Mr Vanslyperken being well tired with the events of the day, he was soon
in a sound sleep. There will be no difficulty in accounting for the
return of the dog, which had a skull much thicker than even the
corporal's. He had been stunned with the heavy blows, but not killed.
After a certain time he came to himself in his bed of leaves, first
scratched with one paw, and then with another, till his senses returned:
he rose, worked his way out, and lay down to sleep. After he had taken a
long nap, he rose recovered, shook himself, and trotted down to the
beach, but the boat had shoved off, and the cur had remained there
waiting for an opportunity to get on board, when his master came down
with the same object in view.

But as every soul is fast asleep, we shall now finish the chapter.




Chapter XXXII

Listeners never hear any good of themselves.


Vanslyperken was awakened three hours after he had fallen asleep by the
noise of the buckets washing the decks. He heard the men talking on
deck, and aware that no one knew that he was on board, he rose from his
bed, and opened one of the sliding sashes of the skylight, that he might
overhear the conversation. The first words he heard were from
Bill Spurey.

"I say, Coble, I wonder what the skipper will say when he comes on