"I want you to know that I am captain of this ship, and I'll do what I please," answered the captain, pale with rage. "I know you're cap'n; but I want you to know the owners put me aboard to be mate, and I've let you do my work long enough." All the men stood amazed at the mate's daring in thus confronting our ferocious captain, and looked for nothing short of his being murdered; but to our great surprise the captain cooled down, and in a mild, persuasive way said: "But, Mr. Morrison, just look at the philosophy of the thing," (a favorite phrase with him), "you see if that anchor--" "There's no philosophy about it," burst out the mate's sharp voice. "I don't want to have any talk with you. I'll only treat you with the contempt you deserve," and turning his back towards him, he drowned another mild reply by shouting: "Lower away the fish-tackle!" and giving continuous orders to the men. The captain, finding himself literally checkmated, walked aft, apparently calm, but with a tempest raging within. He sat down on the booby-hatch, and tried to devise some means of humiliating the mate. His schemes always reached their culminating point in his brick-wall theory, but when he thought of the expediency of applying it in this case, and letting the brick-wall come down on Mr. Morrison's head, he muttered: "He's such a fiery tempered man, I guess it won't do." As soon as the mate had got the anchors placed, he told me to secure them and to clear up, and then went aft, thinking he might as well settle matters now, if they needed any more settlement. The men all took sly glances after him, and whispered to each other that they thought there'd be a fight now; and some offered to bet the mate would come out best. The captain was very much the mate's superior in size and build; but the latter was a perfect tiger when aroused, and was just as fearless, in fact, as the captain in his harangues to his officers pretended to be. As soon as he got aft the captain caught a glance of his eye, and his brick-wall plans were entirely dispelled. In a conciliatory tone he began, "Mr. Morrison, I think there's no need of your getting so excited about a little thing. You know every one has their little ways." "I know you have," said the mate, "and very contemptible ones they are. I came aboard of this ship with as good a will as ever a man had, and meant to do my duty faithfully, but you've interfered with all my work; you stop every job that I get under way, and though I've been twenty-five years to sea, I'm not trusted even to bend a jib or brace the foreyard." "But you know I'm captain of the ship, Mr. Morrison."