One day several of the sailors were on deck, shifting one of the heavy anchors.  They went about it in their usual way, all taking hold, and “heaving” together with a “chanty,” or song, to enliven their work.  But they did not make much progress, and one of the mates got rather excited about it.

“Here, shiver my timbers!” he cried.  “Lively now!  Lay about you, and get that over to the side!”

“Yo!  Heave!  Ho!” called the leader of the sailor gang.

The anchor did not move, for it had either caught on some projection, or the men were not using their strength.

“Lively!  Lively!” cried the mate.

Suddenly Koku, who was in the crowd of passengers watching the work, pushed his way to where the anchor lay.  With a powerful, but not rough action, he shoved the sailors aside.  Then, stooping over, he took a firm grip of the big piece of iron, planted his feet well apart on the deck, and lifted the immense mass in his arms.  There was a round of applause from the group of passengers.

“Where you want him?” Koku calmly asked of the mate, as he stood holding the anchor.

“Blast my marlin spikes!” cried the mate.  “I never see the like of this afore!  Put her over there, shipmate.  If I had you on a voyage or two you’d be running the ship, instead of letting the screw push her along.  Put her over there,” and he indicated where he wanted the anchor.

Koku calmly walked along the deck, laid the anchor down as if it was an ordinary weight, and passed over to where Tom stood looking on in amused silence.  There were murmurs of surprise from the passengers at the giant’s strength, and the sailors went forward much abashed.

“Say, I’d give a good bit to have a bodyguard like that,” exclaimed a well-known millionaire passenger, who, it was reported, was in constant fear of attacks, though they had never taken place.  “I wonder if I could get him.”

He spoke to Tom about it, but our hero would not listen to a proposition to part with Koku.  Besides, it is doubtful if the simple giant would leave the lad who had brought him away from his South American home.  But, if Koku was wonderfully strong, and, seemingly afraid of nothing, there were certain things he feared.

One afternoon, for the amusement of the passengers, a net was put overboard, sunk to a considerable depth, and hauled up with a number of fishes in it.  Some of the finny specimens were good for eating, and others were freaks, strange and curious.

Koku was in the throng that gathered on deck to look at the haul.  Suddenly a small fish, but very hideous to look at, leaped from the net and flopped toward the giant.  With a scream of fear Koku jumped to one side, and ran down to his stateroom.  He could not be induced to come on deck until Tom assured him that the fishes had been disposed of.  Thus Koku was a mixture of giant and baby.  But he was a general favorite on the ship, and often gave exhibitions of his strength.