'I don't mind saws an' knives hung round the cabin,' he ses
to the fust mate, 'but when a chap has a 'uman 'and alongside 'is plate,
studying it while folks is at their food, it's more than a Christian man
can stand.'
"'That's nothing,' ses the fust mate, who had sailed with the barque
afore. 'He's half crazy on doctoring. We nearly had a mutiny aboard once
owing to his wanting to hold a post-mortem on a man what fell from the
mast-head. Wanted to see what the poor feller died of.'
"'I call it unwholesome,' ses the second mate very savage.' He offered
me a pill at breakfast the size of a small marble; quite put me off my
feed, it did.'
"Of course, the skipper's fad soon got known for'ard. But I didn't think
much about it, till one day I seed old Dan'l Dennis sitting on a locker
reading. Every now and then he'd shut the book, an' look up, closing 'is
eyes, an' moving his lips like a hen drinking, an' then look down at the
book again.
"'Why, Dan,' I ses, 'what's up? you ain't larning lessons at your time
o' life?'
"'Yes, I am,' ses Dan very soft. 'You might hear me say it, it's this
one about heart disease.'
"He hands over the book, which was stuck full o' all kinds o' diseases,
and winks at me 'ard.
"'Picked it up on a book-stall,' he ses; then he shut 'is eyes an' said
his piece wonderful.
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