A RIDE TO BABYLON. 363 



good captain seemed to think it a very easy matter ; 

 I had an evil foreboding that it would be very much 

 the contrary. A six years' intimacy with my old 

 favourite had afforded me various opportunities of 

 studying the quips and cranks of his odd nature. 

 He had an unreasonable, absurd, unwarrantable 

 dislike to shipboard. The idea of his walking on 

 board ! I felt instinctively that there was as much 

 chance of his walking straight off the earth to the 

 moon. Unless he was to be conjured on board, 

 I felt pretty certain that slings, and slings only, 

 were the sole earthly means that would resist with 

 success that refractory nature of his, and these the 

 slender spars of the small steamer did not admit of. 

 But as it was simply a question to me of losing or 

 keeping a valuable horse losing if he was left 

 behind, and keeping if he could be by any means 

 inveigled on board the steamer I thought the 

 captain's plan worth a trial, and wisely kept my 

 own counsel ; for I was fully sensible of the ex- 

 treme horror in which every sailor holds anything 

 likely to give rise to detention when once he is 

 under weigh. As I returned to my tent that was 

 now three or four dirty-looking bundles strewed 

 about I pictured to myself, in defiance of all 

 gratitude, the man with whom I had just been in 

 such amiable converse as he would appear an hour 

 or 1 so hence. I knew that cheerful, obliging sailor, 

 a favourite with everybody, whom I had just left 



