ON CERTAIN HUMANITIES 297 



have seen him kick a green horn with his big sea- 

 boots until he nearly put him out of commission. 

 It was such actions as his that were common 

 enough in those days that sickened me of going 

 to sea. I saw him murder a man once. That's 

 straight! It happened in this way. It was in 

 the night watch and I was sittin' on the upper 

 deck abaft the mainmast with a piece of tarpau- 

 lin over me to keep off the wet, for it was a thick 

 night. We was rollin' along in good style, but 

 the wind was refreshin', and the mate he called 

 the men to go aloft forward and take in sail. 

 There was an old feller aboard nigh on to seventy 

 year who they had shanghaied. He was pretty 

 feeble and the mate was always lookin' black 

 daggers at him. He was on the watch that night, 

 but the mate sung out to him to stay behind, be- 

 cause, he said to the men, the old hulk would 

 probably fall off the riggin' and get killed. 



''As soon as the men was gone he called the oKl 

 tar, and, after lettin' out a half dozen broadsides 

 of oaths and sweet names, he come to the root 

 of the matter — I was all ears under the tarfxuilin 

 — unbeknownst to either of them — and he sa^ s. 



