ast night. You'd better search the saloon for your blarsted
oranges, an' don't come round tacklin' the wrong men."

It was not necessary to search our quarters, for the "offside" steward
was sweeping orange peel out of the steerage for three days thereafter.

And that night, just as we were about to fall asleep, a round,
good-humoured face loomed over the edge of the shelf above and a small,
twinkling, grey eye winked at us. Then a hand came over, gave a jerk,
and something fell on our nose. It was an orange. We sent a "thank you"
up through the boards and commenced hurriedly and furtively to stow
away the orange. But the comedian had an axe to grind--most people
have--wanted to drop his peel alongside our berth; and it made us uneasy
because we did not want circumstantial evidence lying round us if the
captain chanced to come down to inquire. The next man to us had a barney
with the man above him about the same thing. Then the peel was scattered
round pretty fairly, or thrown into an empty bunk, and no man dared
growl lest he should come to be regarded as a blackleg--a would-be
informer.

The men opposite the door kept a look out; and two Australian jokers
sat in the top end berth with their legs hanging over and swinging
contentedly, and the porthole open ready for a swift and easy disposal
of circumstantial evidence on the first alarm. They were eating a
pineapple which they had sliced and extracted in sections from a crate
up on deck. They looked so chummy, and so school-boyishly happy and
contented, that they reminded us of the days long ago, when we were so
high.

The chaps had talk about those oranges on deck next day. The commercial
traveller said we had a right to the oranges, because the company didn't
give us enough to eat. He said that we were already suffering from
insufficient proper nourishment, and he'd tell the doctor so if the
doctor came on board at Auckland. Anyway, it was no sin to rob a
company.

"But then," said our comedian, "those oranges, perhaps, were sent over
by a poor, struggling orange grower, with a wife and family to keep,
and he'll have to bear the loss, and a few bob might make a lot of
difference to him. It ain't right to rob a poor man."

This made us feel doubtful and mean, and one or two got uncomfortable
and shifted round uneasily. But presently the traveller came to the
rescue. He said that no doubt the oranges belonged to a middleman, and
the middleman was the curse of th