Part 21 (2/2)
”You're welcome, Father Neptune, for I suppose no one else would be desirous of givingto observe Mark's look of astonishures appeared cla white beard, a gold paper crown on his head, and a sceptre in his hand, and dressed in a flowing robe painted all over with curious devices With hiare beads and a couple of clasp-knives hanging down froure followed them equally curiously dressed, with a basin under one ar round his neck, and a piece of rusty hoop shaped like a razor in his hand A fourth person, tall and gaunt, was seen in a cocked-hat, a thick cane in one hand, and a box of pills of large proportions in the other Following the tails, and heads covered by oaku to humour the men, shouted out--
”Glad to see your majesty on board my shi+p You're welcome to come aft and look out for any of those whose acquaintance you have not beforeaft Mark and I saw that their eyes were fixed upon us We had no place to fly to but up the ht by soed to climb up in spite of their tails
The barber had in the e tub on the deck, and a couple of small casks On these ere compelled to sit dohen he ian to daub our faces over with the contents of a bucket of grease He then drew out his razor, and scraped us in theoff the skin at every stroke
The doctor in the meanwhile, withthat ere terribly sick, crammed one of the boluses out of his box into our er
”A bath would do therowled out
We were seized, and soused head over heels in a tub till ell-nigh drowned In vain we struggled and shrieked Every time we opened our mouths the barber shoved his brush into them, and the monsters then ducked our heads under water to wash them out, as they said
More dead than alive ere at last allowed to go, but had scarcely strength left to craay
Toh he declared that he had often crossed the line Daddy Neptune refused, however, to believe hi that he had never seen his face in those parts before
Though he fought bravely he was overpowered, and was even worse treated than we had been, the monsters, aided by the doctor and barber and Mrs Neptune, holding his ars
The captain and officers all the time in no way interfered, but seemed to enjoy the cruel sport They wished, indeed, to allow the sailors to take their full fling according to their barbarous fancies
Mark and I, seeing how our friend was treated, atteo to his rescue, but we had better have remained quiet, both for his sake and our own, for ere cuffed and kicked even worse than before, and with difficulty againwas served out, which e than before; and when they were tired of ill-treating us they took to rough play a themselves Daddy Neptune's croas torn off, his sceptre broken in two, his as despoiled of her finery; the doctor's hat and spectacles shared the same fate; he was made to s his own pills, and the barber had his brush nearly shoved down his throat
They would have come to serious blows had not the captain ordered them to knock off and return to their duty The mates, with boats'
stretchers in their hands, had to rush in a them before they could be induced to desist Not until a breeze sprang up, and they were ordered aloft tolike order
For days afterwards Mark and I li heads and sore faces, and Toh his duty
This relaxation of discipline had no good effect on the rowled as much as ever at every meal over the food served out to thear-loaf Mountain--The Castle of Santa Cruz--The harbour of Rio de Janeiro--A taste of fruit--We receive sos up--Man overboard--Poor Tofleet's inhumanity--Mark and I are treated worse--I overhear a conversation--A proposed mutiny--The plot--Differences will arise--Who's to be captain?--I determine to reveal the plot--I consult with Mark--Our determination--Southern latitudes--The Southern Cross-- The Falkland Islands--Mark escapes, but I ahland blood-- Mark's probable fate--A battle with an albatross
”Land ho!” was shouted froh, barren, almost insular, promontory, which runs into the Atlantic to the eastward of Rio de Janeiro We stood on, the land appearing to be of a great height behind the beach, till we caht land wind preventing us fro the night
”Well, I've ood tuck out,” I heard old Growles say to the boatswain; ”I suppose the skipper will order a good store of provisions aboard after the talk we had with him the other day”
”Not so sure of that, old shi+p,” said the boatswain; ”but if he doesn't, he'd better look out for squalls, as he said to us”
The otherin the expectation of a hearty meal and wholesome food, and so indeed were Mark and I; for ere not better off than the rest, except that Mark occasionally got sos at the captain's table, and now and then, when he coulda sea-breeze setting in, we stood towards the harbour, and as the fog lifted, several sar-loaf Mountain loohtthe battlements of the Castle of Santa Cruz, which stands at the foot of the uns of the fortress, ere hailed by a stentorian voice, which ca the stone-built walls, but the speaker was not seen