THE FATTED CALF. 23 



studded the ceiling with all the blazing stars in 

 creation. 



" The old man kicked me up the cabin stairway 

 and gave me half an hour to think. Meanwhile, 

 he was thinking, I knew that. He was inventing 

 some wonderful new kind of punishment, and he 

 was going to try it on me as soon as he'd got it 

 all invented. 



" At last he came on deck. ' Boy/ he shouted, 

 ' can you say the Ten Commandments ? ' 



" * No, sir,' I answered. ' I used to when I was 

 in Sunday school, but I can't now, sir.' 



" ' Then you just tumble down the cabin stairs 

 and bring the Bible on deck.' 



" I did as the old man said, and then he gave 

 me the funniest order you ever heard on a ship. 

 ' Go out on the end o' that spanker-boom, take 

 that Bible along with you, and don't you dare to 

 come back till you can say the Ten Command- 

 ments from beginning to end without a single 

 mistake, or I'll make a little spread eaglet of you ! 

 That's what I'll do ! ' 



" What ? Don't know what the spanker-boom 

 is ? Why, it's the big round spar that keeps the 

 spanker down, and the spanker, you know, is the 

 monstrous hind sail of the ship. What a place to 

 learn the Ten Commandments by heart! That 



