The barge ran up alongside, and the professor's trunk was hoisted on board. As soon as the students saw the barge and the baggage, which indicated that the obnoxious old gentleman had been transferred to the Young America, a murmur of disapprobation went through the ship.
"I say, Wilton, we are to have that old humbug in the ship!" exclaimed Perth, the chief of the Red Cross Knights, who, however, had changed their name to the Knights of the Golden Fleece.
"That's so," replied Wilton, who had contrived to keep out of the brig nearly a week. "He has his plunder with him."
"We must do as the Josephines did," added Perth, in a whisper.
"What's that?"
"Get rid of him. This shall be the first job of the Knights of the Golden Fleece. McDougal, who is a capital fellow, told me all about how the fellows in the Josephine managed it."
"I heard they had been hazing him."
"That they did," laughed Perth. "There is fun in the thing. If the old fossil was a decent fellow, of course we wouldn't disturb him. Just as soon as he made a row on board, all the fellows took the captain's part. Morgan dropped him into the river, by drawing out the nail that held the boat-hook in the wood; Blount dropped a coil of signal halyards on his head; and McDougal ducked him with the hose-pipe; and the old fellow got a bogus letter from Antwerp, inviting him to visit some of those kings, or something of that sort."
"Who sent the letter?" asked Wilton, greatly interested, as he always was, in anything of this kind.
"Nobody knows; at least McDougal says so. When we were at Brussels, the old Greek went to see some big fellow there,—the king or some minister,—and the big bug wouldn't look at him. One of our fellows heard Stoute telling the doctor about it; and Fatty was so tickled that he shook just like a freshly-baked cup-custard. There goes the boatswain's whistle. We are off now," added Perth, as he sprang to his place at the capstan.