With this praiseworthy intention he waited till the middle watch of the night, when John was comfortably snoozing in his hammock, to which he had become somewhat accustomed. Dick suddenly awoke him. "John, roll out, the pirates are on us again." John jumped from his hammock, thoroughly awakened by the dreadful word. "O lud! Dick, where can I hide myself?" "Why, we must fight them off, John. You have now a chance to get another wound to show the girls in Lonnon. Come, be lively. "O! Dick, here's a box, let me get in here." "Nonsense, man! take this cutlas, and here's a pair of pistols; come, we shall be too late for them." "O! Dick, I can't fight." "Can't fight! What was that yarn you told me this morning, how you killed two pirates on their own deck, and jumped overboard followed by a shower of balls." "Dick, that was all a lie." "Ha! ha! ha!" "I never fought in my life; I always run when any body tried to lick me, ever since I was a little boy." "Well, I thought so, John. You can turn in again, and snooze till daylight." "What, aint there no pirates on board us?" "Not a one, ha! ha! ha! I only wanted to see how brave a fellow you were, so turn in." "Thunder and lightning! Dick," said John, picking up the cutlas and brandishing it heroically, "you don't think I 'm afraid of pirates do you?" "O! no, not a bit of it." "Of course I aint." "I don't think you are--I only know you are." "Well now, you see, Dick, taint our business to fight 'em if they was here; this ship belongs to the 'Mericans, and we haint got to fight for them, it's their own look out." "Turn in, John." "Thunder! if this 'ere was an English ship you'd a seen me going into 'em." "John, I say, don't you tell me any thing more about your fighting the pirates, 'cause if you do, I'll tell the whole crew how I frightened you." "Say nothing, Dick, and I wont lie to you any more." "Ha! ha! ha!" Dick left John to his repose, and returned to the deck much pleased with the success of his stratagem. "Confounded mean, that 'are, in Dick Halyard," thought John, as he tumbled into his hammock again. "Now I never would a served him so--there aint nothing like true friendship in this world--at any rate there aint none out to sea--but never mind, I can tell the story to the girls in Lonnon, if I ever get there, and there wont be nobody to make a fool of me then--pirates, crikey! who cares, I aint afraid of 'em." And John went to sleep, dreaming that he was sailing on a plank again, with any quantity of sharks following in his wake.