econd mate's eight hours out that night, and although the weather
was beautifully fine, with a clear sky, full moon, and steady breeze, he
had been indulging in his usual vagaries throughout the last two hours
of the first watch (he never attempted anything out of the common when
Captain Staunton or any of the passengers were on deck, as some of them
generally were until midnight), and he began them again within a quarter
of an hour of coming on deck at 4 a.m. The royals were set when he took
charge of the deck, and these he had separately clewed up and furled, as
well as one or two of the smaller stay-sails. He allowed the men just
time enough to settle down comfortably, and then ordered the recently
stowed sails to be loosed and set again, which was done. A short
interval passed, and then he had the royals stowed once more, and
finally he ordered them to be loosed and set again.

Not a man took the slightest notice of the order.

"Do you hear, there? Jump aloft, some of you, and loose the royals,"
shouted Carter, thinking for a moment that he had failed to make himself
heard.

Still there was no response.

"You, Davis, away aloft and loose the fore-royal. Boyd, jump up and
loose the main; and you, Nichols, up you go and loose the mizzen. Look
lively now, or I'll rope's-end the last man down from aloft," exclaimed
the second mate, his passion rapidly rising as he found himself thus
tacitly opposed.

As the last words left his lips the watch came aft in a body, pausing
just forward of the main-mast.

"Look 'ee here, Mr Carter," said Boyd, a fine active willing young
fellow, stepping a pace or two in front of his messmates, "we thinks as
them there r'yals 'll do well enough as they am for the rest of the
watch. They was set when we come 'pon deck, and that wouldn't do, you
had 'em stowed. Then you warn't satisfied with 'em so, and you had 'em
set. _That_ wouldn't do, so you had 'em stowed again; and stowed they
_will_ be for the rest of the watch, as far as I'm concarned. The
night's fine, and the breeze as steady as a breeze can be, and the old
barkie 'd carry r'yals and skys'ls too for the matter o' that, but if
they was set we should have to stow 'em again five minutes a'terwards;
so let 'em be, say I."

A low murmur of assent from the rest of the watch gave the second mate
to understand that these were their sentiments also upon the subject.

The foolish fellow at once allowed his temper to get the