call 'em ropes' ends, or cat-o'-nine-tails, or a belaying-pin. I've
known a limber rope's end, applied in the right place, do more good
to a boy than lots of medicine."

"Oh, but, captain, I couldn't have Bob beaten!"

"No, of course not, I was only joking. Not that it doesn't do a boy
good, though, once in a while, to have a good tanning. But I don't
recommend it for a steady diet."

"Bob's father has never whipped him since he was a small lad," went
on Mrs. Henderson. "Not that he doesn't seem to deserve it
sometimes even now, but Mr. Henderson believes in talking to him and
showing him how wrong he has acted."

"Yes, talk is good," admitted the mariner, "but if there's a rope's
end handy, it sometimes makes the talk a little more effective--just
a little bit."

"I suppose life aboard a sailing ship is very hard now-a-days,"
ventured Mrs. Henderson. Somehow she dwelt on the plan of having
the captain take Bob, though she felt she could not consent to it.

"No harder than it ever was. In fact, it's easier than when I was a
boy and ran away to sea. Those were hard days, and I've never
forgot 'em. That's why I try to treat all my sailors and cabin boys
as if they were human beings. Now you'd better think my plan over.
It would do Bob a world of good to go to sea. You'd hardly know him
when he got back."