the time for real action comes!"

"Thrue for ye, Mister Gray-ham," cried Tim Rooney. "Brag's a good dog,
but Howldfast's the bist for my money. Come on wid ye, though, to the
fo'c's'le if ye manes foightin'; for we've had palaverin' enough now in
all conshinsh!"

So saying, the boatswain led the way forward, Tom Jerrold, who dearly
loved anything in the way of a spree, and was overjoyed at the prospect
of what he called "a jolly row," following with Weeks, to make sure that
he did not back out of the contest at the last moment, which, knowing
his cowardly character very well, as Tom told me afterwards, he
anticipated his doing. I brought up the rear--and so we proceeded
towards the bows of the ship along the lee-side of the deck, so as to
escape the observation of Captain Gillespie and Mr Mackay. These were
standing together, I noticed when the starling flew on board, by the
rail on the weather side of the poop, where they were having a good
look-out to windward, and watching some clouds that were piling
themselves in black masses along the eastern sky--shutting out the last
vestiges of land in the distance, already now become hazy from the mist
rising from the sea after sunset.

Passing under the bellying main-sail, whose clew-garnet blocks rattled
as it expanded to the breeze, which was now blowing pretty stiff, with
every indication of veering more round to the north, causing the yards
to have a pull taken at the braces every now and then, our little
procession soon got clear of the deck-house that occupied the centre of
the main-deck, finally gaining the more open space between the cook's
galley at the end and the topgallant forecastle.

Here, the folds of the foresail, swelled out like a balloon, interposed
like a curtain betwixt the after-glow of the setting sun and ourselves,
the shadows of the upper sails, too, making it darker than on the after
part of the deck whence we had started; but it was still quite light
enough for me to see the expression on Weeks' mottled face as he stood
opposite me.

Not much time was wasted in preliminaries, the boatswain, who acted as
master of the ceremonies, placing me against the windlass bitts while my
opponent had his back to the galley, what light there was remaining
shining full upon him.

I had been present at one or two fights before, at the school I used to
attend at Westham, where the boys used to settle their differences
generally at the bottom of the playgr