in a knowing manner.

"Come, come, that won't do; you have none of Peter Wilkins's wings, and
couldn't come on the aerial dodge; it won't do; how did you get here?"

He gave me an awful wink, and made a sort of involuntary movement, which
jumped him up a few inches, and he bumped down again on the water-cask.

"That's as much as to say," thought I, "that he's sat himself on it."

"I'll go and inform the captain," said I, "of this affair; he'll hardly
believe me when I tell him, I am sure."

So saying, I left the deck and went to the cabin, where the captain was
at breakfast, and related to him what I had seen respecting the
stranger. The captain looked at me with an air of disbelief, and said,--

"What?--do you mean to say there's a man on board we haven't seen
before?"

"Yes, I do, captain. I never saw him afore, and he's sitting beating his
heels on the water-cask on deck."

"The devil!"

"He is, I assure you, sir; and he won't answer any questions."

"I'll see to that. I'll see if I can't make the lubber say something,
providing his tongue's not cut out. But how came he on board? Confound
it, he can't be the devil, and dropped from the moon."

"Don't know, captain," said I. "He is evil-looking enough, to my mind,
to be the father of evil, but it's ill bespeaking attentions from that
quarter at any time."

"Go on, lad; I'll come up after you."

I left the cabin, and I heard the captain coming after me. When I got on
deck, I saw he had not moved from the place where I left him. There was
a general commotion among the crew when they beard of the occurrence,
and all crowded round him, save the man at the wheel, who had to remain
at his post.

The captain now came forward, and the men fell a little back as he
approached. For a moment the captain stood silent, attentively examining
the stranger, who was excessively cool, and stood the scrutiny with the
same unconcern that he would had the captain been looking at his watch.

"Well, my man," said the captain, "how did you come here?"

"I'm part of the cargo," he said, with an indescribable leer.

"Part of the cargo be d----d!" said the captain, in sudden rage, for he
thought the stranger was coming his jokes too strong. "I know you are
not in the bills of lading."

"I'm contraband," replied the stranger; "and my uncle's the great chain
of Tartary."

The captain stared, as well he might, and did not speak for some
minutes; all the while the stranger ke