Page:The Seven Seas (Kipling, 1896).djvu/113

Rh An' we have preaching on Sundays whenever the sea is calm,

An' I use no knife or pistol an' I never take no harm,

For the Lord abideth back of me to guide my fighting arm.

An' I sign for four pound ten a month and save the money clear,

An' I am in charge of the lower deck, an' I never lose a steer;

An' I believe in Almighty God an' preach His Gospel here.

The skippers say I'm crazy, but I can prove 'em wrong,

For I am in charge of the lower deck with all that doth belong—

Which they would not give to a lunatic, and the competition so strong!