by Bill.

"'I 'ope I didn't hurt you, mate,' he ses, kindly.

"'Hurt me?' roars Bill. 'You! You 'urt me? You, you little bag o' bones.
Wait till I get you ashore by yourself for five minits, Ned Davis, and
then you'll know what 'urting means.'

"'I don't understand you, Bill,' ses Ned; 'you're a mystery, that's what
you are; but I tell you plain when you go ashore you don't have me for a
companion.'

"It was a mystery to all of us, and it got worse and worse as time went
on. Bill didn't dare to call 'is soul 'is own, although Joe only hit
'im once the whole time, and then not very hard, and he excused 'is
cowardice by telling us of a man Joe 'ad killed in a fight down in one
o' them West-end clubs.

"Wot with Joe's Sunday-school ways and Bill backing 'em up, we was all
pretty glad by the time we got to Melbourne. It was like getting out o'
pris'n to get away from Joe for a little while. All but Bill, that is,
and Joe took 'im to hear a dissolving views on John Bunyan. Bill said
'e'd be delighted to go, but the language he used about 'im on the quiet
when he came back showed what 'e thought of it. I don't know who John
Bunyan is, or wot he's done, but the things Bill said about 'im I
wouldn't soil my tongue by repeating.

"Arter we'd been there two or three days we began to feel a'most sorry,
for Bill. Night arter night, when we was ashore, Joe would take 'im off
and look arter 'im, and at last, partly for 'is sake, but more to see
the fun, Tom Baker managed to think o' something to put things straight.

"'You stay aboard to-night, Bill,' he ses one morning, 'and you'll see
something that 'll startle you.'

"'Worse than you?' ses Bill, whose temper was getting worse and worse.

"'There'll be an end o' that bullying, Joe,' ses Tom, taking 'im by the
arm. 'We've arranged to give 'im a lesson as'll lay 'im up for a time.'

"'Oh,' ses Bill, looking 'ard at a boat wot was passing.

"'We've got Dodgy Pete coming to see us tonight,' ses Tom, in a whisper;
'there'll only be the second officer aboard, and he'll likely be asleep.
Dodgy's one o' the best light-weights in Australia, and if 'e don't fix
up Mister Joe, it'll be a pity.'

"'You're a fair treat, Tom,' ses Bill, turning round; 'that's what you
are. A fair treat.'

"'I thought you'd be pleased, Bill,' ses Tom.

"Pleased ain't no name for it, Tom,' answers Bill. 'You've took a load
off my mind.'

"The fo'c's'le was pretty full that evening, everybody givi