Nothin' to tell,' ses Bill, very surly. 'We knocked 'im about.'

"'And he knocked us about,' ses Bob, with a groan. 'I'm sore all over,
and as for my feet--'

"'Wot's the matter with them?' ses Joe.

"'Trod on,' ses Bob, very short. 'If my bare feet was trod on once they
was a dozen times. I've never 'ad such a doing in all my life. He fought
like a devil. I thought he'd ha' murdered Bill.'

"'I wish 'e 'ad,' ses Bill, with a groan; 'my face is bruised and cut
about cruel. I can't bear to touch it.'

"'Do you mean to say the two of you couldn't settle 'im?' ses Joe,
staring.

"'I mean to say we got a hiding,' ses Bill. 'We got close to him fust
start off and got our feet trod on. Arter that it was like fighting a
windmill, with sledge-hammers for sails.'

"He gave a groan and turned over in his bunk, and when we asked him some
more about it, he swore at us. They both seemed quite done up, and at
last they dropped off to sleep just as they was, without even stopping
to wash the black off or to undress themselves.

"I was awoke rather early in the morning by the sounds of somebody
talking to themselves, and a little splashing of water. It seemed to
go on a long while, and at last I leaned out of my bunk and see Bill
bending over a bucket and washing himself and using bad langwidge.

"'Wot's the matter, Bill?' ses Joe, yawning and sitting up in bed.

"'My skin's that tender, I can hardly touch it,' ses Bill, bending down
and rinsing 'is face. 'Is it all orf?'

"'Orf?' ses Joe; 'no, o' course it ain't. Why don't you use some soap?'

"'Soap,' answers Bill, mad-like; 'why, I've used more soap than I've
used for six months in the ordinary way.'

"That's no good,' ses Joe; 'give yourself a good wash.'

"Bill put down the soap then very careful, and went over to 'im and told
him all the dreadful things he'd do to him when he got strong agin, and
then Bob Pullin got out of his bunk an' 'ad a try on _his_ face. Him an'
Bill kept washing and then taking each other to the light and trying to
believe it was coming off until they got sick of it, and then Bill, 'e
up with his foot and capsized the bucket, and walked up and down the
fo'c's'le raving.

"'Well, the carpenter put it on,' ses a voice, 'make 'im take it orf.'

"You wouldn't believe the job we 'ad to wake that man up. He wasn't
fairly woke till he was hauled out of 'is bunk an' set down opposite
them two pore black fellers an' told to make 'em white again.