the Solomons, and in that time
we gained some knowledge of Dandy's character. (We named him after
the black trooper.) He was fawningly, sneakingly, offensively
affectionate--when he was hungry, which was nearly always; as ferocious
and as spiteful as a tiger cat when his stomach was full; then, with a
snarling yelp, he would put his tail beneath his legs and trot for'ard,
turning his head and showing his teeth. Crawling under the barrel of the
windlass he would lie there and go to sleep, only opening his eyes now
and then to roll them about vindictively when any one passed by. Then
when he was hungry again, he would crawl out and slouch aft with a
"please-do-be-kind-to-a-poor-dog" expression on his treacherous face.
Twice when we were sailing close to the land he jumped overboard, and
made for the shore, though he couldn't swim very well and only went
round and round in circles. On each occasion a native sailor jumped over
after him and brought him back, and each time he bit his rescuer.

"Never mind him, sir," said the mate to Ross one day, when the angry
skipper fired three shots at Dandy for killing the ship's cat--missed
him and nearly killed the steward, who had put his head out of the
galley door to see the fun--"there's money in that dog. I wouldn't mind
bettin' half-a-sov that Charley Nyberg, the trader on Santa Anna, will
give five pounds for him. He'll go for every nigger he's sooled on to.
You mark my words."

In the fore-hold we had a hundred tons of coal destined for one of H.M.
cruisers then surveying in the Solomon Group. We put Dandy down there to
catch rats, and gave him nothing but water. Here he showed his blood. We
could hear the scraping about of coal, and the screams of the captured
rodents, as Dandy tore round the hold after them. In three days
there were no more rats left, and Dandy began to utter his weird,
blood-curdling howls--he wanted to come on deck. We lashed him down
under the force pump, and gave him a thorough wash-down. He shook
himself, showed his teeth at us and tore off to the galley in search of
food. The cook gave him a large tinful of rancid fat, which was at once
devoured, then he fled to his retreat under the windlass, and began to
growl and moan. By-and-by we made Santa Anna.

Charley Nyberg, after he had tried the dog by setting him on to two
Solomon Island "bucks" who were loafing around his house, and seen how
the beast could bite, said he would give us thirteen dollars a