est part of it. That's the crumb of the
whole business."

"Oh, I see," said Fitz. "Then that's a fact?"

"To be sure, sir. He's larnt it from old experience. I dare say he's
seen lots go down through the croc turning them big jaws of his into a
bird-trap and shutting them up sudden, when of course there aren't no
more bird. But that's been going on for hundreds of thousands of years,
and the birds know better now, and wait till it's quite safe before they
begin."

"Begin what?" said Fitz sharply.

"Well, sir," said the carpenter, as he hauled away, "that's what I want
to tell you, only you keep on interrupting me so."

Fitz closed his teeth with a snap.

"Go on, Chips," he said. "I'll be mute as a fish."

"Well, sir, as I said afore, you young gents can believe it or you can
let it alone: that there little bird, or them little birds, for there's
thousands of them, just the same as there is crocodiles, and they are
all friendly together, I suppose because crocs is like birds in one
thing--they makes nests and lays eggs, and the birds, as I'm telling of
you, does this as reg'lar as clockwork. When the croc's had his dinner
and gone to sleep with his front-door wide open, the little chap comes
hopping and peeping along close round the edge, and then gets his own
living by picking the crocodile's teeth."

"Ha-ha!" laughed Fitz. "'Pon my word, Poole, I should like to put this
down."

"Oh, it don't want no putting down, sir; it's a fact; a cracker turns
mouldy and drops off."

"Well, won't this go bad?" cried Fitz, laughing.

"Not it, sir. You don't believe it, I see, but it's all natur'. It's
a-using up of the good food as the croc don't want, and which would all
be wasted, for he ain't a clean-feeding sort of beast. He takes his
food in chops and chunks, and swallows it indecent-like all in lumps. A
croc ain't like a cow as sits down with her eyes half shut and chews and
chews away, sentimental-like, turning herself into a dairy and making a
good supply of beautiful milk such as we poor sailors never hardly gets
a taste on in our tea. A croc is as bad as a shark, a nasty sort of
feeder, and if I was you young gents I'd have a study when I got ashore
again, and look in some of your big books, and you'd find what I says is
all there."

"Did you find what you've been telling us all there?" said Poole.

"Nay, my lad; I heard best part of it from my officer that I used to go
with. Restless sort of