"Hold on there!" said Captain Asy. "What do you mean by that? Hey? Ship come in the door?"
"Yes, honourable captain; t'ree gre't big ship. I hear 'baa! baa!' I wake suddainlee, and zey are eat my foot."
"Sheep, he means!" the jailer explained. "The' warnt but two, I guess. Fact, they got a way o' wand'rin' int' the jail, but they wouldn't ha' hurt him any. He's dretful skeered for one that's knocked about pooty nigh the world over, from what he says."
"But!" the prisoner maintained, turning a candid face upon the court; "is it a jail--for ship to walk in and eat--what you say neeble--ze foots of prisoners?"
"No! no! 'taint!" "That's so!" "He's right, gentlemen!" came from the assembled captains.
"Zen," Jim continued, "ze mess! Salted backbone of hog--must I eat always zis? Never for t'ree mont's ozer sing? Honourable captains, I die."
"Wal!" said Sefami Bunt, with a hint of bluster in his voice, "I guess if backbone's good enough for me, it's good enough for him! 'Twas a good hawg! and, anyway, I've got to use it!"
"Sold the rest and salted down the backbone for yourself and prisoner?" queried Captain Asy Bean.
The jailer nodded, and repeated in an injured tone:
"'Twas a good hawg! Anybody could ha' seen him fattenin' any time they mind to pass by."
"And I tell Mr. Bont,"--Jim resumed the thread of his narrative, smiling apology around,--"I tell him, 'Let-a me go!' not ron avay, of course; I cannot ron avay if I wish. It is island. I tell him 'Let-a me go and work! I make ze door good; I mend ze windows; I do for ozer people work, perhaps zey give me ozer mess.' Is it not?" with a sudden flash and gleam of eyes and teeth.
There was a short pause. "How did you come here, anyway?" queried Captain Bije Tarbox.
It appeared that Jim had fallen overboard from his vessel. It was night, and his fall had not been noticed. Fortunately, the vessel was, even at the moment, passing the Island. He was a good swimmer, used to being in the water for a long time--briefly, behold him! He stole the hen. He was taken, brought before the "selected gentlemen." That was his story.
"Just step outside with Bunt a minute, my man," said Captain Asy Bean, "and we'll settle your case." Then, as the door closed behind the smiling criminal and his gloomy guardian, Captain Asy turned to the others: