English roughs, the English gentleman, and the little English sailor,
were all of them men well accustomed to take care of their own skins;
the belaying pins out of the pinrail seemed to come by instinct into
their hands, and not one of them got so much as a scratch.

It was all the affair of a minute. It does not do to let these little
impromptu scrimmages simmer over long. In fact, the whole affair was
decided in the first rush. The quartette of English went in, despising
the "Dagos," and quite intending to clear them off the ship. The
invaders were driven overboard by sheer weight of blows and prestige,
and the victors leaned on the bulwark