b and contradict people; sailor-men for
choice. He'd ha' no more thought o' hitting a pore 'armless bag than I
should ha' thought of hitting 'im.

"The strangest prize-fighter I ever come acrost was one wot shipped with
me on the _Cavendish_. He was the most eggstrordinary fighter I've ever
seen or 'eard of, and 'e got to be such a nuisance afore 'e'd done
with us that we could 'ardly call our souls our own. He shipped as an
ordinary seaman--a unfair thing to do, as 'e was anything but ordinary,
and 'ad no right to be there at all.

"We'd got one terror on board afore he come, and that was Bill Bone, one
o' the biggest and strongest men I've ever seen down a ship's fo'c's'le,
and that's saying a good deal. Built more like a bull than a man, 'e
was, and when he was in his tantrums the best thing to do was to get out
of 'is way or else get into your bunk and keep quiet. Oppersition used
to send 'im crazy a'most, an' if 'e said a red shirt was a blue one, you
'ad to keep quiet. It didn't do to agree with 'im and call it blue even,
cos if you did he'd call you a liar and punch you for telling lies.

"He was the only drawback to that ship. We 'ad a nice old man, good
mates, and good grub. You may know it was A1 when I tell you that most
of us 'ad been in 'er for several v'y'ges.

"But Bill was a drawback, and no mistake. In the main he was a 'earty,
good-tempered sort o' shipmate as you'd wish to see, only, as I said
afore, oppersition was a thing he could not and would not stand. It used
to fly to his 'ed direckly.

"The v'y'ge I'm speaking of--we used to trade between Australia and
London--Bill came aboard about an hour afore the ship sailed. The rest
of us was already aboard and down below, some of us stowing our things
away and the rest sitting down and telling each other lies about wot
we'd been doing. Bill came lurching down the ladder, and Tom Baker put
'is 'and to 'im to steady 'im as he got to the bottom.

"'Who are you putting your 'ands on?' ses Bill, glaring at 'im.

"'Only 'olding you up, Bill,' ses Tom, smiling.

"'Oh,' ses Bill.

"He put 'is back up agin a bunk and pulled his-self together.

"''Olding of me--up--was you?' he ses; 'whaffor, if I might be so bold
as to arsk?'

"'I thought your foot 'ad slipped, Bill, old man,' ses Tom; 'but I'm
sorry if it 'adn't.'

"Bill looks at 'im agin, 'ard.

"'Sorry if my foot didn't slip?' he ses.

"'You know wot I mean, Bill,' ses Tom, smiling a uneasy s