a-leak. She hed, sir; she was sinkin'; and Father run up the sign for the boats to come back. He turned round from runnin' up that signal, and you may call me a Jerseyman if the whale wasn't comin' for 'em agin, head on and all sails drawin'! Before Father could sing out, he struck 'em again, pooty nigh the same place, with a crash that sent every man-jack sprawlin' on his face. Wal, sir, 'twas boats then, I can tell ye, and no time to lose, neither! Th' other boats kem back and took 'em aboard, and in five minutes' time the 'Sabry' down with her nose and up with her heels, and down she went to Davy. Yes, sir! That's what you might call—" [Pg 15] At this moment the captain was interrupted by a knock at the door. He looked displeased, but said "Come aboard!" with as good a grace as he could; while the other captains turned cheerfully in the direction of the knocker, who might bring them something new in place of a many-times-told tale. A lank, ungainly man entered, and stood timidly on one foot, with his mouth open, holding the door in his hand. [Pg 16] [Pg 16] "Come aboard!" repeated Captain Zeno, impatiently. "Shet the door! Say yer say with yer mouth, and then shet that,—if ye can get it all to at onc't!" he added, in an undertone. The ungainly man looked slowly round the room, and stroked his lantern-jaws. "That man!" he said, deliberately, lingering on each word as if it were too precious to part with, "what be I to do with him?" The captains looked at one another. They had been speaking of this matter only a few minutes before, but they feigned unconsciousness. "What man do you mean, Sefami Bunt?" asked Captain Zeno, severely. "The prisoner who was caught stealin' hens from Palmyry Henshaw last week?" The man nodded. "Says he wants somethin' to do!" he said. "Says he'd like to do chores round for his victuals. Says he doesn't like my victuals." The captains chuckled. Sefami Bunt was a bachelor, and his housekeeping was not supposed to be of a high order. "Have ye got him in the jail?" asked Captain Asy Bean. The lantern-jawed man shifted uneasily to the other foot. "Wal, I hev!" he admitted. "But
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