"I wanted to make friends with him," stammered the other.
"It"s poisoned, you rascal, and you know it," said the skipper vehemently.
"Wish I may die, sir," began Joe.
"That"ll do," said the skipper harshly. "You"ve tried to poison my dog."
"I ain"t," said Joe firmly.
"You ain"t been trying to kill "im with a poisoned bloater?" demanded the skipper.
"Certainly not, sir," said Joe. "I wouldn"t do such a thing. I couldn"t if I tried."
"Very good then," said the skipper; "if it"s all right you eat it, and I"ll beg your pardon."
"I ain"t goin" to eat after a dog," said Joe, shuffling.
"The dog"s as clean as you are," said the skipper. "I"d sooner eat after him than you."
"Well, you eat it then, sir," said Bates desperately. "If it"s poisoned you"ll die, and I"ll be "ung for it. I can"t say no fairer than that, can I?"
There was a slight murmur from the men, who stood by watching the skipper with an air of unholy expectancy.
"Well, the boy shall eat it then," said the skipper. "Eat that bloater, boy, and I"ll give you sixpence."
The boy came forward slowly, and looking from the men to the skipper, and from the skipper back to the men, began to whimper.
"If you think it"s poisoned," interrupted the mate, "you oughtn"t to make the boy eat it. I don"t like boys, but you must draw the line somewhere."
"It"s poisoned," said the skipper, shaking it at Bates, "and they know it. Well, I"ll keep it till we get to port, and then I"ll have it a.n.a.lysed. And it"ll be a sorry day for you, Bates, when I hear it"s poisoned. A month"s hard labour is what you"ll get."
He turned away and went below with as much dignity as could be expected of a man carrying a mangled herring, and placing it on a clean plate, solemnly locked it up in his state-room.
For two days the crew heard no more about it, though the skipper"s eyes gleamed dangerously each time that they fell upon the shrinking Bates.
The weather was almost tropical, with not an air stirring, and the Arethusa, bearing its dread secret still locked in its state-room, rose and fell upon a sea of gla.s.sy smoothness without making any progress worth recording.
"I wish you"d keep that thing in your berth, George," said the skipper, as they sat at tea the second evening; "it puts me in a pa.s.sion every time I look at it."
"I couldn"t think of it, cap"n," replied the mate firmly; "it makes me angry enough as it is. Every time I think of "em trying to poison that poor dumb creature I sort o" choke. I try to forget it."
The skipper, eyeing him furtively, helped himself to another cup of tea.
"You haven"t got a tin box with a lid to it, I s"pose?" he remarked somewhat shamefacedly.
The mate shook his head. "I looked for one this morning," he said.
"There ain"t so much as a bottle aboard we could shove it into, and it wants shoving into something-bad, it does."
"I don"t like to be beat," said the skipper, shaking his head. "All them grinning monkeys for"ard "ud think it a rare good joke. I"d throw it overboard if it wasn"t for that. We can"t keep it this weather."
"Well, look "ere; "ere"s a way out of it," said the mate. "Call Joe down, and make him keep it in the foc"sle and take care of it. That"ll punish "em all too."
"Why, you idiot, he"d lose it!" rapped out the other impatiently.
"O" course he would," said the mate; "but that"s the most digernified way out of it for you. You can call "im all sorts o" things, and abuse "im for the rest of his life. They"ll prove themselves guilty by chucking it away, won"t they?"
It really seemed the only thing to be done. The skipper finished his tea in silence, and then going on deck called the crew aft and apprised them of his intentions, threatening them with all sorts of pains and penalties if the treasure about to be confided to their keeping should be lost The cook was sent below for it, and, at the skipper"s bidding, handed it to the grinning Joe.
"And mind," said the skipper as he turned away, "I leave it in your keepin", and if it"s missing I shall understand that you"ve made away with it, and I shall take it as a sign of guilt, and act according."
The end came sooner even than he expected. They were at breakfast next morning when Joe, looking somewhat pale, came down to the cabin, followed by Clark, bearing before him an empty plate.
"Well?" said the skipper fiercely.
"It"s about the "erring, sir," said Joe, twisting his cap between his hands.
"Well?" roared the skipper again.
"It"s gone, sir," said Joe, in bereaved accents.
"You mean you"ve thrown it away, you infernal rascal!" bellowed the skipper.
"No, sir," said Joe.
"Ah! I s"pose it walked up on deck and jumped overboard," said the mate.
"No, sir," said Joe softly. "The dog ate it, sir."
The skipper swung round in his seat and regarded him open-mouthed.
"The-dog-ate-it?" he repeated.
"Yes, sir; Clark saw "im do it-didn"t you, Clark?"
"I did," said Clark promptly. He had made his position doubly sure by throwing it overboard himself.
"It comes to the same thing, sir," said Joe sanctimoniously; "my innercence is proved just the same. You"ll find the dog won"t take no "urt through it, sir. You watch "im."
The skipper breathed hard, but made no reply.
"If you don"t believe me, sir, p"raps you"d like to see the plate where "e licked it?" said Joe. "Give me the plate, Sam."
He turned to take it, but in place of handing it to him that useful witness dropped it and made hurriedly for the companion-ladder, and by strenuous efforts reached the deck before Joe, although that veracious gentleman, a.s.sisted from below by strong and willing arms, made a good second.
TWO OF A TRADE