"Is it such a dreadful secret, that the monkey can't go on deck?" observed Tom, who began to think his friend had enough live stock in his cabin, his hair being by that time pretty well decorated with rejected Indian corn rinds. "Don't you think it would be better to let him live in the pinnace, miss?"
"No," gravely replied the child, "it mustn't live not nowhere but here, or he'll die, and the blume mouse will come for you."
Barbara believed in a highly-decorative lot of bogeys, but was, while constantly threatening others with their visits, herself perfectly indifferent to them. Jerry listened to the child with rapt attention, and pretended to credit every word she uttered; seeing which Cops enlarged upon the blue rodent question until Clare began to imagine she was slightly touched in the brain, he never having before met with an infant who possessed such wonderful imaginative power.
"Is she all right there?" observed Tom, touching the back of her curly hair with his forefinger.
"Right! I should rather say she is," replied her champion. "Why, she's as smart as lightning; and what you think is nonsense is real downright cleverness, a deal beyond the understanding of you and I. Why, she can speak French; can't you, pretty?"
"Oui monsieur," archly replied the young lady.
By this time the monkey began to revive, the sugar which it had freely purloined having acted us a powerful restorative; and when the child declared she must go, it leaped upon her shoulder, and snicking its sharp little teeth, offered a determined resistance; whereupon Clare cleverly manufactured a leathern belt, which he fastened round the animal's waist, and having secured it with the chain of Thompson's old call, he drove a nail in a beam; then taking the wriggling creature from the child's shoulder, deposited it upon a shelf where Jerry usually kept his books and other treasures.
As the monkey landed overhead, the marine sentry on duty before the door of the captain's cabin left his post and walked forward, being directed by Tortle "to find out that child and to bring her aft;" and hearing her voice in the boatswain's cabin, he put his head inside the door and told Cops "that her mar wanted her," upon which the pretty creature kissed Mr. Thompson, blew a similar favour to Clare and the monkey, and having heard her parrot say "Good-night," trotted aft, and was soon afterwards undressed by the drowsy Adèle, who was half-dead with sea-sickness.
After they had been at sea a few days the weather moderated, and the remainder of the voyage was remarkable for its uniformly fine weather. Miss Adèle recovered from her sea-sickness and managed to get about; and the midshipmen took every opportunity of improving their knowledge of the French language by conversing with her. Now, although this flattered the bonne exceedingly, still it was not the attention she wanted; and the sprightly girl was somewhat chagrined by her failure in regard to Mr. Thompson, who avoided her in every possible manner. At last, one afternoon, when the men were at cutlass-drill upon the quarter-deck, Miss Adèle sauntered forward to the acting boatswain's cabin, and seeing him engaged in examining a pair of trousers, boldly advanced, and addressed him.