greein' as how 'twas hardly human, an' Eli such a good fellow,
too, let alone bein' a decent seaman. Whereby the notion came to me
that, as he'd come from Botusfieming--those bein' his last words--
back to Botusfleming he should go, an' on that we cooked up a plan.
Bill Adams being on duty in the sick-bay, there wasn' no difficulty
in sewin' up a dummy in Eli's place; an' the dummy, sir, nex' day we
dooly committed to the deep, Cap'n Crang hisself readin' the service.
The real question was, what to do with Eli? Whereby, the purser and
me bein' friends, I goes to him an' says, 'Look here,' I says, 'we'll
be paid off in ten days or so, an' there's a trifle o' prize-money,
too. 'What price'll you sell us a cask o' the ship's rum--say a
quarter-puncheon for choice?' 'What for?' says he. 'For shore-going
purposes,' says I. 'Bill Adams an' me got a use for it.' 'Well,'
says the purser--a decent chap, an' by name Wilkins--'I'm an honest
man,' says he, 'an' to oblige a friend you shall have it at
store-valuation rate. An' what's more,' said he, 'I got the wind o'
your little game, an'll do what I can to help it along; for I al'ays
liked the deceased, an' in my opinion Captain Crang behaved most
unfeelin'. You tell Bill to bring the body to me, an' there'll be no
more trouble about it till I hand you over the cask at Plymouth.'
Well, sir, the man was as good as his word. We smuggled the cask
ashore last evenin', an' hid it in the woods this side o' Mount
Edgcumbe. This mornin' we re-shipped it as you see. First along we
intended no more than just to break the news to Eli's mother, an'
hand him over to her; but Bill reckoned that to hand him over, cask
an' all, would look careless; for (as he said) 'twasn' as if you
could _bury_ 'im in a cask. We allowed your Reverence would draw the
line at that, though we hadn' the pleasure o' knowin' you at the
time."

"Yes," agreed the Parson, as Mr. Jope paused, "I fear it could not be
done without scandal."

"That's just how Bill put it. 'Well then,' says I, thinkin' it over,
'why not do the handsome while we're about it? You an' me ain't the
sort of men,' I says, 'to spoil the ship for a ha'porth o' tar.'
'Certainly we ain't,' says Bill. 'An' we've done a lot for Eli,'
says I. 'We have,' says Bill. 'Well then,' says I, 'let's put a
coat o' paint on the whole business an' have him embalmed.' Bill was
enchanted."

"I--I beg your pardon," put in the barber, edging away