_Jack._ “You see, Bill and I started up the river to freshen our joints, which had grown stiff and creaky with salt junk and hard tack. Well, after we had loosened our barnacles with the treacle of a Spanish skipper we took French leave and laid low until you hove in sight. Now you see after we entered with you it took us some time to get the run of the fair weather you made for all hands. Expecting to be taken aback with a sharp squall we kept our eyes well to the wind’ard, for you see on this river with cannibals on the lookout and no vessels there was no chance of skulking on shore for a down-river craft. To be sure, we soon found that we were out and wide in our calculations, so when brought to our bearings we began to take kindly to the lay of our watches in scrubbing and wooding, as there was no hand-spike snubbing or squeak of hard words. Then comes this gold lay, and when you says, ‘Boys, here’s your chance, pitch in, every man for himself without envy,’ we were taken aback with a fair wind. When we came on board to empty our hats we began to take our bearings, and says Bill to me, after an observation, ‘We’ve shipped and signed the papers, and this gold is way freight, so you see it’s not right to tap the cargo on full rations.’
“There was the p’int clear, and we said ‘Never a bit!’ So you see after the flurry was over we put the question to the others and they took the bearings at once; so you see that we’ve concluded that we’re only ‘titled to prize money at most, just as you valer the danger we run with the savages.”
This construction, regulated by the sea usage of man-of-war’s men, who had grown gray and poverty stricken in “service,” was so generous in the sincerity of honest proposition for revoking the captain’s liberality that he asked time for consideration. In submission the procession, headed by the two honest tars, retreated to the “for’ard” hatch, on which they placed their well-filled hats to await the captain’s decision. A consultation with the members of the corps was immediately held to decide upon a method to insure an equitable division of the gold suited to the emergency. After a variety of propositions had been made and rejected, the padre advanced one that proved the most acceptable. His suggestion was that the passengers and officers should abide contented with their own gatherings, as they were proportionately less than those of the crew; but that an equal division of theirs should be made to avoid envy. When this equitable measure was made known to the men, Jack, with the advice of Bill, objected that the most important persons had been left out, which in their opinion were the vessel and captain. As this amended consideration met with general approval, it was adopted. Then Antonio, the steward, said, that the men for’ard, from being accustomed to work, had gathered so much more in proportion than those aft, he would propose to “lump” the whole for an equal division, after one fifth had been deducted for the vessel’s and captain’s share. This was acted upon, notwithstanding the captain’s protest that all should share alike. The division accomplished, there was a hearty shaking of hands that opened a sympathetic current of reciprocation void of selfish envy, which as an omen heralded a happy result for their adventurous voyage. After the parties to this happy arbitration had resumed their usual avocations, Jack and Bill—to whom had been assigned the duty of “freshening up” the trimmings of capstan, binnacle, and other extras aft, usually attended to in their watch below, to save time—entered upon their duty during the siesta hour of the day. While engaged they ruminated in silence until the deck was cleared of chance listeners, then the rapid change of tobacco quids from side to side of their mouths, and an unusual flow of the green ooze from the corners gave indication of thought’s supremacy. At length when they “supposed” the coast was clear, Jack gave an expressive tug at his waistband, then after blowing his nose with a clarion note, he sputtered, “Blast my buttons, Bill, if this fresh-water turtle of a captain hain’t sounded and found a salt-water leak in the water run of my eyes!” Bill without answering, except with a suppressed sniffle, found it necessary to expectorate and blow his nose over the bulwark nettings. A prolonged effort having relieved his emotions he shuffled back, and shyly exclaimed, with a whispering sob, “Don’t, Jack.”