"Oh yes, sir, a terrible row. You see Mr Walters couldn't forget that he had been an officer, and Jarette couldn't forget he had been a fore-mast man, and feel jealous of Mr Walters, who used to make-believe amongst the men that he was the real captain of the ship, and that everything depended upon him. So at last there was a terrible row about something in the navigation, and Mr Walters told Jarette that he didn't know anything about it. Then the Frenchman hit him, kind of boxed his ears, and Mr Walters whips out a pistol. That was enough. Jarette whistled up the men, who none of 'em liked Mr Walters, and before he knew where he was, they had him on his back with his pistol gone and him helpless. He made a bit of a fuss, and threatened to have Jarette punished if he did not give it up, and then the skipper pointed the pistol at him, and told the men who were holding Mr Walters down to hang back as far as they could while he shot the prisoner. That was enough. The poor boy began to holloa out and beg for mercy, and Jarette set to and teased him, sir, horribly. "`Oh, very well,' he says, `you don't want to be shot?' "`No, no!' cries Mr Walters, crying now like a little child. "`Well, then, sir,' says Jarette, `I'll try and oblige you.' "Mr Walters lay watching him with his eyes rolling, but they wouldn't let him turn his head, while Jarette whispered something to some of the men, who went forward, and I saw them stoop down, but I didn't know what they were doing there even when they came back, and at a word four of them seized him, taking hold of his ankles and wrists. "`What are you going to do?' cried Mr Walters, who looked white, sir, as so much dough. "`What you wanted,' says Jarette. `You didn't want to be shot, so I thought I'd humour you, and have you pitched overboard.' "Then Mr Walters begins to howl for mercy, but Jarette shakes his head. "`Off with him!' he cried; and in spite of the poor fellow's kicks and struggles, they trotted with him right forward and close up to the bows. Then I shut my eyes, for I thought it was all over, and I put my head a little farther out of the door-way here to listen for the splash. But there came a shriek and a loud slap down of a lid, and then I opened my eyes and saw the men all laughing, and found what they had done. For they had given the poor fellow a few swings to make him believe he was going over, and then all at once took a few steps and shot him down feet first into the cable-tier, shutting the lid over him directly after." "The cowardly brute, to torture any one like that!" I said to myself, as I went aft and into the saloon, stopping for a few moments by Walters' prison, and feeling sorry for him till I passed my hand over my face.