gular fight my way through every watch. The men got to
hate me, so's I would hear them grit their teeth when I came up. At last
one day I saw a big hulking beast of a Dutchman booting the ship's boy.
I made one shoot of it off the house and laid that Dutchman out. Up he
came, and I laid him out again. 'Now,' I said, 'if there's a kick left
in you, just mention it, and I'll stamp your ribs in like a
packing-case.' He thought better of it, and never let on; lay there as
mild as a deacon at a funeral, and they took him below to reflect on his
native Dutchland. One night we got caught in rather a dirty thing about
25 south. I guess we were all asleep, for the first thing I knew there
was the fore-royal gone. I ran forward, bawling blue hell; and just as I
came by the foremast something struck me right through the fore-arm and
stuck there. I put my other hand up, and, by George, it was the grain;
the beasts had speared me like a porpoise. 'Cap'n!' I cried. 'What's
wrong?' says he. 'They've grained me,' says I. 'Grained you?' says he.
'Well, I've been looking for that.' 'And by God,' I cried, 'I want to
have some of these beasts murdered for it!' 'Now, Mr. Nares,' says he,
'you better go below. If I had been one of the men, you'd have got more
than this. And I want no more of your language on deck. You've cost me
my fore-royal already,' says he; 'and if you carry on, you'll have the
three sticks out of her.' That was old man Green's idea of supporting
officers. But you wait a bit; the cream's coming. We made Melbourne
right enough, and the old man said: 'Mr. Nares, you and me don't draw
together. You're a first-rate seaman, no mistake of that; but you're the
most disagreeable man I ever sailed with, and your language and your
conduct to the crew I cannot stomach. I guess we'll separate.' I didn't
care about the berth, you may be sure; but I felt kind of mean, and if
he made one kind of stink I thought I could make another. So I said I
would go ashore and see how things stood; went, found I was all right,
and came aboard again on the top rail. 'Are you getting your traps
together, Mr. Nares?' says the old man. 'No,' says I, 'I don't know as
we'll separate much before 'Frisco--at least,' I said, 'it's a point for
your consideration. I'm very willing to say good-bye to the _Maria_, but
I don't know whether you'll care to start me out with three months'
wages.' He got his money-box right away. 'My son,' says he, 'I think it
cheap a