was first "spilled" out of the three
topsails, which were then lowered on the caps; and, the studdingsail
booms being triced up to their usual place when not set, in the topmost
rigging, the men were able to go out on the yards and commence reefing
in earnest.

On the completion of this, the command was given to hoist away;
whereupon the halliards were manned below and the topsails run up again.

"Trim sails!" sang out Commander Nesbitt as soon as he saw the middies
and their men coming down from aloft. "Lee braces--brace up the yards!"

During all this time, though, the wind had been shifting to the westward
and ahead; and, noticing the jib beginning to shiver and flap, the
commander came to the fore again.

"Brace the mainyard sharp up!" he shouted; when, on the seamen at the
bitts reporting that "the mark" was "down," or, in other words, that the
yard had been braced up as far as it would go, the other yards were
trimmed parallel and the active commander cried, "Belay the main brace!"

"By jingo, I think he might say `splice the main brace' now, after all
this jollification!" growled Mr Stormcock, who had come up on the
quarter-deck while the ship was thus being made snug for the night and
left now under easy sail, consisting of the courses with reefed topsails
and topgallants, as well as the jib and spanker and foretopmast
staysail. "The poor fellows must be precious dry with all that cutting
about up and down the ratlines, and I wouldn't mind a glass of grog
myself."

"No, really, you don't mean that!" said Larkyns chaffingly. "Wouldn't
you prefer a cup of tea, now?"

"Cup of tea be hanged!" rejoined the master's mate, angrily. "You
youngsters of the present day are always thinking of your tea, like a
lot of blessed old women! In my time, fellows at sea didn't go in for
slops and mollycoddling, as all of you do now. By jingo, the gunroom
might as well be turned into a nursery at once, with such a pack of
children about!"

"At all events, we'd never be at a loss for a nurse, old chappie, with
you aboard," said Larkyns, sniggering. "Indeed, you'd make even a
better one than we could get ashore."

"Hey!" exclaimed Mr Stormcock, a bit puzzled at this. "What do you
mean?"

"I don't mean a dry nurse, you know, old chappie, though you said, you
were `dry' just now," replied Larkyns, laughing at his own joke. "Nor
do I mean a wet 'un. No, old chappie, I mean a wetter-un, do you twig?"

"Phaugh!" eja