intention. To this, amid appreciating chuckles from the crew, the
captain replied, that, so sneaks and stowaways always _said_; a taunt
which was too vulgar as repartee to annoy me, though I saw Alister's
thin hands clenching at his sides. I don't know if the captain did, but
he called out--"Here! you lanky lad there, show your hands."

"They're no idle set," said Alister, stretching them out. He lifted his
eyes as he said it, and I do not think he could have repressed the flash
in them to save his life. Every detail of the scene was of breathless
interest to me, and as I watched to see if the captain took offence, I
noticed that (though they were far less remarkable from being buried in
a fat and commonplace countenance) his eyes, like Alister's, were of
that bright, cold, sea-blue common among Scotchmen. He did not take
offence, and I believe I was right in thinking that the boy's wasted
hands struck him much as they had struck me.

"Don't speak unless I question you. How long will ye have been hanging
round the docks before ye'd the impudence to come aboard here?"

"I slept four nights in the docks, sir."

"And where did ye take your meals?"

A flush crept over Alister's bony face. "I'm no' a great eater, sir," he
said, with his eyes on the deck: and then suddenly lifting a glance at
me out of the corner of them, he added, "The last I had was just given
me by a freen'."

"That'll do. Put your hands down. Can you sew?"