whispers.

"He must ha' got it tied round 'is waist next to 'is skin, like Thomas
'ad," I says.

We stood there in the dark whispering, and then Bill couldn't stand it
any longer, and 'e went over on tiptoe to the bunk ag'in. He was
tremblin' with excitement and I wasn't much better, when all of a sudden
the cook sat up in 'is bunk with a dreadful laughing scream and called
out that somebody was ticklin' 'im.

I got into my bunk and Bill got into 'is, and we lay there listening
while the cook, who was a terrible ticklish man, leaned out of 'is bunk
and said wot 'e'd do if it 'appened ag'in.

"Go to sleep," says Walter Jones; "you're dreamin'. Who d'you think
would want to tickle you?"

"I tell you," says the cook, "somebody come over and tickled me with a
'and the size of a leg o' mutton. I feel creepy all over."

Bill gave it up for that night, but the next day 'e pretended to think
Jimmy was gettin' fat an' 'e caught 'old of 'im and prodded 'im all over.
He thought 'e felt something round 'is waist, but 'e couldn't be sure,
and Jimmy made such a noise that the other chaps interfered and told Bill
to leave 'im alone. For a whole week we tried to find that money, and
couldn't, and Bill said it was a suspicious thing that Jimmy kept aft a
good deal more than 'e used to, and 'e got an idea that the boy might ha'
'idden it somewhere there. At the end of that time, 'owever, owing to
our being short-'anded, Jimmy was sent for'ard to work as ordinary