"Will you?" I retorted; and, finding expostulation of no avail, I tried retaliation, commencing now to hit out with my fists in return. "Two can play at that game, old fellow; and as you force me to do it, take that and that!" My action followed suit to my words, as I gave him a smart "one, two" with my left, which knocked him backwards against Mr Stormcock just as the latter was coming out of the gunroom. "Hullo, what is this?" cried the master's mate, as Ned Anstruther, cannoned off his stomach, sending him flying across the deck from the ship lurching. "Fighting again? By jingo, I never saw such a pack of young gamecocks in my life. There was, cheeky little Tom Mills wanting to peg into that swab Andrews last night, and now here are you two at it hammer and tongs. Why, I thought you were chums and both of you in the same watch, the very closest of friends." "Of course we are," said I, laughing at the comicality of the situation, which struck me all of a moment. "Anstruther and I are very good friends. I'm sure I don't want to do him any harm." "So I should think," replied Mr Stormcock, drily. "It looks uncommonly like it, judging by the way you are slogging each other about! But come now, I won't have any more of this. Shake hands and make it up at once, do you hear, or I'll report you to the commander." "Why," exclaimed my antagonist, rubbing his eye ruefully, "Commander Nesbitt is the cause of it all!" "Indeed!" said Mr Stormcock, with a whistle of surprise at this extraordinary assertion. "How do you make that out?" "Because he sent Jack Vernon in the first cutter in my place." "Oh, you ass! It was for that, then, that you were fighting this poor chap here, who I'm sure you ought to be grateful to for taking a very nasty job off your hands. See, he's not only wet to the skin, but narrowly escaped going to the bottom, as you know; and now, in return for this kindness, you try to wop him, and end in getting wopped instead yourself. Anstruther, you're an ass, and more than that, you're an ungrateful ass; and I've half a mind to thrash you myself for your conduct to Vernon!" "I never thought of it in that light," said Ned, holding out his fist to me in a different fashion to that in which I had presented mine to him shortly before. "Let us be friends again, old chap. I'm very sorry I struck you, Jack; but I was so jealous of your going off in the cutter and angry at being left behind that I didn't think of what I was doing." "Well, I'm sorry I hit you, too, my dear Ned," said I, shaking hands in a cordial grip. "I hope I didn't hurt you much." "You've only given me a black eye, which will make me go on the sick list," he replied with a grin. "I can't very well appear on the quarter-deck with the `Blue Peter' hoisted; for, the cap'en would notice it in a minute and ask me how I came by it."