hear is to obey," carried out with Draconian severity to
the extreme letter of the law, the beauty of it lies in the fact that
you never know what you _are_ going to hear until you actually hear it.

The captain, is, it must be remembered, a sort of Delphic oracle of the
marine genus, who invariably keeps his mystic intentions locked within
the secret recesses of his own breast and only gives them utterance,
when the occasion arrives for him to speak, through the lips of his
chief augur, the commander.

None of "the profane vulgar," in the shape of the ship's company, know
what will be the next move on the board until he gives the inspired
word; although, if unguessed until finally uttered, it is generally
short, sharp and to the point!

That word being now given, needless to add, it was immediately acted
upon.

The breechings of the guns on each deck were bowsed up and the side
tackle falls hove taut and frapped, with preventer tackles rigged and
secured round the brackets at the after part of the carriages and hooked
to the ring-bolts in the ship's side; all the guns' crews assisting in
this task, and the marines and idlers tailing on to the falls and
hauling away at the sound of the boatswain's pipe and only stopping
pulling at the order being given "Avast heaving!"

When passing round with the commander presently to see if all the guns
had been properly made fast, so that there should be no chance of their
"taking charge" in a heavy seaway and running themselves out without
leave or licence when we least expected it, I overheard "Joe" Jellaby
talking to Charley Gilham, who had now come up from the lower deck and
was standing by the main hatchway.

"I say, Charley," observed Mr Jellaby, "have you seen our `sky pilot'
yet?"

"No, `Joe,'" replied the other. "He didn't come into the wardroom till
after dinner, and I had to go on deck for the first watch, and so didn't
see him."

"Well, he's the greenest chaplain I ever saw on board ship before," went
on "Joe," with a chuckle of merriment. "He's been dodging in and out of
his cabin since One Bell sounded, with all his pulpit rig on, as if he
didn't know what exactly to do with himself and was afraid to ask
anyone."

"Perhaps he thought the bell rang for church," suggested Mr Gilham.
"One of the fellows told me the parson has never been to sea before; so,
my boy, of course, he doesn't know he's got to wait till the cap'en
gives the order for service to be h