body with one
snap!

Another and another, and yet another, he served in like fashion,
ferreting in amongst the dunnage, and then coming out again with a fresh
victim each time; until, presently, finding their retreat `too warm' for
them, the rats sallied out in a crowd, skating over the deck and
climbing up the bulkheads to get out of the way of their relentless
enemy. The lot of us then coming to the aid of `Gyp,' the captain and
all catching up anything handy to have a shy at them, the family of
rodents that had been having such a gay old time below for so long
without interference, was soon exterminated; after which the dog and his
master, with the other officers, returned to the main-deck, while we
resumed our work at the pumps all the more heartily from the bit of play
we had had, old Jellybelly never once grumbling again till we had done.

We had a good rise out of the old quarter-master the very same evening,
though, which was rather ill-natured on our part.

He was on duty at the gangway, when one of the new chaps, who, like
Larrikins, had a great bent for practical skylarking, went to him with a
smug face, as innocent as you please.

"I say, sir," said he, in a tone of the deepest sympathy, "don't you
feel werry tired, sir, a-standing theer so long?"

"Aye, my son," replies old Jellybelly, thinking to himself, no doubt,
that the chap showed wonderful good feeling for a boy; he regarding them
all as a rule, not without reason probably, as imps of mischief. "It is
rather tiring sometimes. I feels it in my bones and all down my legs."

"Then, sir," rejoined the young demon, who only wanted to draw him out
and laugh at him, "why doesn't yer sit down on the rail, sir?"

Of course, this would have been almost a penal offence for the quarter-
master to have done, he being on duty at an appointed station; and the
remark he made as his tormentor made off with a laugh, which was joined
in by all the adjacent boys, was a caution.

Mick, not long after this, had Mr Brown, the ship's corporal, nicely
too.

He crammed his bag and a lot of other things into his blanket, which he
rolled up so as to represent a sort of lay figure, stowing this into his
hammock at turning-in time, just before the `out lights' sounded.

Keeping as grave as a judge, Mick then went up to the corporal.

"If y' playse, sor," said he, "some gossoon or t'other, sor, has bin an'
gone an' got into me hammick, sor, bad cess to him!"

"Oh,