"Nero," cried young Jack.
The monkey ran up at the word.
"Give us your arm, Nero."
And so drawing a paw under each of their arms, they promenaded the deck, these three young monkeys together, to the great amusement and delight of the sailors generally.
"Why, Joe!" said Sam Mason, "he looks as great a swell as the port admiral."
"Port admiral! As the first lord himself."
"Do you know, Joe, that Billy Longbow had a monkey once as would—"
"Now for a yarn."
"No, this is a born fact," persisted Sam Mason, stoutly. "Billy Longbow had a monkey on board ship as used to mock the bos'en, and one day when he see the bos'en take out his rattan to larrup one of the powder monkeys, Jocko went for to give the bos'en one for hisself."
"By way of protecting one of his own species, I s'pose," suggested Joe.