The Powder Monkey | Page 4

and fastened it securely.
"There, bring them along, my lads," said the leader, and just then the
man who seemed to be a warrant officer whispered something.
"Eh? What? No, he's too little."
"Powder monkey, sir; and he'll grow."
"To be sure. Of course," cried the officer; "and it's two instead of one.
Bring him along."
"Here, what yer going to do?" cried Jack, excitedly. "You mustn't touch
this boy; he's--"
"That'll do!" roared the officer, and at a sign from him a couple of the
gang made a dash at the little fellow to separate them; but at the first
touch the boy uttered a wild cry and clung tightly to his protector, who
made a desperate effort to defend him, shouting the while for the
landlady to come and take the little fellow.
But it was all in vain: Jack and his young companion were torn apart,
hurried down the stairs and out on to the Strand, and a few minutes
later the boy was set at liberty, to spring to Jack's side, panting with
excitement as he clung to him tightly; but it was with the water rippling
and pattering against the bows of the boat which was being rowed
rapidly out of the harbour towards the bay. Not long after, as the
coxswain's boat-hook caught a ring, the boat glided against the
towering side of a great line of battleship, and the two prisoners were
hurried up on deck, and Jack Jeens in spite of all protestations was
made one of the crew of HMS Victory, and his little companion, the
youngest boy on board, without a chance of setting foot ashore again.
For at sunrise the sails were shaken out, and the great man-of-war with

its tiers of guns was soon after leading the way down Channel in search
of England's enemies, followed by the British Fleet, while the news that
the fleet was commanded by Admiral Nelson seemed to Jack Jeens and
the little fellow with whom he had become so strangely associated only
so many empty words.
CHAPTER THREE.
Jack Jeens sat upon the bottom of an upturned bucket with his elbows
resting upon his knees, gazing down at his young companion of the
previous night's adventure, who was half sitting, half lying, upon the
lower deck of the great ship, close to the open port-hole, through which
the morning light shone upon his face as he went on eating a biscuit,
through the edge of which his keen pearly-white teeth passed like those
of a mouse.
It was light enough close to the boy, but all inward was very gloomy,
and every here and there a lanthorn was burning dimly, although it was
morning.
There was plenty of noise and bustle going on about the deck where the
lanthorns burned, and the trampling of feet, and shouts that sounded
like orders came now and then; but the principal sound just there by the
port-hole through which the light came was the crunch, crunch, crunch
of the biscuit.
At last Jack Jeens spoke.
"It caps me," he said. "Seems wonderful. Here you are, just aboard ship
for the first time, and 'stead o' being badly and sick, eating away like a
reg'lar biscuit nibbler."
"I was so hungry," said the little fellow, with a bright smile.
"Eat away, then," said Jack; "but I say, arn't you frightened?"
"Not now," said the boy. "I was when those sailors came and woke me
up."

"Course you would be," said Jack. "Why, it scared me. But arn't you
frightened now?"
The boy shook his head and took another bite at the hard biscuit.
"Why arn't you frightened?" said Jack, after a good long stare at the
biscuit-nibbler, as he called his companion.
"Because you're here," said the boy.
"Yes, I'm here, o' course," said Jack, staring hard as if puzzled. "I'm
a-sitting close to yer; but that don't make no difference because I'm a
pressed man."
"You'll take care of me and see that no one hurts me," said the boy,
confidently.
"Oh, o' course," said Jack, scratching his head. "That is, while I'm here,
but what's going to become of you when I'm gone?"
"Gone?" said the boy, sharply, as he left off eating. "You're not going
away to leave me, are you?"
"Well, no," said Jack, grimly. "It's you who are going away to leave
me."
"That I sha'n't," cried the boy, quickly. "I'll never go away from you. I
like you."
"That's right," said Jack Jeens, grinning with satisfaction; "and of
course I like you too, youngster. But they'll be setting you ashore soon,
so that you can go back to your folk."
The boy shook his head.
"What do you mean by that?" said the sailor, sharply. "Lookye here,
you never told me what