Snarleyyow | Page 9

resigned himself to the fate which awaited him,
and made no resistance when he was stripped by one of the marines, and stretched over
the gun. The men, who were on deck, said nothing; they looked at each other
expressively as the preparations were made. Flogging a lad like Smallbones was too usual
an occurrence to excite surprise, and to show their disgust would have been dangerous.
Smallbones' back was now bared, and miserable was the spectacle; the shoulder-blades
protruded, so that you might put your hand sideways under the scapula, and every bone
of the vertebræ, and every process was clearly defined through the skin of the poor
skeleton. The punishment commenced, and the lad received his three dozen without a
murmur, the measured sound of the lash only being broken in upon by the baying of
Snarleyyow, who occasionally would have flown at the victim, had he not been kept off
by one of the marines. During the punishment, Mr Vanslyperken walked the deck, and
turned and turned again as before.
Smallbones was then cast loose by the corporal, who was twirling up his cat, when
Snarleyyow, whom the marine had not watched, ran up to the lad, and inflicted a severe
bite. Smallbones, who appeared, at the moment, to be faint and lifeless--not having risen
from his knees after the marine had thrown his shirt over him, roused by this new attack,
appeared to spring into life and energy; he jumped up, uttered a savage yell, and to the
astonishment of everybody, threw himself upon the dog as he retreated, and holding him
fast with his naked arms, met the animal with his own weapons, attacking him with a
frenzied resolution with his teeth. Everybody started back at this unusual conflict, and no
one interfered.
Long was the struggle, and such was the savage energy of the lad, that he bit and held on
with the tenacity of a bull-dog, tearing the lips of the animal, his ears, and burying his
face in the dog's throat, as his teeth were firmly fixed on his windpipe. The dog could not
escape, for Smallbones held him like a vice. At last, the dog appeared to have the
advantage, for as they rolled over and over, he caught the lad by the side of the neck; but
Smallbones recovered himself, and getting the foot of Snarleyyow between his teeth, the
dog threw up his head and howled for succour. Mr Vanslyperken rushed to his assistance,

and struck Smallbones a heavy blow on the head with his speaking-trumpet, which
stunned him, and he let go his hold.
Short, who had come on deck, perceiving this, and that the dog was about to resume the
attack, saluted Snarleyyow with a kick on his side, which threw him down the hatchway,
which was about three yards off from where the dog was at the time.
"How dare you strike my dog, Mr Short?" cried Vanslyperken.
Short did not condescend to answer, but went to Smallbones and raised his head. The lad
revived. He was terribly bitten about the face and neck, and what with the wounds in
front, and the lashing from the cat, presented a melancholy spectacle.
Short called some of the men to take Smallbones below, in which act they readily assisted;
they washed him all over with salt water, and the smarting from his various wounds
brought him to his senses. He was then put in his hammock.
Vanslyperken and the corporal looked at each other during the time that Short was giving
his directions--neither interfered. The lieutenant was afraid, and the corporal waited for
orders. So soon as the men had carried the lad below, Corporal Van Spitter put his hand
up to his foraging cap, and with his cat and seizings under his arm, went down below. As
for Vanslyperken, his wrath was even greater than before, and with hands thrust even
further down in his pockets than ever, and the speaking-trumpet now battered flat with
the blow which he had administered to Smallbones, he walked up and down, muttering
every two minutes, "I'll keel-haul the scoundrel, by heavens! I'll teach him to bite my
dog."
Snarleyyow did not re-appear on deck; he had received such punishment as he did not
expect. He licked the wounds where he could get at them, and then remained in the cabin
in a sort of perturbed slumber, growling every minute as if he were fighting the battle
over again in his sleep.
Chapter V
A consultat on in which there is much mutiny.
This consultation was held upon the forecastle of his Majesty's cutter Yungfrau, on the
evening after the punishment of Smallbones. The major part of the crew attended; all but
the Corporal Van Spitter, who, on these points, was known