-lifting his hat--"for a playhouse-booth on Southsea
common? Belay all, and stand fast, every mother's son of ye, and let me
speak to the skipper for ye."

Then, facing the poop once more, he stepped forward out of the crowd,
and doffing his hat, while he made an elaborate sea-scrape with his
right foot and gave a tug at his forelock, he addressed the skipper
somewhat as follows,--

"I hope your honour'll kindly overlook this little bit of a scrimmage
that's just took place, and forgive our unperliteness, seeing as how a
many of us has never had a chance of larnin' how to behave ourselves in
delicate sitivations. Your honour doesn't need to be told--at least, we
hopes not--that we didn't mean nothing in any way unbecoming or
disrespectable to you or the rest of the hofficers--no, not by no manner
of means whatsomever. All we want to say is just this here: that all
hands on us, down to the powder-monkeys, begs most respectably to
wolunteer for this here boardin'-party; and we hopes as how you'll take
the whole kit of us, 'ceptin' of course the black-sheep as your honour
spoke of just now, and let them and the `jollies' look arter the old
barkie, who won't mind takin' care of herself for an hour or two--God
bless her!--while us, her precious hinfants, is havin' a little bit of a
lark with the Crapoos ashore there."

A loud murmur of approval greeted this effort on the part of the
boatswain's mate, and then everybody awaited in silence the reply.

A deep flush of gratification lighted up Captain Hood's features as he
said,--

"I thank you from my heart, men, for your--um--generous wesponse to my
call, and I am sincerely sowwy that I cannot take you--er--eh--at your
words. But the admiwal's instwuctions are impewative, and I have no
power to dwaw more than the specified number. As therefore you have
_all_ volunteered, the `Juno's' contingent shall be chosen by lot,
whereby all partiality or unfairness will be avoided, and I hope that
the awwangement will pwove satisfactowy."

The crew were accordingly arranged in a double rank, fore and aft the
deck, and lots drawn--each man choosing a folded slip of paper from a
bundle, fifty of which were marked, the remainder being blank.

Then came the question of selecting officers, a proper quota of which
were to go with the men. It came out at this stage of the proceedings
that our skipper had been chosen to command the naval brigade; Mr
Annesley therefore, much to his