leabite, youngster," he replied laughing. "I
suppose you magnified it in your imagination from being sea-sick. The
weather off the Cape of Storms, however; is a very different matter. It
is quite in keeping with its name!"

But, still, for the next few days, at first proceeding close-hauled on
the starboard tack and then, as the wind veered more round to the west,
running free before it, with all our flying kites and stu'n'sails set,
the time passed as pleasantly as before; and we had about just as little
to do in the way of seamanship aboard, the ship almost steering herself
and hardly a tack or a sheet needing to be touched. I noticed, though,
Adams a little later on with a couple of men whom he requisitioned as
sailmakers' mates busy cutting out queer little triangular pieces of
canvas, which he told me were "storm staysails," the old ones having
been blown away last voyage; while I saw that Tim Rooney, besides
assuring himself of the security of the masts and setting up preventer
stays for additional strength by the captain's orders, rigging up life-
lines fore and aft, saying when I asked him what they were for, "To
hould on wid, sure, whin we toombles into Cape weather, me darlint!"

There were no signs of any change yet, though; and the hands got so hard
up for amusement with the small amount of work they had to perform, in
spite of Captain Gillespie hunting up all sorts of odd jobs for them to
do in the way of cleaning the brass-work of the ship and polishing the
ring-bolts, that they got into that "mischief," which, the proverb tells
us, Satan frequently "finds for idle hands" to do.

Tom Jerrold and I were in the boatswain's cabin one afternoon teaching
the starling to speak a fresh sentence--the bird having got quite tame
and learnt to talk very well already, saying "Bad cess to ye" and "Tip
us yer flipper," just like Tim Rooney, with his brogue and all; when,
all at once, we heard some scrambling going on in the long-boat above
the deckhouse, and the sound of men's voices whispering together.

"Some of the fellows forrud are having a rig with the skipper's pigs,"
cried Tom. "Let us watch and see what they're up to."

"They can't be hurting the poor brutes," said I, speaking in the same
subdued tone, so as not to alarm the men and make them think anyone was
listening; "I'm sure of that, or they would soon make a noise!"

"I suppose I was mistaken," observed Tom presently, when we could not
hear the