At six o'clock next morning the mate came thundering upon the fore scuttle with a handspike, following up the resounding blows with a yell of: "All hands ahoy! tumble up there, you sleepers, and don't wait to curl your hair. Hurry up, now, and give me a chance to see who are the `smarties' among you!" With low growls of disgust at such rude and untimely disturbance of their slumbers the fourteen occupants of the forecastle rolled unwillingly out of their bunks and proceeded to scramble into their garments, most of them anathematising the sea life generally, and their present ship in particular. For forecastle Jack is a curious creature, and, if you are to believe him, "last voyage" is invariably the supreme period of his life, wherein has been crowded the utmost comfort and pleasure and the most remarkable adventures, while the ship on board which he happens to be at the moment is, as invariably, the slowest, ugliest, most uncomfortable, and most rotten tub that he ever had the ill luck to ship in. And all this, mind you, as likely as not before the much-maligned craft has passed out through the dock gates, or Jack has done a hand's turn of work on board her. Dick listened with a good- tempered grin to the chorus of grumbling that was proceeding around him, interjected a merry jest or two which caused the growlers to stop in mid-career in amazement at his audacity, and then, having slipped nimbly into his clothes, he sprang up through the hatchway and presented himself first on deck of the forecastle hands, to be greeted by the mate with a cheery: "Well done, youngster! First to answer the call. That comes of joining your ship with an unmuddled brain. I think you and I are going to get on well together." "I sincerely hope so, sir," answered Dick. "If we don't it shall not be my fault. And although I am rather an ignoramus at present in respect of a sailor's work generally, you will find me both willing and eager to learn." The mate stared at Dick for a moment with compressed eyebrows, rather taken aback at the lad's refined tone and manner of speech; then he nodded, and remarked gruffly: "That's all right; if you are willing to learn I'll take care that you have the chance. And, as a starter, you may get a broom and sweep up all this litter. But don't heave it overboard, or you'll have the dock people after you. Sweep it all together and put it into that empty barrel until we get out of dock and can heave it over the side."