Instantly the light was doused, and the party
retreated hurriedly to the cockpit. A sound of snoring was heard
as the sentry stuck his head into the door. "All right, sir," he
replied in answer to the voice of the officer of the deck.
The next morning we heard that Nips was in the surgeon's hands,
with a bad wound in the fleshy part of his leg, and that the auger
had NOT struck claret.
CHAPTER V.
"Now, Pills, you'll have a chance to smell powder," said Briggs as
he entered the cockpit and buckled around his waist an enormous
cutlass. "We have just sighted a French ship."
We went on deck. Captain Boltrope grinned as we touched our hats.
He hated the purser. "Come, young gentlemen, if you're boring for
french claret, yonder's a good quality. Mind your con, sir," he
added, turning to the quartermaster, who was grinning.
The ship was already cleared for action. The men, in their
eagerness, had started the coffee from the tubs and filled them
with shot. Presently the Frenchman yawed, and a shot from a long
thirty-two came skipping over the water. It killed the
quartermaster and took off both of Lankey's legs. "Tell the purser
our account is squared," said the dying boy, with a feeble smile.
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