bargain, in ten minutes.'

"'Hold your tongue, sir,' ses the skipper; 'what you say is unfeeling,
besides being an insult to me. Do you think I studied medicine all these
years without knowing when a man's ill?'

"The fust mate growled something and went on deck, and the skipper
started examining of 'em again. He said they was wonderfully patient
lying in bed so long, an' he had 'em wrapped up in bedclo'es and carried
on deck, so as the pure air could have a go at 'em. WE had to do the
carrying, an' there they sat, breathing the pure air, and looking at the
fust mate out of the corners of their eyes. If they wanted anything from
below one of us had to go an' fetch it, an' by the time they was taken
down to bed again, we all resolved to be took ill too.

"Only two of 'em did it though, for Harry, who was a powerful, ugly-
tempered chap, swore he'd do all sorts o' dreadful things to us if we
didn't keep well and hearty, an' all 'cept these two did. One of 'em,
Mike Rafferty, laid up with a swelling on his ribs, which I knew myself
he 'ad 'ad for fifteen years, and the other chap had paralysis. I never
saw a man so reely happy as the skipper was. He was up an down with his
medicines and his instruments all day long, and used to make notes of
the cases in a big pocket-book, and read 'em to the second mate at
mealtimes.

"The fo'c'sle had been turned into hospital about a week, an' I was on
deck doing some odd job or the other, when the cook comes up to me
pulling a face as long as a fiddle.

"'Nother invalid,' ses he; 'fust mate's gone stark, staring mad!'