"There was the devil's own row in the fo'c'sle the other evening. The first mate went to look into it and found Liosha standing enraptured at the hatch looking down upon a free fight. There were knives about. The mate, being a blasphemous and pugilistic dog, soon restored order. Then he came up to Liosha--you and Barbara should have seen her--it was sultry, not a breath of air--and she just had on a thin bodice open at her throat and the sleeves rolled up and a short ragged skirt and was bareheaded. "'Why the Hades didn't you stop 'em, missus?' "For some reason or the other, the whole ship's company, except the skipper and myself, call her 'missus.' She gazed on him like an ox-eyed Juno; you know her way. "'Why should I interfere with their enjoyment?' "'Enjoyment--!' he gasped. 'Oh, my Gawd!' He flung out his arms and came over to me. I was smoking against the taffrail. 'There they was trying to cut one another's throats, and she calls it enjoyment.' "He went off spluttering. I watched Liosha. A Dutchman--what you would call a Swede--a hulking beggar, came up from the fo'c'sle very much the worse for wear. Liosha says: "'Mr. Andrews was very angry, Petersen.' "He grinned. 'He was, missus.' "'What was it all about?' "He explained in his sea-English, which is not the English of that mildewed Boarding House in South Kensington. Bill Figgins had called him a ----, he had retaliated, and the others had taken a hand, too." It is I who suppress the actual words reported by Jaffery. But, believe me, they were enough to annoy anybody. "She shouted down the stairway. 'Here you, Bill Figgins, come on deck for a minute.' "A lean, wiry, black-looking man-spawn of the Pool of London, emerged. "'What's the matter?' "Why did you call Petersen a ----?' she asked pleasantly and word-perfect. "'Cos he is one.' "'He isn't,' said Liosha. 'He's a very nice man. And so are you. And you both fought fine; I was looking on, and I was mad not to see the end of it. But Mr. Andrews doesn't like fighting. So see here, if you two don't shake hands, right now, and make friends and promise not to fight again, I'll not speak a word to either of you for the rest of the voyage.'