t light was rigged nightly; they hove the log every
two hours; and Captain Swarth made scratches and notches on the
sliding-hood of the companionway, while careful to wind his chronometer
daily.

But, in spite of the cheer of his indomitable courage and confidence,
his men, with the exception of a few, dropped into a querulous, whining
discontent. Mr. Todd, spurred by his responsibility, gradually came
around to something like his old arbitrary self. Yank Tate, the
carpenter, maintained through it all a patient faith in the captain,
and, in so far as his influence could be felt, acted as a foil to the
irascible, fault-finding Tom Plate, the forecastle lawyer, the man who
had been at the lead-line at Barbados. But the rest of them were dazed
and nerveless, too shaken in brain and body to consider seriously Tom's
proposition to toss the afterguard overboard and beach the brig on the
South American coast, where they could get fresh liver of shark, goat,
sheep, or bullock, which even a "nigger" knew was the only cure for
moon-blindness.

They had not yet recovered from the unaccustomed debauch; their clouded
brains seemed too large for their skulls, and their eyeballs ached in
their sockets, while they groped tremblingly from rope to rope at the
behest of the captain or mate.

So Tom marked himself for future attention by insolent and disapproving
comments on the orders of his superiors, and a habit of moving swiftly
to another part of the deck directly he had spoken, which prevented the
blind and angry captain from finding him in the crowd.

Dim as must have been the light of day through the pelting rain and
storm-cloud, it caused increased pain in their eyes, and they bound
them with their neckerchiefs, applying meanwhile such remedies as
forecastle lore could suggest. The captain derided these remedies, but
frankly confessed his ignorance of anything but time as a means of
cure. And so they existed and suffered through a three days' damp gale
and a fourth day's dead calm, when the brig rolled scuppers under with
all sail set, ready for the next breeze. It came, cool, dry, and faint
at first, then brisker--the unmistakable trade-wind. They boxed the
brig about and braced sharp on the starboard tack, steering again by
the feel of the wind and the rattling of shaking leeches aloft. The
removal of bandages to ascertain the sun's position by sense of light
or increase of pain brought agonized howls from the experimenters,