l as bad as them that was, when
someone scrambles down th' companionway.

"It was McClosky, th' second mate, whose watch on deck it was. He'd
heard th' row--an' no wonder--an' thinkin', I dessay, that murder or
mutiny was goin' on, came forward to investigate. He was a red-headed,
hot-tempered Irishman, an' c'd handle a crew in rare style.

"'What th' dickens----' he commences, when one o' th' men on th' floor,
seein' th' gun in his hand, an' not recognizin' him, shouted, 'They're
comin' t' finish us,' an' grabs th' mate round th' legs wi' th' grip of
a boa constrictor.

"Th' mate, sure it was mutiny, lets off his gun permiscuous. A clip on
the jaw made th' sailor let go, an' th' mate, seein' Towers groanin' on
th' floor quite close, kicks him hard an' asks what's th' matter.

"'We're blown up, sir,' Towers whimpers.

"'Blown up, ye fool, what d' ye mean? Who's blowin' ye up?' demands
McClosky.

"'Dunno, sir,' Harry stammered; an' just then there was two more
explosions, an' a couple more o' the seamen bundled headlong out er
their berths, utterin' doleful shrieks that'd make yer heart stand
still.

"Th' mate was kickin', swearin', and shoutin' like a demon, th' men all
th' while keepin' up their row as if they was bein' paid a dollar a
minute to yell. Then th' skipper put in an appearance. His face was
white as chalk, but his hands, in each o' which was a big Colt, were
steady as rocks, an' he come down th' ladder like a man who reckons he's
in for a good fight.

"'What's all this mean, Mr. McClosky?' he asks, pausin' when he sees
there's no fightin' goin' on.

"Whatever th' mate said was drowned by th' row th' sailors was makin',
though he bellowed like a frisky bull. Th' old man didn't seem a bit
frightened; droppin' one o' th' Colts inter his pocket, he roars,
'Silence'; and steps over to th' berth where Joe Harper, th' bo'sun, was
sittin' upright, stiff as a poker, an' his eyes fairly startin' out er
his head wi' terror.

"'Now, then, Harper,' he says, an' judgin' by his face th' skipper was
'bout as mad as a bear with a sore head. 'What th' blazes does it mean?
Have yeh all gone mad?'

"But th' bo'sun, he was too scared to do more than gape at th' skipper
like a codfish three days out er water, an th' old man gits a bit
madder.

"'Answer, yeh damn rascal,' he shouted; an' he grabs Harper by th'
shoulder an' shakes him until his teeth fairly rattled. But th' bo'sun
couldn't say a word.

"'If this