"Yes," replied the surgeon. "Once I knew a passenger go climbing up the shrouds on board an East Indiaman, and when he had got half way up to the main top, and began to be afraid to proceed, the sailors ran up after him, and, under pretence of helping him, they tied him there, hand and foot, with spun yarn."
"Ha!" said Rollo. "And what did he do?
"He begged them to let him down, but they would not. They said it was customary, whenever a landsman came up into the rigging, for him to pay for his footing by a treat to the sailors; and that they would let him down if he would give them a dollar for a treat."
THE PASSENGER ON THE RIGGING.
"And did he give it to them," asked Rollo.
"Yes, he said he would," replied the surgeon "if they would untie one of his hands, so that he could get the dollar out of his pocket. So they untied one of his hands, and he gave them the dollar. Then they untied his other hand and his feet, and so let him go down."
"Why did not he call the captain?" asked Rollo.
"O, the captain would not have paid any attention to such a case," replied the surgeon. "If he had been on deck at the time he would have looked the other way, and would have pretended not to see what was going on; but he would really have been pleased. He would have considered the passenger as justly punished for climbing about where he had no business to go."
Rollo was greatly interested in this narrative. He thought what a narrow escape he had had in deciding that he would not attempt to climb up the shrouds, and he secretly determined that he would be very careful, not only while he was on board the steamer, but also on all other occasions, not to violate the proprieties of life by obtruding himself into places where he ought not to go.