eck and scouring of brasswork--which must be
done at sea though the heavens fall; then followed breakfast, the
arming of the boats ready for an attack from the shore, and the descent
upon the bark of as many men as could work.

Occasionally Captain Bunce would order the dinghy, and, accompanied by
Mr. Todd, would visit the bark and offer interfering suggestions, after
the manner of captains, which only embarrassed the officers; and Mr.
Todd would take advantage of these occasions to make landlubberly
comments and show a sad ignorance of things nautical. But often he
would decline the invitation, and when the captain was gone would
descend to his room, and, shutting the door, grip his beloved--though
empty--black pipe between his teeth and breathe through it, while his
eyes shone fiercely with unsatisfied desire, and his mind framed silent
malediction on Bill Swarth for condemning him to this smokeless
sojourn. For he dared not smoke; stewards, cooks, and sailors were all
about him.

In three days the bark's nose was as high as the seven-part tackle
would bring it, with all men heaving who could find room at the
windlass-brakes. Then they clapped a luff-tackle on the fall, and by
heaving on this, nippering and fleeting up, they lifted the fore-hatch
and forecastle scuttle out of water--which was enough. Before this
another gang had been able to slip the other chain to position abaft
the mizzenmast, hook on the tackle, and lead the fall through a
snatch-block at the quarter-bitts forward to the midship capstan.
Disdaining the diving-suit, they swam down nine feet to do these
things, and when they had towed the rope forward they descended seven
feet to wind it around the capstan and ship the bars, which they found
in a rack at the mainmast.

A man in the water weighs practically nothing, and to heave around a
capstan under water requires lateral resistance. To secure this they
dived with hammers and nails, and fastened a circle of cleats to catch
their feet. Then with a boy on the main fife-rail (his head out)
holding slack, eighteen men--three to a bar--would inhale all the air
their lungs could hold, and, with a "One, two, three," would flounder
down, push the capstan around a few pawls, and come up gasping, and
blue in the face, to perch on their bars and recover. It went slowly,
this end, but in three days more they could walk around with their
heads above water.

The next day was Sunday, and they were entitled to