laying somewhere to the east'ard of Sable
Island, in a blow and a thick fog--fresh halibuting--and right in the
way of the liners. And I expect I was going around like a man asleep,
because the skipper comes up and begins to talk to me. It was my first
trip with him and I was a young lad. 'Young fellow,' says the skipper,
Matt Dawson--this was in the Lorelei--'young fellow,' says Matt, 'you
look tired. Let me call up the crew and swing a hammock for you from
the fore-rigging to the jumbo boom. How'll that do for you? When the
jumbo slats it'll keep the hammock rocking. Let me,' he says.
'P'raps,' he goes on, 'you wouldn't mind waking up long enough to give
this music box a turn or two every now and then while the fog lasts.'
We had a patent fog-horn aboard, the first I ever saw, and I'd clear
forgot it--warn't used to patent horns. But just another little wedge
of pie, George.

"However, I suppose when there's nothing doing there's no very great
harm. But we'll try to keep some of you busy to-night. Praise the
Lord, the moon's out of the way and it's looking black already and the
sea ought to fire up fine later on. And there's a nice little breeze
to overhaul a good school when we see one. If any of you are beginning
to think of getting in a wink of sleep then you'd better turn in now,
for you're sure to be out before long. I'm going aloft."

Clancy climbed up the companionway. Then followed the scraping of his
boot-heels across the deck. Half a minute later, had anybody cared to
go up and have a look, I suppose he would have been discovered
astraddle of the highest block above the forethroat--he and the
skipper--watching out sharply for the lights of the many other vessels
about them, but more particularly straining their eyes for the
phosphorescent trails of mackerel.

XV

CLANCY TO THE MAST-HEAD

The men below knew their skipper and Clancy too well to imagine that
they were to be too long left in peace. And then, too, the next man
off watch reported a proper night for mackerel. "Not a blessed star
out--and black! It's like digging a hole in the ground and looking
into it. And the skipper's getting nervous, I know. I could hear him
stirrin' 'round up there when I was for'ard just now, and he hollered
to the wheel that up to the no'the'ard it looked like planty of fish.
'And I callate we ain't the only vessel got eyes for it,' he said."

"Yes," said his watch-mate, who had just dropped down, "it's nothi