Our latitude was three degrees
south, and we only proceeded by occasional tornadoes, the intervals of
which were filled up by dead calms and bright weather; when these
occurred during the day, the helm was frequently lashed, and all the
watch went below. On one of these occasions I was sitting alone on the
deck, and reading intently, when, in an instant, something jumped upon
my shoulders, twisted its tale round my neck, and screamed close to my
ears. My immediate conviction that it was Jack scarcely relieved me: but
there was no help; I dared not cry for assistance, because I was afraid
of him, and dared not obey the next impulse, which was to thump him off,
for the same reason, I therefore became civil from necessity, and from
that moment Jack and I entered into an alliance. He gradually loosened
his hold, looked at my face, examined my hands and rings with the most
minute attention, and soon found the biscuit which lay by my side. When
I liked him well enough to profit by his friendship, he became a
constant source of amusement. Like all other nautical monkeys, he was
fond of pulling off the men's caps as they slept, and throwing them into
the sea; of knocking over the parrots' cages to drink the water as it
trickled along the deck, regardless of the occasional gripe he received;
of taking the dried herbs out of the tin mugs in which the men were
making tea of them; of dexterously picking out the pieces of biscuit
which were toasting between the bars of the grate; of stealing the
carpenter's tools; in short, of teasing every thing and every body: but
he was also a first-rate _equestrian_.
Pages:
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31